Sailors Grave Brewing

Brewer

Name
Sailors Grave Brewing
Address

7 Forest Road
Orbost
VIC 3888

Open Hours

Friday: 2pm to 9pm
Saturday: midday to 9pm
Sunday: midday to 6pm
And by appointment

Tours

By appointment

Sometimes, even with hindsight, it's hard to work out why some things catch one's eye more than others. Case in point being Sailors Grave Brewing.

The Orbost brewery first came to our attention when we spotted a regional newspaper article on Chris and Gab Moore's plans to open a brewery in an historic, rundown butter factory in remote East Gippsland. Given there were plenty of brewing companies launching every month at the time, there was no reason for this to stand out.

Yet, for some reason, it lodged itself in the Crafty brain like an earworm. Perhaps it was because one of our writers is from Gippsland and has a passion for Australian history. That said, as the writer in question pointed out, Gippsland is bloody huge and Orbost is nowhere near where he's from. But, when he put together the story, it turned out his great, great grandfather was the original boss of the butter factory and he knew the last guy to run it before it closed in the 50s.

Then, when we published his story, we realised the Crafty clan would be passing through Orbost for the first time two weeks hence, thus had to opportunity to call in and grab some of the beers that had barely reached Melbourne at the time. The cosmos seemed to be dropping hints of some sort...

Cutting to the chase, call in we did and took a tour of the brewery, at which the Moores have done a great job of bringing part of the old factory back to life and creating something like nothing else you'll stumble across in this part of regional Victoria: its facade bears their uniquely childlike and colourful branding (of which more later) that stands out a mile from the rest of the town's buildings. We left with a case of the first three canned beers (canned on their own line) and an invitation to stay on their family farm on the way back through. This might seem a trivial detail but the stop allowed us to sample the last bottle of a three-year-old homebrewed lambic style beer that hinted at where Chris wants to take Sailors Grave.

So what else do we know about the brewery? We know that the Moores founded successful Darlinghurst restaurant The Commons and ran it for four years before selling up, starting a family and moving back to the coast. We know that they spent some of the intervening years touring the States visiting rural breweries doing cool stuff to get inspiration for their own grand plan. And we know that they have a singular vision that looks set to help them stand out in the ever busier marketplace – and not just because of where they're based.

The beers, for one, are far from common or garden. Their session ale is a gose using locally farmed seaweed, their first limited release was a mandarin Berliner Weisse using fresh fruit from a local farmer that responded to their shout out on Facebook, and they followed that with a whisky sour take on the style, as well as a saison featuring ingredients from the family farm. It's a farm that was started by Gab's parents, local abalone farmers, hence their desire to showcase as much of the region's produce in their beers as possible.

Then there's the look and feel of the brand. They wanted something innocent and different from everything else seen on shelves and decals and found a children's book illustrator whose work they loved on Pinterest. He lived in Cornwall so, in lieu of payment, they invited him to come and live with them for a while, thus enjoying a holiday in Australia, getting to know them well and, ultimately, coming up with the brand and packaging for the first 20 beers (yes, they've thought that far ahead).

As for the name Sailors Grave, it references a local reef that's brought down many a ship in the past and is a theme that continues through the beers too.

Within a few months of opening, it was clear it wasn't just the eyes of The Crafty Pint that had been captured, as they'd garnered a fair bit of buzz around Melbourne's beer circles and were started to dip into the Sydney market too. Since then, they've continued to send their beers far and wide, including into overseas markets (they've got a fan base in Japan, and now release a series of beers fermented on sake lees).

The diversity of releases has only become broader, as have the collaborators either contributing ingredients or ideas for their beers, a list that includes restaurants, other drinks producers, and Dark Emu author Bruce Pascoe.

In 2021, they unveiled hugely exciting and ambitious plans for a new development in their spiritual home of Cape Conran. Dunetown will not only become home to a new brewery and venue, but other likeminded businesses will be welcomed too, creating a unique tourist destination; read more about that here.

You can now enjoy their beers at source too, with the opening of a cellar door at the Orbost butter factory: six taps plus much more in cans, as well as food trucks and, on occasion, suitably inventive events. Funky beers and a warm welcome overlooking the Snowy River – what's not to like?

