Holgate Brewhouse

A genuine one stop shop for the discerning beer tourist, Holgate's Woodend Brewhouse combines a brewery, public bar, restaurant and hotel under a single roof. Just an hour from Melbourne, in the shadow of the Macedon Ranges, you'll to find a bar lined with site-brewed beers on tap, including some hand-pulled from the cask in traditional British fashion.

The unintended consequence of holidays in England ('93) and the USA ('97) for owners Paul and Natasha Holgate, the business started life in 1999 as an extension of his home brewery while both still worked in the city, but soon demanded a bigger venue. They took over Woodend's former Commercial Hotel/Keatings Hotel and have never looked back, producing an ever-expanding range of beers inspired by classic styles from Europe and the North American micro scene, as well as barrel-aged and other experimental beers.

Visitors can watch beer being made in the brewery, head to the bar for a tasting paddle, including a beer poured through their homemade "Randall" (a machine that adds a hit of fresh hop flowers to the beer before it reaches your glass), then move to the restaurant for a meal, many of which are cooked with Holgate's beers as a key ingredient. And, if you've had one too many, Natasha will find you a clean, comfortable room upstairs for the night.

As the brewery closes in on two decades, it's been a case of onwards and upwards in more than one way. They've been expanding the brewery for a number of years, with the ultimate goal of creating a visitor centre highlighting not just Holgate's story but that of beer itself.

And, either side of their 20th anniversary in October 2019, those plans have been turning into reality. First, the old brewery that's been worked so hard over the years was upgraded to one of the most hi-tech breweries in the country, a 50 hectolitre Rolec kit from Germany. Then the Taproom & Visitor Centre, which also acts as a showcase for other cider makers, distilleries and wineries in the region, opened, offering a contemporary alternative to the traditional English pub stylings of the original hotel.

Throughout all the expansion, they've been maintaining the standards on the beer front, continuing to collect trophies and major medals both on home turf and abroad for beers as diverse as their Temptress chocolate porter and the Sour Brett Ale, one of a number of beers taking Holgate in new directions.

Name
Holgate Brewhouse
Address

79 High Street
Woodend
VIC 3442

Phone
Hotel, Bar and Restaurant: (03) 5427 2510 Brewery Sales: (03) 54 273 522
Open Hours

PUB:
Mon: 2pm til late (Mon Public Holidays ' midday til late) Tues to Sun: midday til late
TAPROOM:
11am to 5pm daily

Tours

Sat & Sun: 3pm
Book via website


This is a directory listing. To find out more, head here

The Specials

Holgate Brewhouse Millennium Falcon 2023
Holgate Brewhouse Hefe Weissbier
Holgate Brewhouse Breakfast Club Non-Alc Lager
Holgate Brewhouse Cherry Sour
Holgate Brewhouse Mountain Mist
Holgate Brewhouse Citrus IPA
Holgate Brewhouse Empress 2022
Holgate Brewhouse Imperial Stout 2022
Holgate Brewhouse Big Pash
Holgate Brewhouse Wild Red Ale & Sour Brett Ale 2021
Holgate Brewhouse Campfire Red IPA & Double Stout
Show 69 more

Holgate Brewhouse Regulars

Holgate Brewhouse Draught Lager (cans)

Published October 24, 2022
Over the years, Paul Holgate has embarked on various trips around the world to learn from masters of the beer world so he can bring the knowledge back to Woodend and take his beers to another level. One such jaunt took him to Germany, where he spent time studying how they made such wonderful, delicate lagers with the intention of adding one to the brewery's core range. After returning, the brewery's Tank 9 – then reserved for small trial batches before they upgraded to their rather spectacular… Read more
Style
Helles Lager
ABV
4.3%
Bitterness
15 IBU

Holgate Brewhouse Mt Macedon Pale Ale (2022 On)

Published September 14, 2022
There are few Australian beers that have been around as long as Holgate's Mt Macedon. Sure, the beer has evolved over the years since it debuted as one of the brewery's earliest releases – back when the brewery was still located in Paul and Natasha Holgate's home. As of spring 2022, it's followed a number of its stablemates into cans, while retaining the colours, feel and mountain vibes that have been there since time immemorial. The canned version also features a couple of tweaks to the recipe:… Read more
Style
Pale Ale
ABV
4.5%

Holgate Brewhouse Gluten Free Low Carb Tropical Pale

Published May 30, 2022
There doesn't seem to be too much the brewers at Holgate won't turn their hands to (well, at least in the world of beer); just a glance at their gold medal-winning beers at this year's Australian International Beer Awards throws up Russian Imperial Stout, Sour Brett Ale and a red IPA (of which more later). They were one of the first Aussie craft brewers to release an alcohol-free beer (the silver medal-winning Love All) and here enter the realm of not just gluten free but also low carb with Tropical… Read more
Style
GF, Low Carb Tropical Pale
ABV
4.9%

Holgate Brewhouse Explorer

Published September 20, 2021
Given they launched in 1999, Holgate Brewhouse have been lagering longer than many of Australia’s breweries, and September 2021 saw a new member join the Woodend brewery's core range. Known simply as a “crisp, refreshing beer”, Explorer is one inspired by classic premium Euro lagers and seems destined to be enjoyed in the great outdoors, while at 4.0 percent ABV, it’s a just a touch lighter than their longstanding Draught Lager, which was first released as Norton Lager in 2015. Those couple… Read more
Style
Lager
ABV
4.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Love All Alcohol Free Beer

Published November 2, 2020
It goes without saying that 2020 has been one screwy year – remember when we were all desperate for 2019 to end so we could start afresh...? Within the beer world, while the ongoing daftness at the pointy end – the world of ridiculously hopped hazies, fruit and lactose-laden tooth-rotters and the like – was already gathering serious steam, the double whammy of seltzers and alcohol-free beers flying out of an ever-growing number of breweries might have been foreseen, but to this extent? As the… Read more
Style
Alcohol Free Beer
ABV
Less than 0.5%

Holgate Brewhouse American IPA (formerly Road Trip)

Published March 27, 2020
These days, IPAs are found everywhere and in every shape and size. Go back a decade and they were pretty rare. You might see the odd one as a specialty release, but the industry was still trying to convince drinkers 4.5 percent ABV pale ales weren't confronting. Yet it was at the start of the last decade Holgate first released their Road Trip IPA, inspired by a road trip through the States, and it soon became a core beer, making them one of the first local breweries to back an IPA as a year round… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.0%
Bitterness
80 IBU

Holgate Brewhouse Session Pale

Published October 8, 2019
There's a fair bit that's new about Holgate's Session Pale. For a start, the name. And the fact it's in a can. But the beer inside has been around a while as it's a repackaged version of their mid-strength Gatekeeper, a beer that first appeared as a trial batch in the summer of 2014/15 before graduating to the core range. If you've not made its acquaintance before, it's a beer in which the brewers look to pack plenty of flavour and a fair bit of body into its mid-strength size through the use of… Read more
Style
Mid-Strength Pale Ale
ABV
3.5%

Holgate Brewhouse Wild Berry Sour (formerly Blush)

