Melbourne is now officially the world’s most locked down city in the world, but that hasn’t stopped the continually growth of our craft beer scene. Ramblers Ale Works, that we’ve been talking about for the last 6 months, finally opened their taproom in Hawthorn for takeaways after yet another delay due to council red tape; this time a door bell caused an almost 2 month delay! The space is looking really good & I was impressed with the West Coast IPA, I’m looking forward to getting in for a beer when restrictions allow.
In other news; Collingwood brewery The Mill have opened a significant production brewery in Thomastown. They’ve completed a brand refresh & will be pumping out a whole lot more pack products. Wild Life Brewing from Shepparton have raised $200k from private investors and will be bringing all of their production in house, having acquired Hop Nation’s old brew kit, in a prime location in their hometown which they hope to have operational by the end of the year. Speaking of regional brewers that plan to start off contract brewing before launching their own facility, Middle Island Brewing Co in Warrnambool have received their pre-retail license & will begin having their beers produced at Prickly Moses imminently.
Following on from last months post. Kaiju‘s taproom in Huntingdale is going to feature a pilot kit, so we will likely expect some taproom exclusives amongst their 16 taps. Buffalo Brewery‘s new owners are going to continue brewing, so we’ll have to make our way up to Boorhaman in the not too distant future. Whilst an hour and a half south east in Tawonga South, Crank Handle are opening for the first time under their new owner.
There was also plenty going on with The Year of Local project at Beer O’Clock headquarters. As you have likely seen if you’re reading this; 4 posts went up in the month of September as well as TWO episodes of the podcast being sent out into the world. The first is our usual format, whilst the second is a long overdue interview with Evin Crainey from Bright Brewery, which is well worth checking out!
If you have missed those recent posts you can find them here. We didn’t quite reach the lofty heights of August, but still managed to put out 4 profiles in September. This month you can check out the story beheind the beer range from Zonzo Estate or hear about the wonderfully named Sobremesa Fermertary & Blendery. Towards the end of the month industry powerhouse Colonial Brewing Co’s Port Melbourne Brewery made an appearance as did the science led contract operation The Zythologist who will be a seriously interesting brand to follow over the next few years. With any luck October will see a similar number of new entries, once by work accreditation wraps up later this week.
Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!
