Thunder Road Brewing closed its doors this February after 13 years on Barkly Street. The brewhouse, with its proudly displayed fermentation tanks and renovated Airstream trailer featuring a commercial kitchen, has been taken over by Rocky Ridge.

Back in 2017, owners Hamish Coates and Mel Holland established the brewery on a working dairy farm owned by Coates’s family in Jindong, Western Australia. The farm is still going strong and turned 100 this year. The brand has a taproom in Perth with another in WA set to open this summer, but the new Brunswick East outpost – its first interstate venue – opened on Friday September 13.

“We are suckers for taking on old buildings for our taphouses, and we instantly fell in love with this cottage,” Holland tells Broadsheet, referring to the 1850s heritage-listed bluestone cottage that’s part of the site.

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“The initial goal here was to reconnect this cottage space with the courtyard beer garden, to show her off in all her glory and celebrate the history of the Brunswick area.”

Inside the 130-seat venue, little has changed. The tables are still surrounded by stainless steel brewing equipment on all four sides, so you feel like you’re sitting right in the middle of the action. The bar has been remodelled, with lower beer taps giving bartenders more face time with customers, in keeping with Rocky Ridge’s emphasis on hospitality.

There’s a changing line-up of 32 beers on tap, as well as an extensive range of bottled options. They’re served alongside tacos from Melbourne greats CDMX, who have taken over the Airstream (yes, it’s still there, too) for six months.

The brewery plans to release up to eight new beers every month. While there are classic lagers, venue manager James Lorimer says stand outs are Rocky Ridge’s whackier limited releases, such as the Microwave Glowstick, a neon green sour with edible glitter in it.

“We’re always experimenting with processes and [finding out] how to get as much flavour out of the ingredients, out of malt and the hops, as we can,” Lorimer says. Head brewer Richard Blazey leads the team, which is made up of a number of people from Thunder Road. Currently, the new crew is playing around with smoked beer, having just released Revolution Raunch, a dark, rich, medium-bodied roasted malt.

Rocky Ridge also brews a number of pastry-inspired sours and stouts, including a banoffee pie stout made in collaboration with Perth bakery Butter Crumbs that has notes of chocolate, banana and maple syrup. There's also a sour that riffs on a fruit salad with kiwi, passionfruit and strawberry.

Alongside all the new drinks, Rocky Ridge will continue to make classic Thunder Road brews, too. For those less interested in beer, the brewery also stocks bottled cocktails from Idle Hands Drinks, as well as a variety of wine, cider and spirits. Non-alcoholic options include a pacific ale and a citrusy sparkling hop water.

Despite its recent struggles, Lorimer is optimistic about the future of the craft beer industry. “Everyone loves a cold beer. All these things are very cyclical, and it doesn’t stay down forever. We just gotta stick tight and get through it.”

Rocky Ridge Brunswick
130 Barkly Street, Brunswick
8768 7382

Hours:
Fri 2pm–11pm
Sat midday–11pm
Sun midday–9pm

@rockyridgebrunswick