Bridge Road Brewers

Brewer

Name
Bridge Road Brewers
Address

Old Coach House
Ford Street
Beechworth VIC 3747

Phone
(03) 5728 2703
Open Hours

Lunch: 7 days from midday to 3pm
Dinner: Thurs to Sun from 6pm to 8.30pm
Brewery door open daily from 11am

Tours

Each Saturday at 11am

Budding young winemaker Ben Kraus headed to Italy at the start of the Millennium to learn more about the art of making wine. Somewhere along the way, he got distracted on the ski slopes of Austria and ended up working at Tiroler Bier, a traditional microbrewery in Innsbruck, and returned to Australia a brewer, steeped in the traditions of the amber nectar.

Founding Bridge Road Brewers in his dad's Beechworth backyard, he quickly established himself as one of Australia's finest craft brewers and later installed his brewery at the High Country town's old Coach House and Stables. There, visitors can sit among wooden clad tanks sampling a wide range of beers (and occasionally cider) while watching the brewers at work.

Ben didn't just bring brewing skills back from Europe, however, he brought his Austrian partner Maria, who bakes the best pretzels this side of Munich ' perfect for soaking up your beer.

An everpresent at the High Country's festivals, Bridge Road Brewers also hosts regular events of its own, from lederhosen-laden Oktoberfests to their celebration of the region's hop harvest, The High Country Hop. In late 2009, Ben began expanding into the neighbouring warehouse and entered the international export market in a bid to fly the Aussie craft beer flag overseas. It's an expansion that seems to be never-ending, whether that's installing a new brewhouse, more tanks, Australia's first foeder at a brewery, or the dozens of new beers that leave Beechworth every year.

Always on the lookout for new ways to brew and to spread the word about craft beer, Ben was been at the forefront of Aussie brewers taking part in collaborations, flying to Norway to brew with Nøgne Ø, then welcoming the brewer Kjetil Jikiun back to Beechworth, sending one of his brewers to brew at the UK's Thornbridge and also collaborating with Mikkeller. In 2012, he also began inviting staff from Australia's top beer bars to concoct their own beer ideas and bringing them to the brewery to help make them.

Indeed, innovation and grand marketing concepts are as much part of the Bridge Road Brewers story as the beers. Ben and his team have celebrated Aussie hops more than any other brewer, even creating The High Country Hop Festival at harvest time, while their messaging about independence arguably reached their high water mark when he declared the brewery its own micronation.

In 2023, the brewery's long-established roots in Melbourne got a home of their own with the opening of their second venue, a substantial restaurant in Brunswick East. The inner north space features its own brewhouse and rather than being a replica of Beechworth's gold rush charm, Bridge Road Brewers Brunswick is a modern and sleek space built with its inner north neighbourhood in mind.

It's a winning combination of fun and creativity, aided in no small part by the warm and family-friendly nature of those homes, that has kept Bridge Road Brewers at the vanguard of the Australian craft beer world even as the number of other breweries has swollen by hundreds. Long may it continue.

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

Stories featuring Bridge Road Brewers

Core Range

Bridge Road Celtic Red Ale
Celtic Ale
5.3%
Bridge Road Beechworth Pale Ale
Pale Ale
4.8%
Bridge Road Bling IPA
India Pale Ale
5.8%
Bridge Road Robust Porter
Robust Porter
5.2%
Bridge Road Brewers Little Bling
Session IPA
3.5%
Bridge Road Brewers Beechy XPA
Summer Ale
4.4%
Bridge Road Brewers Outsider Lager
Lager
4.5%
Bridge Road Brewers Free Time
Alcohol-Free Pale Ale
<0.5%
Bridge Road Little Hazy
Hazy Midstrength
3.4%

