(Sorry if this is a bit of a read, but I have been thinking about this much of the day (now yesterday/last night) following my last posts..please feel free to ignore if you want to )
It occurred to me Pedro, that you had asked some specific questions and
I had commented but hadn't really given any direct input per question - sorry about that. Haven't had a chance to get back to it, busy making pizzas for the local brewers while they learn how to judge beers
First, Boots has a point - Adelaide (IMO as well ) might not have the market to support multiple events - I believe the best must be made of the opportunity to make an event a success to the largest
good market possible. So I would propose to get
as much into the event as possible, in order for it to be more than just a pi**fest the likes have been seen already. Organising a drinking fest is easy. A drinking event is a police event/s waiting to happen, not an entertainment event. That in mind I have added comments below. Just my opinion, I'm not short of those clearly, but I would really love to see an event of this nature. Stuff like Shutzenfest no longer appeals to me. Time for a clean slate.
A few things to get the topic started.
1. Time of year that is best to hold the event.
Climate would be my main concern. Both for the brewer and the patron. SA is nasty during summer 45 degrees is not
sensible drinking weather. Brewing into Summer is not fun, so I reckon a Spring event. Although I am not 100% sure because I have never brewed beyond 100 litres + at once personally, I would assume moving the temperature
up for a larger brew is a litlte easier than keeping it down? So brewing through Winter towards spring would be perhaps be better for the brewer. South Australia is
beautiful in spring as everything comes back to life
The climate is awesome, everybody is looking forward to anything that shakes off the winter chill. Perfect time to get out and make the most of that little weather window before mother nature tries to bake us all.
2. Location - City / Suburbs / Hotel / Other venue
This would depend heavily on the focus of the event, and the desired patron, what I mean is if what you want to achieve is maximum patronage (and trouble), put it in the city on a Saturday. You can achieve a significant change in the type of patron simply by moving it to a Sunday and moving the venue far enough away from city central that it requires a bit more financial or organisational commitment in order simply attend. This may drop numbers, but you will end up with less trouble makers who have attended perhaps more because it was a convenient drinking event & they
can, than because they are interested in supporting or learning more about SA breweries & quality beer. The old chestnut that people's behaviour might be separated by mere financial means in terms of putting an event out of their financial range is not always true. There's a lot of disposable income in Australia, and in my experience a rich drunken a**hole is harder to deal with than an a**hole with nothing in his wallet. The one with an empty wallet is aware that he has to get home somehow...& he may have to walk home if he runs out of cash - so he leaves either when he can still drive, or when his mates leave or while he can still afford a taxi. The rich one is there for the duration - even if it means being removed (usually under pathetic drunken protest). This means that there is significant gain in maketing the event towards those who are more likely to moderate their own behaviour, than those who can simply afford the price tag.
3. What you would pay to enter the event
Depends on what the event actually is. If it's a day long event, and it's simply an entry fee with glass provided and say, enough 'tickets' to get 10 x 200ml samples, realistically maybe $75.00, but up to $100 if there is entertainment like live bands etc, and the ability to wander around and take in a bit more of a 'scene' than just the inside of one building i.e: more than one beer tent, music and enough food variety that each person is likely to find something that appeals to them with beer, entertainment and food to help them stretch the day out ina well behaved non-plastered fashion. Over the $100 mark and you're not likely to get enough takers to make up numbers required to pay the bills/make it worth the effort. Too low and you'll end up with everybody, and chaos will ensue - vendors will not be able to cope for long enough, facilities will not cope
at all and everybody will go away with a bad final impression and not come back next year. Last impressions last when it comes to an event. Patrons who go away happy will have spent more, & will come back next year.
4. What you expect for your entrance fee
A fun time! A bit of entertainment, a few drinks and the ability to get all this without seeing Friday night Hindley street play out before my eyes. I'm no wowser, but at nearly 40, those days are long gone & I can't be bothered with all of that. But I would happily pull out my wallet at a good event that actually promotes SA beers & food properly with style and class (as it should be) - and then I'll get in a taxi and go home (without causing trouble because the bar has closed and I don't feel like going home yet.....)
5. Would you pre-book tickets?
Yes, I would happily pre-book and pay for something like this.
6. How long should the event run for - an afternoon / evening / day etc
A day long event would be good, but this requires a more attention to detail and facilities (i.e: a portaloo that gets used for an hour might cop a hammering - but what happens when it's full? What happens if it's needed all day?) . While you don't want people necessarily drinking all day, you can organise other things to take up some of the morning (such as a brew demonstration, or other non-drinking focussed activities) to 'set the stage' so to speak for the rest of the day for those who are interested. I know this might seem like asking a bit much, but an event like this has so many possibilities - you may as well ask for more than ask for less the way I see it. In events I have been involved with in the past, I have observed that hobby groups and clubs are usually more than happy to step up to the mark and provide some pre-drinking entertainment/interest group activities for nothing. There
can be ongoing benefits for several interests if some co-ordination can be achieved. More people interested in good beer = more people who want to craft brew/buy craft brew = more people who may look at a beer as a career option = more (people & skills) resources to industry = stronger industry = more market prescence, more influence, = the ability to achieve change in stuff like ridiculous inequities in excise legislation (as one example, but there are many others)
7. Is there a place for other things like cider at the event?
Yep. (Just like there's a place for my wife attending this event with me...lol). I view cidermakers as brewers. There's a significant amount of skill involved with making a complex cider and I don't mind the odd cider myself
A wider audience is a larger market, simple as that. Especially if the missus has had a few ciders :lol:
( Apologies in advance for posting twice in a row.....)
And no. I don't sleep.....
:super: 
