Australia’s oldest mainland brewery—Goulburn Brewery—has reopened its doors to the public following a two-year restoration.

Located in the town of Goulburn in the NSW Southern Tablelands region, the new chapter for the 1836-established site aims to celebrate the town’s rich heritage and local produce.

The restoration has seen the existing heritage features enhanced to be equipped with several hospitality and community spaces including: the Maltings Bar and dining room, the Goulburn Brewery Shop, modernised brewery and the soon-to-be-opened beer garden and function spaces.

Alongside in-venue offerings, Goulburn Brewery is also debuting a new signature craft beer range named “Wayback”—a nod to the traditional call to sheepdogs to “go back” or “wayback”.

Head Brewer Neal Cameron first visited the Goulburn Brewery in the early 2000s for “just a beer” during a trip to Wagga Wagga. UK-born Neal said he fell in love with the site’s tower-style brewery and its historic charm which led to more than just a single beer that afternoon and a night at the local Goulburn hotel.

When the opportunity came to lead the Goulburn Brewery into its new chapter with the Wayback range, the decision was an easy one for him.

Previous to Goulburn Brewery, Cameron spent over two decades in the industry as a brewer, educator and director. He’s spearheaded iconic breweries such as William Bull Brewery and The Australian Brewery as well as being the author behind the TAFE NSW Certificate III in Microbrewing course.

He’s a credited beer writer and was the Chief Judge at the Royal Sydney Beer & Cider Show. He also spent time as Technical Director for Brewtique, as co-founder and Director of The Institute of Beer, and as Director of Brewing for Beer Farm WA.

With the Wayback range he utilises local, heritage varieties of barley, rye and malt with a slow brewing process utilising multiple yeast strains. This focus on heritage also extends to the styles of beer that feature in the Wayback range, where Neal chooses to make beers reminiscent of the area’s brewing glory days based on brewer’s notes from Goulburn Brewery’s rich archives.

Cameron said: “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.

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

The Wayback range presently features a total of eight beers spanning styles including a sparking, pale ale, dry stout and hazy pale.

The hospitality offering at Goulburn Brewery is spearheaded by Head Chef Marian Christine Abeleda who comes from roles at Gema Group in Wollongong and Peppers Hotels in Sutton Forest. Highlights on the menu include a pork-knuckle dish which sees the protein brined in Wayback beer before being cooked sous vide for a day and air fried to achieve the perfect crispy crackling.

The Wayback range is used as a key ingredient throughout the menu used in marinades, sauces and batters, with Marian always experimenting with new ways to feature the beer.

The origins of the Goulburn Brewery date back to 1836 when it was established as an industrial complex by brothers Thomas and William Bradley hosting a flour mill and maltings. Over the years, the Goulburn Brewery site has taken on many forms including as home for notable brewers like Bartlett & Co. and later Tooth & Co. After ceasing brewing in 1929, the site served
as a distribution depot before being re-opened in 1989, incorporating the brewery with a hotel, restaurant, theatre and function space.

The restoration of the site has included preserving its historic integrity. The solid brick walls were treated with scratch-made slaked limewash to protect the brick and original lime mortar while allowing the structure to breathe. The site’s iconic red roof, timber roofing and floors were also preserved in the restoration.

Even with the installation of state-of-the-art brewing equipment, no new penetrations were made in the building’s fabric and all service runs were thoughtfully integrated within the existing structure. Local Goulburn tradespeople played an integral part in bringing the brewery into this next chapter.

The restoration extended to the grounds, reinstating the levee bank, reviving the brewers’ and kitchen gardens, and planning for hop trellises and barley fields to support the brewery’s needs. Additionally, spent barley offal is provided to local farmers for cattle feed with the resulting meat then used across the Goulburn Brewery menu plus treated wastewater is used
as fertiliser for the gardens.

The Goulburn Brewery is located at 23 Bungonia Road, Goulburn, NSW.