Limited Releases

Bridge Road West Coast Pilsner
West Coast Pilsner
5.9%
Bridge Road Brewers Pass-O-Guava & Phantasm Hazy
Gose & Hazy IPA
4.3% & 6.5%
Bridge Road Brewers Blackberry Sour & Strata Hazy
Fruit Sour & Hazy IPA
4.3% & 6.3%
Bridge Road Liquid Cold IPA & Sydney Brewery Tastes Like Holiday
Cold IPA & Hazy Pale Ale
6.8% & 4.2%
Bridge Road Thiolized West Coast
West Coast IPA
6.9%
Bridge Road & The High Country Brewers Rule 47: Red IPA
Red IPA
6.0%
Bridge Road x Brunswick Bitters Co Mayday Hills Gruit
Gruit
3.9%
Bridge Road New Sky IPA Vol. 6: Oat Latte
Oat Cream IPA
7.1%
Bridge Road Brewers Ooft
Smoothie Sour
6.0%
Wheaty Brewing Corps X Bridge Road Brewers X Ferveo Grisette
Grisette
5.3%
Bridge Road Brewers Hazy Harvest & Dark Harvest 2023
Wet Hop Beers
6.3% & 6.6%
Bridge Road Brewers New Sky IPA Vol. 3: Triple Dry-Hop Hazy
TDH Hazy IPA
6.3%
Bridge Road New Sky IPA Vol. 2: Spectrum Super Cold
Cold IPA
6.9%
Bridge Road Brewers New Sky IPA Vol. 1: Double California
West Coast DIPA
8.0%
Bridge Road Brewers B2 Bomber Mach 12.0
Imperial Belgian Black IPA
10.1%
Bridge Road Hazy Harvest & Dark Harvest (2022)
Fresh Hop Beers
6.4% & 6.6%
Bridge Road Eggster Triple Choclate Ale
Chocolate Ale
6.0%
Bridge Road Christmas Beers 2021
Red IPA & Pavlova Beer
7.5% & 7.3%
Bridge Road Brewers Watermelon Sour
Watermelon Gose
4.3%
Bridge Road Brewers NEeD Vol.6: TDH Dip Hop IPA
Triple Dip Hopped DIPA
8.5%
Bridge Road Raspberry Sour With Passionfruit
Fruit Sour
4.3%
Bridge Road Brewers NEeD Vol.5: Cold IPA
Cold IPA
7.0%
Bridge Road Hazy Pale
Hazy Pale
6.0%
Bridge Road Blood Orange Sour
Gose
4.3%
Plonk Dark Beer Box
Various Styles
Various ABV
Bridge Road Brewers NEeD Vol. 4: Tangerine West Coast
West Coast IPA
7.0%
Bridge Road Brewers B2 Bomber Mach 11.0
Black Belgian Double IPA
9.3%
Bridge Road, Range Brewing & Sailors Grave DDH Oat Cream Mango Pale
DDH Oat Cream Mango Pale
5.8%
Bridge Road Brewers Passionfruit Sour
Fruit Sour
4.3%
Bridge Road Brewers Harvest Hazy & Dark Harvest 2021
Fresh Hop IPAs
6% & 6.6%
Bridge Road Brewers Mango Sour With Lime
Sessionable Sour Ale
4.3%
Bridge Road Brewers NEeD Vol.3: Hazy
Hazy IPA
6.5%
Bridge Road Brewers Very Berry Sour
Berry Gose
4.3%
Bridge Road Brewers NEed Vol.2: West Coast IPA
West Coast IPA
6.9%
Bridge Road Brewers Peach Sour
Peach Sour
4.3%
Bridge Road NEeD IPA Vol.1: Double Hazy
Double Hazy IPA
7.6%
Bridge Road Fat Man, Red Suit, Big Sack & Magical Christmas Unicorn
Red IPA & Vanilla Bomb
7.5% & 7.3%
Bridge Road Brewers Raspberry Sour
Raspberry & Lime Gose
4.3%
Bridge Road Brewers Nitro Imperial Blueberry Sour
Nitro Imperial Blueberry Sour
6.0%
Bridge Road Brewers Nitro Robust Porter
Nitro Robust Porter
5.2%
Bridge Road Brewers B2 Bomber Mach 10.0
Imperial Belgian Black IPA
10.0%
Bridge Road Brewers Jimmy's Bake Shop Isolation Cake with Nitro
