CBCo Port Melbourne

Brewer

Name
CBCo Port Melbourne
Address

89 Bertie Street
Port Melbourne
VIC 3207

Phone
(03) 8644 4044
Open Hours

Thursday: midday to 7pm
Fri & Sat: midday to 11pm
Sunday: midday to 6pm

Regular events

Trivia: 7pm Thursdays. Free entry. $20 beer + burger.
Footy Nights: 3 hours unlimited beer & pizza on Fri & Sat nights during footy season. 6:30-9:30pm. $75.
Original Sundays: Live music from 3pm

Tours

Sat & Sun: One hour tour & tasting starting at 11.30am. Tickets cost $35 and include a $10 takeaway voucher for use on the day. Book via the brewery website.

The CBCo story is one that can be neatly viewed in two parts – parts that are equally neatly centred on each coast of Australia. Part one began in the West, way back in 2004 when "craft beer" wasn't even a phrase used by those brewing it, while part two has at its heart this brewery and venue in Port Melbourne.

Starting at the beginning, it was in 2004 that the brewery opened their sleek brewpub in the heart of the Margaret River region. In those days, it was known as Colonial Brewing - a reference to the beer maker's decision to colonise the well-known wine region. Many have since joined them in the region in which Bootleg first led the way, yet few come close to that brewpub's ambitious scope.

If you're someone who appreciates good beer, you'll likely have called in when touring the region. Yet, aside from tucking into their typically traditionally minded ales at the Margaret River base, you'd have struggled to find their beers anywhere else unless you stumbled across one of a dozen or so venues in Melbourne, Perth or, most recently, Sydney with their beers on tap.

At least, that is, until we hit part two...

This part of the story began in earnest in 2016 after the brewing company took over what had previously been Matilda Bay's brewery in Port Melbourne, walking into a ready made brewery that would allow them to instantly increase production capacity significantly while also having a base to get beer fresher to the East Coast.

The brewery had already installed a canning line at its Margaret River home and started sending Draught (formerly Kolsch) and Small Ale into the world; with this second facility up and running, Colonial tins and tap heads began appearing with greater frequency across the East Coast too. Since taking over the eye-catching old warehouse, new tanks have been added alongside a much larger and faster canning line meaning, well, meaning more of everything beer wise.

They were able to launch their accessible core range that covers a wide mix of modern craft styles, as well as the cold-pressed Apple Cider Bertie, named with a nod to the Bertie Beetle lollies once made under the same roof. Augmenting the lineup are regular one-offs, their impressive Barrel Projects series and their annual Inquest releases which are always 10 percent-plus and dark.

The hospo side of the brewery in Port Melbourne sits toward the front of the building as well as lining the street outside and is a popular local haunt that has hosted live music, major sporting events and even the occasional Daft Punk tribute night.

As time has gone on and the CBCo expansion has continued, with the addition of a de-alc module for producing alcohol-free beers in 2023, the brewery's become one of Australia's largest independent breweries. With more capacity being added in WA too, a story that started out in Margaret River is now not only the tale of one impressive brewery but two, and shows no signs of slowing either.

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

Stories featuring CBCo Port Melbourne

Core Range

CBCo Brewing Goldy
Aussie Lager
4.0%
CBCo South West Sour Watermelon Raspberry
Fruited Sour
4.0%
Colonial Brewing Co South West Sour
Hoppy Sour
4.6%
Colonial Brewing Co Small Ale
Midstrength
3.5%
Colonial Brewing Co Pale Ale
American Pale Ale
4.4%
Colonial Brewing Co Draught
Kolsch
4.8%
Colonial Brewing Co IPA
Australian IPA
6.5%
Colonial Brewing Co Bertie Cider
Apple Cider
4.6%

Limited Releases

CBCo Hazy & Hazy
NEPA & Hazy Pale with Grapefruit
5.5% & 4.0%
CBCo Brewing Inquest 2023
Imperial Stout on French Oak
10.0%
CBCo Barrel Projects: Aurum
Mixed Culture Golden Ale
5.3%
CBCo Market Sour: Orange, Mandarin & Fennel
Sour
4.6%
Colonial Brewing Co Inquest 2022
Peated Imperial Stout
10.5%
Colonial Brewing Barrel Projects: Rubus
Barrel-Aged Sour
6.0%
Colonial Brewing Inquest 2021
American Imperial Stout
10.0%
Colonial Brewing Hazy IPA
Hazy IPA
6.7%
Colonial Brewing Barrel Projects Brown
Barrel-Aged Sour Brown Ale
8.1%
Colonial Brewing Co Gone Green IIPA
DDH IIPA
8.2%
Colonial Brewing Market Sour Blood Orange & Saltbush
Fruit Sour
4.5%
Colonial Brewing Co TaylorMade Lager
Mid-Strength Lager
3.5%
Colonial Brewing Co Inquest 2018
Imperial Porter
12.0%
Colonial Brewing Co Robust Porter
Porter
6.0%
Colonial Brewing Co Inquest
Imperial Stout
11.7%