The inaugural Backyard Invitational was held in Brisbane last November (at the site of its soon-to-open brewery in The Valley) as a dual celebration of both Stone & Wood’s tenth birthday and our country’s thriving craft-brewing scene – while also raising money for local charities. This year, the party heads south with the second annual Backyard Invitational being held at the Surfstitch Warehouse in Burleigh Heads, connecting drinkers with 19 independent breweries, two distilleries and a local kombucha maker. Expect to see local names like farmhouse brewers Currumbin Valley Brewing, interstate invitees like Kaiju! from Victoria and Canberra’s Capital Brewing Co., as well as Husk Distillers, Cape Byron and a whole lot more.

The invited brewers and distillers will each host intimate tasting stands to showcase their goods to local beer lovers (from the curious to the connoisseurs), while a series of industry talks and masterclasses will be held throughout the afternoon. Renowned beer writer and podcaster Luke Robertson from Ale of a Time has been confirmed to host the festival’s masterclasses, which will cover honey fermenting, sour beers and dark beers. During the sessions, Luke will demonstrate using native ingredients and discuss how honey and fruits are being utilised in beer and spirits – and attendees will even be given their own take-home sample! There will also be talks from the attending breweries and distilleries, who will chat about the emerging popularity of sour and dark beers. Plus, a bunch of tasty food trucks (including Pequeña Cocina and JR’s Smokehouse) will be there to curb the cravings, along with live vinyl DJ sets from Huggy Per and Acid Joe! The Backyard Invitational will be held from 2:00–6:30 pm (note: it was originally to be held across two separate sessions, but due to popularity the event will be held across one extended 4.5-hour session!). The all-inclusive tickets will include festival entry, all beer, access to the talks and masterclasses, a take-home beer cup and a $5 food-truck voucher to put towards your feast.

You’ll be drinking for a good cause, with profits from this year’s Backyard Invitational being directed to the Gold Coast chapter of national homeless services charity Orange Sky via Stone & Wood’s national not-for-profit organisation the inGrained Foundation. Tickets for both sessions are on sale now – head to the Stone & Wood website to snap yours up.

Note! As mentioned, the time for the event has changed from two sessions to one extended session from 2:00–6:30 pm … that’s a bonus 1.5 hours! If you originally had tickets to the early session and can’t make the new times, you’re able to scoot online here for a refund.