Morrison Brewery

Presumably, every home brewer in Australia would like to have a family like Paul Morrison's. Having displayed talent for the art of brewing by picking up medals at competitions in his home state of Tasmania and in Melbourne, his dad suggested he should consider doing it commercially. By 2011, along with his wife Melissa and some others in their family, they put the first brew through a 500-litre brewery they'd built in a warehouse in Launceston.

From there, after seeing his first beer poured at Hobart's legendary New Sydney Hotel, the Morrisons set about refining their beers. Paul in particular has a fondness for brewing traditional styles from the UK and Ireland; it's an approach that puts him at odds with many modern craft brewers but it's found them many fans even in a beer world dominated by hops. The first three styles released by Morrison - an Irish Red Ale, English Bitter and an Irish Stout - all remain a part of the core range and while today those beers can be found inside modern-looking cans, they remain classic examples of their style. That's not to say Morrison beers aren't at times American inspired, including as is the case with their core range Tasmanian IPA, American Pale Ale or in their frequent limited releases.

Within two years, Paul was able to give up his job on an orchard to focus full time on brewing. And, in 2015, the brewery was expanded with new tanks helping fill the warehouse in Invermay. While they're most often filled with Paul's beers the Tassie brewery has also been something of an incubator for others looking to get into the industry. Brewers from the likes of Last Rites, kick|snare, Buttons Brewery and Devil's Brewery have all brewed beers with Paul in recent years and you can't help but feel the Invermay brewery hasn't been an important reason the state's number of breweries has climbed from half a dozen when they launched to the more than 30 in operation today.

While you can find Morrison beers in cans in both the brewery's home state and on the mainland, the best way to enjoy them is in draught form. For now, this means travelling to Tassie where, as well as the growing number of regular tap points, you're likely to find them being poured by Paul and his family at many of the state's festivals.

Name
Morrison Brewery
Address

1/10 Mowbray Street
Invermay
TAS 7248

Phone
TAS: Luke – 0438 538 935 / VIC – Trent – 0411732764

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Morrison Brewery Regulars

Morrison Brewery Session Ale

Published August 18, 2020
Tasmanian brewing stalwarts Morrison Brewery, based in Launceston in the state's north, have undergone a brand refresh while moving their beers into cans. And, as they do so, they've welcomed a new beer to their core range too. Mid-strength hoppy beers can be hit and miss, with the risk you compromise body and character for the reduction in alcohol, or that a desire to pack in as much flavour as possible puts a beer out of balance. Morrison's foray into the increasingly popular space, however, has… Read more
Style
Session Ale
ABV
3.5%

Morrison Brewery Tasmanian IPA

Published December 24, 2018
Paul Morrison has favoured traditional beer styles ever since setting up shop in Launceston many moons ago, which means Morrison Brewery hasn’t forayed too much or that often into New World styles – until now. This Tasmanian IPA is brimming with tropical flavours, all borne from a trio of classic antipodean hop varietals – Ella, Vic Secret and Galaxy. But it’s not merely hoppy heavy-handedness, as a good dose of malts both balances and fleshes out the flavour profile. As I was told by someone… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.0%

Morrison Brewery Irish Stout

Morrison's second beer inspired by Irish traditions is this stout, which is very much of the dry variety. Lightly carbonated, opaque and as close to black as makes no difference, there are aromas of cocoa, while in the mouth look out for some dark treacle too before the lingering back palate roasty bitterness comes into play.… Read more
Style
Irish Stout
ABV
4.2%

Morrison Brewery Irish Red Ale

Morrison's flagship beer is this Irish Red Ale, a smooth, medium-bodied take on the style that sells well throughout Tasmania all year round. Pouring a beautiful ruby red colour with a thick head, it certainly stands out in a sea of hazy IPAs and beers relying on a raft of adjuncts to get noticed. A distinct floral flavour greets you along with the biscuit and toffee malts in an extremely well-crafted beer offering a different flavour profile to most red beers you might find on the market today,… Read more
Style
Irish Red Ale
ABV
5.2%
Awards

Silver at AIBA 2016

Morrison Brewery English Bitter

This is Morrison's take on the relatively low alcohol English pub bitters prevalent across the UK. Golden in colour, it gives off aromas of soft malt floral hops. There are some pleasant earthy hop flavours in what is a balanced beer with a soft lingering bitter finish.… Read more
Style
English Bitter
ABV
4.2%

Morrison Brewery Pale Ale

Cast your eyes over the range of beers released by Launceston's Morrison Brewery today and it covers a huge range, from fruit sours to a number of saisons, hop forward US style beers and high alcohol beasts too. It wasn't always the way, however, with the brewery specialising in British and Irish styles for the first years of operation. And the first beer to break that habit and stick around as part of the core range is its Pale Ale. Built upon a base of specialty malts that contribute caramel and… Read more
Style
Pale Ale
ABV
5.0%

