darker days

The Delta Riggs: Headlining Darker Days at Bright Brewery

Fresh off collaborations with Dope Lemon, Gold Fang, and Dante Knows, and electrifying live performances with Hayley Mary and Dan Sultan, The Delta Riggs are set to headline Darker Days at Bright Brewery.

Over their stellar career, The Delta Riggs have solidified themselves as Australian indie-rock royalty. Their infectious energy and captivating sound have earned them a loyal following. Multiple singles have received heavy airplay on Triple J, and their album “Dipz Zebazios” received the coveted feature album treatment.

The band is no stranger to packed houses, having sold out their own headline tours. They’ve also shared the stage with legendary acts like Foo Fighters, Kasabian and the Eagles of Death Metal.

So get ready for an epic day of 10+ hours of live music as The Delta Riggs bring their high-octane live show to headline Darker Days on Saturday June 15.

What to Expect

  • Friday, June 14: The festivities kick off with guided brewery tours and tastings (tickets required) followed by a free welcome party featuring live music by Since We Kissed (6pm).
  • Saturday, June 15: Festival Day! Immerse yourself in a full day festival with over 10 hours of live music, headlined by The Delta Riggs and supported by Steph Strings, Nicky Bomba, Benny & The Big Wheels and Matt Sier.  Hot Dawg Eating Competition at 4.15pm (pre-registration required).
  • Sunday, June 16: Wind down after a weekend of revelry at the Recovery Session with live music starting at 12pm (free entry).

Early Bird tickets are on sale now at  www.darkerdays.com.au . Now’s the time to gather your friends, book your accommodation, and get ready to embrace the darkness at Darker Days!

Darker Days to set the night alight on June 15, 2024

Winter IS officially coming! The popular Darker Days festival is back at Bright Brewery this June with a full weekend of beery fun in store.

From June 14 to 16, Darker Days will transform Bright Brewery into a celebration of everything dark and decadent. Indulge in dark beers from some of Australia’s most innovative, exciting and highly skilled brewers (and a very special international guest brewer for 2024!), groove to live music across the weekend, and soak up the mid-winter festival atmosphere.

What to Expect

  • Friday, June 14: The festivities kick off with guided brewery tours and tastings (tickets required) followed by a free welcome party featuring live music.
  • Saturday, June 15: Festival Day! Immerse yourself in a full day festival with over 10 hours of live music (artist lineup to be announced April 18).
  • Sunday, June 16: Wind down after a weekend of revelry at the Recovery Session with live music starting at 12pm (free entry).

Plan Your Dark Adventure

Tickets go on sale on Friday, April 19 at  www.darkerdays.com.au . Now’s the time to gather your friends, book your accommodation, and get ready to embrace the darkness at Darker Days!

Darker Days 2023 – It’s a Wrap!

The Darker Days Festival has come to a thrilling conclusion after three days of non-stop excitement, filled with unforgettable moments of music, delectable food, craft beer, spirits, wine, cider, bonfires, dancing, and even a hot diggity dawg competition!

With all tickets sold out, we welcomed 1200 beer and music lovers who immersed themselves in the vibrant midwinter festival atmosphere.

It all kicked off with our Welcome Party on Friday night where Benny Williams played to a packed Hop Terrace.

Then for the main event on Saturday 17 June, Mother Nature was on our side as the festival unfolded, creating the perfect backdrop for an winter experience that wasn’t too cold (or wet)! The energy was electric as renowned artists such as DJ Saucy Soph, Raging Moby, The Maes, Nicky Bomba, Vaudeville Smash, and the Pierce Brothers took the stage and delivered unforgettable performances that left the crowd in awe (head to our Facebook and Insta pages to see all the action!).

The line up of guest breweries and beers on tap meant that you could quite easily not drink the same beer twice! It really was a remarkable showcase of Australia’s independent beer scene. Special thanks go to One Drop Brewing Co., Sobremesa Fermentary & Blendery, La Sirène Brewing, Co-Conspirators Brewing Company, and the High Country Brewery Trail. Additionally, our local boutique cidery and distilleries, Alpine Cider, Reed & Co Distillery, and Backwoods Distilling Co., who added their exceptional spirits and cocktails to the mix, enhancing the festival experience.

But the party doesn’t have to stop there! Relive your fave festival moments at home with our Darker Days collab beer “Frost Fire Australian Strong Ale”, brewed between Bright Brewery and esteemed guest brewers Co-Conspirators Brewing Co, One Drop Brewing Co., and Sobremesa Fermentary & Blendery. 

This beer, as well as our official Darker Days merch (hoodys and tees) will be available online soon.

In the mean time, mark your calendars for the third weekend in June, because Darker Days 2024 is already on the horizon. Stay tuned for exciting updates as we brew up something truly incredible for next year. We can’t wait to welcome you back for another unforgettable celebration.