Published October 17, 2018
Beers that combine fruity hops on one side and a level of tangy, tart or puckering sourness or acidity on the other are becoming ever more visible in the local beer scene. What's more, in an interview to mark ten years of Hop Hog, Feral's Brendan Varis – a man who knows a thing or two about designing iconic beers – posited that the next beer to capture Aussie beer lovers' imagination in the way his former IPA or, say, Stone & Wood's Pacific Ale had done would be "a ripping hybrid, a… Read more
Style
Wild Berry Sour Ale
ABV
4.6%
Stockists

Other stockists TBC

Holgate Brewhouse Temptress

At a beer masterclass many moons ago at which Holgate's beers were paired with different food samples, this chocolate porter was served last with some rich chocolate desserts. It drew gasps. "How could a beer have so much chocolate flavour and still taste like beer?" asked the guests. With the addition of plenty of Dutch cocoa and whole vanilla beans to the boil was the answer. Originally introduced as a one-off, the Temptress proved so popular and picked up so many awards that it became… Read more
Style
Chocolate Porter
ABV
6.0%
Bitterness
35 IBU
Awards

Best Porter – Australian International Beer Awards 2015 and 2018

Holgate Brewhouse Australian XPA

I still remember my first encounter with Holgate's Alpha Crucis vividly. The first batch was debuted at an early Good Beer Week Gala Showcase, back when it was held at Fitzroy Town Hall, and the golden, all-Aussie-hopped beer was so fresh it felt like the brewers had squeezed oils from freshly plucked hop cones straight into my glass. The beer's been tweaked a little over time, becoming a year round member of the brewery's lineup and renamed Australian XPA. Lightly hazy and still golden, it serves… Read more
Style
Australian XPA
ABV
5.2%

Holgate Brewhouse Specials

Holgate Brewhouse Millennium Falcon 2023

Published May 1, 2023
Whatever you made of the closing chapters of the original nine-parter, or indeed the conveyor belt of spin-off movies and TV series, there's no denying Star Wars looks well on track to live as a long as a Wookiee, perhaps even Yoda himself. And while Holgate's Millennium Falcon is a long way off such longevity, it's up there with the longest-running sagas in Australian craft beer: the 2023 release ahead of May the Fourth brings up a decade of releases. This time around, they've kept their "Emperial… Read more
Style
Imperial IPA
ABV
9.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Hefe Weissbier

Published March 10, 2023
Back at the start of the 1990s, there was a cult TV comedy show in the UK called Vic Reeves Big Night Out in which one of many catchphrases was: "You wouldn't let it lie." It would have been around the same time that Paul Holgate was a regular traveller to northern Europe as a result of his pre-brewing career. It was on these trips, sampling English cask beer and Belgian and German wheat beers, that he was inspired to launch Holgate Brewhouse in 1997. One of the first beers he released… Read more
Style
Hefeweizen
ABV
5.1%

Holgate Brewhouse Breakfast Club Non-Alc Lager

Published February 21, 2023
It's not hard to understand why the team at Holgate sent a photo of their second non-alc beer featuring a can being poured onto a bowl of Weet-Bix*. After all, the beer is called Breakfast Club and is alcohol-free so, technically, could be consumed in the morning without any adverse effect on the remainder of one's day. The cans also sport a cassette tape titled "Beer of Champions" that, in tandem with the name of the beer, suggests they're aiming for beer drinkers who grew up with Molly… Read more
Style
Non-Alc New World Lager
ABV
<0.5%

Holgate Brewhouse Cherry Sour

Published December 14, 2022
We've seen brewers and their graphic designers become ever more creative, outlandish even, with their approach to capturing drinkers' attention as the craft beer industry has expanded apace. Here, however, Holgate have decided to take a rather more literal approach: it's a cherry sour so you're getting a predominantly red can with cherries on it. It first appeared in autumn 2022, but has returned for summer – surely such a beer's natural stomping ground (if one ever comes in Victoria – with the… Read more
Style
Cherry Gose
ABV
4.5%

Holgate Brewhouse Mountain Mist

Published November 3, 2022
As summer 2022/3 approaches, it looks like it's going to be a race to the line between pale lagers, fruity sours and hazy pales for the title of most-brewed new release from the country's brewers. Industry pioneers Holgate already have two pale lagers in cans – one of them making the transition last month – while I've long been a fan of their Wild Berry Sour, back from when it was called Blush. And now they've added a hazy pale to the lineup in the shape of Mountain Mist. The last time I was… Read more
Style
Hazy Pale Ale
ABV
5.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Citrus IPA

Published September 6, 2022
One of the beers that inspired Paul Holgate to start brewing commercially at the end of the last millennium was Hoegaarden. He'd enjoy the witbier while on work trips to Europe and later introduced his own take on the style, White Ale, to the Holgate lineup. His passion for such beers extends to German wheat beer styles too; head to their Woodend HQ and at any time of year you might find three different European wheat beers on tap – this despite the fact the country's drinkers have shown little… Read more
Style
Citrus White IPA
ABV
6.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Empress 2022

Published June 18, 2022
Beers such as double digit booze imperial stouts or porters would always get the fancy bottle treatment in years gone by. Indeed, they've tended to make the transition into cans later than most other styles made the move. And in releasing their Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout 2022, Holgate stuck with glitteringly-labelled bottled. Here, however, their Empress – now 11-years-old, believe it or not – goes into cans, and not even 440 or 500ml ones, either. It does, on the other hand, get a fancy new… Read more
Style
Imperial Mocha Porter
ABV
10.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Imperial Stout 2022

Published June 10, 2022
Given the carnival freakshow nature of parts of the beer world these days, there's a good chance when you pick up an imperial stout there's going to be some element of pastry-ness (is that a word?) in the mix, or at least some sort of off-kilter ingredient. Travel back in time a decade and such beers weren't always thus; their arrival every winter was still cause for excitement but typically the most out there they'd get would be time spent in barrel. Holgate's 2022 release – an AIBA gold medalist… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
ABV
10.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Big Pash

Published September 6, 2021
Many beer fans are drawn in by hops but I'd argue one of the great beers to enjoy by the pint in a beer garden is a fruited kettle sour. Sure, they might not be as complex as a barrel-aged wild ale, but when you're sitting in the sun a lightly tart, highly effervescent sour with straightforward fruit notes sure hits the spot (I can picture it right now). Helping matters further is the fact many sit close to 3.5 percent ABV, with the modest booze level aiding their drinkability. Breaking away from… Read more
Style
Passionfruit Sour
ABV
7.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Wild Red Ale & Sour Brett Ale 2021

Published July 22, 2021
Two of Holgate’s more popular releases – particularly among the geekier elements of the craft beer world – return simultaneously in 2021. Starting off with Wild Red Ale 2021 – a beer that upon its first release in 2016 took out top spot in our Best New Victorian Beers poll, and which has tended to impress with subsequent releases – it's the regional Victorian brewery's version of a Flanders red ale. The latest vintage has taken some time to get here too, spending 18 months souring and maturing… Read more
Style
Wild Red Ale & Brett Pale Ale
ABV
Both 7.0%
Stockists

Available from Holgate's online store.

