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A trip to Mildura is not complete without a visit to the Mildura Brewery. Established in 2004 by Don Carrazza (of Mildura Grand Hotel fame), the microbrewery is housed in the old Astor Theatre, right next door to the Grand. The refurbed Brewery is a rather fine looking establishment. Whilst retaining many of the original art deco features, it has been updated in a very smart/slick way. Lots of polished steel, shiny black finishes, dark wood and natural stone work in good combination. What I love best are the three huge stainless steel brewing vats and bottling line you are privy to at the back of the space. It is nice to kick back with a bevy and appreciate how it actually came to be.

EG and I decided on the Tasting Tray (pictured above and half gone by the time I got the camera out). Ordinarily the brewery produces four standard beers; Mallee Bull, Murray Honey Wheat, Desert Premium Lager and Sun Light. But the Brewery also likes to experiment, and the Beer of the Month keeps things interesting. So on our tray we also got to sample the standard four plus Storm Cloudy Ale and the Oktoberfest.

As far as tasting goes - well I think there is a beer there that would cater for most palates. Most of them are fairly light in the hops department though. But they do get a lil’ heavy in some brews - just nothing too dark or stouty.

My vote went to the Murray Honey Wheat beer, which I figure is a cross between a Hoegaarden and a Beez Neez. It had an amazingly clean/crisp quality with a heady honey aroma. It was light on in the malt - and apparently appeals to “the younger crowd, women of all ages and those with a sweet tooth”. Got it in three

EG loved the Storm Cloudy Ale, which was surprisingly citrusy and hoppy. On tap it really was a cloudy storm - quite opaque. But it loses this in the transfer to the bottle. This one is certainly a masculine type beer, being both full bodied and full-on.

The Brewery also does lunch and dinner Tuesday to Sundays. All your usual pub fare is available, although it is probably one step better than regular pub grub. But think chicken parma, beef burger, salt and pepper calamari using qual ingredients etc. We did dine late on a Sunday (didn’t take a photo though), and I can attest that the calamari was lip smackingly good. EG went the burger, which looked non too shabby either.

Written by mellie on December 2nd, 2006 | Tags: beer, mildura, pubs, restaurants | Category: Uncategorized |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL