fbpx
Search
Generic filters
Filter by Suburb
Select all
Broadbeach
Burleigh
Coolangatta
Currumbin
Main Beach
Mermaid Beach
Miami
Nobby's Beach
North Burleigh
Palm Beach
Robina
Southport
Surfers Paradise
Tugun
Water Fun

Craft House Bar & Restaurant

Craft beers, creative cocktails and tasty tapas plates for Tugun.

Your next foodie adventure comes courtesy of the good folks of Tugun and a brand new craft beer and tapas bar opening Friday August 10th for everyones’ tasting pleasure.

Craft House Bar & Restaurant can be found on Golden Four Drive (next to Niche & Co.) and Tugun has scored in a big way with this one. The corner space opens out onto the footpath for bulk people watching adventures while inside; understated sophistication is what you’ll find.

The wall is intertwined with snaking green vines which are perfectly offset by walnut leather seating, matte black tableware and copper cutlery. It’s earthy and raw but also sleek and comfortable and we would like to move in please. A striking mural is splashed across one wall, bringing the perfect amount of colour to the space and the bar boasts low hanging lighting made from whiskey decanters. It’s interior perfection if you ask us (which you didn’t but here we are).

The food menu, filled with plates to share, matches the high vibing space and we’re pretty sure there won’t be a dish you don’t absolutely love.

Because, flavour sensation, we recommend starting with the Citrus and Star Anise Cured Salmon with whipped horseradish cream and watermelon, quickly followed by Sautéed Halloumi with pickled kohlrabi (a type of cabbage), mandarin and mint.

If there are two greater things in the world than cured salmon and halloumi we have never met them and if you know any, you better share your secrets OR ELSE.

Anyway. Definitely also eat the Break Out River Lamb Cutlet with roasted carraway pumpkin and cucumber jus. Sweet, juicy goodness is what that is.

Don’t stop there, also eat dessert (we see you Lemon Tart) and maybe also a fancy cheese platter. Everything, eat everything.

So the beer is the star of the show and there are 20 on tap. 20 different beers that is. All of the craft variety and all of which are replaced with an entirely new beer once the keg runs out. There are lots of local faves on offer and newbies you may not have had the pleasure of sampling yet. Happy days.

Of course, if wine is more your thing, there’s a big old list including organic and biodynamic varieties and of course, some very creative cocktails that’ll tickle your tastebuds.

We choose the Zestini first up. It’s got gin, Cointreau, lemon and cucumber and it’s oh so refreshing. There are also Salted Caramel Espresso Martinis and a Pornstar Martini that you know is a good time.

Craft House is the first hospo venture of a couple of local lads (cousins actually) who will probably be around for a beer and a chat when you go in. Which should be today.

We see a lot of this place in our future and we are not sad about it.

LOCATION: 445 Golden Four Drive, Tugun
HOURS: 12pm until late every day

Words and photos by Kirra Smith

Crafted Beer & Cider Festival

A festival dedicated to drinking, tunes and just generally chilling out is definitely the most Australian thing we’ve ever heard of. Except for maybe that lady who picked up a shark with her bare hands and threw it back into the ocean.

Obviously none of us will ever live up to her but we can get involved in the next best thing – the Crafted Beer and Cider Festival – debuting in Broadbeach on November 4th.

In celebration of all things beer and cider, Crafted will showcase (over 100) Aussie brewers from the Coast, wider Queensland and some of your faves from interstate.

Think Balter, Burleigh Brewing, Black Hops, Newstead Brewing, Stone & Wood, Batlow Cider and plenty more. We really are quite the beer connoisseurs aren’t we?

Because no festival (and drinking in general) is complete without quality tunes, there are some of those too. The lineup features Brisbane surf-pop/rockers Shag Rock, Byron Bay reggae/hip hop quintet Drop Legs, local indie-rockers Eliza & The Delusionals, alt-rock quartet The Maslows, GC-based soulful acoustic duo Azmosphere and Beatniks DJs.

ALSO, how did we survive before gourmet food trucks? All your local faves will be there from the Wiener Haus boys to Little Wahaca and Food Kartel and isn’t this going to be a good time.

If you’re still reading but just remembered you aren’t a fan of beer or cider, never fear. The Chandon S Spritz Pop Up Bar will be ahh…popping up for those who like to get sparkly and there’ll also be wine, cocktails and the like.

Round up your crew, re-locate your favourite Mexican picnic throw and get yo’ tickets ASAP because this one is not to be missed.

LOCATION: Pratten Park, Broadbeach
COST: $29.60 per person

 

Celebrate International Beer Day

Burleigh Brewing Co.
Black Hops Brewing
Balter Brewing Company
Lost Palms Brewing Company
Fortitude Brewing Company

Although there needs to be no specific reason to drink a frosty cold ale made by one of our many epic Gold Coast brewers, there is in fact a day dedicated to doing exactly that and it’s happening this Saturday August 4th.

In celebration of International Beer Day, we’ve rounded up a list of the latest brews all your local faves have released and you should definitely rope your Mum into driving you to every single one because, good times await.

From north to south here they are (pick us up on the way will you please). 

