MORE than 5000 beer enthusiasts worldwide will come together this Saturday as they take part in the International Homebrew Day Big Brew, and Canberra’s amateur brewers are invited to join them.

Big Brew participants around the world will be brewing one of three specific styles: a Belgian blonde ale, an English dark mild ale or a classic American pilsner.

At the Canberra event, held at the Wig and Pen, seven of the Canberra Brewers Club’s best will each put an individual twist on a Belgian-style blonde ale.

Spectators can watch as Canberra brewers use a range of brewing techniques, from inexpensive beginner’s gear through to computer-controlled touch-screen systems.

Home brewers of all skill and interest levels are invited to attend and get some advice from national award-winning homebrewers and Wig and Pen head brewer, Richard Watkins, who won Champion Small Australian Brewery at the 2012 Australian International Beer Awards.

International Homebrew Day is celebrated on the first Saturday in May, and was started in 1988 in the United States by the American Homebrew Association.

– By April Dudgeon.