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

Stories featuring Sailors Grave Brewing

Core Range

Sailors Grave Sea Bird
Hazy Pale Ale with Saltbush
5.2%
Sailors Grave Sou' East Draught
Beer
4.8%
Sailors Grave Drowned Man IPA
Session IPA
4.8%
Sailors Grave Southern Right Ale
Altbier
4.8%
Sailors Grave Down She Gose
Seaweed Gose
4.5%

Limited Releases

Sailors Grave East Coast Hazy IPA
Hazy IPA
6.5%
Sailors Grave West Cape Pilsner
West Coast Pilsner
5.2%
Sailors Grave Birra del Marinaio
Italian Pilsner
5.2%
Sailors Grave Lemon Meringue Cream Sour
Imperial Nitro Lemon Meringue Cream Sour
7.0%
Sailors Grave Fuckenthing 2023
Peach & Coffee Gose
5.5%
Sailors Grave x Dangerous Ales Trade Winds
Grapefruit Ponzu Gose
5.2%
Sailors Grave The Harvesters
Saison du Miel
5.8%
Sailors Grave God Save The Sponge
Queen of Puddings Beer
7.0%
Sailors Grave West Cape IPA & Apples Will Make Pyes
West Coast IPA & Imperial Apple Pie Beer
7.1% & 6.5%
Sailors Grave Shadow Self
Chocolate Stout
6.5%
Sailors Grave Sea Bird & Suleimelon The Magnificent
Hazy Belgian Pale & Melon Gose
Both 5.2%
Sailors Grave Bloody Caesar, It's A Big Dill, The Fool
Tomato & Oyster Gose, Pickle Gose & Imperial Cream Pie Sour
5.0% & 5.2% & 6.6%
Sailors Grave & Friends Let Them Eat Cake, The Fruit Thereof & Double Sunk
Variou Styles As Indicated
7.0% & 6.5% & 5.0%
Sailors Grave Biru Sake & Satsuma Plum 2023
Fruited Sour Ale
5.3%
Sailors Grave UNI
Gose with Sea Urchins & Lemon Myrtle
4.5%
Sailors Grave Leviathan & Eternal Sunshine
Kolsch & Hazy IPA
5.0% & 7.5%
Sailors Grave Swamp Thing & Sunken Bounty
Black IPA & Nitro Coconut Stout
6.5% & 5.2%
Sailors Grave Black & Blue & Nitro Honey Bush Braggot
Fruit Berliner Weisse & Nitro Honey Braggot
5.0% & 5.4%
Good Land & Sailors Grave Good To The Grave
Dark Rye Farmhouse Ale
6.0%
Sailors Grave, Brewski & Beermash Strawberry & Rhubarb Pie
Fruit Cream Sour
6.6%
Sailors Grave In The Rip 2022 & Silver King
Wet Hop Belgian IPA & Corn Lagerq
5.8% & 5.2%
Sailors Grave Tall Table Beer
Table Beer
5.0%
Sailors Grave Dry-Hopped Raspberry & Elderflower Grisette
Grisette
4.3%
NZ Hops 2022: Molly Rose & Sailors Grave
Kveik IPA & Belgian Pale Ale
6.2% & 5.8%
Sailors Grave Squid vs Whale V & Grapefruit & Chrysanthemum Flower Ale
Oat Cream IPA & Fruited Farmouse Ale
7.0% & 5.4%
Sailors Grave The Bloody Butcher, Icarus Star & Sake Kasu - Nashi & Shincha Tea
Various
4.5% & 6.5% & 4.5%
Sailors Grave Brewing Rite & Deep Into The Forest
Native Cherry Wood Smoked Porter & Stout
5.2% & 5.5%
Sailors Grave & Meatsmith The Bone Yard
Umami Ale
5.0%
Bridge Road, Range Brewing & Sailors Grave DDH Oat Cream Mango Pale
DDH Oat Cream Mango Pale
5.8%
Sailors Grave In The Rip, Honey Bush Braggot & Rhubarb Harvest Ale
Various
4.5%, 5.6% & 5%
Sailors Grave #Fuckenthing
Raspberry, Coffee & Cream Gose
5.4%
Sailors Grave First Harvest Hayzy, AMA & Magic Pudding
Hayzy Pale, Gose & Christmas Ale
6.1% & 5.0% & 5.8%
Sailors Grave Dark Emu Dark Lager