Nitro Dunkelweizen
6.9%
Bridge Road Brewers Mayday Hills Hoppy Sour
Foedre-Fermented Hoppy Sour
3.8%
Bridge Road Brewers Beer Aid
Pale Ale
4.8%
Bridge Road Brewers The Harvest Fresh Hop IPA & Dark Harvest 2020
Fresh Hop Beers
6.0% & 6.6%
Bridge Road Brewers Fruit Salad Gose & Brettanomyces Apricot Sour
Fruit Sours
4.3% & 4.2%
Wheaty Brewing Corps Apricot's Hour & Blank Czech Pilsener
Apricot Sour & Czech Pilsener
3.9% & 5.1%
Bridge Road Hazy Bling IPA
Hazy IPA
6.5%
Bridge Road & Friends Beer Glamp Beers 2019
NEIPA & Pilsner
6.9% & 4.4%
Bridge Road Brewers Saisons de Wilde
Saison Variants
5.8%
Bridge Road Brewers Nitro Mountain Lager
Nitro Vienna Lager
5.0%
Bridge Road Brewers The Harvest Fresh Hop IPA & Dark Harvest 2019
Harvest Ales
6.0% & 6.6%
Bridge Road Magical Easter Unicorn
Chocolate Ale
6.0%
Bridge Road Brewers Mayday Hills Table Beer
Table Beer
3.8%
Bridge Road Brewers & Africola Chinotto Saison
Chinotto Saison
5.0%
Bridge Road & Three Blue Ducks Send It Session IPA
Passionfruit Session IPA
5.0%
Bridge Road Brewers Mayday Hills Jam & Yuzu
Foeder Fermented Fruit Beers
5.9% & 6.5%
Bridge Road Hopped Cola & Mayday Hills Apple
Apple & Cinnamon Red Ale
6.5%
Bridge Road & Movida Grisette
High Country Grisette
5.0%
Bridge Road Single Hop Series 2018
Single Hop IPA Series
6.0%
Bridge Road B2 Bomber Mach 8.0
Imperial Belgian Black IPA
11.5%
Bridge Road Mayday Hills Death By Lightning
Sour Amber Ale
6.2%
Bridge Road Bling De Wilde Series
Wild Fermented IPAs
5.8%
Bridge Road Mayday Hills Elderflower & Raspberry
Brett & Foeder Fermented Ales
6.0% & 7.7%
Bridge Road Brewers Mayday Hills Marmalade
Brett Citrus IPA
7.5%
Bridge Road Brewers & 8 Wired Saturday
Spiced Brett Pale Ale
6.0%
Bridge Road Brewers B2 Bomber Mach 7.0
Imperial Belgian Black IPA
10.0%
Bridge Road Brewers Wild Red Series
Yeast Series
Various
Bridge Road Brewers Mayday Hills Thursday
Spiced Brett Dark Ale
7.5%
Bridge Road Bar Series: Grain Store Newy Beech
Red XPA
5.5%
Bridge Road Brewers Harvest Fresh Hop & Dark Harvest 2017
Fresh Hop Harvest Ales
4.8% & 6.6%
Bridge Road Brewers Mayday Hills Black & Blue
Brett Fermented Fruit Beers
6.5%
Bridge Road Brewers Bar Series: Brewski's Steamy Fingers
Flavoured Steam Ale
4.9%
Bridge Road Brewers Mayday Hills T
Oaked Brett IPA with Green Tea
7.4%
Bridge Road Brewers Beer 101 & IPA Pack
Various styles
Bridge Road Brewers Yee Hah!
Brett Pale Ale
6.0%
Bridge Road Brewers B2 Bomber 6.0
Imperial Belgian Black IPA
10.0%
Bridge Road Brewers Harvest & Dark Harvest 2016
Harvest Ales
5.8% & 6.6%
Bridge Road & Doctor's Orders Berliner Weisse Pack
Berliner Weisse
Bridge Road Magical Unicorn Christmas Beer
Dessert Beer
7.3%
Bridge Road & Friends Christmas Countdown
Fun
Various
Bridge Road Craft Beer Variety Pack
Various
Various
