Black Hops brewing: How three mates started one of the Gold Coast’s best breweries

How three mates, and a bit of crowd funding started one of Gold Coast’s favourite breweries.

THREE Gold Coasters with a love for beer got together six years ago and brewed a batch of Eggnog Stout in their backyard.

Using bottles gifted from leading company Four Pines, they slapped on Black Hops stickers and handed the beer to friends within the brewing community.

Bloggers caught whiff of the beer and started to write reviews.

That was the moment when Dan Norris, Eddie Oldfield and professional brewer Michael “Govs” McGovern realised they had found liquid gold and started one of the city’s leading brewing companies, Black Hops.

Dan Norris, Michael "Govs" McGovern, and Eddie Oldfield toast their success. Picture Glenn Hampson.

BLACK HOPS BREWING IN BURLEIGH HEADS BECOMES FIRST COMPANY IN AUSTRALIA TO REACH ITS CROWDFUNDING TARGET

“The Eggnog Stout was Eddie’s idea,” Mr Norris says. “Basically, it was just a bit of fun and we put labels on it and pretended like it was a real beer.

“It tasted amazing but we didn’t intend to start a business.

“We found a brewery to do a commercial batch. We made about 13 kegs and sold it all.

“We thought if people are writing about it, maybe there’s something here.”

By 2016, they had found a 250sq m building on Gardenia Grove, Burleigh Heads, took over the buildings next door and behind, and expanded to a 600sq m brewhouse.

“We were pretty early with craft beer (on the Gold Coast),” Mr Norris says.

“Burleigh Brewing had been around for about 10 years and Balter Brewing opened up a few months before us. There was plenty of room on the Gold Coast for a brewery so we figured we would get started.”

Two years later, they found they needed to expand Black Hops further – finding space for a brewery and tap house four times the size, roughly 2000sq m, on Pine Ridge Road, Biggera Waters.

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Inside the Black Hops II brewery. Picture Glenn Hampson.

In January last year, Black Hops managed to become the first company in Australia to reach its crowd-funding target.

It raised $400,000 in six days from 545 investors who chipped in an average $733 each. The money went towards a second brewery and taproom.

With Black Hops in Burleigh and Black Hops II in Biggera Waters, the crew brew roughly 1 million litres a year.

The team has gone from a trio to a crew of 31 staff, including 22 full timers. They are looking for more.

In the almost six years Black Hops has been brewing, there has been plenty of trial and error to get the perfect coldie.

Dan Norris, Michael "Govs" McGovern, and Eddie Oldfield toast their success. Picture Glenn Hampson.

The team stewed up 130 beers to find the perfect “core range” of six craft beers, including Ginger Apple Cider, Pink Mist, Eggnog Stout and a seasonal sour.

“Eggnog Stout is a good beer for us,” Mr Norris says. “But our biggest seller is the Pale Ale. Everyone is buying it from small bars to major retailers like Coles and Woolworths.”

The Black Hops team celebrated having its biggest achievement to date last month – reaching more than $150,000 in sales in one week.

Mr Norris, Mr Oldfield and Mr McGovern plan to keep business thriving on the Gold Coast.

“We just want to continue growing sustainably by focusing on getting our beer into bars and bottle shops mainly locally,” Mr Norris says.

“We have opportunities interstate as well but we have a lot more we can do locally. Building a strong, sustainable, profitable independently owned business has always been the goal.”

Asked what makes Black Hops a success, Mr Norris says: “It’s because we have a genuine story.

“If you look at other breweries, they have an angle for what they are doing. That works for them, but for us we have never been like ‘what’s our marketing angle’.

“We’re just three guys having a crack.”