Holgate Brewhouse Campfire Red IPA & Double Stout

Published June 11, 2021
There's a bit of a problem with one of Holgate's new winter releases. If you do as the name intends, you won't get to enjoy it in its full glory. Sure, Campfire Red IPA is the sort of beer you'll want to enjoy by a campfire. But, should you do so, you'll miss out on the nerdy joy of pouring it into a glass, holding it to a light, and admiring its appearance† – bright as you like and with the glow of a pre-dawn ember. What you will still get to enjoy is the coming together of citrus rind and red… Read more
Style
Red IPA & Double Stout
ABV
7.0% & 8.5%
Bitterness
80 & 75 IBU
Stockists

NB Double Stout set for release week commencing June 21

Holgate Brewhouse Millennium Falcon 2021

Published April 19, 2021
If you're a regular reader of this site you probably won't need an introduction to Holgate's Millennium Falcon, given in contemporary craft beer years it debuted a long time ago in a galaxy far from the one we inhabit today. If you've not come across it before, however, it's an imperial – or "Empirial" – IPA they release ahead of May the 4th each year. The brewers like to play around with the hops each year too, with their 2021 selection contributing to what I reckon is the best MF… Read more
Style
Imperial IPA
ABV
9.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Hazy IPA (2021)

Published April 8, 2021
The evolution of Holgate’s regularly released but limited Hazy IPA continues in 2021. The beer’s origins go back to GABS 2017, when the brewery made Cloudy With A Chance Of Mangoes. Since then, Holgate have given it a wider release in kegs, then it appeared in 440ml cans in 2020 before arriving at the present day in a 375ml can. The beer itself, on the other hand, hasn’t changed so much. And, while mango might have been in the original name, it’s not fruit steering things here. Instead,… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.8%

Holgate & Umberto Tivo Orange Sour

Published February 26, 2021
It's funny how some things stick with you. I don't really know what TiVo is, yet as soon as I heard about Holgate's beer of the same name, Tropic Thunder came to mind. Which, much like the film, is a red herring as the beer has nothing to do with that kind of TiVo and everything to do with recreating an aperitivo. It's a collab with Umberto Espresso Bar – an Italian joint in the Melbourne suburb of Thornbury – designed to mimic a spritz. Brewed with oranges and orange-esque German hop variety… Read more
Style
Orange Sour Ale
ABV
4.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Twin Suns XPA

Published November 9, 2020
This isn't the first, or indeed second, time Holgate have put out a Star Wars-themed beer. In fact, it's not the first time they've put out a 5.5 percent XPA featuring an X-Wing on the labels either, with Twin Suns following in the vapour trails of X-Wing, which debuted in time for May 4 two years ago. Having checked back, there are differences beyond the name and artwork, however, with popping hop Idaho #7 joining Azacca, Citra and Mosaic. A clear golden pour, Twin Suns pits ripe, candied pineapple… Read more
Style
XPA
ABV
5.5%

Holgate Brewhouse Bavarian Beer Pack

Published October 26, 2020
As one of the earliest of Australia's craft brewers, Paul Holgate among a tiny band of people looking to change drinkers' perceptions of what beer was and could be. Throughout the two decades and more since, there have been plenty of times the Woodend brewer has played around on contemporary beer's frontier: they were barrel-ageing beers a decade ago, releasing double IPAs well ahead of IPA's time in the sun, experimenting with bugs and blending early too. But Paul's a traditionalist at heart, whether… Read more
Style
Hefe & Dunkel & Pilsner
ABV
5.3% & 5.1% & 5.1%

Holgate Brewhouse Hopinator 2020

Published October 2, 2020
Holgate's Hopinator was one of the first double IPAs I ever came across. There had been a couple when in the US while reporting on a double murder for a UK newspaper at a time when I had no idea what double IPA meant, then Murray's Icon 2IPA after moving to Australia, but that was it. Then again, there weren't many around when Holgate first released theirs. IPAs of all shapes and sizes are here, there and everywhere today, however, yet those like Hopinator have become almost like historical artefacts;… Read more
Style
Double IPA
ABV
7.5%
Bitterness
100 IBU

Holgate Brewhouse Empress 2020

Published July 1, 2020
In the current era, nothing seems too crazy when it comes to the beers you can find in your local bottleshop fridge. Thus, in the current era of pastry stouts – imperial or otherwise – an imperial mocha porter weighing in at 10 percent ABV and brewed with coffee, Belgian candi syrup, cocoa and vanilla might qualify as a pretty normal winter release. Which, in its own way, reminds you just how forward-thinking the Holgate Brewhouse crew was when they first released Empress way back in 2011. The… Read more
Style
Imperial Mocha Porter
ABV
10.0%
Bitterness
50 IBU

Holgate Brewhouse Millennium Falcon 2020

Published April 22, 2020
The OG series might have wrapped up with The Last Jedi but Hans Solo's creaking ship continues to make its annual sweep across the country from Woodend in time for May the Fourth in the shape of the Millennium Falcon. The beer has become one of the Victorian pioneers most sought after and in 2020 comes with another revision as the brewers tone things down just a smidgen to 9 percent ABV. The concept remains as it has been since 2013: create a lean machine of an "Empirial" IPA and squeeze… Read more
Style
Imperial IPA
ABV
9.0%
Bitterness
100+ IBU

Holgate Brewhouse Apple Berry Beer

Published April 22, 2020
If you'd told people fruit sours, turbid IPAs, pastry stouts and hard seltzers would be part of the local brewing industry even just a few years ago, not many would have taken you seriously. But here we are, in a place that, certainly pre-COVID-19, knew no limits when it came to conceiving the next 15 beers in one's limited release schedule. Yet this autumn release from Holgate Brewhouse still feels like it occupies a place of its own. They've got a track record for getting in early, not just as… Read more
Style
Fruit Beer
ABV
4.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Hazy IPA (cans)

Published March 4, 2020
The black tallboy tinnies Holgate unveiled in the lead up to their Double Decade celebrations are back for 2020, with the first beer to appear inside them a rerun of a prior draught-only release. Their Hazy IPA made an appearance last year but even then it was a case of them revisiting their 2017 GABS beer, tagged a New England IPA going by the name Cloudy With A Chance Of Mangoes. Not that there's any mangoes in it. Instead, they've used wheat and oats to build and soften the mouthfeel and opted… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.8%
Bitterness
20 IBU

Holgate Brewhouse Double Decade Double-Hopped Mt Macedon Pale Ale

Published October 8, 2019
As names go, Double Decade Double-Hopped Mt Macedon Pale Ale doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but does it travel better the other way? It's the fourth in the series of releases brewed by Holgate to mark their first 20 years in operation, following beefed up versions of their ESB, Stout and White Ale, and the one timed to be released as the double decade ticks over. It's not double the size, weighing in at a strong pale ale-esque 5.8 percent ABV, and doesn't pack double the punch either. Instead,… Read more
Style
Double Hopped Pale Ale
ABV
5.8%

