The Sunshine Coast is now considered by many to be the mecca of craft brews. Many independent microbreweries have made Sunshine Coast home, making the local craft beer scene more vibrant.
We are taking you on a craft beer journey that will want you to book the next flight tickets for your arrival at the Sunshine Coast.
Below, we have compiled a list of 10 of the best craft beers made on the Sunshine Coast by the many amazing craft breweries. These beers include red ale, lagers, and IPAs that have changed the Sunshine Coast craft beer scene.
Top Craft Beers Made on the Sunshine Coast
1. Golden Ale craft beer by Boiling Pot Brewing Company
Located in the heart of Noosaville, Boiling Pot Brewing Company was founded by John Scott Madill, a Noosa local. It is well known for the amazing variety of beer it produces and its friendly staff. The brewery has a taproom where visitors and locals can get the beer directly from the source.
Golden Ale is the flagship craft beer offered by Boiling Pot Brewing Company. It has a smooth and tropical flavour to it.
Golden Ale is the perfect craft beer to have whether you are on the beach or back home after a tiring day at work.
Beer Range Offered
Boiling Pot Brewing Company has different flavoured beers available that they brew in-house. With a lot of variety on offer, customers can choose from the different options. Even if they are unsure, there are mixed packs available that let the customers try multiple options at once.
2. Juicebox IPA by Land & Sea Brewery
Land and Sea Brewery is a unique brewery in Noosa that has taken its inspiration from the sea to create its craft beer. They use local ingredients to create a unique blend of craft beer.
The Juicebox beer is a New England-style IPA and boasts the flavours of breakfast juice with aromas of tropical fruits such as mango, lychee, candied pineapple, and passionfruit.
This craft beer is highly recommended for the summer season and is extremely juicy – a delight indeed!
Beer Range Offered
Land and Sea Brewery offers a wide range of craft beer available all year round. Also, they are known for crafting some exquisite seasonal or limited-release beer, keeping both visitors and locals on their toes.
3. Lager by Heads Of Noosa Brewing Co.
Heads of Noosa is an independent, family-owned brewery that is located on the Sunshine Coast in Noosa, Australia. Their unique and tasty beers are a result of their interest and passion for lagers, which helps them produce some interesting and enjoyable beers for everyone who comes to them.
The beers created by them are inspired by the rocky headlands and the Pacific Ocean. Their main focus has always been on quality, using natural ingredients and brewing them fresh to create better beer.
While the region of Noosa is famous for all kinds of ales, Heads of Noosa Brewing Co. specialises in brewing some of the best lagers available on the Sunshine Coast. These are fermented colder with a delicate balance of taste.
The two most famous lagers are the Japanese Lager and the Summer Dusk. While the Japanese Lager is filtered to give a crisp and clean mouthfeel, the Summer Dusk is exploding with colours as it is made from dark malts that are balanced with flavours and aromas of tropical fruit hop.
4. Hazo’s IPA by Noosa Hinterland Brewing Co.
Noosa Hinterland Brewing Co. is located in a building that is heritage-listed and is of historical value. Here in this unique brewery, you can find a lightning bicycle above your head.
The interesting part about the brewery is that the beer is crafted in small batches, allowing you to see the fermenters and the brew kit live.
The Hazo IPA is the inaugural collaboration craft beer and also the winner of the Noosa Home Brews Club vs Sunshine Coast Amateur Brewers (SCABS) ANZAC IPA competition. It is a hoppy tap with a coppery-gold colour.
The taste of this craft beer is a hefty, bitter one. It is a full-bodied beer. The late addition of hops is essential in bringing out the flavours and aromas of stone fruit and tropical fruits at the onset. while the resinous characteristics take some time to get noticed.
Range of Beer Available
There is a diverse range of core, seasonal variety, and collaborative beers available at any time of the year. A minimum of 6 different craft beers is available on the tap.
5. Mulberry & Coconut Sour by Copperhead Restaurant Brewery
Copper Head Restaurant and Brewery is a combination of a brewery and a restaurant, which is also called a Brew Pub. It is located in Cooroy, and the main focus of this combination is on both food and beer. They also offer à la carte meals that can be booked for any special occasion, such as a wedding.
Made with mulberry and coconuts, the Mulberry and coco sour craft beer is sourced in the brew kettle, where sugar is turned into lactic acid much before the actual fermentation process begins. This gives a dry finish and a nice tartness to the beer. The mulberry and coconut fruits are added to provide fruit balance to the beer.
Range of Beer Offered
The Copperhead Restaurant Brewery is a microbrewery that offers seven session-able tap beers and an additional batch of 7 experimental beers that change with the season. Their beers are unfiltered and 100% pure, as no preservatives or fining agents are added to them.
