Sitting on the deck, drinking a brewery-fresh beer, looking out over the boats in the marina as the sunset slowly turns the water to gold. If this doesn’t sound blissful, you may well be dead inside.
Queensland may have a lot of breweries in sheds and industrial precincts, but you can count the number of waterfront breweries on one hand. Scarborough Harbour is one of them.
Owned by Guy and Sonia Schweitzer, SHBC was born out of a visit to Canada that turned into a family brewery tour. Guy was enthralled by the thriving beer scene there, and was keen to open his own brewery back in Moreton Bay. When he and Sonia found just the right spot just down the road from their home – a two-storey venue on the Scarborough marina – they locked it in.
Guy had planned to do the build himself, but as they got approvals he suddenly had to head to Western Australia for his engineering business. Thankfully, the project didn’t collapse: Sonia stepped up and oversaw the project.
“Definitely a learning curve!” she laughs.
Sonia handled it with aplomb, and with no investors, no crowdfunding, and no real hype, Scarborough Harbour Brewing opened their doors. Less than a year later, they entered the Royal Queensland Beer Awards and won the trophy for Champion Brewpub.
It’s easy to see how this venue won fans from day one: perched on a working marina where fishing trawlers come in and out each day, and rows of yachts sit there seeming unused (but looking pretty nonetheless). Between the sparkle of the water, the boats rocking gently, and the Glasshouse Mountains visible in the distance, the view has you gazing out and losing time as you sit with your beer.
But while the location is usually the first talking point, it’s not the only one. The venue is divided into upstairs and downstairs, and the differences between them are almost like the difference between upstairs and downstairs on the Titanic. You know, minus the class inequality and horrible tragedy.
The upstairs area – called The Upper Deck – is spacious and airy with a nautical feel, the centrepiece being a full-wall mural of a fishing trawler called the Hercules. With a capacity of up to 200 people, it’s the perfect spot for large group functions and the place where many people end up on their first visit to Scarborough Harbour – especially if they want to sit out on the deck and bask in the view.
The downstairs bar – The Engine Room – has more of a rustic, intimate feel. I guess “Engine Room Crossed With English Pub" wasn’t a catchy name. It’s cozy but not cramped, and decked out with enough golden light, copper and dark timber to give a real welcoming warmth. Fun fact: Guy built the timber tables in his backyard, and hand-drilled the 1800 holes in the copper pipe lighting while he was stuck in Western Australia during the COVID border closures.
There’s a small amount of seating outside down here, where you can sit about five metres from the water. You could spit onto the nearest boat. (But please don’t. Sailors see this as a sign of aggression, and have been known to charge to establish dominance.)
Downstairs is also home to the brewery itself. You can see the brewhouse tucked snugly into a corner, the fermenting tanks behind the timber bar, and even a few whisky barrels ageing some special beers.
But, while the vibes of upstairs and downstairs are distinct, they’re certainly still the same venue. Both are used for hosting functions (wedding reception in the Engine Room, anyone?); there’s a screen both upstairs and down to show sporting events; both bars have the full range of the brewery’s beer on tap, and serve a variety of wine and spirits (with downstairs being all Queensland producers); and the full food menu is available at both, with a dumbwaiter sending the food from the upstairs kitchen down into the Engine Room.
Said food menu offers plenty of options, both straightforward and with flair. If you want to focus on seafood (you are next to the ocean, after all), you can start with some salt and pepper squid or a bowl of prawns, move to a grilled salmon burger or the fish and chips with Thirteen Hills XPA beer batter, or share a chilli prawn pizza and a seafood tower with the table. But there’s no reason you have to stick to seafood; grab a classic parmi or a chipotle maple chicken pizza, a cheese board or brewer’s platter to share, and wrap it up with some Oreo cheesecake or sticky date pudding. There’s also a kid’s menu to keep the little ’uns happy.
Of course, all of this sits alongside the core business at SHBC: the beer. Remember how Scarborough Harbour won Best Brewpub at the first awards they entered? Well, they also picked up the trophy for Best New Brewery and walked away with a handful of gold medals for their beers. Brewer Eddie has been with them since the day they opened, and pumps out the core range beers that keep the regulars coming back, from the easy-drinking lager that outsells the others to the strawberry sour that began life as a one-off but was too loved to stay that way. Then there’s the limited releases, the single-keg experimental batches, the barrel-aged beers…
Scarborough Harbour really is one of those places that everyone loves. Maybe you’re a beer nerd huddled in next to the brewing tanks, or are happy to enjoy a glass of Aussie wine while your friends work through a tasting paddle. Maybe you’re looking for a space to take the family for a feed. Maybe you’re there for the live music, or to watch the game on Sunday arvo, or going to musical bingo with your mates.
Or maybe you just want to watch the boats while sipping a westie and eating chippies with the skin still on – three of my favourite things to do.
Mick Wüst
