My Melbourne : Beer Masterclass at Yorkshire Brewery

You know, there was a time when Melbourne had a thriving local craft beer scene. In the late 1800's  every suburb had it's own  brewery. Local brews for local drinkers.

The city had an abundance of local pubs that served local brews to thirsty workers.

This was especially so in the inner north, Collingwood, Richmond and Clifton Hill.

Hold on.... in 2014, Melbourne has a thriving beer scene. With small breweries making local beers for local pubs and bars. And in suburbs like Collingwood, Richmond and Clifton Hill !!

It would appear that it's true that everything old is new again.....

Not only did the brewery industry provide Melbourne's early citizens with much needed ales and lagers, but some of our great buildings, now heritage listed, owe their existence to the brewers of the day.



Yorkshire Brewery in Collingwood, once a thriving brewery then neglected space, is being transformed into a new residential hub. The development of apartments have been designed with the building's original design and features in mind. Public space in the form of a park and cafe ensure this Collingwood landmark becomes a much loved site once again.

And what better place to hold a Beer Masterclass with one of Melbourne's current day brewers,
Costa Nikias of La Sirene.


Costa, GABS 2014 award winning brewer,  led us through a food and beer tasting that started with a Knappstein lager and happily took us through Heffewizen, IPA, Stout and concluded with my favourite, the La Sirene Saison. It's delicious saison style with notes of honey and flowers was a definite highlight. 


Over the course of tasting the five beers, Costa led a lively discussion on today's craft beer scene, the history of brewing in Melbourne, most popular drinking styles of today  and where Australia sits in this new industry.

After the, ahem, excess of Good Beer Week this was a fantastic opportunity to meet and hear from a local brewer making exceptionally good beers. Right here in Melbourne.

And the venue is spectacular.Whilst apartment living will never be for us (hello big fluffy dog) I strongly agree that Melbourne has to go up in order to meet the city's growing needs and avoid a huge urban sprawl.
Developments like this one that breath life into an old gem of a building and provide new public spaces for art, food and community have to be the way forward.

The only thing I'd add is a craft beer bar serving beer under a Yorkshire Brewing label......

Thank you to Ruby Red Slipper for taking this photo of myself and the delicious La Sirene Saison.

Disclaimer - I was an invited guest of Yorkshire Brewery for their media launch. All opinions are very much my own.


















Comments

  1. This is a wonderful post. I had no idea about the history of breweries in Melbourne. Being from the land of all things fourex. I'll certainly be looking out for these places when I visit.

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  2. Thanks Michelle ! Certainly is a rich history. And an exciting future.....
    Thanks again for your support, Dee :)

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  3. I love the history in this post! I'm sad I missed out on the event - and on seeing how they brought the building back to life as apartments - but I'm so glad you went along! I confess I've never really thought about all that goes into brewing a beer, and the subtleties of flavour. What a wine snob! You've inspired me to learn, and maybe give beer another try.

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  4. Thanks Naomi - and thanks again for passing on my details !
    It took me a while to be convinced that beer could be as varied, and as good, as wine. Now I'm completely converted.
    Look forward to catching up with you soon, Dee x

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