Fortitude Brewing Company
The crew at Fortitude Brewing Company have been busy little bees, or minors as the case may be. They’ve recently opened a sister company, Noisy Minor, who are slinging brand new brews faster than you can sink ‘em. The newbie boasts the same core values as their older sibling and each beer is brewed in single batches. Try the Anzus IPA which they say is a clean, light malt type of thang with earthy, resiny, piney and fruit notes. Yummo.
Where: 165 Long Road, Mount Tamborine

Black Hops Brewing
Word on the street is these Burleigh locals are expanding their offerings up north pretty soon so double the fun for everyone. They’ve been on the scene awhile now, creating much-loved offerings for their many fans. The latest brew to hit the streets is is the Send It Session Ale which literally rolled out this week. It’s an easy drinking, 4.2% Gold Coast inspired session beer (which means it’s low alcohol and can be consumed for a longer period of time! WINNING.
Where: 15 Gardenia Grove, Burleigh Heads

Balter Brewers
No doubt you’ve heard of them and hopefully you’ve ventured to the Currumbin industrial area to get involved in the endless good times on offer in their sweet space. If not, this weekend is your time friend. The Balter gang recently released a limited new brew, the Balter IIPA but you better get your hands on her quick smart, once she’s gone, she’s gone. And the can art is oh so pretty which is such a girl thing to say but hey, here we are.
Where: 14 Traders Way, Currumbin 

Lost Palms Brewing
Speaking of pretty can art, Lost Palms Brewing know what’s up. Hues of bright pink and red are their signature colours and that is a thing we can get behind. The actual brewery space is also one of the best around complete with a basketball hoop plus live music and food trucks from Friday to Sunday. One of the latest on their list is the Lost Palms Lager which is a 4.8% pale beer and we highly recommend it. This plus a game of ball and some tunes with the crew, what more could you want.
Where: 11 Oak Avenue, Miami

Burleigh Brewing Co.
The crew at Burleigh Brewing Co. have a good thing going on. A spacious brewery that hosts many a fun event, an outdoor area that you never want to leave and, most recently an outdoor cinema where you can sip beers and laze about in beanbags while watching a flick. Fun! In the interest of keeping things umm interesting, we’re changing it up. Instead of a new brew, we want to chat about an oldie. The Hef is one of BBC’s most popular brews but the wheat beer won’t be made again until 2019 so if you haven’t tasted it yet, get in quick stocks literally won’t last.
Where: 2 Ern Harley Drive, Burleigh Heads

Laughing Lizard Brewing Co
These guys have the absolute lock down on tasty brews with a selection of over 150 and all chemical and preservative free. You know what that means? No hangover (not guaranteed). The latest addition to the fam is Ol Man Lizard, named by a customer and boasting absolute deliciousness. It’s a healthy dark ale which is something a little bit different and we hear it’s full bodied and super flavoursome. The perfect winter ale.
Where: 27 Sinclair St, Arundel 

Words by Kirra Smith

Black Hops Brewing

Black Hops Brewery, in Burleigh Heads, has been in business for almost three years and in that short time, has become one of the Gold Coast’s favourite brews.

Today, the three men behind the brand – Dan, Govs and Eddie – launched their very first Pale Ale, in a can no less.

We had a chat with Dan about the new brew and why Black Hops has gone the way of the can.

Congratulations on the latest addition, tell us about your new Pale Ale?

We have always been pretty creative with our beers and beer names. We launched with an Eggnog Stout and our main beer was a Saison. Pale Ale is a style that both the team and our customers drink more than any other, so we thought it was a good idea to put a big effort into making this beer.

It’s a modern pale ale with a nice balance of pale malted barley and tropical hop aromas. We call it the Black Hops beer for every occasion. We called it Pale Ale, our least creative name yet. We don’t want people to overthink it. It is what it says on the tin.

How long did it take to develop the flavour?

Govs has been working on pale ale recipes for a decade but this is our first official batch. We had a meeting a few months ago about the need to make a big splash with our first beer into cans and decided on brewing a new beer as opposed to canning any of our current nine offerings.

From there we had a lot of meetings about every aspect of the beer. The colour, style, aroma and flavour were part of that as was the launch plan, design, marketing and sales strategy.

There have been some challenging moments but in the end we got a beer we are all stoked with and all 4,300L of it was sold before anyone had tried it.

The Pale Ale will be your first beer sold in a can, why did you decide to do that?

There is a big trend towards cans. The old mentality of cans tasting tinny is gone with modern cans and there are many benefits. They are cheaper, safer, more enjoyable to drink out of, they transport better and take up less space and they look sexy AF!

You’ve got 10 beers in the collection now, which has been the most loved do you think?

We have a “core range” of nine beers but we’ve probably brewed 20 or 30 total, maybe more. Out of the core range beers our seasonal IPAs have a loyal following particularly our American Red Ale “Code Red” and our Black IPA “ABC Bomb”. Our first beer the Eggnog Stout has a cult following and our 8.3% Super Hornet has been a big hit.

Judging by the response to Pale Ale though we think this will quickly become a fan favourite. On launch day we went through our first keg in a record five hours at our Taproom in Burleigh and at least two venues ran through the whole keg that night. Our online pre-sale of 40 cases sold out in two hours and all kegs and cans were sold in the two weeks before launching.

There’s a few microbreweries popping up around the Coast lately, what do you guys have that the other companies don’t?

Great tasting beer 😉

Biggest lesson you’ve learned since opening the brewery?

Probably the biggest one was the need to have a deliberate marketing and sales strategy for selling beer. Beer doesn’t sell itself and having everyone from the Taproom staff to the owners, marketing and sales and brewing guys working together on a deliberate strategy to make and sell beer people want has been a big lesson. Our Pale Ale beer and successful launch is the culmination of that work and it’s made a big impact so far to the business.

Anything else exciting in the works for Black Hops?

The big things for this year are going into cans, expanding the brewery and starting to sell beer interstate. We’ve also got the AIBA Awards and GABS beer festival coming up in May where we are aiming to better our previous best of a Bronze medal at the AIBAs and 9th at Gabs.

We are also putting out lots of content on our site including a podcast called Operation Brewery where we are documenting our journey to the AIBAs.

© 2024 All Rights Reserved.