Now Open: Find Central-European Beers, Hop-Infused Gin and Reuben Sandwiches at Brightstar Brewing, a New Brewpub in a Former Laboratory in Thebarton

An industrial corner in the backstreets of Thebarton is now home to Brightstar Brewing, a Central European-inspired brewery and taphouse. After living in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore before returning to Adelaide (with three kids in tow) in 2019, Megan Parker, with husband Gareth Parker, set about transforming the former Adelaide University laboratories into a welcoming, family-friendly brewpub.

Before it was connected to Adelaide Uni, the warehouse was owned by FH Faulding & Co, a pharmaceutical company founded in Adelaide, where Megan’s grandmother and aunt both worked. She says the building’s open trusses, original floorboards and robust windows were an alluring base for the brewery. “We love the heritage feel of the massive building, it has so much character and we thought we could really make our mark on this.”

The family-friendly venue, which opened in mid-March, has decking overlooking a conveniently licensed park out front on the banks of the Torrens. It also features a spacious tasting room – designed by Studio-Gram – with a glass wall, allowing guests to peer into where the magic happens and observe head brewer Steve Brockman at work. The Brightstar brewing process uses traditional European techniques such as spunding – a natural carbonation process to make the bubbles in the beer small, creating a creamier mouthfeel – and longer lagering time, to achieve a “more balanced and refined” beer.

The Parkers want to cater to everybody – no matter their knowledge or palate – and the breadth of beers reflects that mission, with brews filed under “sour and tart”, “crisp and clean”, “malty and sweet”, “fruit and spice”, “dark and roasty” and “hoppy and bitter”.

There’s also a focus on classic Central-European styles such as the nutty and sweet altbier, the schwarzbier, a dark German lager; the light and crisp helles; and the tart Berliner weisse – served out of 1200-litre and 2400-litre brite tanks.

“We love these beer styles because of their easy-drinking flavour profiles,” says Megan. “We were fortunate to have travelled extensively throughout Europe and fell in love with the venues and sessionable beer.”

While their offerings won’t rotate too quickly, there will be seasonal variations between the brews, and a team of staff eager to guide people through a tasting. “What we're trying to do is bring that education into the beer and through the different categories we have, help people understand and break down the barriers to trialling it.”

For the fruiter varieties, Brightstar opts for natural ingredients where it can, such as the hand-peeled Riverland citrus used to create the flavour profile of the Belgian light beer. “We like to keep it a natural process and not have preservatives added, which also helps when we have a few and wake up the next day – you don’t have as much of the groggy heavy feel,” Megan says.

Beyond the pints and tasting paddles, Brightstar also offers brewed seltzers and house-distilled gin made with hops, which gives it a hint of grapefruit, citrus and peach. There’s also beer-focused cocktails, such as the crowd-favourite Heavenly Delight featuring the Belgian white (a witbier) with Brightstar gin, orange and lime juice and elderflower syrup.

Pair your drink with charcuterie and cheese boards, Little Acre pate, Coriole olives or mixed beer nuts, or a bowl of soup with quesadilla-style flatbreads. But most can’t go past the bestselling Reuben sandwiches.

Brightstar Brewing
35-37 Stirling St, Thebarton

Hours
Wed to Thurs 12pm–9pm
Fri to Sat 12pm–12am
Sun 12pm - 9pm

brightstarbrewing.com.au