The minute you walk into Bridge Road Brewers just behind the main street of Beechworth you are greeted with dozens of references to Ned Kelly. Posters, signs, t-shirts. The image of ol' Ned on their beer labels isn’t by accident or coincidence.
Ned certainly adds charm to your visit. You are after all in Victoria’s high country where Australia’s most famous bushranger once did his thing. However if the brewery was actually around in the mid to late 1800s, Mr Kelly would have been a whole lot easier to catch. This place screams afternoon session. Avoiding it is…well, just stupid.
In terms of the brewery itself, you have the option of sitting inside near the bar (where you can look lovingly at brewing tanks and take in that familiar smell of a brewery) or outside in the spacious courtyard. Many ‘small’ breweries get the visiting experience completely wrong despite how good their beer is. Some are in the strangest setting such as an industrial or manufacturing area, which leaves you just a little flat. Bridge Road nails it. Beechworth itself couldn’t be a cosier town and the brewery is perfect for a family lunch, boozy afternoon or pre dinner drinks. Or all three as we did!
Quite simply it’s a damn good brew pub to visit. There’s an impressive pizza menu and leave room for one of their giant pretzels with dipping sauce. Goddamn…
One of the main highlights is the range of beer available. Whilst a lot of craft microbreweries produce 4 or 5 brews, Bridge Road puts out 7 regular beers, 3 beers under their Chevalier range and numerous seasonal / specials. Many of the regulars started out as specialty beers but simply took off and are now available all year round. That’s a credit to them in itself! Considering the quality of their beer it really is hard to believe the brewery has only been open since 2005!
With such a wide range of beers (which obviously try and appease the ‘I only drink lager so what should I get’ drinker right through to the seasoned craft beer drinker), the best thing to do first time is get a tasting paddle. Interestingly you can choose how many beers you’d like on your paddle (one, four, six, eight or ten) but we weren’t going anywhere in a hurry and certainly weren’t driving so we opted for the paddle of ten…each!
Here’s a run down of their beers –
The Regulars…
Hefe Weizen
A German styled wheat beer, this one isn’t at all bad. I’m personally not the biggest fan of wheat beers as I find they usually lack a bit of a hop kick and the banana/citrus hit doesn’t do a lot for me, but I can certainly appreciate the attempt. Would certainly go down with the giant pretzel (I wouldn’t know, the pretzel was demolished well before I tried the beer!).
Australian Ale
The brewery describes this as the perfect introduction to craft beer, and that’s exactly what it is. Think lager but with plenty of flavour, it would appeal to drinkers who are a bit ‘scared’ of most craft beers often loaded with hops and malt. A great session beer on a hot day, I suspect it sells very well on tap at the brewery!
Chestnut Pilsner
Pale and crisp the pilsner is actually brewed with local chestnuts (or so they say!). This is another beer that suits summer months and lager drinkers as it’s very approachable. I’d never tried this beer before visiting the brewery as I rarely seek out pilsners but I must say I was very impressed with this effort.
Beechworth Pale Ale
Hello hops! I would describe this pale as US in style. Full flavoured and plenty of hops like Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale or similar. Good pales have plenty of aroma and this one was stacked full of it. We ended up in a pub later that night and I found myself ordering this beer.
Bling India Pale Ale
I’m currently going through quite the ‘IPA phase’ and Bridge Road’s Bling doesn’t disappoint. Malty, hoppy, this is a big, brash IPA. Loads of aroma, IPA lovers will surely love it. Also check out their speciality (often milder) IPAs including the now widely available Galaxy IPA.
Robust Porter
First thing that hits you with this porter is the chocolate and coffee aromas. The second thing is the chocolate and coffee taste! This is a cracking Porter, which would obviously be suited to the colder months. Would go down a treat with English style pudding or as the Irish do - fresh shellfish. Bring on winter.
Celtic Red Ale
Hard to have a favourite with so many high quality beers but this one would have to come close. This also started out as a speciality beer to celebrate Beechworth’s annual Celtic festival. It’s now a staple and it’s easy to see why. Very malty, very Irish, very yummy!
The Chevalier Range…
Biere De Garde
Spicy, toffee, fruity, this is a big dark, Belgium/French style ale. A tad sweet this isn’t a beer to have to start your night! It’s a nightcap beer or would suit desserts or I’d be keen to try it with stinky cheese. Any excuse really.
Hefe Weizen Dunkel
Slightly dark in colour, this Bavarian styled brew has a strong aroma of spice, citrus and banana. Lots of banana. Goes down very smoothly…this is a quality beer even though style wise it isn’t the type of beer I’d usually go for.
Saison
Australian microbreweries seem to have a love of Saison at the moment and this one is one of the best. Ranked #5 in the ‘Critics Choice Top 100 Beers 2011’ and you can see why. Their take on the classic Belgium ale is a real winner. Light, amazing aroma, yeasty and just a little tart. A Saison like this can be anything – food accompaniment, wine replacement. Do yourself a favour as Molly would say, and go and try this beer.
The Specials…
Far too many to mention and ever changing, a real highlight of this brewery is the range of speciality ‘one off’ beers that they produce. Pride of Ringwood IPA, Stella IPA, Summer IPA, India Saison, Dog’s Breakfast, B2 Bomber…the list goes on and on! I’d love to say more but this blog is already long enough and if I haven’t convinced you to go out and try anything (or everything) donning the Bridge Road label then I have already failed!
Admittedly Bridge Road’s beers are widely available in bottle shops that stock a range of craft beer, and often on tap in places like Beer Deluxe in Melbourne. But the 3 hour drive from Melbourne (7 from Sydney) gives you a much greater appreciation of this already impressive brewery.
Owner Ben Kraus has done a fabulous job with his beers and you just know he’s only going to get even better, which is a massive win for us craft beer lovers. Can’t wait to see what they produce next!
Till then,
Cheers!…Prost!...Salute!...Kampai!
