Come for the brews, stay for the brouhaha at this Brunswick East outpost of a much-vaunted Beechworth brewery where the energy is high, the service smart and the pizza passes the taste test.
Ah, Brunswick East, how you’ve changed. The Singapore-sized urban village that has materialised in the place of Nicholson Street’s warehouses and factories is bringing a whole new buzz to the ’hood, and Bridge Road Brewers is its unofficial city square. The impressive venue sees the Beechworth brewery that’s been wowing Victoria’s north-east since 2005 dipping its toe into big-city waters – and the temperature is just right.
The owners might be from the country, but there’s nothing mousy about this Nicholson Street behemoth. The design team has earned its keep, dividing up the tiered space so that everyone’s happy, from the folk with their pooches in tow who command the two outdoor areas to the groups who can’t go past a booth and a bunch of high-tops to pretend they’re in a pub having a beer with Duncan. Add a drinks list with a mission to showcase why the Bridge Road brand is universally admired, and food that roams far beyond the remit of the chicken parma (much as we love a good one) and it’s a venue you’d be hard-pressed not to like.
It can be easy to forget the new wave of Melbourne brew-pubs are actual working breweries, so intent are they on entertaining the masses with all kinds of bells and whistles. Bridge Road puts it front and centre by making its gleaming tanks and fermenters part of the schmick design. And if you don’t swoon over the beautifully colour-graded beer taps, like a Pantone rainbow gracing the back of the bar, then consider your subscription to Vogue Living cancelled forthwith.
But style aside, there’s plenty of know-how on display through the service ranks that means questions (example: “What the hell is a fruited sour?”) will get a knowledgeable answer rather than a shoulder shrug. For further drinking ease, the list is divided into the categories of Light & Easy, Hoppy & Hazy, Dark & Malty and Sour & Fruity.
And while there’s no table service (although staff ferry food to the tables), you’ll forgive the impost in the face of the cheerful onslaught that makes the vibe a bit like being at a friend’s house – if the friend lived in a 340-seat beer hall, that is.
Um… beer? With 30 taps to choose from, there’s a significant chance even the most hardened brew refusenik can be converted. The approachable drinkability of the Outsider Lager makes it a good place to start, or perhaps venture in the direction of the brewery’s classic Beechworth Pale Ale, which has just celebrated its 18th birthday. Committed beer lovers will get their kicks sampling the more experimental gear that keeps the brewers entertained (case in point: the passionfruit sour with its smidge of guava) or might patriotically head in the direction of the Village Pils, the flagship drop brewed specially for the Brunswick East venue that uses Italian pilsners as its guide.
Wine, you ask? A thoroughly respectable list has its heart in the north-east, with a particular focus on the low-intervention and biodynamic drops like Castagna’s luscious Growers’ Selection roussanne and Fighting Gully Road’s catalogue of Italian reds. Straying over to cocktails, you’re likely to encounter Beechworth luminaries such as Reed & Co gin and Beechworth Bitters, and it’s fun to see Bridge Road’s own beer and whisky play a starring role – tip your hat to the Cowboy Cruiser, made with hopped whisky, peach syrup, lemon and soda.
The excellent pizza credentials have made the trip from Beechworth down the Hume Highway. Ratios are all in order, including the puffy crust and quality toppings, and while purists might sneer at the roast duck with Peking sauce, an unimpeachable Margherita and a Hawaiian elevated with Italy’s creamy fior di latte cheese, oregano and free-range ham bring it back to safe ground.
The broader menu is as beer-friendly as it gets, while refusing easy pigeonholes. Spicy lamb merguez kebabs bring a taste of Morocco, fried chicken goes Caribbean with a junkanoo chilli sauce, and beef brisket heads to the American south with its chilli-beer braise.
Democracy might be taking a beating across the globe, but Bridge Road Brewers is doing its bit to welcome all comers. Whether you’re with a group of work mates, celebrating your BFF’s birthday or catching up with your mum, it’s going to float your boat. Got kids? Bring those sticky-fingered little blighters on down – there’s housemade lemonade and a food menu for the young’uns that doesn’t suck.
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