The Stage is all set for Darker Days

Bright Brewery is gearing up to host the highly anticipated Darker Days Festival on Saturday, June 17 – an immersive celebration of all things dark and decadent in the heart of the Alpine winter.

With the festival due to sell out today, a crowd of 1200 enthusiastic attendees will converge on the brewery to revel in a night of unforgettable music, art, and unique craft beer experiences.

Taking centre stage at Darker Days will be Australia’s hottest indie-folk duo, Pierce Brothers. This exclusive appearance at the festival is part of their headline tour across the country this year. Joining them on the line-up are an impressive array of Victorian artists carefully curated to enhance the festival’s vibrant atmosphere:

– Vaudeville Smash
– Nicky Bomba
– The Maes
– Raging Moby
– DJ Saucy

With such an exceptional line-up, festival-goers can expect a night filled with exceptional musical performances spanning various genres, ensuring there’s something for everyone.

In addition to the captivating live music, Darker Days will feature an enticing collaboration between Bright Brewery and esteemed guest brewers Co-Conspirators Brewing Co, One Drop Brewing Co., and Sobremesa Fermentary & Blendery. This collaboration will unveil a limited-edition beer exclusively brewed for the festival: the Frost Fire Australian Strong Ale. Crafted with care and passion, this special release promises a unique flavour profile that captures the essence of Darker Days.

Bright Brewery’s Darker Days Festival is about showcasing the diverse talents of Victorian artists and providing a platform for the region’s thriving music and craft beer scene. As the Alpine winter sets in, Bright Brewery invites attendees to embrace the allure of the darker side and indulge in an evening that promises to be unforgettable.

Darker Days kicks off on Friday 16th June with a Welcome Party (free event, all welcome) from 7pm.
Gates open for the festival 12pm, Saturday June 17.
Please see below for full event schedule or visit our Darker Days website for more information.

Stubborn imperial stout 2023 lands at a mighty 16%

Bright Brewery is proud to announce the release of its most highly sought-after annual release – Stubborn Imperial Stout 2023.

Stubborn Imperial Stout, which has been brewed continuously for the past 13 years, is one of Bright’s most iconic and beloved beers. It has become a firm favourite amongst dark beer lovers around Australia and, with a hefty 16% ABV, this year’s vintage is guaranteed to make its mark.

Named for its stubbornness during fermentation, Stubborn is, historically, a challenge for Bright’s brewers – a situation that has become known as the ‘Stubborn Curse’.

“Whenever we brew this beer, something unusual, unexpected and unpredictable happens,” Bright Brewery’s marketing manager, Laura Gray, said. “Over the years, our brewers have learnt to expect the unexpected with this brew.”

But this unpredictable set of circumstances is what sets every vintage of Stubborn Imperial Stout apart from the rest, and imparts its own distinct flavour and character.

“No two years are the same. Each year, we hold our breath, wondering what the brew will bring,” Gray said.

The 2023 vintage of Stubborn Imperial Stout is the first for Bright’s Head Brewer, Lewis Kerr, who joined the team in late 2022. And while his first Stubborn was not without its challenges, Kerr is proud to continue the Stubborn legacy, which started with Jon Seltin back in around 2010.

“This year, we used a yeast we had never worked with before, and the beer fermented at a higher temperature than usual,” Kerr said. “In previous years, there has been equipment failures, illness, brewing failures, Russian war, and missing ingredients – but every year, the beer turns out amazing, albeit different, from all the others.

“The ABV of this year’s Stubborn is well hidden for something that sits at 16. It is more reminiscent of something around the 12% range. It has a silky mouthfeel with moderate carbonation, strong hints of banana and fruit bowl that open up into cherry and caramel, and heavy notes of molasses.”

With a nose that is a combination of vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon, with deep, rich port-wine notes, Stubborn 2023 will pair well with hearty comfort foods like succulent slow-cooked meats or can be enjoyed as a dessert beer alongside a rich, decadent dessert.

“We are thrilled to be able to share this unique and exciting beer with beer lovers,” said Gray. “We know that the Stubborn Curse only adds to the allure of this beer, and we can’t wait for beer enthusiasts to experience it for themselves.”

Stubborn Imperial Stout 2023 will be launched at a special Vertical Tasting in Bright on May 15. It will be available for purchase from May 15 at Bright Brewery’s online shop, direct from the Brewery, and from selected retail outlets across Australia.

Dark beer lovers attending Bright’s Darker Days midwinter festival will also be able to enjoy a vertical tasting of three past vintages of this infamous brew.

So, get ready to embrace the darkness of winter with a glass of Stubborn Imperial Stout in your hand!

New date for Darker Days

This is the news you’ve been waiting for…

Firstly, we’d like to thank you from the bottom of our collective hearts for supporting us and our homegrown festival, Darker Days, through this tumultuous time!

To all of you who patiently held on to your tickets while we regrouped after our cancellation, to those who sent us such kind and inspiring messages of support during this time, to those that generously got behind our online Darker Days packs – thank you, thank you, thank you.

