Bridge Road Brewers produces some damn fine craft beers, and its rustic brewery in Beechworth perfectly complements the beer and brand.
It’s Easter Sunday, and we’ve done our research. Bridge Road Brewery opens at 11am, and pizzas are served from midday. Having seen the crazy busyness at Bright Brewery on Good Friday, we’re there just after 11am, and it’s just as well! Most tables are reserved. We’re lucky to nab a bench table out the back, and watch as people begin to stream in to the bar and outdoor tables.
Lucky to grab a table!
They’ve got a taster paddle and it’s slightly better value than Bright Brewery: $15 for 10 tastes (you can choose tastes of one, four, six etc… but why not taste as much as possible?).
Bar during an uncharacteristic slow moment
Beer paddles
Drink ALL the beer!
Like Bright Brewery, we get a tasting booklet – this has a lot of detail explaining exactly what we’re drinking with each one.
Beer paddle – 10 for $15
To give an idea of the range of beers, there’s a hefeweizen (with ingredients sourced from Germany), the ‘Harvest’ (a beer with lots of hops), Beechworth pale ale (American style), Celtic red ale, Dark Harvest (deep, dark beer), ‘Bling’ IPA (a balanced hop and malt combo), Non e un limone (hops, lemon and tea), Biere de Garde (spicy malt), Aurora Borealis 2 and a strong scrumpy cider. Phew! The standout by far for me is the hefeweizen.
Bridge Road Brewers are also well known for their pizzas – for very, very good reason. Even though every pizza seems to be topped with rocket, the range still has us salivating.
Love these!
While we wait, we order a pretzel.
Plain pretzel ($3)
The pretzel’s okay, but we’ve made a mistake not getting the bavarian cheese dip with it ($1.50 extra). Next time!
Pizza! ($18.50 each)
These pizzas are as good as they say. On one we’ve got apple with gorgonzola and the other is sweet potato, rosemary and gorgonzola. The bases are crispy, and while the pizzas aren’t packed to the brim, they’re packed with flavour. Delicious.
It’d be easy to spend all afternoon at Bridge Road. The atmosphere is lively without being deafeningly loud, and the flavours and while grazing through the menu you could work your way through a few pints – and it seems that’s exactly what most around us plan to do!
Date: Sunday, 20 April 2014
Where: Ford Street, Beechworth
Value for money: High (especially the beer paddle)
Worthwhile factor: Highly worthwhile
Want more? Try their website. Be warned – it’s open for lunch every day 12-3, but only open for dinner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. I highly recommend you book!
In The Taratory 
I’m loving this travel blog series! I grew up in Victoria and it’s bringing back so many memories. Your Mr Taratory looks like one happy fellow! Great pics!
Thank you! We had such a good time. Victoria is so pretty – I imagine it was a really special place to grow up 🙂
It was! Just as cold as Canberra in winter, too!
I’ve no doubt after doing the Mt Hotham drive.
Reblogged this on Simple Palates, Seriously and commented:
With Good Beer Week coming up, here’s one reason to make space in your outlook calendar!
Again, we’ve been here three times and as you say it’s always busy and worth booking if you want to be sure. I enjoy the ambience but as a non-beer drinker, non-pizza eater (due to wheat-cheese-tomato intolerance) it’s not really my thing. However, I’m always happy to go as others love it and it does have a lovely friendly vibe whether you sit in or outside (and we’ve done both). I keep trying beer particularly with all the news boutique ones around, keep WANTING to like it, but I just don’t.
Beer can be hard to like! I am impressed that you still enjoy the ambience even though you don’t eat or drink most of what’s available – that’s an endorsement!
I hadn’t thought of that, but I guess you are right. And, you can get wine there even if their focus is beer.