Coffs and Clarence craft breweries and distilleries open in region
“Coffs was crying out for quality and the artisan market has delivered”. Meet the teams who are spoiling a booming craft beer and spirits market for choice.
Coffs Harbour
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There is something special happening in the Coffs and Clarence regions and it’s got a lot to do with “God’s nectar”.
Craft-breweries and distilleries are proliferating across Australia with more than 600 independent breweries now operating all over the country.
The region is awash with producers of boutique beers and spirits, quenching a community thirst for authentic experiences and local produce.
Here are five teams crafting their way to success.
Chris and Nicola Fraser – Critters Distillery
Chris and Nicola Fraser have been kicking goals since they opened in Woolgoolga with their famed vodka picking up a silver medal at the World Vodka Awards in London.
It’s a remarkable achievement for the Critters Distillery founders who have a deep commitment to ensuring they keep their supply chains as local as possible.
The couple set about finding Australian producers who could supply the raw ingredients they needed to keep the fermenting process ‘in house’ before being run through the stills.
The sugar for their award-winning vodka comes from the iconic Harwood Mill on the Clarence River.
“We wanted to provide consumers full transparency and really bring to bring to life the whole paddock to glass philosophy,” Ms Fraser said.
“We are all about quality over quantity as a small batch distillery.”
Be sure to check out the distillery’s events page to check out the wide range of tasting experiences and cocktail courses that have been getting rave reviews.
Top drop: Critters Distillery Vodka – Internationally recognised and awarded, it’s an exceptionally smooth spirit that can be best described as a whiskey drinker’s vodka.
Josh and Lucyna King – King Tide Brewing
Anyone walking through the laneways of Coffs Harbour’s CBD might have noticed the town’s first brewery taking shape.
After years of careful planning, Josh and Lucyna King are edging ever closer to opening the 250 seat brewpub in the middle of town.
Mr King’s passion for brewing was cemented with a six-month placement at Toohey’s Brewery, where he was hit by the realisation that his degree in chemical engineering could be used to create “God’s nectar”.
“Instead of going and making plastics, polymers and paints, I thought ‘wow I can put this to great use’,” Mr King said earlier this year.
Despite not yet opening, King Tide beer is already flowing across the Coffs Coast.
Mr King has been “gypsy brewing” by borrowing the equipment of an established outfit to create his own drop.
With a range of products already in local bottle shops, there will be more than a few people keen to enjoy their rich flavours straight from the source.
Top drop: Cows with Guns – A big, brown IPA with attitude.
Aaron & Jacqui Dobner and Sarah & Ryan Poole – Woolgoolga Brewing Company
The story of the Woolgoolga Brewing Company is the perfect example of the collegial nature of the industry.
With help from established brewers from as far away as the Mornington Peninsula, as well as local Woolgoolga families, the venue opened in September after anticipation reached fever pitch.
Sarah Poole said Woolgoolga “really made sense” as a location for the operation with a growing population on the Northern Beaches.
She said many people were looking for something “a little bit different” when it came to entertainment and dining out.
“Unique experiences where (the public) can meet the people behind the venue, and can see it and feel it and touch it, is definitely what people are looking for,” she said.
With a wood fired pizza oven and great outdoor dining area, the versatile venue caters to those looking for a quiet drink, a delicious meal or a sticky beak at the microbrewery itself.
Top drop: Road Trip’n IPA – A Woopi Brew that is very close to our heart. A little hoppy, a little bitter and every bit the true IPA it was designed to be. Definitely one for lovers of big bold beers.
Emerald Island Distillery
Rather than finding Viv Shorter and Frans Bienefelt in a laneway or industrial area, gin lovers are more likely to see the Emerald Beach couple at local markets.
The couple love to meet the community and talk about the great array of gins they have created on their property in the Emerald Beach hinterland.
They continue to develop new offerings but its is a labour of love and no products are released until they both love the bottled product.
They liken each of their gins to having children. They adore them all.
Ms Shorter said she felt privileged to be part of a growing community of like-minded brewers, distillers and winemakers on the Coffs Coast.
“The level of professionalism and quality that the Coffs Coast is producing, is a credit to all involved,” she said.
“Never before has acquiring quality products and dining out been so easy.
“Coffs was crying out for quality and the artisan market has delivered.”
Top drop: Berry Slow Gin – Boasting all the boldness of a full-bodied gin, Berry Slow is delicious served neat on ice, or topped with Fever-Tree Elderflower Tonic and garnished with fresh mint.
Nicole and Trent O’Connor – Sanctus Brewery
Approaching its second birthday, Sanctus Brewery continues go from strength to strength in the heart of the Clarence Valley.
Nicole and Trent O’Connor have masterfully turned a Townsend industrial shed into wildly popular venue catering to craft beer lovers and foodies alike.
With a huge range of beers to choose from, the brewery has been lauded as an example of how to create a thriving enterprise in a regional town.
Celebrity chef Matt Moran was on site in February to help launch a state government initiative to revitalise regional businesses into success stories like Sanctus.
The influx of tourists following the end of lockdowns in 2020 was a real boon for businesses and Mr O’Conner said he was expecting return trips.
“We had people this summer who a lot had never been to the Clarence and had never been to Yamba,” he said at the time.
“Suddenly they couldn’t go to Queensland, and where was the closest place?
“There’s this place called the North Coast, and it’s all going to be repeated, because once they’ve been here they’ll keep coming back.”
Top drop: Valley Pale Ale – The smell of the air as one escapes from the city. A cleanness, a freshness, a knowing that all is good. So too is the aroma of this pale ale with a slight citrus and pine note, building the expectation of feeling refreshed.
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