Dark Lager
4.8%
Sailors Grave Hot Dram & Original Sin Snakebite
Barrel-Aged Berliner Weisse & Snakebite
5.8% & 6.7%
Sailors Grave Embers & Law Of The Tongue 2020
Red IPA & Smoky Oyster Stout
6.2% & 5.8%
Sailors Grave Sake Kasu & Satsuma Plum, Lager Lager Lager & Garden State
Sake Sour & Pilsner & Spiced Pale
5.0% & 5.0% & 4.7%
Watts River & Sailors Grave Horse To Water
Pineapple Farmhouse Ale
6.2%
Sailors Grave & Blackhearts Minted Watermelon Cool-Aid Sour Ale
Watermelon & Mint Berliner Weisse
4.7%
Sailors Grave Crystal Healing 2020
Fruit Gose
4.8%
Sailors Grave Skull Rock Gose
Gose
4.5%
Sailors Grave Squid vs Whale Hop Maelstrom 4
IPA
6.4%
Sailors Grave This Is Not A Table & Into The Pines 2019
Table Beer & Brown Ale
3.5% & 5.4%
Sailors Grave Prodigal Sun & Root Beer
Spiced Dark Sour & Boozy Root Beer
4.6% & 5.0%
Sailors Grave Fields V2 & Harvest Ale & Sake Kasu Persimmon
Various styles
5.7% & 5.0% & 4.7%
Sailors Grave Fields vol.1
Hoppy Farmhouse Ale
5.4%
Sailors Grave Blood Moon Altocumulus & Crystal Healing
Berliner Weisse & Gose
4.6% & 4.7%
Sailors Grave Summer Farmhouse 2019
Spiced Farmhouse Ale
5.2%
Sailors Grave My Little Juicy Farmhouse
Farmhouse Ale
5.4%
Sailors Grave & Blackhearts & Sparrows Refreshing Cherry Ale
Cherry Cream Sour
4.6%
Sailors Grave Summer Pudding
Berry Cream Sour
4.8%
Sailors Grave Blood and Sand & Grapefruit and Yuzu
Cocktail Ale & Fruity Farmhouse Ale
5.7% & 5.4%
Sailors Grave & 3 Ravens Over His Banes
Sahti
5.9%
Sailors Grave Featherlight Berliner Weisse & Into The Pines Forest Ale
Light Sour Ale & Mushroom Ale
2.7% & 5.4%
Sailors Grave Wild Strawberries & Sea Fret
Cream Sour & White Ale
4.7%
Sailors Grave's Dead Will Rise Mexican Lager
Hoppy Mexican Lager With Sweet Corn
4.7%
Sailors Grave Australian Gothic & Summer Farmhouse Ale 2018
Farmhouse Ales
5.4% & 5.2%
Sailors Grave & Blackhearts & Sparrows Orange Cream Summer Ale
Orange & Lactose Summer Ale
4.6%
Sailors Grave Chinotto Birra
Spiced Amber Ale
5.6%
Sailors Grave Peach Melba Pavlova Cream Sour & Tangerine Dream
Cream Sour & Citrus Berliner Weisse
4.8% & 4.4%
Sailors Grave Spring Farmhouse Ale 2017
Farmhouse Ale
5.9%
Sailors Grave Squid Vs Whale
Lactose IPA
6.7%
Sailors Grave Nuts & Law Of The Tongue
Nut Brown Ale & Smoked Oyster Stout
4.8% & 5.8%
Sailors Grave Winter Farmhouse Ale
Barrel Fermented Red Saison
5.6%
Sailors Grave Breakfast Stout
Breakfast Stout
5.0%
Sailors Grave Brewing Milky Way
Apple & Milk Berliner Weisse
4.0%
Sailors Grave Autumn Farmhouse Ale
Farmhouse Ale
5.9%
Sailors Grave Dry-Hopped Raspberry & Elderflower Grisette
Raspberry & Elderflower Grisette
4.3%
Sailors Grave Altocumulus Blueberry & First Harvest Grisette
Berliner Weisse & Grisette
4.0% & 4.3%
Sailors Grave Whisky Sour Berliner Weisse
Whisky Sour Berliner Weisse
4.3%
Sailors Grave Grapefruit & Marigold Saison
Saison
6.0%
Sailors Grave Altocumulus Dry-Hopped Mandarin Berliner Weisse
Mandarin Berliner Weisse
4.0%