Chinchilla’s Charleys Creek Brewing Co opens its doors in time for Melon Fest 2025

Guests at this weekend’s Chinchilla Melon Fest will be able to beat the heat with a cold beer after the grand opening of a long-awaited microbrewery.

Steven and Ursula Keating with baby Andrew. Photo/Keating family

Chinchilla’s Charleys Creek Brewing Co will officially open their doors, just in time for the 2025 edition of Melon Fest.

Brewing beer for the past few years, Charleys Creek Brewing Co won gold at the Queensland Beer Awards for their sour One in a Melon beer and have now created a family friendly space for locals and visitors alike to enjoy.

Owner Steven Keating said they were pleased to see the brewery open after first getting approval for the site in early 2022.

“It is a relief, we still have a lot more work to go but we’ve managed to get council approval and get it open just in time for Melon Fest,” Mr Keating said.

“We are hosting a soft opening (Thursday), we have a singer coming along, we have 16 beers on tap plus our watermelon gin and it is a soft opening to iron out any teething problems that may come up for the weekend.

“We’ve got our watermelon sour which won a gold medal a few years ago right through to dark ales and XPA’s and we also have a raspberry vodka on tap.

“It will be amazing what guests will discover, we have just had a muralist in and he’s created a massive mural of Charley’s Creek on the wall facing the bar, it is quite impressive.”

Charleys Creek Brewery

Mr Keating previously told the Dalby Herald he hoped the family-friendly brewery would be a meeting place for families.

“We are hoping for it to be a weekend experience where families can come from the coast, camp at the grounds, try some of the beef and some of the arts and produce from around the region, have some nice beer and enjoy some entertainment with our horses,” he said.

“It will have a rustic feel, a big windmill recently blew over on one of our farms and we pulled that down and that’s hanging on one of our walls now, it’s going to have a really nice rural feel.

“It is somewhere different where people can come and enjoy some craft beers in a family environment, the kids can come along kick a ball on a Sunday afternoon and families can relax.”

Mr Keating said while the site wasn't completely finished they felt it was important to have it open for Melon Fest.

“We are still fitting out our commercial kitchen, it's not operational yet and we are just using a food van, but it should be operational by April,” he said.

“We thought it was important to promote the brewery for the 10,000 people coming to town, it's good promotion of our brewery and good promotion of our campgrounds.

“We are hoping to see big numbers on Friday and Saturday, we only announced yesterday that we were opening today but we don't mind, we just want some people to come in and to try some beers.”

The team behind Chinchilla's Mayne Street Brewing as they prepare to open to beer lovers of the Western Downs. Photo: Facebook.

Just four minutes down the road, Mayne Street Brewery weren't as lucky and were unable to gain approval in time for the event.

The passion project of four physics and chemistry teachers Brad Hubbard, Brian Hobson, Glen Ivers and Steve Johnson and situated in the former Chinchilla News building, Mayne Street Brewing are seeking to maintain the building’s historical heritage while producing delicious beers and boosting the town’s tourism potential.

Despite not being open in time for Melon Fest Mr Hubbard said the renovations were coming along nicely and it wouldn't be long until they were open to the public.

“We are organising the license at this stage, we aren't sure when we will have it there’s a fair bit that goes into it including submitting floor plans and security plans so there is a bit to do,” he said.

“We’ve basically done the front and brewing area, we have a bar to put in, a bit of furtnutre to get and a kitchen to do a bit with but we are getting toward the end of it.

“With the other brewery also starting up there is an opportunity to work together, if you’ve got two breweries here it’s a reason to make the trip out here.”

Originally published as Chinchilla’s Charleys Creek Brewing Co opens its doors in time for Melon Fest 2025