Black Brewing Co. Margaret River is one of the coolest venues as it’s a cellar door, restaurant and craft brewery all rolled into one. The atmosphere is vibrant, the estate is stunning and the staff friendly and super passionate about their produce. We’ve been popping in here on our Margaret River Tours for some time and passengers love tasting the beer, wine and gin that is all made onsite. We chatted with the Venue and Operations Manager, Emma, to learn a little bit more about this unique collective.
What is the story behind the Black Brewing Co?
Stewart Sampson, our Managing Director, started Black Brewing Co back in 2015. He has a passion for discovering and developing new brews and his inspiration for our core range was beers that you can enjoy anywhere – camping, fishing, marroning, everything that this region is made for! His real passion is Belgian farmhouse ales. This was the inspiration for our ‘wildly different’ range which includes a Saison, Framboise and a barrel aged IPA.
What is it that makes your beer so good?
Unlike large breweries, our brewers complete the whole process, from recipe writing to brewing to packaging. We only have a small brew kit and two brewers so a lot of care goes into each and every brew. I also think it’s the variety we have in our range, we have something for everyone from lager drinkers to hop lovers. As well as plenty of experimental small batch releases which give the guys chance to have a lot of fun in the brewery such as our Framboise which is packed with WA raspberries.
You guys are unique in that you don’t just do beer, you do wine and gin! Tell us how the company evolved to be doing all three?
The story all started with the beer. Once we were really happy with our core range, Stew and the guys started experimenting with collaborations with wine and spirits. This brings us to today, we started our barrel programme in June and currently have around five different beers sitting in barrels, some inoculated with wine yeast in wine barrels and some in spirit barrels. It’s really exciting tasting the progression month on month.
The wines were a no-brainer really. Stew has been involved in the wine industry for over ten years and the property is home to some award-winning vines. We would be silly not to use them! We work with some fantastic winemakers at McHenry Hohnen to create our final product. We distilled our first small batch gin last year and it was such a hit that we now have a 500L still on the way from Amsterdam. Now to work on our core range of spirits!
What can someone expect when they visit Black Brewing Co?
Essentially, a fantastic taste of the region. You can drop in for a beer, gin or wine tasting, lunch on the deck or by the fire, a late afternoon saison and bar snack, family gatherings in the beer garden, or even a game of pool. Our head chef Hayden has put together a mouth-watering menu featuring seasonal, local produce. And we host regular exhibitions, music and special events. Something for everyone!
Most popular beer and what is your personal favourite?
I’d say that our Lager is our most popular beer. It recently won a gold medal at the Indie Beer Awards which is a fantastic achievement for our brewers. There are definite seasonal changes though, as soon as those colder months kick in, our Bao Bao Milk Stout flies out the door.
