We are in a ‘new beer’ age.
In a move from international to local, in recent years the Gold Coast’s beer drinking public has voted with their wallets, driving up sales of craft beer at the expense of the ‘big three’ brewing giants.
The Australian craft beer movement is experiencing a surge in popularity and exponential growth… Key to this growth is a well-defined and educated consumer. Roy Morgan has identified craft beer drinkers as ‘hip, young inner-city dwellers’ aged below 50, who are ‘cashed up, clued up and cultured’.(Wynne, 2016)
With education comes appreciation, and more sophisticated palates that can discern the nuances of flavour available in craft beer. ‘Make it small, local, and with its own distinct taste’ is the catch cry, with beer-lovers seeking out craft beers from taps in bars and restaurants across the coast.
Needing no further encouragement than an appreciative market, the number of craft breweries on the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim (the ‘green behind the gold’) has grown exponentially. 2016 will see us with seven local craft breweries, a massive increase over previous years. More Gold Coast takes a look at them and some of the outlets which sell their beer.
Income attracted to the city from brewing has more than tripled in the past five years, with the sector today worth almost $344 million. Read more about the economic benefits the Gold Coast is seeing from the brewing industry
Owners Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson of Balter Brewing Craft Beer
Balter Brewing
Balter Brewing
Balter Brewing
Balter Brewing
Some of the Gold Coast’s top surfers, world champions Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson, along with pro surfers, Bede Durbidge and Josh Kerr, have tackled the challenge of opening their own brewery, Balter Brewing. Gathering a team as they went, there’s serious intent among the guys as well as real brewing talent in Head Brewer Scott Hargrave (ex-Head Brewer for Byron Bay Brewing Co. and Stone and Wood).
14 Traders Lane, Currumbin
“It’s a given that a good beer should be enjoyable, but it should also expand a person’s world view on what a beer can be. Our commitment is to make the best beer we possibly can,” says co-founder Stirling Howland.
The first beer launched off the starter blocks in March 2016 has been Balter’s XPA, an Extra Pale Ale with “a fruity palate that will punch your taste buds into the pleasure zone”, to be joined by two other main styles within the first twelve months.
First the beer, then the venue. Photos of the group’s upmarket industrial warehouse and tasting room with its wraparound bar and bespoke Frank and Mimi artwork have been leaking out through social media, and there’s lots of excitement brewing. In early April, we’re told, all will be revealed.
“Balter door will have a bunch of styles not widely available and some styles exclusive to the tasting room,” Stirling tells us.
“We have twelve taps at the Balter door and over time we’ll be showcasing all types of lagers, IPA’s, sours, stouts, pilsners, saison and more. Nothing is off limits for our brewer.”
Food trucks will roll in, the sound system will be turned up, and beer will flow as the doors open on this exciting addition to the Gold Coast’s craft beer culture!
Where: Glenelg Public House. Beer: Beard and Brau's Red Tail
The Bearded Dragon
Beard and Brau beer at The Bearded Dragon
Black Hops and Burleigh Brewing beers on tap at the Surfers Sandbar
Surfers Sandbar
Situated right in the heart of Surfers Paradise facing out to the beach, Surfers Sandbar is a family-run venue known for its value for money bistro-type meals, friendly service and relaxed atmosphere.
52 The Esplanade, Surfers Paradise
Well known for their support of local beer, Surfers Sandbar was one of the first venues to show off Balter Brewing’s first brew, the XPA.
A list of other stockists can be found on Balter’s website.
Beard and Brau
Holding sustainability as a fundamental principle, Tanya Harlow and Chris Herring moved their already established brewery from South Australia to a site on the Albert River in the Scenic Rim’s Tamborine Village.
Tamborine Village (contact via The Bearded Dragon)
Using the philosophy ‘from the land returning to the land’ their Tamborine Farmhouse Brewery is fully solar powered, they capture their own water and return waste products to the land as feed or fertiliser.
