Canberra’s size compared to the number of craft breweries to visit is astounding—for such a compact city, a trip to all the breweries is a multi-day affair. What makes it even more difficult is the fact that most of them are amazing in quality, so it’s hard to pick an itinerary for yourself from their number. However, we can attest that these spots are the cream of the crop.
10 Yards in Aranda is a café-by-day, brewery-by-night, serving not only local wines from small producers, but ten taps occupied by mostly their own beers. This brewery is the definition of local, with their food being exclusively seasonal and farm-to-plate, and the beers brewed by a friend of the café franchise’s management. You can only find their beers at 10 Yards, where their Aranda Ale provides the perfect example of homegrown talent.
For a more large-scale operation in comparison, Cypher Brewing Co. in Gungahlin is the place to be. Their onsite 15-hectolitre system brews their core range alongside some unique limited releases, but the beer isn’t the only draw. The team behind Cypher had locals in mind when opening the venue, and created a hub for families and friends, with regular live music gigs on their calendar, classic pub fare and a play area rounding out this brewpub. It’s conveniently located right on the light rail line if you’re looking to try more than a couple of their list.
Braddon is where you’ll find one of Canberra’s most popular craft breweries, BentSpoke Brewing Co. This brewpub brews 26 different draught beers on-location, found on their iconic tap handles, custom-made by a regular. Their beers can be found all over Australia, but there’s no better place to try them than in the pub that started it all. Their beer is infused into every aspect of the brewpub, which is testament to their confidence in its quality—the food menu uses their beers as ingredients, and some of their beers are hand-pumped to harken back to old English ale tradition. BentSpoke is an experience every Canberran should have, even if you’re not a beer fan. The atmosphere and menu more than make up for it.