Australian National Homebrewing Conference

Another one courtesy of Tony V.

It’s not a brewery, it’s a ‘brewhouse’. To me it seemed like a pub with a brewery in it. Either way, sweet. These guys brew alright and I reckon they even show a little bit of imagination.

This story starts with me dragging the family up to Woodend. Turns out it’s not that far. Why was I heading up? Thanks for asking. I won (co-won with Tony Wheeler) the Champion Brewer at Beerfest this year (if you don’t believe me check out the website). And yes the beers I lovingly crafted were good, very very good. So good my father-in-law and brother-in-law finished off the stocks long before daylight savings ended. And sorry, I have to say it, but yes, there was also success at the nationals. I’ll stop there.

Melbourne's 'other' beer store.

Sure, there are plenty of other worthy contenders, but between Purvis and Cloudwine I think you've basically got everything you need bottle shop-wise.

Both my sister and my girlfriend have been dragged to many more breweries than any normal person should have to endure. A lot of the time the beers are fairly underwhelming, they say "we drove 45 minutes out of our way and you didn't even like the beers?!?!" and then I spend the rest of the car trip complaining about diacetyl/overuse of crystal malts/bartenders who think they know everything.

So when I had them both in the car at the same time we just had to venture off the beaten track (even if it is only a couple of minutes off the Mornington Peninsula Fwy) in search of new beers.

Based on the Hickinbotham Winery's website, I didn't have particularly high expectations (good for antagonistic purposes, bad for my thirst). It seemed like they didn't really want anyone to know about their beers. Having tasted them now, I can understand why!

Yet another beer pub has opened in Melbourne - this time in the inner north (yay!).

The owners of the Jamieson Brewery and the associated Lakeside pub have taken over Clifton Hill's Normandy Hotel with a view to turning it into a beer bar with a decidedly Victorian emphasis.