As you know, I love wine. I could never get sick of it. However sometimes my taste buds and brain just don’t know when to turn off. Automatically when I have a glass of vino in my hand I’ll be analysing the colour, smell and taste no matter where I am. This is not a bad thing at all, but being a person who finds it hard to switch off and just relax… Sometimes I just need to take myself out of that thinking zone.

So yes I turn to beer! My colleagues always ask me at work lunches and after work drinks why I order beer and it’s honestly for that simple fact. With a pint of beer in my hand, I’m not mentally writing a tasting note down in my head, or thinking that I need to get a photo so I can pop it on the blog. Beer is my ultimate relaxation drink.

And seeing as Mr. Spittoon is a dedicated beer lover, I do tend to find myself drinking more beer than I really should (the beer belly is pure evidence of this!). I can quite vividly remember being in a beer haze at Oktoberfest in Munich in 2011 telling everyone that we were in paradise (haha that may have been the 3 litres of beer talking that I had consumed!).

Anyway I realised the other day that I have now been to all the of breweries in the swan valley so I thought it would be great to do a quick overview of each, let you know where they are and how far between so you can organise your own mini brewery tour of the Swan Valley.

Plus I will also make mention of the new upcoming Swan Valley brewery that’ll be opening its doors this year!!

View Swan Valley Breweries Map in a larger map

My Swan Valley Self-Guided Brewery Tour

Stop 1: IronBark Brewery

Ironbark Brewery is the closest beer hole to the Perth CBD and it just so happens to be one of my favourites too. It is across the road from Pinelli Wines and Fillaudeaus Cafe, so you could really spend at least half a day just in this area with a wine tasting, beer and lunch. There is nothing flash about Ironbark, the tables and chairs are dated and there’s really only outside seating. However there is some cool artwork inside and they have live music on the weekends as well as some pretty good specials.

Most importantly the beer and ciders are fantastic. They’re really experimental with their brews so you’ll find a great selection to tempt the taste buds, I think they had about 28 different brews to choose from on my last visit. I can’t get enough of the ciders coming out of Ironbark, the Cherry Apple Cider is a favourite of mine. The food is good too, I’m not too fussed on the pizzas but the platters are good and the wedges are AWESOME! You can read more about Ironbark in my post here.

55 Benara Road
Caversham, Western Australia 6055
Tel:(08) 9377 4400
Website: www.ironbarkbrewery.com.au
Email: [email protected]

Stop 2: Elmars Brewery

Elmars Brewery is the next one on the list and is roughly 7.5km’s up the Valley from Ironbark, so about a 8 minute drive. I have to say this Bavarian inspired brewery is probably the most popular SV brewery throughout my friends and family. I have actually only ever visited the brewery once and that was on a Pink Bus Tour, so I think I need to go back… For research purposes of course 😉

From my short time spent there, it was a nice big venue with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating!

8731 West Swan Road

Henley Brook, Western Australia 6055
Tel:(08) 9296 6354
Website: www.elmars.com.au
Email: [email protected]

Stop 3: Duckstein Brewery

Literally just up the road is Duckstein Brewery (1km from Elmars), and is another German inspired spot. I just love this venue when it’s busy as it has a good ambiance. Especially when they have some live music. I had a ball at this spot during the Valley & Vines Festival in 2013.

The outside area is fantastic even in the heat of summer as its shaded by towering gumtrees and they have a lovely misting system!

I’m quite partial to the pilsner from Duckstein, however I’m not too fussed on the others. The food however is awesome. Large German meals! You can read all about lunch at Duckstein here.

9720 West Swan Road
Henley Brook, Western Australia 6055
Tel:(08) 9296 0620
Website: www.duckstein.com.au
Email: [email protected]

Stop 4: Mash Brewery

West Swan Road is where it’s at! 1.5km’s up the road from Elmars you’ll find yourself at Mash Brewing. This is a funky little spot and is also child friendly with a corner full of toys for the little ones to play. I have a feeling they also do meal deals for kids, last time I went I think it was on Friday’s kids eat free after 5pm. But don’t quote me!

And for the adults, I think it’s quite cool how behind the main bar is a 1200 litre brewing system so you may see some of the brewers in action! I typically enjoy the Freo Doctor Pale Ale or the West Coast Wheat beer. The food is also pretty good at this spot! I tend to find it gets booked up fairly quickly, so it pays to call ahead and make a booking. You can read about my last meal at Mash here.

10250 West Swan Road
Henley Brook, Western Australia 6055
Tel:(08) 9296 5588
Website: www.mashbrewing.com.au
Email: [email protected]

Stop 5: Feral Brewery

Now from Mash if you head over to the other side of the Valley, don’t worry it’s only 7.9km’s away, or a 9 minute drive you’ll find yourself at Feral Brewing Company. I like the layout of this one. Plenty of seating indoors and outdoors with seats out in the sun and one’s undercover.

Feral is probably the most awarded brewery in the Valley, they are currently the title holders of the Australian International Beer Awards’ Best Medium Australian Brewery. Which is pretty impressive! They tend to have a pretty good range of beers on tap, I think at one point they had 16 different brews to choose from. They also do some good midweek meal deals. It was so long ago I last ate at Feral, however I have seen some pretty tasty pictures across social media lately. Looks like I need to do another research trip 🙂

152 Haddrill Road
Baskerville, Western Australia 6056
Tel:(08) 9296 4657
Website: www.feralbrewing.com.au
Email: [email protected]

Homestead Brewery Coming Soon!!

Now this is where this post gets exciting, Homestead Brewing will be opening its doors next month! Yep September 2014. Mandoon Estate have decided to build this brewery/gastro pub on their property to make Mandoon one of the ultimate drinking spots in the Valley with its wine, food and beer! Personally I am hugely excited.

Homestead will be located at 10 Harris Road, Caversham which is just up the road from Ironbark Brewery, 7.1km which is about a 10 minute drive. Follow the progress on the Homestead Brewery Facebook page here.