Beard and Brau (named after the big beards and eyebrows of their beloved schnauzers) brews six beers using no chemical or additives: Black Snout (English milk stout), Bon Chiens (French farmhouse ale made using a champagne hybrid yeast), Double Red farmhouse ale, Golden Paw American Ale, Red Tail (a higher alcohol amber ale) and Indian Mastiff Ale. Bottled beers are carbonated in the traditional method, ‘fermented on lees’ (bottled conditioned) and not pasteurised or filtered, leading to a mild cloudiness with a full flavour.
The Bearded Dragon
At the junction of roads between the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Mt Tamborine, The Bearded Dragon Hotel and restaurant is set on 110 acres of farm and bush land, with Country Lodge accommodation and à la carte restaurant.
Lot 2 Tamborine Mountain Rd, Tamborine Ph: 07 5543 6888
The Bearded Dragon carries four of Beard and Brau’s range of six craft beers on tap: Golden Paw American Ale, Red Tail, Mrs B’s Springtime Ale and Beard on Beard (a pale ale that is the Bearded Dragon’s house beer). Tasting paddles of four beers are available for $20. Bearded Dragon also sells stubbies of Black Snout, Double Red, Bon Chiens and the 8% Indian Mastiff Ale.
Other retail outlets are shown on the Beard and Brau website.
The Glenelg Public House
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Black Hops Brewing
In an Australian first, Black Hops is about to become the first brewery to be launched using pure inspiration and crowd funding. With their doors about to open, we take a look back at where it all began…
Starting their brewing journey in September 2014, this media-savvy trio of brewery owners (Dan Norris, Eddie Oldfield and Michael McGovern) began experimenting with brews, doing contract brewing, courting their audience with information about their progress as they went along. Some months later via their blog, podcast and social media, the invitation went out to the Gold Coast public to jump on board the brewing train, becoming a part of the guys’ great adventure.
15 Gardenia Grove, Burleigh Heads
Not to be confused with Black Ops, (but wasn’t that a fortunate coincidence, with the guys being asked to supply the beer for the Call of Duty: Black Ops III launch), Black Hops’ first batch of beer was Eggnog Stout, so gratefully received by locals that the trio were encouraged to press on. Some great beers followed: Call of Duty, ABC Bomb and Code Red to name a few. Already rating highly among our best craft beers, their success should not be surprising. Govs is well known as an excellent brewer, and the guys have imagination and media talent to burn. Who would have thought we’d see oysters used in the brewing process to make Kill Patrick, a stout brewed with fresh Tweed River Oysters, smoked barley, tamarind, molasses, ginger and clove.
With the doors of the brewery set to open in late April 2016, it’s another step on their journey, with tours and a tasting bar to operate six days per week from 10am – 6pm. Black Hops beers are available at many venues across the coast including Ze Pickle, Cambus Wallace, Lester & Earl, Bine, Surfers Sandbar, House of Brews and The Glenelg Public House.
The Glenelg Public House
First and foremost a sophisticated urban eatery, The Glenelg, like a giant man cave, is a perfect dark and dusky retreat to meet friends to have a few drinks. With four rotating beers on tap, there are many more bottled craft beer choices, including local Black Hops Brewing’s range.
Mermaid Beach QLD 4218, 9/2454-2460 Gold Coast Hwy
Oozing heritage and dusky sexiness, weathered sleepers from the old Laidley Bridge hang from a dark ceiling. They frame the bar where cocktails, boutique wines and craft beers are matched very well to the food, classic rustic share plates and top grade steak (the house specialty). There aren’t many eateries ambient and subdued enough to spend time without a clatter of rowdy chatter, but this is comfortable, cool, dark, industrial yet relaxed.
Read the Glenelg Public House Restaurant review here.
Burleigh Brewing tasting paddle
Club Burleigh cocktail made from Burleigh Brewing's Black Giraffe Beer
Fortitude Brewing on Mount Tamborine
Owners of Black Hops Brewing
Damien Kanaghines (centre) House of Brews discusses beer with local brewers Michael McGovern (Black Hops) and Dan Rawlings (Fortitude-Brewing)
Bine in Nobby's
Paradox stocks craft beer The Pickled Pig
Burleigh Brewing
Burleigh Brewing began as a love story, when in 2002 Peta Fielding persuaded her American-born master brewer husband Brennan to leave Hawaii and return to her homeland, founding their own brewery in Burleigh Heads. Brennan has made beer in the US, Hawaii, Japan and Australia, consistently winning business and beer awards year after year, including wins at the World Beer Cup and the World Beer Championships.
