Hunter Valley breweries: Is the beer as good as the wine?

It’s easier to find wineries than craft breweries in the Hunter Valley, but beer-lovers have options. The Matilda Bay Brewhouse and Ironbark Hill in Pokolbin, the Mighty in Nulkaba and the Sydney Brewery Hunter Valley in Lovedale are amongst the Hunter Valley breweries offering tastings on site.

The Hunter Valley region north of Sydney is far better known for its wines than its beers, but grain is fighting back against the grape. Craft brewing is getting bigger in the Hunter Valley, with several options available if you want a break from the semillons, shirazes and wine tours.

Hunter Valley breweries: Matilda Bay and the Mighty

The biggest of these is inside the Hunter Valley Resort in Pokolbin. The Matilda Bay Brewhouse was formerly the Bluetongue Brewery, but takeovers have seen the Bluetongue brand subsumed. A glass wall separates guests from the original brewery. There are up to twelve brews to try at any one time, including lagers, ales, stouts, ciders and alcoholic ginger beer. The best way to sample them is with a beer-tasting paddle.

beer menu matilda bay brewhouse hunter valley — Beer menu at the Matilda Bay Brewhouse in the Hunter Valley – one of the region’s increasing number of craft breweries.

Another long-standing Hunter Valley brewery is now the Mighty. This was once known as the Potters Brewery, but is now a cooperative. This means several craft brewers and distillers operate from the same premises in Nulkaba. Interesting beers worth trying include the Jetty Road Blueberry Sour, the Foghorn Sligo Stout and the Slipstream Laguna Tropical Pale Ale.

The Mighty co-operative also includes vodka-makers, gin-distillers and people making unusual liqueur with bold flavours such as passionfruit.

Hunter Valley breweries: Ironbark Hill and Sydney Brewery

More recent additions to the Hunter Valley craft brewing scene include the Ironbark Hill Brewhouse, which is found at Peter Drayton Wines in Pokolbin. The brewhouse opened to the public in 2017, and serves up pales ales, stouts and lagers. The Brewhouse Kitchen is also part of the complex and specialises in gourmet pizzas cooked in an outdoor oven.

There’s also the confusingly-named Sydney Brewery Hunter Valley, which is found at the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley in Lovedale. The brewery proudly boasts of using filtered Hunter Valley water to make its lagers and oatmeal stouts. Perfunctory brewery tours are available for $20, and come with a tasting paddle of four beers or ciders at the end.

Other activities in the Hunter Valley include hot air balloon flights and horse-riding tours.