What better way to spend a Sunday than at Bitter & Twisted’s Family Fun Sunday!

Come along on Sunday 4 November and check out an amazing music line up, eat some awesome food, watch some outrageous circus acts, crazy balloon sculpting and look out for the hair flick-kicking, hair-teasing retro dance aerobics troupe!

Featuring Fondalicous, Dancing Grandpa, Circus Avalon, The Balloon Bloke and face painting, there will be plenty to entertain the kids while Mum and Dad enjoy the tastings and music on offer. Check out more about Family Fun Sunday’s entertainment here.

With food stalls including American BBQ, burgers, salt and pepper squid, German sausages and pizza, there will be something to tempt even the fussiest little eaters.

Back by popular demand, Uncle Shep’s Emporium of the Strange 2018 will feature a new cast of some of Australia’s best street performers all on one stage, hell bent on blowing your mind with amazing feats of human strength, contortion, comedy and surprise. This year Dandy Man, JP Koala, Rani Hazza and Samora Squid will take to the stage.

Kids aged 14 years and under are free entry when purchased in conjunction with an adult ticket. The child’s ticket must be obtained at the time of sale of an adult ticket. Please call 4931 2888 and speak to our friendly staff.

Stuart Duff has been to every Bitter & Twisted Boutique Beer Festival since its inception back in 2007. At first he came as a beer fan but for the last three years he’s been at Maitland Gaol as the owner and operator of Dusty Miner Craft Brewery, serving up a range of delicious beer.

Stuart set up Dusty Miner in his backyard in Aberglasslyn and he operates the commercial business out of his 12 metre by 12 metre shed. He says the first weekend in November is one of the best times of the year for him and his business.

‘I love Bitter & Twisted. Everyone is looking to try new beer, have a chat and talk to you about your brewery. You don’t really get that at other festivals. I also love meeting such a diverse range of people, different characters, different backgrounds and I think that’s the great thing about beer, it seems to bring people together.’

Stuart grew up in Mudgee and started home brewing around 20 years ago.

‘It was something I did with my mates as a hobby but the thought of one day having my own brewery was crazy. But craft beer has gone from strength to strength in Australia and people are able to have really successful businesses. To put it in perspective, when I went professional in 2014 Dusty Miner was the 290^th craft brewery in Australia. Today there is around 520 breweries, so the growth is unbelievable.’

And, why Dusty Miner you ask? Well, among all his brewing, bottling and delivering across The Hunter and the state, Stuart also works full time as a Fitter in the Wambo Coal Mine.

‘I usually average around five hours a night sleep but I wouldn’t do all this work if I didn’t love it and I honestly do. However, I do hope that one day I can brew full time.’

Dusty Miner will be serving up around six beers at Bitter & Twisted over the course of the weekend, including a Pale Ale, Red Ale, IPA and a mystery beer that will be revealed on Saturday.

To get your hands on tickets for Sunday go to www.bitterandtwisted.com.au/tickets/

Musician Caitlin Harnett is excited about the prospect of performing at the Bitter & Twisted Boutique Beer Festival.

Harnett grew up in Hawkesbury, near Sydney, and she recalls music being a big part of her life growing up thanks to her mum and dad. She found herself making mix tapes and recording songs on her own cassette at a young age and she says her love of music grew organically.

Harnett works at a cafe in Annandale and along with playing music day and night, she loves to read and cook

She says she plays ‘Americana music’ and she is confident it will be a good accompaniment to the vibe of the festival.

‘I always try to have fun when I’m playing and boogie around a bit so I hope people dig it. I love visiting Maitland and if people don’t make it to Bitter & Twisted, I’m also performing at The Grand Junction Hotel on the Sunday night.’

While she’s a Carlton Draught girl at heart, Harnett is excited to sample some great craft beer at Bitter & Twisted. She reckons a Pale Ale or two could be on the cards come Sunday afternoon.

The Caitlin Harnett Band will be performing on Sunday from 10.20am to 11.20am and Harnett will also be on the banjo for the Andy Golledge Band (above) on Saturday from 10.30am. Rock outfit the Delta Riggs will headline on Saturday and Indie pop five piece Architecture in Helsinki will bring Bitter & Twisted to a close on Sunday afternoon.

For more information about bands go to www.bitterandtwisted.com.au/music/

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you haven’t tried an ‘Arepa’ before, the Bitter & Twisted Boutique Beer Festival is your chance.

The team at Arepa Oz will be taking part in the festival for the first time and they’re confident they’ll bring something unique to Maitland Gaol in the first weekend of November.

Arepas are a flat, round, unleavened patty made out of water, cornmeal and salt. They can be grilled, baked, fried, boiled or steamed and once the filling goes in, you’re in for one hell of a feed. The most traditional fillings are shredded beef, black beans, and cheese and chicken avocado salad. Serving up these types of dishes gives the boys a chance to connect their culture with Australians.

Alberto and Kysbel grew up together in Venezuela but met in Australia purely by chance. It was their shared love of their culture and its food that made them want to get into the hospitality game.

‘We decided to get started with the business because every time we’d make Arepas for friends at home, people would get so excited and ask us where they could them from. There were no places that sold them at the time, so we decided to do it ourselves.’

Arepa Oz has gone from strength to strength and in just a short time, the guys have gone from catering to events with about 200 people, to dealing with over 30,000.[/vc_column_text][mk_padding_divider][mk_image_slideshow images=”9379,9380,9381,9382″][mk_padding_divider][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]’It’s been wonderful discovering the fact that people simply love and crave our food, to the point of us getting emails and calls on a weekly basis from people asking us when we are going to open our shop. It feels great and it’s why we do what we do.’

Arepa Oz has had Bitter & Twisted on its radar for some time and they are excited to take part this year.

‘We are always trying new flavours so we’ll be bringing our best sellers to the festival, that includes our slow cooked pork and slaw and our Venezuelan black beans and feta with avocado salsa flavours. There might even be another surprise dish!’

To check out some of the other food stalls taking part in Bitter & Twisted, go to www.bitterandtwisted.com.au/food[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Members of Hunter United Brewers recently visited the IronBark Hill Brewhouse to brew a delicious American Amber Ale, which will be available for tasting at their stand at Bitter & Twisted this year.