Business
5 March, 2024
Cheers to new city brewery
COPPERLODE Brewery has been officially christened.
Brewery chief executive officer and head brewer Morgan Hind said he was pleased the brewery was officially opened on Wednesday last week, “especially considering the current state of independent beer in Australia”.
“Our industry is going through an upheaval at the moment. Many of the best-known independent breweries are going into administration or closing down permanently,” he said.
“There’s a multitude of reasons why that could happen but we are not experiencing any of them.
“The ‘only brewery southside’ is happy to say they have been welcomed by locals looking for a place to call their own for knock-offs Thursday and Fridays and weekend catch ups.”
Mr Hind said the name was a nod to Copperlode Dam, a local identifier and icon in the region.
“Copperlode Brewery sourced fresh ingredients, including the crystal-clear water from the dam to make the finest quality craft beer,” he said.
“One of the biggest compliments received from opening a few weeks ago is that the live music scene fills a massive void on the southside. People also enjoy the fact there are no TVs and no pokies which means they can reconnect, sit and catch up and have a conversation and socialise over great beverage offerings for all palettes.”
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch, who co-opened the brewery with Mulgrave MP Curtis Pitt, said Mr Hind and his team had a lot of courage and confidence to open a craft brewery.
“Opening a boutique brewery when so many are shutting down … but you’re smart in what you’re doing. This is the only one on the south side,” he said.
“The atmosphere, the character of the venue, the nod to Copperlode, where the water comes from, is so crystal clear without needing to be filtered.”
Mr Pitt said it was “a terrific investment into the south side”.
“As you have heard, this is the growing part of Far North Queensland and is the place to be,” he said.
Mr Pitt said after visiting the brewery for the first time “I was just blown away. Not only is the beer obviously fantastic but the combination of having trivia nights, the food vans, live music, genuinely lovely people I look around and see so many local southsiders that I’ve known for a long time, so it’s really a great opportunity to do this.”