Holgate Brewhouse Double Decade White IPA

Published September 2, 2019
When people discuss past trends that turned more to fads, the black IPA tends to come up more than most. Yet it's a beer that still appears with some regularity, particularly in the colder months. Its inverse, on the other hand, is arguably more worthy of a place in such discussions as white IPAs – typically involving the fermentation of a beer that would otherwise be a straightforward IPA with a Belgian witbier yeast – were lesser seen even in the months after they first "trended",… Read more
Style
White IPA
ABV
7.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Double Stout

Published July 3, 2019
You can’t blame Paul and Natasha Holgate for wanting to spend a bit of time reflecting in 2019. When they launched their brewery at the back of their house 20 years ago, the craft beer industry barely existed. Today, there are breweries springing up in all parts of the country at a phenomenal rate and they’ve grown considerably too; head to Woodend now and you'll find them brewing on a 50 hectolitre German brewery as their visitor centre takes shape. As part of their reflecting, they're revisiting… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
ABV
8.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Double ESB

Published May 28, 2019
A full two decades on from first firing up their brewery, then in the back of their house, Holgate’s eyes are directed firmly towards the future, with their brewery expansion and creation of a visitor centre at the rear of their pub edging ever closer to full completion. But, as they approach their 20th birthday later this year, Paul and Natasha Holgate are also looking back at what brought them here. And what better way to celebrate a double decade than by releasing a double version of one of… Read more
Style
Double ESB
ABV
7.5%

Holgate Brewhouse Millennium Falcon 2019

Published May 28, 2019
A long time ago, in a galaxy… well, you know the rest. In 2013, Holgate Brewhouse decided to celebrate their 1000th brew with an “Emperial IPA”: a big, bold IIPA filled with Star Wars-esque hops Galaxy, Falconers Flight and Millennium. That was well before the proliferation of George Lucas-inspired beers we now see released for International Star Wars Day (May 4). Millennium Falcon is a beer that’s since become a fixture of the brewery’s special release roster, picking up the odd gold medal… Read more
Style
Imperial IPA
ABV
9.0%

Holgate Brewhouse 600 Above Citrus Saison

Published March 8, 2019
Paul and Natasha Holgate have long been brewery owners keen to showcase their love for Woodend and its surrounds. Afterall, Mt Macedon Pale Ale was among the brewery’s first ever releases and was a beer that advertised the fact you can see the mountain range in question from Holgate’s historic pub home. It’s now 20 years since Holgate first released a beer and, though the brewery is now much larger, it still sits in the same corner of Woodend it's inhabited since moving out of the family home… Read more
Style
Citrus Saison
ABV
6.2%

Holgate Brewhouse Empress 2018

Published June 24, 2018
It’s been a full decade since Holgate first released Temptress, a beer that’s won its fair share of love from both beer fans and judges over the years and claimed yet another trophy, for Best Porter, at the 2018 Australian International Beer Awards. It’s also been more than seven years since the brewery debuted Empress – an imperial homage to Temptress. Where Temptress makes a feature of Dutch cocoa and Madagascan vanilla, the Empress adds coffee – it is an imperial mocha porter, after… Read more
Style
Imperial Mocha Porter
ABV
10.0%

Holgate Brewhouse Millennium Falcon 2018

Published May 4, 2018
Back in 2013, to celebrate its 1000th brew, Holgate Brewhouse created the Millennium Falcon, a 10 percent ABV, 100 IBU "Empirial IPA" that featured a stack of Star Wars-esque ingredients, such as Millennium, Falconer's Flight and Galaxy hops. It's become an annual staple since, with the brewers tweaking the hop varieties each year. The 2017 version picked up gold at the Australian International Beer Awards, but that hasn't stopped them playing with the recipe again, with fruity US hops… Read more
Style
Imperial IPA
ABV
9.0%

Holgate Brewhouse X-Wing XPA

Published May 4, 2018
The eagerness with which Australian breweries jump on board the unofficial Star Wars Day, aka May the 4th, seems to be mounting each year. As does their fondness for borrowing names, puns and imagery from the film series. Holgate has been releasing its Millennium Falcon for several years and, in 2018, it's joined by a wingman. As the final scenes in A New Hope remind us, sometimes smaller ships are just as capable of great feats and so the brewers looked to create a smaller beer that was still able… Read more
Style
XPA
ABV
5.5%

Holgate Brewhouse Sour Brett Ale 2018

Published April 3, 2018
At the time the first vintages of both beers were released, Holgate’s Wild Red Ale and subsequent Sour Brett Ale were met with widespread acclaim from those occupying craft beer’s nerdier corners. Now, the second vintage of Sour Brett Ale has made it out into the world – with the intention of bringing them back every year to showcase the funkier side of beer. This year’s release follows a similar path to the previous incarnation, using a simple malt bill, which gives the beer its light golden… Read more
Style
Sour Ale
ABV
6.2%

Holgate Brewhouse Australian Botanicals White Ale

Published November 28, 2017
The White Ale was one of Paul Holgate's very first releases as a commercial brewer, inspired by the Hoegaarden he'd been drinking on work trips to Europe. It's a style he's since brought back for special occasions, such as when a double version was released to mark 15 years of Holgate Brewhouse. And now a white ale variant is released under the Gatekeeper banner for summer 2017. It's brewed with three Australian botanicals – finger lime, mountain pepper and strawberry gum (the last of which, incidentally,… Read more
Style
Spiced Witbier
ABV
5.3%
Bitterness
8 IBU

Holgate Brewhouse Wild Red Ale 2017

Published September 11, 2017
It's fair to say The Crafty Pint team rather enjoyed the first Wild Red Ale from Holgate. And we were far from alone. The Flanders red style ale took out the top spot in our Best New Victorian Beers of 2016 poll, meaning the arrival of its successor was much anticipated. In fact, this year's beer could be described as "offspring" as much as "successor"with a portion of the 2016 batch used to "seed" the barrels this time around, ensuring the mixture of yeasts and bacteria… Read more
Style
Flanders Style Red Ale
ABV
5.6%
Bitterness
10 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Other stockists TBC

Holgate Brewhouse Sour Brett Ale

Published April 14, 2017
While this year's take on Holgate's acclaimed Wild Red Ale continues to take shape in barrels, the brewery has added another, very different, sour beer to its occasional specialty release lineup. The Sour Brett Ale is one that was developed in far less time and hasn't spent any time on oak; instead it's the result of the brewers playing around with a range of yeasts and bacteria. A couple of strains of the once feared, now adored Brettanomyces yeast were cultured up in two of the brewery's smaller… Read more
Style
Sour Blonde
ABV
6.2%
Bitterness
14.5 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Flight Bar Bendigo

And select venues in VIC & QLD

More stockists...

