With summer approaching, it seems only right to spending one’s every waking moment wishing you were sat in a beer garden with a frothy in hand. As we wrote in a recent piece for Tourism Victoria: “There can be little doubt that deep within humankind’s make-up is a gene that makes our desire for a beer rise in direct correlation to the temperature.”
So, as promised in a newsletter a couple of weeks back, here’s our attempt at compiling the definitive guide to awesome beer gardens around Australia. Below is merely the start, based on our knowledge and taking those that we’ve listed in previous articles for Tourism Victoria and the Sunday Age. We’ve also added some from Time Out Melbourne’s October 2012 list that we didn’t have and the handful suggested by readers via email.
However, for it to become the guide it should be, we need your help. If you’ve got a favourite spot or have come across one on your beery tours of the country, then email crafty@craftypint.com with your suggestions or add them in the comments below. If you feel some of the below shouldn’t be there, let us know why too. Once we’ve got a solid list, we might even look at splitting them state by state and writing a little about each of them, the craft-friendly ones at least.
There’s also a key of sorts. If the name of the venue is a clickable link, that means they’ve got a listing on Crafty where you can read all about them. If they’re in bold, that means they serve a good selection of craft beer. And if they’re in plain text, then the garden’s good, the beer perhaps less so.
VICTORIA – GARDENS
Goldmines Hotel, Bendigo (pictured above)
Portsea Hotel, Portsea
Jamieson Brewery, Jamieson
Bright Brewery, Bright
Deco, North Fitzroy
The Alehouse Project, Brunswick East
Brunswick Green, Brunswick
Village Brasserie, St Kilda Road (former Belgian Bluestone Cafe)
Great Northern, North Carlton
The Standard Hotel, Fitzroy
Bishop of Ostia, Brunswick East (Crafty Pint listing coming soon)
Wesley Anne, Northcote
The Retreat, Brunswick
Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy
Sentido Funf, Fitzroy
The Local Taphouse St Kilda
Windsor Castle, Windsor
Railway Hotel, South Melbourne
Red Hill, Mornington Peninsula (Now only open on special occasions)
Prickly Moses, Otway Ranges
The Park, Werribee (Crafty listing coming soon)
Odyssey Tavern, Torquay
Aireys Inlet Hotel, Surf Coast
Union Hotel, Parkville
The Fitzroy Pinnacle, North Fitzroy
Cafe Go, Geelong
Growlers, Torquay
Fish Creek Hotel, Fish Creek
VICTORIA – ROOFTOPS
The Local Taphouse St Kilda
Mt View Richmond, Richmond
Rooftop Bar, Swanston Street, CBD
Madame Brussels, CBD
NEW SOUTH WALES – GARDENS
Murray’s
Duck Inn, Chippendale
Union Hotel, Newtown (Crafty listing coming soon)
Courthouse Hotel, Newtown
Rose Hotel, Chippendale
Brunswick Heads Hotel, Northern NSW
Bangalow Hotel, Bangalow
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Friendly Inn Hotel, Kangaroo Valley
NEW SOUTH WALES – ROOFTOPS
The Local Taphouse Darlo
Harts Pub (Not really a rooftop or a garden – somewhere in between…)
Glenmore Hotel, The Rocks
TASMANIA – GARDENS
Weldborough Hotel, Tasman Highway, North East Tasmania
Preachers Hotel, Hobart
Seven Sheds, Railton
IronHouse, Four Mile Creek
WESTERN AUSTRALIA – GARDENS
Clancy’s Fish Pub Fremantle
Clancy’s City Beach, Perth
Clancy’s Fish Pub, Dunsborough
Cowaramup, Margaret River
Cowaramup Brewery, Margaret River
The Monk, Fremantle
Colonial Brewery, Margaret River
Feral, Swan Valley
Brisbane Hotel, Mt Lawley
The Queens Hotel, Mt Lawley
The Garden, Leederville
The Boulevard, Floreat
The Aviary, Perth
Little Creatures
Norfolk Hotel, Fremantle
The Tap, Swan Valley
WESTERN AUSTRALIA – ROOFTOPS
Greenhouse, Perth
The Conservatory, Perth
QUEENSLAND – GARDENS
The Spotted Cow
Eimeo Pacific Hotel, Mackay
Sunshine Beach Surf Lifesavers Club, Sunshine Coast
Beaches, Airlie Beach
Eungella Chalet Hotel, Eungella
SOUTH AUSTRALIA – GARDENS
Lobethal Bierhaus
McLaren Vale’s Vale Inn, McLaren Vale
The Ed, Mitcham
The Exeter, Adelaide
Grace Emily Hotel, Adelaide
The Wheaty
Thanks to the following readers and contributors who have sent in their favourites to date: Lisa Carey, Christopher Hain, Martin Barrow, Nick O, Pia Poynton, Tom Delmont, Andy Carr, Simon Frake, Jeremy Sambrooks, Will Delmont, Chris McNamara. Ben O'Flanagan and Matt Harriss (who seems keen to expand the list to NZ too…). Send yours to crafty@craftypint.com
