Newcastle Beer Festival is on this Saturday, March 9, at King Edward Park.

The independent beer scene in recent times has been increasingly under pressure due to drinkers becoming more frugal with their spending in response to inflation and the rises in interest rates.

Last month Newcastle's Steel City - not technically an independent brewer, due to beer giant Lion being one of the previous shareholders - announced it had ceased production.

In 2023 the craft beer scene lost Port Macquarie's Wicked Elf and last Saturday Shepparton's Wild Life Brewing shut its doors after five years. There's been many others who have been swallowed up by the big boys Lion and Asahi or gone into voluntary administration, like Sydney's Wayward Brewing did in January.

The 30 cents per schooner rise in beer tax last week hasn't helped either.

"The sad reality is the market has changed, it's backs to the wall with the indie beer sector, which is why we love this festival," Tilse says.

The Newcastle Beer Festival triumphantly returned in 2023, after a pandemic-caused four-year break, with a sold-out crowd of 2000 at their new home of King Edward Park.

With plenty of room remaining at the shady seaside site, capacity has been increased to 3500 for this year's edition on March 9.

"We're really hoping we can sell that many and we've had really strong sales so far," Tilse says. "Sales are extremely strong for a month out."

Tilse says the Newcastle Beer Festival is no money-making exercise. For him and co-owner Taiyo Namba, of Nagisa and Susuru, it's about showcasing the quality of Australia's indie beer scene.

The festival will boast 38 independent breweries, including renown brands Mountain Culture, Grifter, BentSpoke, Capital, Willie The Boatman and Lord Nelson, alongside Newcastle's FogHorn, Method, Shout, Grainfed, Rogue Scholar and Good Folk.

"We're independent only," Tilse says. "The whole idea of the festival is to be a trade show.

"Yeah we've got live bands, but we're not a food and wine festival. Yes, we have food there, but we're not about food.

"The whole thing is about independent beer, that's it. It's a category promoter.

"We could get more customers if we supplied more drinks, but it's not what it's about."

Independent breweries represent about five per cent of the beer sales, but generate half the employment in the industry.

Tilse says the Newcastle Beer Festival plays a role in reminding drinkers about the difference between independent and mainstream ales.

"They give so much back to their local communities, while the bigger ones just take," he says.

"They punch so much higher and they're so much more important for everyone in the community.

"But at the moment it's really hard. The volume of people drinking independent beer has changed. It hasn't collapsed per se, there's just not that much energy around that category."

While Tilse is clear that beer remains the focus, a locally-sourced music program has been chosen to keep festival goers entertained.

The line-up is headlined by funky party band SF Wrens and also includes Americana singer-songwriter Piper Butcher, blues-rockers Jack & The Axes and Lords Of Sunset.

"I wanted to have more of a party vibe and mix it up a bit rather than just going band after band," he says.

"Lords Of Sunset will be doing a set in the middle of the day between 2pm and 4pm, when everyone is getting a little buzzed, and then the SF Wrens will come on.

"They were there for a lead-up last year, but I've had them over at the Young Street Hotel and they absolutely killed it."

If the beer festival isn't enough time to knock the top off a few frothies, Tilse's Happy Wombat is hosting a Mountain Culture Brewers Breakfast beforehand from 9am.

There will be three Mountain Culture beers featured - including their two-time GABS Hottest 100-winning Status Quo Pale Ale - and a hearty breakfast and a chance to talk with owner DJ McCready.

The Young Street Hotel will host the festival's official after party, with a bus ferrying people from King Edward Park to Carrington.

The Newcastle Beer Festival returns to King Edward Park on March 9.

Tickets are available from newcastlebeerfest.com.au.