Holgate Brewhouse Tangelo Gose

Published October 13, 2016
Holgate is the latest local brewer to dabble its toes in gose, with this tangelo'd affair its Spring seasonal release. It comes out around the same time that Nomad has popped its Freshie gose into cans and not long after Sailors Grave launched with Down She Gose as its first release. Indeed, such is the growing interest in the once almost forgotten salty, slightly sour German style that we'd asked our resident beer scholar to pen an article on gose only to discover that, as one of the brewers at… Read more
Style
Gose
ABV
4.2%

Holgate Brewhouse Barrel-Aged Stout 2015

Published July 28, 2016
Given how many different beers they've released in their 17 years – straightforward lagers, English and American style ales, Belgians big and small, sours and more – it's quite something that Holgate Brewhouse reached this point without a stout to its name. Perhaps when you've got a porter in your arsenal that has been loved the country over for years on end, there's no real need. And, perhaps, when you do decide it's time, you feel it should be done with a bang. Certainly, there's been no holding… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Stout
ABV
8.8%

Holgate Brewhouse Beelzebub's Jewels 2016

Published July 28, 2016
If memory serves, the first Beelzebub's Jewels was also Holgate's first foray into barrels. Then it was very much an experimental "let's see what happens if..." kind of affair. The brewers took their Double Trouble Belgian style ale, popped it into Curly Flat wine barrels and looked to raise its booze levels well above the starting point of 8 percent ABV. It worked out well enough that the following year they designed a brand new base beer and increased the number of barrels. Since then,… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Belgian Quad
ABV
12.0%
Stockists

Other stockists TBC

Holgate Brewhouse Wild Red Ale

Published April 22, 2016
At March's Good Beer Week Gala Showcase, a brewer who's never shy with his opinions approached with what can only be described as the zeal of a zealot – yes, that much zeal. "Have you tried the Flanders Red yet?" he demanded. "The Boatrocker one? Yeah, it's good but pretty straight up and down compared to some of the beers they've done." "No! Holgate. They've got a few bottles under their bar. It's probably the best Australian beer I've had in a year." Seventeen seconds… Read more
Style
Flanders Red Style Ale
ABV
6.0%
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Newstead Brewing

Brewski

And select good beer outlets in VIC, NSW & QLD

More stockists...

Holgate Brewhouse Tank 9: Saison & Alpha Crucis IPA

Published February 4, 2016
Poor Tank 9. It's the smallest of all the tanks at Holgate's brewery yet it seems to take a terrible pounding as the home of their experimental releases. Then again, maybe it's the happiest tank in the land, eagerly waiting to see what variety of sugary, hoppy wort will next fill it from the boots up, ready to be feasted on by happily munching, multiplying and farting yeast. If only tanks could talk, hey? The two latest beers to have undergone gestation within the stubbornly mute cylinder of stainless… Read more
Style
Saison & Aussie IPA
ABV
6.5% & 5.1%
Bitterness
25 IBU & 50 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Others TBC

Holgate Brewhouse Hop Tart - RETIRED

Published January 29, 2016
In 2015, one of the many limited run beers to make its way from Holgate's baby Tank 9 was Hop Tart, a "Semi Sour Pale Ale" in which the brewers played around with souring bacteria Lactobacillus to create lactic acid and, thus, a spot of sourness within a relatively hoppy ale. To achieve their goal, they chose to naturally sour their wort [the sugary liquid produced early in the brewing process after crushed grains are soaked in hot water] by giving it an extended rest in the company of… Read more
Style
Semi Sour Pale Ale
ABV
4.6%
Bitterness
20 IBU

Holgate & Mt Macedon Hotel Candy Mountain IPA

Published December 17, 2015
The Mt Macedon Hotel is one of the growing number of places bringing great beer to people outside Australia's craft beer heartlands. It's a beautiful pub in the Victorian countryside that has a quite staggering array of beer on tap and in bottles. One of its earliest supporters when it was changing to better beer was nearby Holgate Brewhouse and now they've got together to make a beer in the brewery's experimental baby Tank 9 (pictured). According to brewer Nic: "Like kids in a candy shop [the… Read more
Style
Fruit IPA
ABV
5.2%
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Holgate Brewhouse Tank 9 Brew Loose 2 & 3: Unflemished Belgian IPA & How Now American Brown

Published November 25, 2015
Holgate's brewers were cut loose recently and invited to brew whatever their heart's desired within the brewery's baby Tank 9. You can read more about the concept in our write up for beer #1 in the series here. Beers #2 and #3 are now out too; indeed, they're being showcased all together at a couple of events. So time to complete the trilogy. The second is the Unflemished Belgian IPA comes from Josh, who says: "Given the brewery's love for Belgian styles and IPAs, I deemed it appropriate to… Read more
Style
Belgian IPA & American Brown
ABV
6.8% & 4.5%
Bitterness
75 IBU & 35 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Cambrian, Bendigo

And some to QLD & NSW

More stockists...

Holgate Brewhouse Tank 9 Brew Loose #1: Tyger Tyger

Published November 18, 2015
Ever since filling every other nook and cranny in the brewery with much bigger tanks, the Holgate Brewhouse team has been using the last remaining baby, Tank 9, as the place for trial and experimental brews. And, as an early Christmas present to his brewers, owner Paul invited the four of them to create whatever they wanted inside it as a break from brewing, mostly, Holgate's core range. Rather than go nuts and concoct a series of big, crazy beers they kept things pretty restrained. First up was… Read more
Style
English IPA
ABV
6.2%
Bitterness
50 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Bent Elbow, QLD

Cambrian Hotel, Bendigo

Flux, QLD

Village Bicycle, QLD

More stockists...

Holgate Brewhouse Tank 9: Crosby Idaho Experimental #4

Published October 14, 2015
Now isn't that a name that rolls off the tongue: Crosby Idaho Experimental #4. It's the sort of name Aphex Twin would give to a track featuring his mother singing lullabies, her voice mangled through a handful of homemade vocoders then merged with the sound of a pneumatic drill pounding the deep end of an abandoned swimming pool recorded on an old spy microphone from inside a bird hide. Remarkably, however, it isn't that. It's the latest small batch, draught only beer from Holgate. The reason for… Read more
Style
Single Hop Pale Ale
ABV
5.2%
Bitterness
50 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Taps, The Valley, QLD

Brewski, QLD

Stables, QLD

More stockists...

Holgate Brewhouse Millennium Falcon 2015

Published May 4, 2015
To mark Star Wars Day, Holgate Brewhouse has brought its Millennium Falcon back for another burst of its hopperdrive. The beer started as one of the most punny beers you could ever wish to find; it was the Woodend brewery's 1000th brew and featured Millennium, Falconer's Flight and Galaxy hops. The beer was given even more hops last year for its second tour and has been boosted once more this time around. What was already a 10 percent "Emprial IPA" has been nudged up to 10.5 percent ABV… Read more
Style
"Emperial" IPA
ABV
10.5%
Bitterness
100 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Cambrian Hotel, Bendigo

Others TBC

Keg and bottle

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Holgate Brewhouse & Frankie's Bull in the Big Smoke

Published April 20, 2015
A wet hop beer, an IPA and a collaboration all in the one beer: it's a veritable beer trend extravaganza! Bull in the Big Smoke sees one of the elder statesmen of the Australian craft beer world, Woodend's 15 years-and-counting Holgate Brewhouse, join forces with one of the liveliest new recruits to the craft beer-pouring world, Sydney's raucous rabbit hole of a venue Frankie's Pizza. At the heart of their joint effort are hops, fresh hops plucked from the recent Aussie harvest and rushed into hot,… Read more
Style
Wet Hop IPA
ABV
6.2%
Stockists

Frankie's Pizza

Holgate Brewhouse

Others TBC

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Holgate Brewhouse / Mountain Goat White Tail

Published March 20, 2015
Aside from Grand Ridge, Mountain Goat and Holgate Brewhouse are the longest established Victorian microbreweries. The former turns 18 later this year, while Holgate is well into its 16th year. And now the combined 30-odd-year-olds have joined forces for their first collaboration, a collaboration based around their first beers. Goat's first beer was the Hightail, while Holgate launched with an ESB and White Ale, the latter based on Hoegaarden. And, as the name suggests, it is the Dutch-inspired brew… Read more
Style
Belgian English Amber Ale
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Mountain Goat Brewery

Others TBC

More stockists...

