Victoria boasts almost 200 independent breweries, and now, East Brunswick Village (EBV) proudly welcomes Bridge Road Brewers to its fold. We spoke with their head brewer, Ben Kraus, about their journey and vision for EBV.
The Bridge Road story begins in the year 2000
The Bridge Road tale began two decades ago. Young Ben from Beechworth ventured to Europe, immersing himself in winemaking. Europe, however, introduced him to traditional microbrewing in Innsbruck and his wife Maria.
Wine was quickly traded for beer, and Ben and Maria returned to Australia to open the first iteration of Bridge Road Brewers in Ben’s dad’s shed (on Bridge Road, of course). A year later, the first brewery’s current home in Beechworth opened its doors. As Ben explains, “Good beer in Europe really wasn’t a thing in Australia back in the early 2000s; it was heavy or light lager from the two big companies. There wasn’t the diversity or quality that we saw in Europe, so I decided I wanted to do something about that.”
Moving Against the Mainstream
Being in a regional town in Victoria, the community grew up with a limited selection of beer available and didn’t really expect anything to change. Then, along comes Ben and Bridge Road on a mission to expand the froth options with a range of beers that were developed to facilitate the taste of change.
“We had a beer called the Australia Ale, which was our entry-level beer for people that were new to craft beer, and our Beechworth Pale Ale, which we still have now, which is a hoppier beer that based itself more on what was happening overseas.”
As it turns out, people were thirsty for change, and the local community, along with the steady stream of Beechworth tourists, embraced Bridge Road’s brews. “We opened the first brewery in a residential zone, next to a stone bridge and waterfall, and in the early 2000s, it was quite a novelty to have a craft brewery in a regional town, so it encouraged a lot of people to stop. We were also on the way to the rubbish tip, so locals popped in and pretended they were still taking out the rubbish when really they were having a cheeky pint.”
From Beechworth to Brunswick
Bridge Road Brewers is known as a “brew-pub,” with a long history of a strong hospitality offering that paired a delicious menu with their refreshing beers. “We feel like this is only something that has popped up in Melbourne recently, that sit-down hospitality venue that has a brewery attached to it. We’ve been doing this in Beechworth for a long time, so we always thought that because our model has been successful in a town of 4,000 people, we’d love to bring it to the city.”
This prompted Ben and Maria to begin their search for the right venue, and the EBV opportunity came up at the perfect time. After a few meetings, they were offered a lease to join the EBV family. “We see this as a great opportunity because the block we are on isn’t really seen as a hospitality area, so we have a great opportunity to establish a new precinct along with the other businesses that are coming in. We want to create something new in that area of Brunswick and replicate what we did in Beechworth; creating a community hub where people catch-up in a casual way, and socialise with something great to eat and drink.”
Bridge Road X Rumi?
As it has been announced that local legend Rumi is also moving into the EBV precinct, could we expect a dedicated Rumi brew to celebrate? “I have a good history with Joeseph from Rumi,” explains Ben, “He’s had his hand in the brewing industry previously as well, so we’ve talked about how we can work together on a beer since we’ll be brewing right next door.”
Ben explains that he is also working on a beer specifically for the village known as the ‘Village Pils’, which will also be brewed onsite. “We wanted a staple offering made in the village for the village, and we’ve already spoken to other business owners about some exciting collaborations as well.” Ben explains that the goal is to ensure that EBV has a diverse offering to ensure it does become a new hospitality location in East Brunswick. “We have to work well with the other businesses to offer something different to the surrounding suburbs.”
“We felt like this village would attract people who will align with our brand,” explains Ben when asked about why they ultimately decided to call EBV home. “EBV talked about being a community, and that is something that we focus on. We want to serve people who want to engage with those around them. We’re a business that relies on people being social, and the community spirit side of EBV really spoke to us.”
Come and join the community and celebrate with a Bridge Road brew today!
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We wanted to put East Brunswick Village (EBV) to the task and have had our sales team answer these ‘six essential questions you should ask when buying an apartment’, and we think we shape up pretty well!
We wanted to put East Brunswick Village (EBV) to the task and have had our sales team answer these ‘six essential questions you should ask when buying an apartment’, and we think we shape up pretty well!
