By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A RE-BRANDED brewery in Doveton is fast becoming the go-to watering hole in the state’s south-east.
The Brownstone Micro Brewery, attached to the Atura Hotel, is helping to re-invigorate Doveton as a desirable location with its promise of unique new brews and diverse employment opportunities.
The brewery was rebranded by Chifley Hotels when the company took over the Atura as part of its Amalgamated Holdings Portfolio in late October.
“We inherited the brewery and changed the name, it was previously called the Coldwater Creek Brewery and we changed it to Brownstone,” Atura Hotel general manager Lisa Parker said.
“We also inherited their pilsener recipe and have since created our own pale ale, and our brewer is busy coming up with the recipe for a new brew.”
Trademarking its two current distinct brews as the Brownstone Pale Ale and the Brownstone Pilsener, Ms Parker said the micro-brewery drew patrons from across the City of Casey and beyond.
She said there were no other facilities like it on the way out town until you reached the Mornington Peninsula.
“It’s certainly our point of difference, given there’s nothing else like it in the area,” she said.
“Our closest competitors are in the Morning Peninsula, we’re a pit stop along the way.”
The 500-litre brewery, built on the Atura site four years ago, was recognised by Chifley as a facility that could be expanded and opened beyond its regular dinner hours.
“We’ve got a really strong following of local corporates, and we’d like to develop more of a family trade,” Ms Parker said.
“In March we’ll be opening for both lunch and dinner.
“Craft beer is increasing year and year in popularity and we’re also looking into the possibility of botting our beers and developing our recipes further to keep it interesting for the local market.”
Ms Parker believes a local market around Doveton is beginning to offer new opportunities as well as new lagers.
