Behind a bluestone cottage in Brunswick sits one of the most delightful Australian brewery stories of the modern era. It’s one that begins on both sides of the country and is led by a family eager not just to brew excellent beer but also to do so in a way that gives back.
In 2017, in Jindong – a tiny locality in the Margaret River region with a population well under 100 – Hamish Coates and Mel Holland launched Rocky Ridge Brewing on a farm Hamish’s family has now worked for more than a century.
And, given they were building the brewery on land the Coates family had tended for generations, their focus was always on brewing beer with as low an environmental impact as possible, a mission that sees them operate off grid and involved in pioneering projects to create more sustainable ingredients.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country in Melbourne was Thunder Road: a brewery just around the corner from the Brunswick end of Lygon Street where craft beer has long had a foothold. After debuting in 2011, the brewery went on to claim back-to-back champion brewery trophies at the Australian International Beer Awards in 2014 and 2015, while establishing their flagship Brunswick Bitter as a common sight in pubs in Melbourne’s inner north.
On the surface, it’s not just the 3,500km that sets the two apart, however.
Rocky Ridge release more beers every year than most – they clocked up 106 new beers in 2023 alone – and are known for their fondness for collaboration and experimentation.
Thunder Road, on the other hand, might have released the odd collab and had plenty of taps lining the bar at their Barkly Street brewery, but were best known for more straightforward styles that often leaned into Australian beer heritage. (The aforementioned bluestone cottage also became home to one of the most remarkable collections of Australian brewing memorabilia.)
Yet in 2024 their stories became entwined as one. Thunder Road’s founder, Phil Withers, decided to sell and, as luck would have it, his decision offered to solve a problem for Hamish and Mel.
The WA brewer’s beers had been growing in popularity in the eastern states and, while having popular beer is essential for any brewery, part of the setup didn’t sit right with Rocky Ridge. If brewing in a manner that’s better for the environment is central to your ethos, how do you square that with sending beer across the Nullarbor?
As of late winter 2024, they no longer have to: having bought Thunder Road, it’s given them the ability to brew a whole lot of beer in the eastern states via a 30-hectolitre brewhouse and considerable tank farm. As well as brewing their own beers, they’re keeping some of Thunder Road’s most popular lines going – and retained the latter’s brewery crew too.
The acquisition has also brought the Barkly Street taproom, which Thunder Road never reopened post-COVID, back to life. Now operating as Rocky Ridge Brunswick, the refit has seen the new owners open it up a little more and put an impressive 32-tap bar centre stage. The taps pour the full gamut of the brewery’s diverse lineup: from lagers, IPAs, oat cream hazies and sours to the odd 24-hour boil barleywine.
They’ve got experience when it comes to hospo too, initially running small bar Darlene’s in Busselton before turning the former home of Hamish and Mel (and his grandparents before that) into the popular Rocky Ridge TapHouse. Come summer 2024/25, they’ll also be operating another taphouse in Perth’s northern ‘burbs.
As for Brunswick, hospitality is centred very much in the heart of the working brewery: fermenters tower over drinkers sat around shared picnic tables; you might even catch a brewer adding a final dry hop to an IPA you’ll be back to enjoy in a few weeks. Naturally, the fridges are also filled to the brim with Rocky Ridge’s many releases for anyone looking to take a journey through beer styles from the comfort of their own home, while there’s a mezzanine overlooking the brew deck too.
It’s a welcome return for what was once a popular locals’ haunt, where a sunny day would entice Brunswegians and their pets from their apartments and into the beer garden out front.
That simple pleasure now comes with the added bonus of one of the most diverse lineups of beer any one brewery can offer, and the knowledge the team responsible for them at Australia’s first carbon neutral and Certified Sustainable brewery is doing everything they can to ensure the beer in your glass doesn’t just taste good but has been brought to life in a environmentally-considerate manner too. And who wouldn’t want to drink to that?
Photos without The Crafty Pint's watermark by Weddings By Jack.