Burleigh Brewing is an ‘old but new’ brewery. While they use traditional methods of brewing (one of their beers, the Dunkelbier, is made from a 600-year old German Monastery Yeast, and brewed in strict accordance with the ‘German Purity Law’ of 1516), they’re in new territory using cutting edge science and equipment.
2 Ern Harley Drive, Burleigh Heads Ph: 07 5593 6000
Passionate about their beer, Burleigh Brewing takes great pride in using local ingredients and packaging products, employing 35 locals and supporting local charities. The names of Burleigh Brewing’s beers are ‘local flavour’ as well, comically tied to family (The Wife’s Bitter), surf (Duke) and even local events (28 Pale Ale named after Burleigh’s 28 days of perfect surf in ‘74). Black Giraffe teams local producer Zarraffa’s rainforest alliance coffee with beer to bring a full hit of coffee backed up by chocolate and 5% alcohol.
Burleigh Brewing is now the largest Australian-owned brewery in Queensland, recently moving to an expansive new premises which opened in March 2016, complete with a 24 tap bar. Brewery tours are available on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. There’s live music on Friday nights and a Sunday session from 2pm – 6pm. Burleigh Brewing beers are also available at many outlets across the coast.
Club Burleigh
There’s a secret club in Burleigh that even some locals don’t know about. Opened in December 2015 beneath the Swell Resort, Club Burleigh is the first club in Queensland to start from scratch in over 15 years. It’s a fresh, smart entertainment venue – just the sort of place where the whole family can enjoy a night out.
1640 Gold Coast Highway, Burleigh Heads Ph: 07 5655 0140
Besides their fresh, contemporary and locally-sourced menu, Club Burleigh has a range of premium beers on tap including local Burleigh Brewing’s Big Head, 28 Pale Ale and, surprisingly, Black Giraffe, which you can also consume in a Dirty Giraffe cocktail (Black Giraffe, vanilla Absolut vodka, Tia Maria and berry coulis).
Fortitude Brewing Company
Fortitude Brewing Company (and its alter ego the Noisy Minor) has found its home beside Witches Chase Cheese at the end of Tamborine Mountain’s Gallery Walk. Begun in late 2012 by Ged Connors, Jim O’Connor and former Murray’s & Sunshine Coast Brewery’s Head Brewer, Ian Watson, the expansive venue serves as both brewery and tasting room with ten rotating taps showing off the thirteen Fortitude and Noisy Minor beers.
165 Long Road, Eagle Heights Ph: 07 5545 4273
A visit to the brewery lets you relax with live music on the weekend, a tasting paddle of five beers in hand, establishing your favourite brew to take away either as a carton or in a filled growler. (Along with the cellar door, you’ll also find Fortitude’s beers for sale at Easy Street Diner and House of Brews.)
With the expressive yeast profile of Belgian style beer being Ian Watson’s personal favourite, Fortitude’s Head Brewer set out to raise the standard on Australian lager. The resulting beer, Fortitude Brewing’s Pale Lager, is made from natural ingredients, 100% malt, no sugar, and truckloads of fresh Australian and New Zealand hops, giving it a gingery lemon edge. Fortitude’s Pale Lager is a Queensland favourite for its simple, easy drinking yet flavoursome style. While Watson does not set out to win awards, he’s got quite a number under his belt, including international awards. Noisy Minor beers, including the ANZUS IPA (giving tribute to the ANZUS Treaty with its ramped up hops from Australia, NZ and the US), have also drawn critical acclaim.
Fortitude Brewing
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House of Brews
Owned by the Kanaghines brothers, the American-inspired eatery and taphouse House of Brews boasts the largest number of beers on tap on the Gold Coast. In an attempt to find out what made the best boutique tap establishment, the guys travelled the US, sampled the goods in bars across the country and came back to home territory to make the place their own.
