Carlton & United Breweries has launched The Pub Reopening Ceremony, an epic pub crawl that will travel to pubs across the country to help support them as they re-open.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And it's on its way to Port Macquarie today (Friday, June 19) arriving at Settlers Inn at 5.30pm.
Beer will flow at the Hastings pit stop, encouraging locals to get down to support their pub after months of severe restrictions that have left many pubs struggling to survive.
The relay kicked off at Melbourne's spiritual home of beer, the CUB Brewery in Abbotsford, where CEO Peter Filipovic was joined by Mick Molloy and AFL legends Nick Dal Santo and Campbell Brown to officially light the custom-made Tap Torch that will travel to pubs across the country throughout a three-week tour.
Following the lighting of the Tap Torch, Filipovic - dressed in an official beer-inspired tracksuit - officially passed the torch on for it to travel to the first stop of the relay at Melbourne institution The Espy.
From there, the torch is travelling from Victoria into NSW, QLD, WA and SA. The relay will bring good times plus a free keg to every pub it visits, reinforcing the pub's position at the heart of local communities.
A team of local Tap Torch ambassadors will join the campaign as it travels across the country, helping run the Tap Torch to the pubs and communities across the country.
The initiative is an extension of CUB's For The Love of Your Local campaign, which aims to raise $2 million for pubs across the country to aid in the recovery of Australia's pub industry.
CUB CEO Peter Filipovic said that as restrictions continued to ease across the country, Australians need to head back to the pub to support their local.
"We're thrilled that pubs are beginning to re-open across the country, and what better way to celebrate than with an official re-opening ceremony and a national pub crawl," he said.
"We hope that this campaign helps shine a spotlight on the brilliant pubs across the country and encourages Australians to head back to their local and support the pubs that are at the heart of their communities."
Alistair Flower, CEO of Flower Hotels, encouraged everyone to get out and support local business.
"The community is bursting at the seams to get back to normality and people able to contribute and participate. The For the Love of Your Local initiatives is great. The community really wants to see all local businesses do well and are always keen to support initiatives that help people achieve this," Mr Flower said.
What else is making news?
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, sign up here. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.