Most brewery founders spend months or even years finding the right venue. Nick and Bec Blacklow found theirs accidentally… at their wedding.
“At our rehearsal, we were going through the runsheet and the owner just flippantly mentioned, ‘Oh, you'll be the last wedding here’,” Bec recalls over lunch. “We asked why and she said she was leaving, and both of us just looked at each other and thought the same thing.”
The tip-off might have been their best wedding present – well, besides holy matrimony, of course. Located in Margate, 20 minutes south of Hobart, with rolling hills on one side and the D'Entrecasteaux Channel on the other, the heritage-listed Brookfield Shed is a beautiful old homestead that once hosted verdant hop fields back in the 1950s and has also served as a vineyard, a Dutch supermarket of all things, and a café/function centre since.
“As a kid, I used to play in the fields,” says Bec, a Channel local who grew up on the next street.
“It wasn't hops then, it was just an empty paddock. I always felt drawn to this building but it’d been in the same family forever so we didn't think it was ever going to change.”
Nick, who is already a partner in Shambles Brewery and the New Sydney pub in Hobart, adds: “We weren't looking to start a new brewery. I was pretty happy not doing a lot at that stage, just enjoying raising our daughter.”
But the Shed seemed too good an opportunity to pass up, so in January 2024 they secured the licence. For the beer side, they enlisted JJ King, a celebrated brewer who was working at The Albert Brewery in Hobart and had done stints at Green Beacon and 4 Pines on the mainland before that prior.
“I just had a new baby with my partner and it was just good timing,” JJ says. “I also wanted to do something smaller and really community-based so this was right up my alley.”
They hoped to open in July last year, but essential upgrades to bathrooms, wheelchair accessibility and fire protection systems dragged on, complicated by strict heritage building rules. While they waited for approval, the trio passed the time by assembling furniture, gardening outside, wood-staining the bar and even packaging Hopfields’ range of sauces (which I highly recommend).
They finally opened in November, seemingly with all of Margate and surrounding suburbs turning up for the grand opening.
The wait was worth it too: inside, the newly-named Hopfields Brewery is all cosy charm with plenty of timber, a log fire and old historic photos from the hop-growing days, while outside features two large courtyards perfect for late sunsets in summer and roaring fire pits in winter.
Locals and tourists came for JJ’s beers – highlights include the Dark Lager, IPA and Blueberry Sour – but increasingly stayed for the food menu, which features hearty winners like beef short rib, pot pies and pork cutlets, as well as specialties like smoked cheddar arancini and whole baked brie with roasted pear and stout cob loaf.
“We really wanted the menu to be seasonal and local and incorporate elements of the beers in there too,” says Nick.
As for the beers, now the core range is up and running, JJ’s keen to distill more of Hopfields's unique heritage and locale into his brews.
“This building’s such a landmark; I really want to capture those local flavours. I’m really keen to work with fruit growers, experiment with mixed ferments, and there’s a lot of distilleries around here too, which we’ve already started to do some barrel swaps with. It’s going to be exciting.”
Talking to Nick, it’s clear that channeling that local spirit (pun intended) lies at the heart of Hopfields’ future endeavours.
“We don’t want to be a mass-producing brewery,” he says. “We want to be a great venue first with a brewery attached, rather than trying to set up mainland sales, or even state sales.
“We’re in a few local bottleshops I can service myself – we just want to focus on the local community and the area we love.”
Hopfields Brewery is at 1640 Channel Highway, Margate.
Jason Treuen is an avid writer who's previously worked with the Sydney Morning Herald, Rolling Stone, Triple J Magazine and more. He loves craft beer, homebrewing, AFL, butter chicken and playing with his cats. He positively hates hangovers, and can be found enjoying adventures in beer here.