“Over the last eighteen months or so, we are seeing fantastic product coming from microbreweries here on the Gold Coast…We decided the time was right for the Coast to have a quality venue devoted to supporting outstanding local breweries,” Damien Kanaghines told us.
17 Orchid Ave, Surfers Paradise
This commitment shines through. Their impressive ‘32 shades of amber’ and custom-designed keg room house local brews from Black Hops, Fortitude, Beard & Brau and Burleigh Brewing poured from rotating taps. House of Brews is our bet for the place with the most ‘local flavour’.
View the full House of Brews review here.
Pickled Pig Brewery
‘Paul Brewer. Pickled Pig Brewery.’
We don’t know what’s more implausible – a brewer named Paul Brewer, or the whimsical name ‘Pickled Pig’. Yet there’s serious intent in the Pickled Pig Brewery to find its own niche in the burgeoning craft beer market.
18 Industry Drive, Tweed Heads South.
Being preservative free, Pickled Pig beers must be stored cold, but taste price point. The eco-friendly practices of the plant (recycling boxes and bottles and refilling kegs) are distinguishing marks for Pickled Pig amongst other premium boutique beers.
They are well established with twelve products in the range (Belgian, German and Dutch style beers as well as ginger beer and ciders). The brewery has doubled its turnover annually since opening, wholesaling to some of our best restaurants with personalised beer and labelling to specification. For a more hands on experience, there’s another side to the business which is quite surprising: personal customers and even a Brewing Club, where you can make your own beer under commercial conditions.
Bine Bar & Dining
Bine is a smart place to gather with friends to try a new beer, hence the name ‘Bine’, the climbing plant stem on which hops grow. Although beer is by no means the only beverage on the drinks list, with eight rotating taps and over 80 bottled beers in stock, Bine offers one of the best choices of craft beer on the Gold Coast, not one of them a ‘big label’ brand.
1-2/28 Chairlift Avenue, Nobby Beach Ph: 07 5527 7412
Choose a paddle sampler from boutique brewers Feral, Moo Brew, Two Birds, Mountain Goat, or the Pickled Pig range of Jinja Beer, Stoned Mango Ale or the Stoned Pear. With different brews doing weekly rotations, there’s always a wild new beer to excite the palate.
There’s a lifetime of research gone in the choice of brews, a range spanning countries and styles, yet the focus is squarely on Australian boutique beer. Their eight taps feature the finest on rotation, including Pickled Pig, Black Hops, Beer & Brau and Burleigh Brewing.
Scenic Rim Brewery
There’s something brewing in a country town not far from Boonah: the new Scenic Rim Brewery. With plans to open late in 2016, Mike and Wendy Webster are finalizing renovations of a heritage building to create their new brewery and cellar door. The Scenic Rim is known for its natural assets. With fresh air, clear water and natural ingredients, there’s no better place to brew beer to celebrate the place and people they love.
“Our beers are an all-round sensory experience; after all, we have five senses and only one thirst. Our products represent the various larrikins we’ve come to know, with Digga and Fat Man the first of many. Watch this space and remember, you’re always a local with one of our brews in hand,” the Websters tell us.
Ph: 0414 594 317
Digga’s Pale Ale pays homage to our forefathers who worked and fought hard to build this country. Brewed with a unique blend of hops and a fruity yeast to give it a spicy yet nostalgic flavor, just like Digga, this beer has the taste and character of a bygone era.
Fat Man Maroon Ale stands for Aussie spirit; the maroon spirit seen during a State of Origin game when a front rower puts his head down, goes forward and gets the job done. He’s a larrikin, an Aussie, but the Irish roots of this red ale shine on through, hence the aptly named Maroon Ale. You can’t lose with the Fat Man!
Scenic Rim beers are available on rotation from Binna Burra Mountain Lodge, O’Reilly’s Rainforest Resort, Thirsty Camel North Tamborine, and Canungra Hotel.
Read more of Marj’s reviews on Good Food Gold Coast
References
Wynne T 2016, ‘Craft beer – bucking the trend in Australia’’ IN Agribusiness Bulletin, accessed 28 February 2016.
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