Holgate Brewhouse Tank 9 Series: Helles

Published February 10, 2015
One of the questions we ask in our semi-regular Brew & A features with Aussie brewers (only semi-regular as they're all too bloody busy to respond...) is what beer would they choose if they were stranded on a desert island for the rest of their days. When compiling the questions years ago, we tried them out ourselves and, while temptation might have been there to go for something "on trend" (probably double IPAs back then) it was hard to see past a good Munich helles: the lagers that… Read more
Style
Munich Helles
ABV
3.9%
Bitterness
20 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

A handful of venues in Hobart, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane

Holgate Brewhouse Tank 9 Series: Saison Du Barry

Published February 9, 2015
Saison: the archetypal farmhouse beer style. Barry: the archetypal Aussie farmer (well, at least according to the brewers at Holgate). As part of its prolific Tank 9 Series of releases, which started in 2014 and make use of the brewery's smallest remaining fermenter, Holgate have produced their first saison that takes inspiration for its name from the classic Belgian beer, Saison Dupont, and gives it an Aussie makeover. Designed to provide some spritzy summer quaffing, the cloudy yellow offers up… Read more
Style
Saison
ABV
5.2%
Bitterness
25 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

A handful of venues in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Hobart

Holgate Brewhouse GateKeeper

Published January 5, 2015
There's no stopping them at Holgate these days, it seems. Founder Paul has been jetting around the world absorbing all he can on the science side of brewing and is investing in the lab side of his Woodend brewery, they've added more taps to their brewpub bar and are producing all manner of new small batch and experimental beers. One of the latest additions to the small batch lineup is the GateKeeper, the brewery's stab at an increasingly popular style among microbreweries on these shores: the full-flavoured… Read more
Style
Midstrength
ABV
3.5%
Bitterness
15 IBU

Holgate Brewhouse Hop Tart

Published December 31, 2014
If ever you were after proof that you an teach an old bull new tricks look no further than Holgate Brewhouse. Now in its 16th year as a brewery, it has grand plans for further expansion and continues to explore new avenues with its beers while improving its old ones. In the former category beer wise is a delve into the world of sour and farmhouse beers. On a trip to the USA last year, brewery founder Paul Holgate called in to Russian River to learn from the best on how to manage regular and sour… Read more
Style
Berliner Weisse
ABV
4.5%
Bitterness
25 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse bar

Other Melbourne venues TBC

Holgate Brewhouse Gate Series: Californian IPA & TOPAZ Single Hop IPA

Published November 27, 2014
It looks like Holgate is embarking on its own take on the soft porn smash of the decade, substituting 50 Shades of Grey for 50 Shades of Hops. OK, so maybe it's not quite 50 but with the release of this Californian IPA – the first release to bear their new "Gate Series" tag – and the "Tank 9" single hop TOPAZ IPA they've got quite the progression of hoppy beers now, from the Mt Macedon Ale through Road Trip IPA to these two new IPAs, the Hopinator Double IPA and, once a year,… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
7.0%
Bitterness
70 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Two Row

Cambrian Hotel, Bendigo

Craft Wine Store

Tomahawk Bar

Black Bunny Kitchen

Blind Bear

More stockists...

Holgate Brewhouse 15th Anniversary White Ale & Big Stein

Published October 12, 2014
If one thing was clear from the chat we have with Paul and Natasha Holgate when preparing a write up on their recent 15th anniversary was that they've never really done things the easy way but, instead, what they believed was the right way. Their first two releases back in 1999 showed that they'd do what they wanted, with Paul opting to announce Holgate with the Old Pale Ale (now the ESB) and a white ale inspired by Hoegaarden. While the ESB lives on year round, the White Ale has become a lesser… Read more
Style
Belgian Witbier / Marzen
ABV
6.0% / 4.5%
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Holgate stockists nationwide

Holgate Brewhouse Double Trouble (500ml)

Published May 12, 2014
You don't see a huge number of Belgian Dubbels been brewed around Australia. Thankfully, generally when you do they are rather tasty. There's Little Brewing's deeply complex Mad Abbot version, Hargreaves' occasional AD (new batch available at the cellar door right now) and a handful of one-offs, while Bright has long had its Fainters Dubbel, recently reworked by head brewer Jon Seltin who, in a conversation last week, declared a barrel-aged version of said beer that is due for a very limited release… Read more
Style
Belgian Style Dubbel
ABV
8.0%
Stockists

On tap at Holgate

Nationwide at good beer stockists

Holgate Brewhouse Millennium Falcon 2014

Published March 9, 2014
The beer originally created for Holgate's 1,000th brew is back. The Star Wars-inspired Millennium Falcon is the brewery's hoppiest beer, sitting atop a hierarchy of pale ales that starts with their Mt Macedon Ale and continues through the Road Trip IPA and Hopinator to this Imperial (or Empirial) IPA. Continuing the Star Wars theme throughout the beer, it features Millennium, Falconer's Flight and Galaxy hops. Plenty of them too, with the beer registering 10 percent ABV and 100 IBU (a measure of… Read more
Style
Imperial IPA
ABV
10%

Holgate Black Forest Summer Porter

Published December 12, 2013
Holgate's Temptress, its cocoa and vanilla porter, has been one of the most surprising and enduring success stories of the rise of Australian craft beer. An instant hit upon launch a few years back, its lusciousness has continued to win over drinkers and diners ever since. It is, however, perhaps not the first beer you'd reach for when the mercury heads above 30C so the brewers decided to create a summery version instead to tide you all over. Named in honour of the gateway to Woodend, the Black Forest,… Read more
Style
Fruit Porter
ABV
6.0%
Stockists

Holgate

Harts Pub

Forrest Lodge Hotel

Union Hotel Newtown

Quarrymans

Grain Store

Old Growler

Porters Balgowlah

More stockists...

Holgate The Little Heifer

Published October 8, 2013
With the last drops of their dunkelweizen, Brick Kiln, drained from the Brewhouse bar, Holgate has lined up a new, more seasonally suited, wheat beer. It is, as far as we're aware, their first hefeweizen (southern German style wheat beer) and, after much discussion over potential names - Banana Snuggler (don't ask), Island Farm Hefe - they decided it would be christened The Little Heifer. Brewed partly to appease a Bavarian regular at their pub, it follows "classic wheat beer lines, but with… Read more
Style
Hefeweizen
ABV
5.3%
Bitterness
13 IBU
Stockists

Draught only

Holgate

Junction Beer Hall

And other fine establishments to follow

More stockists...

