Queensland
The Tamborine Mountain area in south-eastern Queensland has become a beer-drinker’s Mecca with the establishment late last year of two breweries. The Eagle Heights Brewery opens to the public on Saturdays and Sundays, and at other times by arrangement, for tastings and bottle sales. The five hectolitre brewery, which commenced trading in mid-September, produces a standard range of three products—pilsener, India pale ale, and mid-strength lager—together with seasonal offerings.
At North Tamborine, an easily walkable distance from Eagle Heights, Mount Tamborine Brewery completed construction of its premises and opened to the public in mid-December. The wide range of beers on offer includes a Bohemian-style pilsener, a German schwartzbier, a Yorkshire best bitter, and a mid-strength version of an American-style pale ale. As well as a brewery and bar, the palatial new building contains a restaurant, and a cheese factory and cheese shop.
New South Wales
Stone & Wood Brewing Company of Byron Bay, which started brewing in October 2008, met its target of releasing its first beer in November. You’ll now find the unfiltered and unpasteurised Stone & Wood Draught Ale on tap at pubs in and around Byron Bay. It is made from a blend of malted barley and malted and unmalted wheat, flavoured with Australian-grown Galaxy hops, and fermented with an ale yeast.
Akuna Brewery at Mona Vale has recently undergone a complete change of direction. Owners Greg and Ali Facer have dropped their previous beer products, and are now concentrating on malt-based ginger-flavoured beers. The first of these—Akuna Blue and Akuna Gold—were released at the beginning of December. Both are flavoured with fresh Buderim ginger.
The new Kosciuszko Brewing Company will soon be in production at the Banjo Paterson Inn at Jindabyne. Brewing is planned to start in March 2009, leaving plenty of time to have everything fine-tuned for the ski season. The inaugural beer from this 600 litre DME brewery will be Kosciuszko Pale Ale, undoubtedly to be followed by some special winter warmers.
Victoria
Kooinda Boutique Brewery, in the Melbourne suburb of Rosanna, has recently entered Victoria’s microbrewery field. This small operation isn’t licensed to sell from the brewery, but you can find Kooinda beer in some local bottle shops, or contact the brewery to have it posted out. Also recently started is Arctic Fox Brewing, at Dandenong, which put down its first batch in November. The resulting beer, Ice Cap Lager, went on sale in bottle shops in December.
Rusty Water Brewery Restaurant and Cafe at Cowes, on Phillip Island, is expected to have its own brewery in operation soon, perhaps in March, after having brewed for a while at Jeff Whyte’s Jamieson Brewery. Also coming soon is the White Rabbit Brewery at Healesville, which plans to open in March 2009. This Little World Beverages project is using the recently-replaced equipment from the Little Creatures brewery in Fremantle. More about these two later.
Tasmania
The Two Metre Tall Company has commenced brewing at its new farm-based brewery near New Norfolk in the Derwent Valley. At the time of writing, the first brew of Cleansing Ale was expected to be ready for delivery early in January, with Forester Pale Ale and Derwent Clear Ale to follow soon after. Prior to relocation, Two Metre Tall was brewing at the St Ives Hotel in Hobart.
South Australia
Brewboys held two parties in early December—one for the trade and one for the general public—to celebrate the opening of their cellar door tasting room in Regency Road, Croydon Park, Adelaide. The new outlet, which opens from midday, Thursday to Sunday, is close to the Regency TAFE where brewboys Stephen Nelsen and Simon Sellick handcraft their products.
