Already known the world over for its wine, the Yarra Valley is steadily developing into something of a mecca for Australian beer tourists. At the gateway to the region as you approach from Melbourne is the Coldstream Brewery, the realisation of a long held dream of a group of mates located inside an extensively renovated former wool shed and antiques shop.
Opened as a restaurant and bar in the middle of 2007, the onsite brewery began producing traditional beers in January 2008. The core range consists of a crisp, clean Pilsner, a hearty, malt-driven English Ale and an incredibly refreshing cider made in partnership with nearby Kellybrook Winery using Yarra Valley apples.
The collaborations with local producers don’t end there: among their seasonal range is a Chocolate Winter Ale, which uses 99% Couverture from gourmet chocolate makers Kennedy & Wilson. Other seasonals, all of which come in 750ml bottles, include an Autumn Porter, a Spring Dark Lager and a Summer Ale infused with fresh Tasmanian elderflower.
The beers are found in bars and bottle shops around Victoria or can be enjoyed from the five taps in the restaurant and bar, which has a beer garden for the summer and an open fireplace for the colder months. The kitchen’s focus is on fresh, local produce with a seasonal menu featuring share plates, main dishes, pizzas and a daily specials board, while there’s also a private function room for hire upstairs. With Hargreaves Hill, Buckley’s and White Rabbit also producing craft beers within a short drive of each other, Coldstream completes a great quartet of craft breweries in the Yarra Valley.
Coldstream Beers
The Regulars
The Specials
Regulars
Coldstream Pilsner
A crisp, fresh and aromatic European-style lager. Generous hopping lends it a pleasant bitterness and clean finish. Brewed using the traditional lagering process involving cool fermentation and lengthy conditioning over several weeks at a very low temperature.
Style: Pilsner
Strength: 4.5%
Coldstream Naked Ale
This traditional English ale combines English malted barley and the two classic UK aroma hop varieties: Fuggles and East Kent Goldings. It pours with a soft, creamy head and exhibits a full-bodied maltiness with a gentle bitter finish.
Style: English Bitter
Strength: 4.8%
Coldstream Cider
One of the biggest benefits of Coldstream’s close relationship with Kellybrook Winery is this drink, which takes advantage of the winery’s skills in making great ciders from local Yarra Valley apples. It’s a refreshing medium-dry sparkling cider hand crafted using a traditional rack and cloth cider press. Cool fermentation of the resulting juice, followed by cold filtration ensures the crisp apple character is retained and, in the glass, it exhibits very fine bubble and mousse retention.
Style: Cider
Strength: 7%
Specials
Coldstream Summer Ale
Coldstream’s summer seasonal is a light ale featuring Ashbolt elderflowers from Tasmania. Light golden in colour, it has a light floral nose that gives way to a sweet malty palate. It finishes dry and with only mild bitterness. Brewer Alan Harding also used some rice in the brewing process to keep it light-bodied with the aim of creating a beer “that you can drink fast enough that it doesn’t get warm”. He also kept hopping low to allow the elderflower to shine through and added a touch of sweetness to “lure regular non-beer drinkers to the fonts in summer”.
Available:
Style: Summer Ale
Strength: 5%
Chocolate Winter Ale
Coldstream’s 2010 winter seasonal is a rich, dark ale brewed using chocolate malt, boosted by the addition of 99% Couverture from local chocolate maker Kennedy & Wilson, resulting in hints of chocolate on the palate and a velvety mouthfeel.
Available:
Style: Chocolate Ale
Strength: 5%