November 2010

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New South Wales

It is more than four years since the Colosimo family, cashed up after selling their Castle Hill Tavern, proposed building a new pub, with its own brewery, in Annangrove Road, Rouse Hill. The result, called the Australian Hotel and Brewery, is now open.

When I visited for lunch and a beer in late September I was disappointed to find that the brewery, although in place, still required a few finishing touches and the house beer was not yet available.

Neal Cameron, formerly of William Bull Brewery near Griffith, had been recruited as brewer, but wasn’t yet on site. Nevertheless, I was assured that the beer would be pouring by early October. This seemed to me to be a highly optimistic prediction, but I’ll have to leave it to others to confirm the arrival of the new brews. Rouse Hill is not ideally situated for a casual visit, being in far north-western Sydney, between Blacktown and Windsor, right at the urban fringe of the expanding metropolis, so an early return is not a realistic option for an out-of-towner like me.

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Victoria

Kooinda Brewery, established in a residential backyard in the Melbourne suburb of Rosanna in 2008, has moved to larger and more conventional premises (a factory building) at nearby Heidelberg Heights. The move began mid-year, and the first brew of Kooinda Pale Ale at the new site was completed early in September.

A new microbrewery opened at the beginning of this month at Mornington, in bayside south-eastern Melbourne. The Mornington Peninsula Brewery uses equipment supplied by Integrated Brewing Solutions, and the brewing skills of former Five Islands (Wollongong) brewer, Andrew Gow. Brewing started at Mornington in September, and the bar/eatery opened to the public on 1 October.

Thunder Road Brewery is presently being set up in the inner-northern Melbourne suburb of Brunswick. It occupies an existing warehouse at 130 Barkly Street, and is handy to the tram service in Lygon Steet. Marcus Cox, formerly brewing at 3 Ravens, has joined the new outfit. The first Thunder Road beer, Full Steam Pale Lager, was offered for tasting at the Federation Square Microbreweries Showcase on 20 and 21 October. This, however, had been brewed elsewhere as the new brewery was not yet operational. Brunswick-brewed beers won’t come on stream until early in 2011.

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Contacts

Australian Hotel and Brewery 350 Annangrove Road, Rouse Hill, NSW, 2155 ph. (02) 9679 4555 info@australianbrewery.com.au www.australianhotelandbrewery.com.au

Kooinda Brewery 5 Lees Court, Rosanna, V, 3083 (mailing address only) ph. (03) 9457 7648 kooindabrewery@gmail.com www.kooindaboutiquebrewery.com.au

Mornington Peninsula Brewery 72 Watt Road, Mornington, V, 3931 ph. (03) 5976 3663 matt@mpbrew.com.au www.mpbrew.com.au

Thunder Road Brewing Company 130 Barkly Street, Brunswick, V, 3056 info@thunderroadbrewing.com www.thunderroadbrewing.com

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