Brookvale on Sydney’s northern beaches has a growing craft beer industry
Brookvale is fast-becoming a hub for craft beer drinkers. The suburb has four microbreweries and two are open to the public.
WHAT goes around comes around. In beer circles, Brookvale has established itself as the mover and shaker of the northern beaches’ craft beer world.
It already has two microbreweries and two smaller operations which plan to open tasting rooms.
Leading the way is 4 Pines. The independent Manly brew pub increased its production capacity by opening its Winbourne Rd brewery in 2012. By 2014, warehouse walls had tumbled and 4 Pines had taken over another warehouse.
The arrival of the 21-tap truck bar last year connected the venue with the public, hospitality operations manager Sarah Turner said.
“It has always been our intention to open to the public and show the inner sanctum of the brewery,” Ms Turner said. “The Dodge came from a Melbourne farm and we rebuilt it as a bar.”
The truck bar is open to the public on Fridays and Sundays and there are even plans to open on Thursday nights.
The venue appeals to a wider target market than bearded hipsters, Ms Turner said.
“As we’re open after work on Fridays, a lot of locals come in for a couple of beers,” she said.
“There’s also a dedicated kids’ area, so we are family friendly.”
The venue’s 10 brewers are also around on Fridays to chat about their craft.
“Customers can see them at work and ask questions. They are there until 10pm – they brew five days a week on a 24-hour schedule,” she said.
Food is 4 Pines’ next project.
“We are currently doing a pizza pie that’s made with our own pale ale,” Ms Turner said.
“But we should have our own food truck by April.”
4 Pines co-founder and general manager Jaron Mitchell sees the craft beer trend as a challenge to bland, mass-produced beer.
“It is good to engage with a community of craft breweries,” Mr Mitchell said. “We all should be drinking beer that’s fresh, not mass-produced, bland beer from the big breweries.”
Brookvale’s second microbrewery, Nomad Brewing Co, opened in August 2014. The brewery is a collaboration between a local beer import business and an established Italian craft brewery, general manager Johnny Latta said.
“Nomad is a shared vision with Leonardo Di Vincenzo, the master behind well-known Italian craft brewery Birra Del Borgo,” he said.
“We’re Manly locals with an import business and we liked the idea of bringing an artisan product to the northern beaches.”
Nomad turned an old carpet warehouse on Sydenham Rd into a brewhouse and the Transit Lounge tasting room. According to marketing manager Kerrie Abba, business is picking up.
“We have been around for 18 months; we’re community-focused and we are slowly getting local support,” Ms Abba said.
Nomad has a number of seasonal and limited releases as well as core beers with their own distinct identities. The Freshie Salt & Pepper, on tap in the venue is made with water from Freshwater beach.
Lately Nomad has been making a name as a weekend destination.
“We are open Saturdays and on the last Saturday of the month we have our taps and tunes at the brewery today from 1pm,” she said.
This month Avelna, Ezra Woodward and Zach Odgers and East Coast Low are playing, she said.
John and Dave Dumay have turned their love into a thriving business. The father-and-son team began making beer at home in North Manly, rolling out the first commercial release of their red and white-bottled pale ale in 2012.
A green and white-labelled Belgian IPA followed and last year, the third beer, a pilsner rolled off the production line last November.
The pair moved into a Chard Rd warehouse last year. The space gives them room for recipe development, but their goal is a tasting room to meet the demand for Dad & Dave Brewing, David Dumay said.
“We are still at the planning stage, we would like to have a tasting room like 4 Pines and Nomad set up by the end of the year,” David Dumay said.
“Tastes have changed, people now go for quality not quantity.”
Long-term these brewers want to move some of the production to Brookvale, Mr Dumay said.
“Year on year, our production is up, it has allowed me finally to leave my job and work in the business,” he said. “Our beer is currently made under contract at Camden, but we’d like to move some production to Brookvale.”
Brewing is not new to Brookvale. The peninsula’s original short-lived brewery – Brookvale Brewing Company – was started by migrants Mario Kapral and Val Yanko with the original landowners, Nick and Frank Tomaino from 1950. Hard times and a competitive market forced its closure and by 1957 it had gone.
Post 2003, the Wattle St site was redeveloped into a mix of retail, office and industrial opportunities.
The name has been reintroduced to the community by locals Andrew Baldwin and Troy Simpson.
The pair set up their sideline business, Brookvale Brewery, two years ago and are pumping out a small batch lager, BS lager.
“It’s a KB style, full bodied lager,” Andrew Baldwin said.
“We wanted to create a beer that wasn’t too mainstream.
“We will have a pale ale ready by April, ready to taste in two weeks.”
The beer-making duo are making 80 kegs a month and aim to double production this year.
“By the end of the year we’ll be looking at between 150 and 250 kegs a month – then we’d like a tasting room,” he said.
Brookvale Brewery, is located in Wattle St – just like the original brewery.
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