Bridge Road & Beer DeLuxe Little REDemption IPA
Red IPA
5.0%
Bridge Road B2 Bomber Mach 5.0
Double Black Belgian IPA
9.5%
Bridge Road & Modus Operandi Rye Ale Rumble
Red Rye IPA
7.1%
Bridge Road & 8 Wired Nieuw Bruins
Barrel-Aged Wild Fermented Brown Ale
8.3%
Bridge Road Harvest Ale & Dark Harvest 2015
Fresh Hop Beers
4.4% & 6.6%
Bridge Road Chevalier Saison le Printemps
Elderflower Saison
6.0%
Bridge Road Brewers 1000
Imperial Stout
11.2%
Bridge Road Brewers B2 Bomber Mach 4.0
Belgian Black IPA
8.6%
Bridge Road One Autumn Sunday Morning Somewhere Three Hours North of Melbourne / Fat Man Red Suit
Black Session IPA / India Red Ale
Various
Bridge Road Brewers IPA Pack
IPA
Bridge Road Brewers Enigma New World Pilsner
New World Pilsner
5.0%
Bridge Road Dark Harvest 2014
Wet Hop Ale
Bridge Road Harvest Ale 2014
Wet Hop Ale
Bridge Road & Nogne O Aurora Borealis II
Barrel-Aged Tripel
9.1%
Bridge Road / Grain Store Tony Brown
American Brown Ale
6.3%
Bridge Road B2 Bomber Mach 3.0
Black Belgian IPA
8.2%
Bridge Road Bar Series: New Sydney Best Little Elixir In Town
Imperial Pilsner
7.7%
Bridge Road Australian Ale - RETIRED
Golden Ale
4.4%
Bridge Road Bar Series: The Wheaty Weisse Ohne Schuss
Berliner Weisse
3.0%
Bridge Road Harvest / Dark Harvest 2013
Fresh Hop Ales
Various
Bridge Road Bling Bling Imperial IPA
Imperial IPA
8.5%
Bridge Road / EDGE Waldo
Berry Saison
6.5%
Bridge Road / Nogne O Aurora Borealis
Barrel and Ocean-Aged Quadrupel
14.9%
Bridge Road / Local Taphouse 13 Hours On A Bus
Black India Saison
7.2%
Bridge Road / Archive Tennessee Stud
Oaked Brown Ale
5.5%
Bridge Road / The Scratch Scrotch
Whisky Aged Scotch Ale
6.9%
Bridge Road Bar Series: The Norfolk Cecil
Red(ish) IPA
6.5%
Bridge Road Bar Series 1: Josie Bones Revolution
Australian Pilsner
5.1%
Bridge Road B2 Mach II
Black Belgian IPA
8.0%
Bridge Road / Mikkeller Dark Harvest
Hoppy Dark Harvest Ale
Bridge Road Pride of Ringwood IPA
IPA
4.8%
Bridge Road Summer IPA
IPA
5.0%
Bridge Road / Ní¸gne í? India Saison (Oz)
Highly hopped saison
7.5%
Bridge Road Single Hop IPAs (bottled)
IPA
4.8%
Bridge Road Stella IPA
IPA
Bridge Road Saison Noir
Black Saison
6.5%
Bridge Road Dog's Breakfast (Brew 500)
Dark lager
Bridge Road's The Harvest (2011)
Hop Harvest Ale
4.6%
Bridge Road Chevalier Dunkelweizen
Dunkelweizen
5.2%
Bridge Road Saison de Printemps
Fruit-infused Saison
6.0%
Bridge Road Galaxy IPA
India Pale Ale
Bridge Road Summer Ale
Belgian Pale Ale
4.5%
Bridge Road B2 Bomber
Black Belgian IPA
8.5%
Bridge Road Megachile Pluto Braggot
Braggot
10%
Bridge Road Chevalier Saison
Saison
6%
Bridge Road Chestnut Pilsner - Retired
Pilsner
Bridge Road Chevalier Biere De Garde
Biere De Garde
7.5%
Bridge Road Chevalier Dunkel Hefeweizen
Dunkel Hefeweizen
5.2%
Bridge Road Brewers Golden Ale – Retired
Golden Ale
4.4%