6. Debbie’s Cousin by Sunshine Brewery
Conceived in May 2015 and given birth to on 24th November 2015, this Brewery is a fairly young one located in the Sunshine State, Queensland. They brew fresh beer using local produce that can be traced to their producers. It is open for both tasting cellar doors and wholesale supplies. There are even food vans available on-site on Thursdays, Fridays, and even some of the weekends.
Sunshine Brewery is a combined effort of Craig Dundson, who is a passionate surfing skeg and the chief brewer, and Darlyle Cook, who heads the business and is passionate about travelling and good food. Their beers are inspired by different things and experimentation.
Debbie’s Cousin is a blonde ale with 4.2% ABV and uses the malt profile of Sunshine Brewery’s award-winning Debbie Session Ale. The hop profile uses Eclipse hops, a newly developed Tasmanian variant. This gives the beer a blonde colour with tangerine aromas.
Range of Beers Available
The Brewery has crafted 64 different beers over the last five years, including seasonal brews like Migaloo white ale(a German wheat beer).
7. Mad Dog Ginger Beer by Terella Brewing
Terella Brewing is an eco-friendly farm-style brewery located in the rural landscape of North Arm. It has been co-founded by Torren Read and Brandt Bamford with a highly sustainable model.
Mad Dog Ginger Beer
This lager beer is lightly malted and has a crisp, dry finish. It features spicy noble/mild floral European hops and uses only two grains – pale malt and wheat, and a single hop – the noble hop Saaz. It has a gingery taste and sweetness similar to honey.
Beer Variety on Offer
Terella Brewing has six different canned beers available for purchase and delivery. This includes a mix of lager, ale, and IPA. Terella Brewing is currently working on brewing some more varieties of beers that will be available in the coming few months.
8. Liquid Metal by Blackflag Brewing
This microbrewery and bar is located in Mooloolaba, Queensland and is an amazing place to relax, enjoy, check out the wall art and try their beer. There is a shed in front of the bar, which is called the ‘Glory Hole’ because that’s where all the glorious brewing of beer is done.
Liquid Metal
The Liquid Metal beer by Blackflag Brewing is a black IPA 7.2%, brewed using Centennial and Cascade hops. There is a very familiar and subtle resin finish found in American beers with hints of pine. The beer offers a session-able feel with large-bodied trimmings.
Range of Beer Offered
There is a diverse range of craft beer offered by Blackflag Brewing, including IPAs, Pale Ales, and Craft Draughts available.
9. Porter by Sunshine Coast Brewery
The Sunshine Coast Brewery was established in 1998 and started operations by brewing the mid-strength Ginger Kegs, which was an instant hit with beer enthusiasts.
The brewery underwent a transformation process in the middle of 2006 under its new owners to explore traditional beer styles from around the world to promote craft beers. Within the next decade, this brewery gained local and national attention. Today, this brewery is the longest-running microbrewery in Queensland and has created award-winning beer.
Porter
There are hints of roasted coffee and chocolate among the bitterness of hops and a malty aroma. The most exquisite experience of Porter can be had when served with a rich chocolate dessert. This blend is heavenly and considered a must-have if you’re visiting the Sunshine Coast region. This Sunshine Coast craft beer is also equally appealing when consumed with a hearty meal of lamb shank or with freshly shucked oysters.
Beer Range Offered
The Sunshine Coast Brewery has a small but delicious range of craft beers that have been perfected over the past two decades. This has been achieved by drawing inspiration from the different traditional styles of beer from all over the world and combining it with the hinterland and coastal lifestyle of the Sunshine Coast.
10. Pipeline Pale Ale by 10 Toes Brewery
10 Toes Brewery is located in Alexandra Headland, smack in the middle of the Sunshine Coast and is highly recommended for those who want to get immersed in the fresh and fully flavoured local brews available on the Sunshine Coast.
Pipeline Pale Ale
Pale Ale beer balances freshly procured and cut tropical fruits with a clean malt profile. This drink is fully flavoured and has a new-world character. The malts used are Pale, Crystal, and Vienna, while the hops include Mosaic, Citra, and Vic Secret.
10 Toes Beer
The Pale Ale has received numerous awards and is a hot favourite of beer enthusiasts visiting the Sunshine Coast. It is a part of the core range of the 10 Toes beer. 10 Toes is a massive hopped Double IPA and is highly recommended for froth monsters. With an ingrained beer culture in the region, this beer is produced in massive quantities so that you never run out of stock, even during the peak season.
CONCLUSION
We have tried to do justice by doing as best a study as possible to rate the top 10 craft beers made. Each of these beers and their breweries is special; you should try as many as possible. There is nothing better than the freshly brewed Sunshine Coast craft beer served cold.
