Brewery Review: Green Beacon Brewery

This review may be a little late to be of any value given Green Beacon Brewing opened it’s doors in January 2013. That being said, I’m always surprised about how many people don’t know about this amazing staple to the Brisbane Craft Beer Scene.

Having been open for nearly three years, Green Beacon was one of the first craft breweries to open in Brisbane. Established by Brisbane school friends Marc Christmas and Adrian Slaughter, the inspiration for this brewery was fuelled by similar breweries in other parts of the world.

Originally just producing beer for in house sale and kegs for local pubs, Green Beacon has now moved to canning their staples for takeaway. Something that I give the big thumps up to. You can also get Growlers or ‘Squealers’ for quick consumption after taking away.

Their core range consists of the 3 Bolt Pale Ale, Cross Knot Kolsch, Mainstay Amber, Penny Porter, Wayfarer USA and Windjammer IPA. You can get the Kolsch, Pale, IPA and Wheat in cans.

I have developed a small obsession with the 3 Bolt Pale Ale even going to the lengths of emailing the brewer to try and get some tips on the recipe (be sure to look out for my attempts at cloning in a later post). I am a HUGE advocate for freshness when it comes to pale ales and IPAs and you can’t get much fresher than Green Beacon. In addition, I find the cans seem to keep that freshness far better than bottles.

Green Beacon has definitely been producing far more seasonal beers as they become more popular and the appetite for interesting beers increases. Look out for great releases such as the Uppercut Imperial IPA, Red’s Dead Autumn Season and the Barnaby Coast Winter Seasonal.

Whilst Green Beacon doesn’t really do food, they do have daily food trucks on most days. The food truck scene in Brisbane has exploded and we are now seeing some awesome offerings washed down with even better beer. My recommendation is to head down on ‘Wing It Wednesday’ where King of the Wings pump out super tasty wings.

You really can’t fault Green Beacon and I suspect as the craft beer market grows, we will be seeing more and more of this great Brisbane brewery. If you do get down there make sure you try the 3 Bolt Pale Ale. You can thank me later.