From the moment Darker Days was cancelled due to COVID lockdown, we’ve been committed to running this festival as soon as we can – to support the vendors, artists, brewers and customers we made a commitment to.

So we’ve been working furiously behind the scenes to pull this festival back together and now we’ve got some news…

Darker Days will be rising from the ashes from Aug 27-29 (festival day Aug 28).

Got a ticket and planning to come? Great! Your ticket remains valid and you don’t need to do anything except get ready, and make sure you’ve got a buck ticket booked to get home. Book bus tickets here.

Got a ticket and unable to make it? Please let us know and we’ll refund you. Head to the link below for refund info.

Haven’t got a ticket? At this stage, due to uncertainty around event restrictions, we are not releasing any more tickets, as we don’t feel it would be responsible to do so. Once we have more clarity over the situation, we will release more tickets if we are able to.

Head to the link here to put yourself on the waiting list to be the first to know about new ticket releases.

Darker Days postponed

Darkness has come!

Based on the latest Victorian COVID lockdown, we’re devastated to say that Darker Days 2021 has been postponed.

Sadly, we were just 36 hours away from Darker Days 2021 when Victoria went back into a hard lockdown last Friday, July 16.

However…
The show will go on! We are committed to running this festival this year, after COVID has shafted our plans twice in the past 12 months.
We are working furiously on a new plan, to ensure our artists, our vendors, and you, our beloved customers, are supported and can enjoy Darker Days this year!
Some of our musicians and artists were already on their way to Bright when lockdown was announced.
We will have more to say on this very soon and we’d love your support in the meantime.
All ticketholders have been contacted via email and are legally eligible for a refund – however – we’d love it if you could bear with us until we can announce our new plan.
If you’re unable to attend the rescheduled date, you will, of course, be able to receive a refund.
For more information, please email marketing@brightbrewery.com.au
Darker Days burn the night banner

DARKER DAYS festival returns for 2019

Darker Days midwinter festival highlightsWinter is coming. Embrace the darkness.

Bright Brewery is thrilled to announce that DARKER DAYS 2019 will set Bright alight on Saturday, June 29, 2019.

DARKER DAYS is a festive celebration of dark beer and the Alpine winter, providing a warming, welcome respite from the mid-winter chill.

With kids’ entertainment including stories and music under the Children’s Teepee, face-painting, wooden toys, and ghost tours, DARKER DAYS is a proudly family-friendly event.

The event will kick off at midday, with live music and entertainment throughout the day and evening, culminating in the lighting of a ceremonial bonfire after dark.

As is tradition, Bright Brewery’s acclaimed Stubborn Russian Imperial Stout will be launched at DARKER DAYS, making festival-goers the first in the country to get their hands on this cult classic.Darker Days midwinter festival highlights

 

Bright Brewery Head Brewer Reid Stratton said Stubborn Russian had an incredibly loyal following and beer-lovers should be excited for the 2019 vintage.

“We’re doing things a little bit differently this year and the stout will be steeped in oak after fermentation to give it a lusciously roasted finish,” Stratton said.

The 2017, 2018 and 2019 vintages of Stubborn Russian will be pouring from Bright Brewery’s taps during DARKER DAYS, giving visitors the chance to “collect” all three beers.Darker Days midwinter festival highlights

And many of the High Country’s best breweries will be on hand to serve their best warming, wintery brews, as well as local gin, coffee, whiskey, and food producers.

Now in its third year, DARKER DAYS has already become a hugely popular event in the depths of winter, drawing visitors to Bright outside of the traditionally busy tourist seasons.

Bright Brewery Marketing Officer Laura Gray said interest in DARKER DAYS had already started to build and the brewery was planning for 2019 to be the biggest and best event yet.

“As soon as DARKER DAYS finished last year, we had people asking when it was happening in 2019. We’re thrilled that people love this event so much and we’re working very hard to ensure 2019 is better than ever.”Darker Days event bonfire

Entry to DARKER DAYS will be via donation to the Bright CFA and beer-drinkers will be able to buy a collectible, limited-edition Darker Days tasting glass from which to enjoy beers from High Country brewers.

LIVE MUSIC SCHEDULE

Harry Jamieson

Liv Cartledge

Seth Henderson

Since We Kissed

Baby & The Kicks

DJ Maverick Gold

BREWERS & DISTILLERS

Bright Brewery

Bridge Road Brewers

Blizzard Brewing

King River Brewing

Black Dog Brewery

Wrong Side Brewing

Billson’s Brewery

Malt SHed

Backwoods Distilling

Reed & Co

Alpine Cider

Billy Button Wines

 

Darker Days burn the night banner

Full line-up revealed for DARKER DAYS 2018

Brewers, bands, bites, banter and a ceremonial burning are the foundation of the second annual DARKER DAYS festival in Bright this winter. Discover here the full line-up for brewers, vendors, bands and more that will be featured at this family friendly mid-winter event…

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