Micro-brewers may well be past the label of ‘new kids on the brewing block’ by about two decades, but the popular cottage industry has never stopped growing.
There are now more than 700 craft brewers in Victoria.
Strathbogie Brewery has redefined itself within the yet smaller niche of ‘nano-brewer’ in comparison to other beer enterprises, which has allowed its owners David and Sandy Joyce to focus on producing high-quality beverages in relatively smaller quantities.
The Joyces’ claim of having created their own “little piece of beer paradise” is an understatement.
Nestled between the brewery building and their established mixed-fruit orchard stands six rows of lush hop vines that are in bud burst.
Their sprawling garden is adorned with classical European trees and enormous hydrangeas.
Behind that, a neat crop of rain-fed maize stretches skyward.
Such a property size allows for greater flexibility in experimenting with different beers, and since the brewery’s establishment three decades ago, the business has reached a viable threshold which saw more than 8000 litres of beer, ale and stout produced in 2022.
“We are passionate about growing and using as many local, organic and raw products as possible in our beers and cider,” David said, taking a break from the hand-cranked maize sheller, an antique device which strips cobs of their kernels, jettisoning the empty cobs sideways.
“Our beers are brewed traditionally.”
The Joyces’ farm grows its own dryland crops of maize, barley and hops, and the enterprise is entirely chemical free.
Sustaining the natural environment has been a priority for the couple, with emphasis given to minimising packaging products and waste.
Power for the brewery’s operation comes entirely from solar energy, and all water sourced for production is from collected rainfall.
“The industry standard of the amount of water used to make one litre of beer is about five litres,” David said.
“We have got that water usage down to under three litres for every two bottles.”
The COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the business, with reliance on sales to smaller enterprises proving a challenge which they overcame with government support.
The repartee between the couple underlies a passion for their business which also helped it endure the pandemic.
“It was a very difficult time for us,” Sandy said.
“We now try to not put too many eggs in one basket.”
“Our business model collapsed, basically, and we had to find other outlets,” David said.
“The government did support us very well and we would have gone under without that support, and it has now moved us into a more retail position.”
The brewery is starting to increase its production of kegs, with room for production available along the production chain in their hand-built brewery building.
All beers are conditioned in bottles in a temperature-controlled cupboard, which David designed and made, and all bottles are hand-stamped and sealed.
Although their knowledge of growing hops is well founded, the Joyces have shied away from relying on different hop varieties to please palates.
“Our market is probably less hop-driven in the beers and more malt-driven,” Sandy said.
“We don’t do a lot of hop beers because they just don’t sell well out here.”
The local community’s economy is a priority for the Joyces.
The Strathbogie general store is under new management and the couple takes pride in stocking the shelves there with their products.
“That’s going to be the focus for the next 12 months, to help the new owners get up and running successfully,” David said.
Grain choice is the key to the brewery’s uniqueness, and the Joyces researched the heritage of their seed for any product.
Their Maris Otter project is in its fifth year, having built up a sufficiently sized seed bank of the cultivar from an initial 30g sample.
“It is a relatively old variety developed in 1966 that was used as the main malting grain in England, and in trying to find a malt that would grow in the Strathbogie climate, this one of course popped up because it is a very famous type,” Sandy said.
Black oats are grown to produce stout and have the double advantage of growing well in winter and being camouflaged from browsing cockatoos when it is sown.