Holgate Nut Brown Ale (500ml)

Published July 31, 2013
The beer that Paul Holgate created to mark the brewery's 10th anniversary was one dusted down from the pages of his old home brewing recipe book. It's been released ever since as a winter seasonal, tweaked along the way too. It's back to warm the cockles during the colder months once more, it being a reimagining of the Northern English style that's loaded up with lashings of Australian macadamia nuts and hearty English malts to create a brew that the brewers like to claim "smokes a pipe and… Read more
Style
Brown Ale
ABV
5.3%
Bitterness
10 IBU
Stockists

Holgate

And good craft beer bottleshops across Australia

Holgate Brick Kiln Dark Wheat

Published June 19, 2013
A winter beer that's not an Imperial Stout - who'd have thunk it? At least that's how it feels this week, with Holgate's annual release of its dunkelweizen coming in the midst of a wave of big, black beasts. A beer named in homage to Brick Kiln Road in Holgate's hometown of Woodend, which was where founders Paul and Natasha had the inspiration to open a brewery while out rambling, it's one inspired by the dark wheats of Bavaria. It pours such a deep brown that the punch of the candy bananas on the… Read more
Style
Dunkelweizen
ABV
5.0%
Stockists

At good bottleshops and beer bars across Australia.

Holgate Beelzebub's Jewels 2013

Published June 7, 2013
The team at Holgate Brewhouse releases plenty of beers year round that require careful nurturing and nudge at the boundaries of what beer can be. But there's nothing in their roster quite like the Beelzebub's Jewels. First released in 2010, when it was based on their Double Trouble - given a boost inside some Curly Flats pinot noir barrels - it's since been enhanced, starting from a brand new recipe in 2011, with refinements and lengthier periods in barrels ever since. The changes were obviously… Read more
Style
Barrel Aged Belgian Strong Ale
ABV
12.5%
Stockists

Holgate

Draft

The Park Hotel

Belgian Beer Cafe Eureka

The Scratch

Tippler's Tap

Archive, West End

Botttles

More stockists...

Holgate / Ní¸gne í? Half A World Away

Published April 11, 2013
Anyone else suspect the team at Ní¸gne í? is after Aussie citizenship? Perhaps they've grown tired of the endless winters and fancy a life in the sun. Either way, they seem to be gifting us an endless supply of collaborative beers, which to date already includes the India Saison, Aurora Borealis, Our Dark Secret and now this, with a collab with Moon Dog and another with Bridge Road already in tank (and barrel and fish bowl or whatever else they can find to use). This is the beer that came about… Read more
Style
Imperial Red Ale
ABV
9.0%
Bitterness
50IBU
Stockists

Beer DeLuxe

Holgate

Others coming soon...

More stockists...

Holgate Millennium Falcon

Published March 1, 2013
There has been no holding back for the 1000th brew by Victoria's Holgate Brewhouse. Taking the millennium as the starting point, they spun a Star Wars-inspired tale and followed it through to the nth degree by throwing as many references as possible into the beer. It features Millennium, Falconer's Flight and Galaxy hops, is subtitled an "Empirial IPA" and was launched at the Village Brasserie with the entire brewery crew dressed as Star Wars characters, including a rather dashing Hans… Read more
Style
Imperial IPA
ABV
10%
Bitterness
100 IBU
Stockists

Tap

Holgate

Village Brasserie, Melbourne

Archive, Brisbane

Others tbc

Bottles in all good bottleshops

More stockists...

Holgate Bruges Bombshell

Published January 30, 2012
A beer that was originally going to be called the Clock Tower, until in the week it went into tank the brewers at Holgate noticed that True South was releasing an IPA with the same name. So back to the drawing board it was and up came the Bruges Bombshell. Why? Well, because it's a bolshy Belgian style ale and Bruges is in Belgium, where head brewer Paul Holgate had just been on holiday and... you get the message. So what of the beer? Well, we're told it's "full flavoured but easy drinking with… Read more
Style
Belgian Golden Ale
ABV
6.0%

Holgate White Ale

Published October 24, 2011
Back in time for the warmer weather is Holgate's take on the Belgian witbier style, this time with a new recipe. Following in the footsteps of tweaks to many of their beers, from the Hopinator to the Pilsner, the White Ale returned late in 2011 with a different yeast strain, one that seems to have boosted its "wit-iness". A beer that was previously drier, with hints of coriander and citrus characters, now has more of both, particularly on the citrus front (thanks to the addition of oranges… Read more
Style
Witbier
ABV
5.0%
Stockists

Holgate

More to follow...

Holgate UXB (2011)

Published August 26, 2011
When it's at its best, Holgate's ESB is one of few Aussie beers that can transport the drinker 11,000 miles to a pub in the UK without leaving their seat. And this, the UXB - or unexploded bomb - to give it its full name, is the ESB but bigger; 60% bigger to be precise, with the malt bill and hops boosted by that amount. This is only its second appearance, after it graced a few taps to acclaim around about the same time last year. As you'd expect, the result is a thicker-bodied beer, smooth and full… Read more
Style
Extra Special Bitter
ABV
6%

Holgate Nut Brown Ale (2011)

Published August 25, 2011
The beer that Paul Holgate created to mark the brewery's 10th anniversary is back to warm the cockles during the colder months once more. Notable in that, rather than concoct something wild and crazy to mark the occasion he chose a style he loved and wanted to see more of Down Under, it's a beer that features roasted macadamia nuts added to the boil. A blend of six malts mean there's plenty of rich, dark chocolate, toasty and nutty flavours to play with and, in this year's, a drier, less sweet, finish… Read more
Style
Nut Brown Ale
ABV
6.3%
Stockists

The Deanery, Melbourne

Albion Hotel, Newcastle

Atticus Finch

Cookie

Courthouse Hotel

Josie Bones

[Great Northern](/beer/bar/great-northern

More stockists...

Holgate Empress (bottled)

Published June 1, 2011
A beer that one punter told Crafty he'd like to take to bed, the Empress really is as sensual an experience as beer gets. Taking the brewery's Temptress as the start point – same malt bill and bitterness, same use of Dutch cocoa and vanilla beans – this originally took a journey to lands anew for the first Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular in February. As well as making it into an Imperial Mocha Porter (10 percent ABV to the Temptress' 6), the brewers were keen to give it an Aussie twist so… Read more
Style
Imperial Mocha Porter
ABV
10%
Bitterness
50 IBU
Stockists

Holgate (including the last keg)

Slowbeer

Purvis Beer Richmond

Josie Bones

[Blackhearts & Sparrows](/beer/bottles

More stockists...

Holgate Beelzebub's Jewels 2011

Published May 1, 2011
The second appearance for what is to be the Woodend brewery's annual Easter release, this year's Devil's Whatsits is a different beast to last year insofar as rather than basing it on an existing Holgate beer, it's a whole new recipe, one that includes masses of candi sugar as the brewers set about creating a Belgian-style Quadrupel. At 12%, it's designed to age. And at $60-plus a bottle, it's designed to be a special occasion beer too. But what of it now - just released from the brewery, where it… Read more
Style
Belgian Quadrupel
ABV
12.0%
Stockists

Slowbeer

Purvis Beer

Purvis Beer Richmond

Holgate

[Smith Street Cellars](/beer/bottleshop/smith-street

More stockists...

