Beer drinkers are well indulged in Victoria, and craft breweries are popping up everywhere. They produce full-flavoured beers, made with the best local ingredients by traditional methods. It's a well known fact that Aussies love their beer, so it's little wonder that in Victoria alone, you'll find over 30 independently owned craft breweries, each taking great pride in producing their own unique tasting beer varieties.
- Bridge Road Brewers - www.bridgeroadbrewers.com.au
- Head to historic Beechworth for a brewery with countless of accolades to its name. Bridge Road Brewers offer visitors the chance to sample its unique hand-crafted beers while their are being brewed right in front of them. Located within a 150 year old coach house, the brewery offers a selection of ales for tasting, an impressive list of local wines and a pizza kitchen where authentic pretzels, pizza and apple strudel are baked.
- Bright Brewery - www.brightbrewery.com.au
- Overlooking the Ovens River in Bright, the Bright Brewery uses fresh alpine water and blends quality ingredients to create their famous beers. Tours showing the brewing process are conducted. Otherwise, relax with a beer, enjoy a bite to eat or sit beside the open fire.
- Carlton Brewhouse - www.carltonbrewhouse.com.au
- Producing more than 420 million litres of beer each year, Carlton Brewhouse has been around for a hundred years. The brewhouse is located only a few minutes drive from the Melbourne CBD, in Abbotsford, and is open for tours, tastings and functions. Producing over 20 beer brands you'll find a favourite, no worries.
- Echuca Brewing Company - www.echucabrewingco.com.au
- This boutique brewery is located in Echuca and is run by genuine beer lovers. Choose from more than 40 types of beer and enjoy a bite to eat at the brewery's fine dining restaurant.
- Grand Ridge Brewery - www.grand-ridge.com.au
- Set within the picturesque Strzelecki Ranges, the Grand Ridge Brewery at Mirboo North has developed a range of world-class beers. Dubbed the "monastery on the mountain" due to its religious devotion to the beer making process, the brewery boasts totally natural beers made from pure mountain water and blended with a fine selection of hops, malt and yeast, free of any chemicals or preservatives. The brewery operates from within a redeveloped butter factory and there is a special gallery from where visitors can view the workings of the brewery. Enjoy a meal at the brewery's restaurant which specialises in local produce.
- Mildura Brewery - www.mildurabrewery.com.au
- Located in the old Astor Theatre, Mildura Brewery is found right in the middle of Mildura's restaurant precinct. The brewery opened in 2004, but the Astor Theatre's history goes way back to 1924. At the brewery you'll get to experience five permanent naturally brewed beers, as well as some fabulous and unique seasonal brews such as cocoa stout and raspberry wheat beer. Brewery tours are also available, but you'll need to book ahead. You don't have to drink on an empty stomach here either, as the Mildura Brewery also offers superb pub meals, for both lunch and dinner, as well as having two excellent function rooms available for cocktail parties, launches and meetings.
- Red Hill Brewery - www.redhillbrewery.com.au
- This brewery at Red Hill is unique in that all the hops used in the beer making process are organic and grown on-site. Enjoy handcrafted ales in this rustic bush setting and if you're hungry, sample some of the delights at the brewery cafe where everything is prepared from either local or home-grown ingredients.
Brewery tours
What better way to discover the breweries of Victoria and sample the finished product than on an organised brewery tour.