Morrison Brewery Specials

Morrison Brewery Smoked Chilli Black IPA

Published July 29, 2021
Writing from a purely personal position, Smoked Chilli Black IPA is certainly a fortunate release from Morrison Brewery. Having spent a lot of 2020 getting really into growing chillies and making hot sauce, one of the many varieties I bought and planted from seed was the Moruga Scorpion, but sadly the hot sauce I’d planned never came to be. It wasn't for lack of trying either as those seeds never sprouted, despite trialling many means of planting them, which makes me doubt they ever had much life… Read more
Style
Black IPA
ABV
6%

Morrison Brewery & Hops To Home Red IPA

Published June 29, 2021
This collaboration between Tasmanian brewery Morrison and online retailer Hops To Home might be called Red IPA, but take a closer look and you'll also find "Oat Biscuit Ale" on the cans. Dig further still and there are references to Australia's favourite biscuit and times of war. Given the brewers used golden syrup, oats and a huge bag of toasted coconut along the way, you should have an idea where we're headed... That said, while Anzac biscuits are the inspiration, there's a bit more fruitiness… Read more
Style
Oat Biscuit Red IPA
ABV
6.5%

Morrison Brewery Ellen

Published April 21, 2017
As reasons go for creating a new limited release beer, welcoming a new baby into the world is up there. It's a policy that Paul and Melissa Morrison embarked upon when they had their first child, Angus, and one they've stuck to since. Given it's a family run enterprise that goes beyond just Paul and Melissa, they're creating beers for both the siblings and cousins that have followed Angus (he was a massive barrel aged Scotch Ale, if you're wondering). The latest arrival in the "Junior Brewer"… Read more
Style
Pomegranate Berliner Weisse
ABV
3.2%
Stockists

Empress Craft Beer, Devonport

Morrison Brewery "Jack" Doppelbock

Published November 28, 2016
It's been a busy few years for the Morrison family. Not only did they open their brewery in Launceston and then spend the subsequent years adding more and more beers to their lineup – as well as helping other brewers get off the ground – but head brewer Paul, wife Melissa and now Paul's sister, Jess, and husband Bevan, who are part owners and frequently lend a hand when the brewery rocks up to public events have been preparing the next generation of brewers too. The growing collection of "junior… Read more
Style
Barrel Aged Doppelbock
ABV
7.3%
Stockists

And select bottleshops around Tasmania

Morrison Brewery English IPA

Published April 16, 2014
Across the land, brewers have been slaving away creating their entry for the Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular. Among them is Paul Morrison, co-owner and head brewer of Launceston's Morrison Brewery. But not only has he been creating a new beer for this year's event, he's also brewed a fresh batch of last year's entry. His 2013 GABS beer was an English IPA, in keeping with his love of additional British and Irish ales. The new version features a different yeast and Paul tells us we should be looking… Read more
Style
English IPA
ABV
6.8%
Stockists

Preachers, Hobart

Cromer Cellars on growler

New Sydney, Hobart

Saint John Craft Beer, Launceston

The Winston

More stockists...

Morrison Brewery Imperial Wit

Published March 30, 2014
It looks like a case of "giving something back" here as former home brewer-turned-brewer Paul Morrison has opened up the doors of his brewery to another home brewer. This Imperial Wit was originally brewed by Stuart Grant for the home brew comp at Launceston's Esk Beerfest. It took home first place, earning him the chance to brew it on a commercial scale. That he did with a local brewery that has proved itself rather adept at Belgian style brews with its fine limited release Saison. This… Read more
Style
Imperial Witbier
ABV
7.5%
Stockists

Saint John Craft Beer

Others TBC

Morrison Brewery Angus Scotch Ale

Published December 3, 2013
What better way to celebrate bringing a new brewer into the world than by brewing a special beer? And when we say special, we are talking an 11.8%, whisky barrel-aged beast to boot. This started off as a whopper of a Scotch Ale and then spent four months inside oak from Tasmania's Lark Distillery, picking up additional touches of oak and vanilla to complement the multilayered, sweet and boozy malts of the base beer.… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale
ABV
11.8%

Morrison Brewery Saison

Published December 2, 2013
At launch, this was a rare trip for Paul Morrison outside the British Isles and Ireland for inspiration for this seasonal that was first released in 2013. He's since ventured far beyond, adding American style pale and amber ales to the core and limited run lineup, as well as brewing other European style beers. And this Saison, which is released annually in 750ml bottles, suggested it was a smart move casting the net wider for influence too. As one would hope from such a beer, it is zesty, dry and… Read more
Style
Saison
ABV
6.2%
Awards

Silver at 2016 AIBA