International Beer Day: where to find the craftiest coldies in Melbourne
TODAY is International Beer Day, so we’ve compiled a list of top Melbourne craft breweries to knock back a frothy on a Friday...or any day of the week for that matter.
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AS IF Melburnians needed a reason to knock back a frothy on a Friday. But in case you do, it’s International Beer Day — so in honour of that we’ve compiled a list of top Melbourne craft breweries to grab yourself a quality cold one, while watching the beer maestros at work.
386 Reserve Rd, Cheltenham
Date night, Sunday sesh, knock-off beers, birthday celebrations, chore procrastinations. The husband and wife duo behind Bad Shepherd have heard the call of the wiley witbier seductress, and they’re enticing you into her amber embrace with fine craft beer and good ol’ fashioned comfort food.
Check out their Bayside brewery and enjoy a cheeky Hazelnut Brown — brewed with real hazelnuts, hazelnut and vanilla extracts and a splash of Frangelico, or a Choc Banana Split. No explanation needed.
4 Joyner St, Moorabbin
In true Aussie fashion, these beer-obsessed brothers commandeered their brewery from the now-defunct Times Square Brewery, bringing a little piece of New York to Melbourne. Get down to their Moorabbin-based beer hall for some live music, food truck Saturdays and a Taxi Pilsner or James (Belgian) Brown, and show your support for the true blue larrikin spirit.
6/107-109 Whitehall St, Footscray
Craft brewery started in 2014 by winemaking friends Sam Hambour and Duncan Gibson, who opened the doors to their industrial Footscray tap house earlier this year.
17 Duke St, Abbotsford
Pizza from a van. Beer from a glass. What’s not to love about this inner-Melbourne brew bar? Because with craft sips the likes of Old Mate, Mack Daddy and Jukebox Hero on tap, as well as Nash’s Pash Rash, Bock Naked and Bad Boy Bubbly rotating through — there are not only good tastes to be had, but good times as well.
122 Weston St, Brunswick East
The aim at Temple Brewing Company is to produce a range of distinctive, handcrafted beers that are brewed with passion and dedication to the craft — beer, that it. Their Bicycle Beer, a delectable blend of seven secret hops and spices, is a popular choice among the local two-wheel drivers.
167 Henty St, Reservoir
Hawkers is a craft brewery producing mighty ales from one of the most hi-tech facilities in the country. Their beers are so good, in fact, that at the 2016 Australian International Beer Awards they received nine medals. One for every beer entered (#winning). Head to their Reservoir cellar door to get a lick of their seriously sip-worthy selection. Like their Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.
23-5 Alfred St, South Melbourne
Opened at the end of 2016 by US expat Casey Wall, Westside Ale Works celebrates the craft brews from the West Coast of the US — from Seattle to southern California. There are nine taps offering five year-round brews: Everybody Loves Pale Ale, Electric Socks Pale Ale, Ava’s Amber Ale, Red Roo IPA and Safeword Double IPA. Pub grub comes courtesy of the Golden Fleece Hotel next door.
136 Hall St, Spotswood
As the name suggests, Two Birds Brewing was founded in 2011 by, you guessed it, two birds; Jayne Lewis and Danielle Allen. They make the kind of beers that they enjoy drinking — like a Taco Beer, which is brewed using flaked corn, coriander and other marvellously Mexican-sounding ingredients. Get around it, amigos. Head to their Spotswood sip house to sample the full range.
100 Gipps St, Collingwood
Founder of one of the first — and best — champions of local and international beers, the St Kilda Tap House (along with the annual GABS festival), Steve Jeffares took his beaut brew smarts across the river and opened a huge and handsome warehouse brewery and beer hall in Collingwood. With between 12 and 20 house beers on tap at any time, there’s a brew for every mood and everyone. Eating’s not cheating here, with the kitchen serving an extensive — and well executed — menu that ticks off wood-fried pizza and burgers but also ventures into knife-and-fork fare that has unexpected flair — and there’s a cubbyhouse and games for kids.
51 Macbeth St, Braeside
The Boatrocker philosophy is simple; make the best beer possible using the best beer ingredients possible. We dig their bold, full-bodied Hop Bomb IPA. Because hop damn, gurrrrl (or guy — craft beer is all about equal bender opportunity) Now pouring from their Braeside beer hall.
13 Lacey St, Croydon
A microbrewery for cult brew lovers. At this outer eastern gem you get to craft your own beer, with the hands on brewing experience taking you through each step of the beer-making process. The Public Brewery is also home to a boutique bottle and retail shop. A delightful bar and dining area opens out to a paved beer garden complete with a green grassy knoll — it’s a Sunday sesh dream just waiting to come true.
12 Hi-Tech Pl, Seaford
What Mr Banks lacks in size it makes up for in ambition, with Chris and Penny Farmer opening their Seafood brewhouse doors in December 2016. An oatmeal stout and brown are popular with the professionals, with a pale ale and IPA rounding out the offer. There’s a small outdoor area for sipping in the sun and a brewery basketball ring that gets a workout between beers for the energetically inclined.
Dainton Family Brewery and Tap House
560 Frankston-Dandenong Rd, Carrum Downs
A family of dedicated and tragic beer lovers promising to craft the best and freshest beers they can. Their enticingly-named Cherrywood Smoked Rye Baltic Porter won a national craft beer award in 2017. Say no more.
248 Boundary Rd, Braeside
A gritty industrial location was an essential ingredient for hospitality duo Anthony and Emma Chilelli when opening Meat Flour Wine. As well as a range of brews on tap the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Meat Flour and Wine, which serves modern Australian cuisine with an Italian influence, also has the benefit of a mentor with a lifetime of experience in the restaurant trade — the siblings’ dad Renato Chilelli.
386 Reserve Rd, Cheltenham
These beer cubs have a passion for producing handcrafted, modern ales that are distinct in quality, flavour and character — what we like to call ‘Ales of Distinction’. Get in touch with your distinguished side and wolf down one some fancy pants craft brews. We’re big fans of the sweet, smooth and smouldering Johnny Smoke Porter.
Wolf of the Willows brewery is co-located with Bad Shepherd Brewing Co.
2 Gelibrand St, Queenscliff
Queenscliff’s old Esplanade Hotel has been transformed into a hub celebrating locally brewed beer thanks to the gang from Otway Brewing. There’s 27 beers and ciders (predominantly the Prickly Moses beers and Forbidden Fruit cider range) being poured from 38 taps, with five dedicated to Geelong beers in the regional tasting room. There’s also a kitchen serving beer- and kid-friendly fare.
9 Walker St, Castlemaine
Castlemaine was once home to 14 breweries (including the Castlemaine Perkins Brewery, which relocated to Queensland where it continues to brew XXXX today). A talented trio are behind the space — designer Michael Wolfe, event professional Jacqueline Brodie-Hanns and Hunters & Collectors drummer Doug Falconer. There are eight beers on tap — including the core golden ale, pilsner lager and Celtic red, which join a small menu of pizzas fresh from the oven.
270 Raglan St, Preston
Take a lanky Aussie — Dan “Tallboy” Hall — add Canadian Steve “Moose” Germain, and you have Tallboy and Moose. Dan’s brewed around the traps (Hawkers, Brewcult, Moondog) while Steve looks after the sales and marketing side of the venture. Seven house beers and a guest cider run from eight taps, and food trucks can often be found parked out front on weekends. “We typically have a new beer coming out of the brewery every week or two,” Steve says.
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