This was published 8 years ago
Margaret River, Western Australia: How beer is invading the Australian wine country
By David Whitley
There is a new king in the West Australian wine country and it's … beer.Credit: Simon Dawson
"Welcome to the Margaret River beer region," says Michael Brookes, tongue only slightly in cheek.
Michael is the general manager of the Bootleg Brewery (www.bootlegbrewery.com.au) which, back in 1994, kicked off a lonely crusade for the grain in an area dominated by the grape.
Bootleg was a pretty bold experiment back in the day. Thomas Charles Reynolds, a retired school teacher, saw how well the brewing operations had done at the Sail and Anchor and Matilda Bay in Perth, then hit upon an idea.
Colonial Brewing Company.Credit: colonialbrewingco.com.au
He eyed up the increasingly popular Margaret River wine area, and decided a brewery would be a natural fit there. "He wanted an option for the men to have a beer amongst all the wine," says Brookes. And what started as an 80-seat restaurant making two beers is now a 300-seater, with seven regular beers, a cider and all manner of experimental one-offs.
Brookes reckons that the opening of the Little Creatures brewery in Fremantle in 2000 properly kicked things off. "It became a gateway to getting craft beer to the masses," he says. If the people of Perth could get the concept of a brewery being a destination for a day or evening out, then visiting breweries on a weekend break three-and-a-half hours south was no longer pushing a massive boundary.
The most important thing, though, is that Bootleg is no longer alone. Craft breweries are mushrooming in the region that prides itself on being Australia's flagship for premium wines. Sydney brewery Young Henry's is on the verge of opening up down there and another brewery is under construction on the northern edge of the Margaret River township. But these are just the latest – there are more than enough for specialist beer tours to hop between.
Beer on tap at Colonial Brewing Company.Credit: colonialbrewingco.com.au
Sabine Schaff, from Taste The South, runs her beer tours (www.tastethesouth.com.au/view/tours/brewery-tour) on much the same model that the wine tours run. Thirsty participants get picked up about 10.30am, then get driven around four or five breweries to indulge in generous samplings of the wares. Lunch is laid on at one of them in a noble bid to avoid drunken disaster, and there's an educational element to proceedings too. While the focus is firmly on enjoyment, if guests can learn a little bit about different beer styles and try brews they'd never find in their local bottle shop, then that's a handy bonus.
So the beer paddles come with tasting notes, just as the wines would from the cellar doors down the road. At the Colonial Brewing Company (www.colonialbrewingco.com.au), the porter is described as having a nose with obvious dark chocolate and ground coffee. The pale ale has "subtly rich, biscuit, nougat and nut malt accents on the forward palate". The wheat beer has a "distinctive cumin/ coriander lemonade-like spice perfume with a touch of mandarin". It's pretty obvious that the brewers are not just muscling in on wine territory, but liberally stealing the language too.
Another idea nicked from the wineries is putting the breweries in picturesque settings. The Colonial looks out at sheep-filled pastures, a purdy little pond and the forest of the Bramley National Park. Similarly, Bootleg has gone for the blissful sipping-in-the-sun vibe, with a sprawling green lawn and mini-lake out in front, and a substantial children's playground to the side. As cunning moves go, installing something to keep the kids occupied while mum and dad laze and graze over a full range of beers borders on evil genius.
Margaret River is an iconic Australian wine region.Credit: Tourism WA
And nowhere is the marriage between wine and beer tourism more obvious than at Cheeky Monkey (www.cheekymonkeybrewery.com.au). Again, there's the idyllic setting – but this time there are plenty of grape vines to look out over. The Killerby vineyard shares a building with Cheeky Monkey, and the brewery's owner started out by founding Ferngrove Wines before branching into beer.
Chief brewer Ross Terlick says: "We're still the youngest of the breweries at the moment, but this is the most brewery-rich regional area in Australia. It diversifies the region, but it's hardly a takeover. There are 180-odd wineries, and – I think – 11 breweries. We've got some catching up to do."
On the drive back into the town of Margaret River, Sabine Schaff says beer isn't really taking over wine territory. "It's a tourist region first, and a wine region second. And there's always one in the couple who's more into wine than the other. Having the breweries is just like having the caves or the surf beaches – it's something different to try for the people who've come for a good time rather than just the wine."
There's nothing to stop people discovering both chardonnays and stouts, or sampling IPAs one day and cabernet sauvignons the next. Despite the best advice of hangover avoidance experts, the grain and grape have started to mix.
TRIP NOTES
MORE INFORMATION
GETTING THERE
Qantas and Virgin Australia fly to Perth from both Sydney and Melbourne. From Perth airport, Margaret River is a three-and-a-half hour drive south. See Qantas.com.au;virginaustralia.com.
STAYING THERE
The spacious Darby Park Serviced Apartments come with kitchens and laundry facilities, and are a short stroll from the town's bars and restaurants. That comes in handy after a day's sampling… Prices start at $185, room only. Phone 08 9757 2033, see darbypark.com.au.
SEE + DO
Taste The South runs six-and-a-half hour brewery hopping trips for $95. Tasting paddles at the breweries are bought separately. Phone 0438 210 373, see tastethesouth.com.au.
The writer travelled as a guest of Tourism Western Australia.
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