Brews Brothers: Heaven for the armchair brewer
July 13, 2010
Imagine a world where a friendly brewmaster will brew any variety of beer you like just for you, and you can give him a hand brewing it.
A world where your custom-made beer costs half the price that craft beer costs you in the shops.
Many Brisbanites are already aware that such a world exists in the guise of Brews Brothers in East Brisbane. I’m constantly surprised at the amount of people who’ve never heard of the Brews Brothers service though.
For the last few months I have been embracing the Brews Brothers concept and enjoying every moment of it.
The process starts when you wander down to their ‘shed’ in East Brisbane, and enjoy a friendly greeting from Mike, the owner of Brews Brothers, or one of their courteous staff. You’re then welcome to peruse their massive range of 225 brews – each matched to a well-known brew so you know what to expect. Examples are Victory Bitter (VB) St Ella (Stella) and Carl’s Lager (Carlsberg). There’s also plenty of copies of much better beers than those just listed, and a few special ‘in-house’ brews. A lot of the varieties are bottled and chilled in the fridge for you to sample before you decide.
Welcome to Brews Brothers!
Unlike your local bottle shop, you’re not going to walk out of Brews Brothers with a carton. You’re committing to a keg of beer, or roughly 6 cartons of beer. Depending on which style you buy, this costs between $140 and $180. While more of an investment than a single carton, you are actually getting incredible value. For the premium ($180) range – which I heartily recommend – you are looking at a per-carton cost of $30. That’s the same price as a shitty carton of megaswill, and believe me, the final product at Brews Brothers is anything but shitty.
Once you’ve decided which brew you like, it’s up to you how involved you’d like to be with the brewing process. Mike or one of the staff will walk you through every step, or you can just pay your money and come back when its ready, which is anywhere from two to four weeks, depending on the quality and strength of the brew.
Sterilising and washing the bottles
After you beer is finished brewing, the real fun begins. If you like, you can take the whole keg home – they have taps and gas you can hire if you’d like to have a proper keg party. But if you want to enjoy your brew over a period of time, you can bottle the whole keg up yourself. Obviously you have to collect 6 cartons worth of bottles to bring in, which isn’t too much of a challenge for beer lovers.
With our beer 'Christmas tree'!
On bottling day, you firstly wash and sterilise your bottles, then rack them on the ‘christmas tree’ to dry. The Brews Brothers crew tap your keg next to a bottling bench, where you fill your bottles one by one, then cap them with a bottle capper.
The team at Brews Brothers supply you with glasses and encourage you to enjoy as many beers as you like while you’re bottling. Of course, if you drive down there to do your bottling, drink responsibly!
Filling and capping the bottles
And so ends the bottling at Brews Brothers. Now you’re free to go home and enjoy your brew! Before you leave, make sure you order your next keg 
Sound like your kind of thing? Then head on down and say hello to the Brews Brothers team!
Thirsty Critters tours can stop in at Brews Brothers if you’d like to spend some time down there sampling their brews. Interested? Get in touch!
The beery delights of the Barossa Valley
July 1, 2010
- The unassuming exterior of the Barossa Brewing Company
When one thinks of the Barossa, they think of wine. Loads and loads of wine. Thankfully, I’m pleased to report, the Barossa has it’s fair share of decent breweries too. On a recent trip there I experienced almost all the beer that the region had to offer, and I was well impressed.
- The Barossa Brewing Company range
The first brewery we visited was right in the heart of the Barossa – funnily enough called Barossa Brewing Company. This little place is run by a very dedicated couple who work in other jobs during the week, the brew like crazy on the weekends. Their setup is small but effective, churning out a range of 4 standard lines. I don’t want to understate how blown away I was by all four of their varieties – they were magnificent. I was particularly pleased by their Miller’s Lager – to be honest it’s the first lager I’ve really enjoyed in a long, long time – so full of flavour! And nothing like almost any other lager you’ll find in a shop.
- THe brewhouse at Barossa Brewing Company
In addition to the lager they brew a Wheat Store Ale, Greenock Dark Ale and a Victorville Ale, which is their American Pale Ale variety. All are good – so good that I had to order a carton to be shipped up to Queensland. Expecting to pay handsomely for the privelege, I was delighted to find that it only costs $15 to ship a carton of beer from SA to Qld! So if you’re keen on trying these wonderful beers, it’s not that difficult – just enquire here. It’s probably the only way you’ll get to sample this wonderful beer because the only place it’s on tap is just down the road at the Greenock Tavern!
- Lobethal Bierhaus
After the delights of the Barossa Brewing Company, next on the list was the Lobethal Bierhaus. This isn’t technically in the Barossa – it’s about an hour away in the Adelaide Hills. It’s a sight to behold from the outside – a beautiful old woolstore that’s been converted into a brewery and brewpub. We arrived at midday on a Sunday and just as well – almost every table was booked and by 12.20 the place was full. The beer was excellent, as expected, but the real treat at the Bierhaus was being able to buy my very first growler.
- My first growler!
For those unfamiliar with growlers, they are large vessels (around 2 litres) that are commonly sold by craft breweries in the USA. You buy a full growler, take it home, then bring it back for refills as often as you like. They’re unheard of in Australia, and I was taken aback to see them in the fridge at the Bierhaus. Needless to say, I had to have one. Despite me being unable to return and fill it up, I now have 2 litres of Lobethal Chocolate Oatmeal Stout chilled in my fridge ready to drink. It was a right pain in the ass to bring back in my luggage from SA, but it will be worth it.
- Grumpy’s Bierhaus
After Lobethal we hunted down another small brewery, Grumpy’s – which also moonlight as a pizza joint in a sleepy little town called Verdun just outside Hahndorf. Sadly I only got to try a couple of their varieties as I was driving, but the beer available is less important than the fact that places like Grumpy’s exist. Here is South East Queensland we’ve recently witnessed the demise of Eagle Heights Brewery, and it’s a struggle for many of our craft breweries. But here, on a Sunday afternoon, was a packed-out venue serving pint after pint of delicious beer and tasty pizza. It’s testament to how far we have to go up here.
- Tasting tray @ Lobethal Bierhaus
So, next time you’re in the Barossa, give a few of the wineries a swerve and try some of their breweries. You won’t be dissappointed!