Holgate White Ale

Published December 15, 2010
Without wishing to be too old-fashioned, chauvinistic and all-round Ocker about it, a Holgate brewer did suggest to Crafty that, of their two summer seasonals - the other being the mash-hopped Road Trip IPA - this was the one "for the ladies". The latest version of their Belgian witbier-inspired White Ale comes with the addition of coriander and whole Valencia oranges into the boil to give a little citrus and spice boost to the fruity esters already gained from the yeast. It's on tap at… Read more
Style
Witbier
ABV
5.0%
Bitterness
16IBU
Stockists

Holgate

Holgate Double Trouble

Published October 18, 2010
Another of Holgate's beers to have undergone something of a tweak for 2010 (see the Mount Macedon and Hopinator for other examples), the new Double Trouble is causing trouble at the brewery - the brewers can't stop drinking it... A Belgian Abbey style Dubbel, it's all about richness of flavour: intense dark fruit, toffee and dark rum characteristics that make it a good match for sweet desserts or cheese platters. Paul Holgate says to look out for the October 2010 date on bottles if you're after this… Read more
Style
Belgian Dubbel
ABV
8.0%
Bitterness
38 IBU
Stockists

Holgate Brewhouse

Holgate Road Trip IPA

Published September 17, 2010
We're beginning to suspect there's something in the Woodend water at the minute. Holgate's original Mount Macedon Ale has discovered a punchier new hop character, the Hopinator's reacted in kind and their seasonals are flying out the door like there's no tomorrow. With this year's final batch of Brick Kiln Dark Wheat Beer still conditioning, it's time for Spring and the arrival of the Road Trip IPA. Inspired by Paul Holgate and family's holiday in Pacific Northwest USA last year, it's a hop lover's… Read more
Style
American IPA (India Pale Ale)
ABV
5.5%
Bitterness
60 IBU

Holgate Ladyboy

Published September 3, 2010
Anyone who's met Paul Holgate and his team of brewers will know they're a swarthy lot: real men with testosterone literally teeming from their pores. However, they are known to like a ladyboy or two. "What?" you say. Well, for the past year or so, they've been offering them over the bar at their Woodend brewhouse, the Ladyboy being a Black & Tan style mix of their cocoa and vanilla bean Temptress (the lady) and roast macadamia-laden Nut Brown Ale (the boy). For a limited time only,… Read more
Style
Black & Tan
ABV
approx 6.2%

Holgate Nut Brown Ale

Published August 26, 2010
When choosing a tenth anniversary beer in 2009, Paul Holgate eschewed the idea of creating something extreme in favour of a style he'd enjoyed making in his home brewing days. The resultant Nut Brown Ale, made with roasted macadamia nuts added to the boil was an instant winner. A blend of six different malts lent it multi-layered rich, dark roasted flavours with a touch of caramel sweetness, lifted by the nut addition and rounded off with a short hop finish. Originally a one-off, it's now scheduled… Read more
Style
Northern English Brown Ale
ABV
6.3%
Bitterness
19 IBU
Stockists

Grumpy's Green

Biero

Holgate Brewhouse

Oscar's Alehouse

[Great Northern](/beer/bar/gr

More stockists...

Holgate Brick Kiln Wheat Beer

Published May 20, 2010
A hearty winter special, this is a dark wheat beer (dunkel weizen) inspired by the Bavarian version and made with imported German malts and a special wheat beer yeast strain that gives it prominent banana and clove aromas. Pouring a hazy apricot orange, it boasts a clean palate and gently bitter finish.… Read more
Style
Dunkel weizen
ABV
5%
Bitterness
16 IBU

Holgate Brewhouse Mt Macedon Ale – SUPERSEDED

Named after nearby Mt Macedon, this was one of the first Holgate beers to hit the market. Back in the early days, use of Vienna malts meant it poured a deep honey colour and had a delicate caramel malt flavour finished with a piney, resinous hops from the US Pacific North West. Over the years, the beer as been refined and reworked into what it is today: a paler beer that still showcases New World hops but does so within a leaner and drier body than before. A fine Australian session pale that sits… Read more
Style
Pale Ale
ABV
4.5%
Bitterness
25 IBU

Holgate Brewhouse ESB (Extra Special Bitter)

Anyone who's ever enjoyed a quality ale at a good British pub will be transported back there by Holgate's ESB, a fine recreation of a traditional English ESB. Deservedly shortlisted for Best Victorian Beer at the 2010 Australian International Beer Awards, it's a malt-driven beer rich with layers of caramel, toffee and biscuit, backed up by a firm hop bitterness derived from a generous addition of English Fuggles and Golding hops. A longstanding member of the Holgate lineup since the early days and… Read more
Style
Extra Special Bitter
ABV
5%
Bitterness
35 IBU

Pilsner – RETIRED

A true European style lager that uses a bucketload of Czech Saaz hops but is brewed to the Dortmunder style, it's a light straw-coloured beer with a clean malt palate and a grassy / floral hop aroma and dry bitter finish. A crisp, refreshing beer for thirst-quenching on hot day, the brewers recommend pairing it with seafood or rich dishes such as deep fried fish or pizza.… Read more
Style
German Pilsner
ABV
4.5%
Bitterness
28 IBU

Holgate Pilsner

While a big seller for the brewery, Holgate's original Pilsner was always our least favourite of their range. And before anyone thinks we're being out of order saying this publicly, we'd told the brewers how we felt in the past. So we were delighted to hear rumours that they were revisiting the recipe with the intention of creating a more true-to-style German pilsner, using imported Bavarian pilsner malt and increasing the alcohol content. Right from the off the signs are promising, with the sweet… Read more
Style
German Pilsner
ABV
5.1%

Holgate Road Trip IPA (2011 on)

Holgate's hoppy, hoppy Road Trip, the IPA inspired by a trip through the Pacific Northwest of the States, debuted as a draught only release in 2010 before returning in the same format a year later. It's a beer that, in a first for the brewery, had hops added from the very first moment to the last: hops went into the mash tun, followed by multiple further additions throughout the boil and more during fermentation. If you know your US hops, think of any beginning with C and chances are they're in… Read more
Style
US Style IPA
ABV
5.5%

Holgate Brewhouse Hopinator (RETIRED)

Brewers who aren't constantly tweaking and seeking to improve their beers are no doubt few and far between. And certainly that's been the case at Holgate Brewhouse in recent times, where they've been revisiting and subtly reinventing a number of their core beers. Among those are the Hopinator, their double IPA, that prior to the release of the Millennium Falcon was the hoppiest in their lineup of pale ales. Over the years, as the recipe has changed, the alcohol content has risen, while the resinous… Read more
Style
Double IPA
ABV
7.5%
Bitterness
80 IBU
Awards

Gold at Australian International Beer Awards 2016