2018 Yak Ales Barbecue Festival

Myron Mixon to Headline 2018 Yak Ales Barbecue Festival

MELBOURNE: 3-4 February, Flemington Racecourse

GOSFORD: 10-11 February, Central Coast Stadium

As Australia's obsession with American-style BBQ continues to grow, organisers of the Yak Ales Barbecue Festivals today announce the Melbourne and Sydney dates for the 2018 events including international guest Myron Mixon, the Winningest Man in Barbecue. The Festival will also be returning to Perth in 2018 with final dates and details to be announced very soon.

Held over two days and filled with mouth-watering barbecue from local and international pitmasters, the Festival program features barbecue cooking and butchery demos, a barbecue cook-off sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS), the world's largest organisation of barbecue enthusiasts, the -Butcher Battle' with three notable butchers from each city, Kids' Cook-off Zone, Yak Ales area, live bands, DJs and more.

Special guest, four-time world barbecue champion and Barbecue Hall of Fame inductee, Myron Mixon, joins the Festivals as headliner in 2018, hosting barbecue cooking demonstrations along with additional events still to be announced. Chief cook of the Jack's Old South Competition Bar-B-Que Team, television producer and host of a number of hit U.S. shows including BBQ Rules, Smoked, BBQ Pitmasters and BBQ Pitwars, Mixon is also author of The New York Times bestselling cookbook Smokin' with Myron Mixon: Recipes made simple from the Winningest Man in Barbecue, Everyday Barbecue, and Myron Mixon's BBQ Rules. He's won over 200 grand championships resulting in over 1,800 trophies, 30 state championships and 11 national championships.

Yak Ales returns as presenting partner of the Festival for a third year in 2018, cementing their reputation as the ideal beer for pairing with a BBQ in the summer sun. There will be the full range of Yaks including; Fat Yak, Lazy Yak, Wild Yak and an exciting new addition to the herd which will be announced closer to the date.

"We never take ourselves too seriously at Yak Ales, but two things we do take seriously are beer and BBQ. We are really excited to be partnering with the BBQ festival again and are looking forward to sharing our beers with all the avid BBQ enthusiasts out there," said Brian Phan, Brand Director Premium & Craft.

2018 is also the first year the Festivals are presented by Australia's leading live entertainment company, TEG Live.

TEG Live Managing Director Tim McGregor said the Yak Ales Barbecue Festivals are absolutely unique live events.

'This is a fabulous mix of entertainment, culinary experience and immersion in the American BBQ culture," said McGregor.

'The competitive element adds to the fun, but at the end of the day it's the chance to sample great BBQ that draws fans in their thousands."

Saturday will see competitive barbecue teams from around Australia assemble and set up for overnight cooks ahead of Sunday's American-style cook-off where they'll battle it out in a KCBS sanctioned event. The competition will see competitive barbecue teams cook chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder and beef brisket in the American low and slow style, judged to strict KCBS guidelines that include taste, tenderness and appearance.

The Grand Champions of the Melbourne and New South Wales Barbecue Festival Cook-Offs will be invited to represent Australia at internationally renowned contests in the United States such as the American Royal World Series Barbecue Invitational, and go into the draw for the prestigious KCBS-run Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue.

2018 Festival highlights include:

KCBS-sanctioned Barbecue Cook-Offs

Food stalls from some of Australia's finest barbecue pitmasters;

Barbecue cooking demonstrations by local and international barbecue experts;

By-invitation Butcher Battle

Equipment and product exhibitors showcasing the latest local and international products on the market

Kids activity and cook-off zone; and

Live entertainment and DJs.

Early bird tickets will be available for purchase via Ticketek