Road trip, anyone? Australia’s oldest mainland brewery is reopening in Goulburn

Posted on 12 August, 2025

Goulburn Brewery is reopening its doors to reveal a stunning makeover and it’s the perfect excuse for a road trip.

Reopening tomorrow, Wednesday 13 August, after undergoing a two-year restoration, the Goulburn Brewery will debut a new look and new offerings.

Established in 1836 and known as Australia’s oldest mainland brewery, the restoration aims to celebrate the town’s rich heritage and local produce while restoring the estate to its former glory days of brewing.

Along with the lovingly restored Maltings Bar and dining room, the Goulburn Brewery has also had a modern refresh, welcoming the Goulburn Brewery Shop, and the soon-to-be-opened beer garden and function spaces.

Add in a modernised brewery with celebrated brewer, educator and industry figure Neal Cameron as Head Brewer and a new signature craft beer range aptly named “Wayback” (a nod to the traditional call to sheepdogs to “go back” or “wayback”), and you have a new watering hole to visit.

Creating beers reminiscent of the area’s brewing glory days based on brewer’s notes from Goulburn Brewery’s rich archives, Neal says he aims to craft beers that tell the history of the Goulburn Brewery site while looking ahead to the future to champion the Southern Tablelands region and its produce.

“The Goulburn Brewery site has such a detailed brewing history, and we hope that Wayback acts as a vessel to share these stories through techniques, ingredients and the styles of beer we produce,” says Neal.

“Each beer in the Wayback range utilises hyper-local grains and barley to provide drinkers with an exploration of our region from afar.”

Currently featuring a total of eight beers spanning styles including a sparkling, pale ale, dry stout and hazy pale, the Wayback range is also used as a key ingredient throughout the menu in marinades, sauces, batters and an impressive wattleseed and Wayback beer ice cream infused with the flavours.

Spearheaded by Head Chef Marian Christine Abeleda (ex-Gema Group and Peppers Hotel), the menu promises to be an “elevated but warming” à la carte dining experience that highlights local Southern Tablelands produce – think Tathra Place Free Range for proteins, Musset Farm Mushrooms, and Morella Grove for oils and olives.

An example? You can’t go past the pork-knuckle dish which sees the protein from Andrews Meats brined in Wayback beer before being cooked sous vide for a day and air fried to achieve the perfect crispy crackling.

“Whether you’re looking for a slow Sunday lunch or an evening with your nearest and dearest, our menu at Goulburn Brewery is a little bit fancy while also being approachable to offer something for every occasion with one common goal – to bring the community together,” says Marian.

“Championing local producers and their products is something we are very proud of here at Goulburn Brewery and we hope our menu shares the story of these important businesses in our local community.”

Serving both lunch and dinner (which can be enjoyed across Maltings Bar and the dining room), if that’s not enough to make you hungry, you’ll want to try the dessert.

With a background as an award-winning pastry chef receiving many accolades at The Emirates Culinary Guild for her work, Marian’s hero dessert is a rich, chocolate brownie served with a wattleseed and Wayback beer ice cream she describes as “creamy, aromatic with an unforgettable Aussie flavour.”

And with Marian always experimenting with ways to feature the beer, there’ll be sure to be something new to try.

The Maltings Bar and dining room at the Goulburn Brewery is currently open Wednesday to Saturday, with the beer garden and extended function areas to open later this year. Opening hours will be extended for the summer period.

Images supplied. Credit: Ali Nasseri.