Bright Brewery

No one should need an extra reason to visit Bright, a true four season destination in the Victorian High Country: winters perfect for snowsports; springs and autumns that explode with colour; year round adventure sports and gourmet food and wine trails. But if you did need another reason, the Bright Brewery fits the bill...

Set in the heart of the Alpine town on the edge of the crystal clear Ovens River, it's the perfect spot to unwind. On offer is everything from their award-winning Alpine Lager, ideal after a day's adventuring in the mountains, to a full-bodied Staircase Porter – as comforting as a warm blanket on cooler winter days.

Set up in 2006 by Scott Brandon and Fiona Reddaway who had left Melbourne behind for a change of pace, Bright has gone on to pick up a swag of tourism awards; pint in hand, gazing on the tree-covered surrounding mountains as the river burbles nearby, you'll soon understand why.

The brewery plays host to regular live music on Sunday afternoons, while anyone keen to find out more about their Mountaincrafted beers can sign up for one of Bright's monthly Guided Brewery Tours: spend a hour behind the scenes with Bright's brewers, seeing where all the magic happens and how Bright's MountainCrafted beers come to life. Then head to the brewery for a complimentary tasting paddle.

In late 2012, the brewery completed a million dollar expansion program. This tripled the venue's size, introducing much-needed additional indoor seating, resulting in one of the most impressive microbrewery bar / restaurants in the country. There's a long bar pouring their full range of beers, massive dining area lined with wooden tables, outdoor seating front and back and cool use of old kegs for everything from lights to sinks in the toilets. The expansion has continued, with a terrace now stretching out towards the river.

The expansion means more place for the brewers to play in. From 2011 until late 2014, this fell to Jon Seltin, the young brewer who set about filling it with his range of specialty releases and barrel-aged experiments that turned heads among craft beer aficionados wherever they landed. After Jon moved to take on another head brewer role in Melbourne, the brewery was taken over by former Southern Bay and BrewDog brewer, the massively bearded Ryan Tyack, before the baton passed to English brewer Rich Chamberlain and later American Reid Stratton. In 2022, a new lead brewer, Lewis Kerr, joined the Bright team, excited to take Bright into the future.

The brewery opened a second production facility in early 2018 in order to grow their wholesale beer market outside of Bright, as well as producing more limited release and innovative beers. It also followed up a series of successes at the state level by claiming Silver in the Australian Tourism Awards in February 2018, and breaking into the GABS Festival Hottest 100 Top 50 with its Alpine Lager.

Name
Bright Brewery
Address

121 Great Alpine Road
Bright
VIC 3741

Phone
(03) 5755 1301
Regular events

Sundays: Live music in the beer garden

Open Hours

Daily: 11am to evening

Tours

Last Friday of every month (excl PH)
Every Friday of Vic school holidays from 3pm
$35 for guided brewery tour and tasting paddle


This is a directory listing. To find out more, head here

The Specials

Bright Brewery Affogato Stout & Stubborn 2023
Bright Brewery Cold & Wet & King Konge IPAs
Bright Brewery Mystic & Cucumber & Basil Ale
Bright Brewery Lemonade Shandy & Big Jolly Boi
Bright Brewery (& Pocketbeagles) The Spicy Beagle & Halloween Ale
Bright Brewery Vienna Lager & Lemon Myrtle & Wattleseed Imperial Pastry Sour
Bright Brewery Pina Colada IPA
Bright Brewery Strawberry Dream
Bright Brewery Darker Days India Brown Ale (with Moo), Compost Cookie & Stubborn 2022
Bright Brewery Fred's Raspberry Pale Ale & O'Jaffa
Bright Brewery Higher Ground, Cascara Old Fashioned & Breakfast In Bed
Show 65 more

Bright Brewery Regulars

Bright Brewery Bright Pale Ale

Published September 5, 2022
Bright’s pale ale is dead, long live Bright Pale Ale. In 2022, the High Country brewery made the decision to saw farewell to Blowhard Pale Ale, which had been in their core range for some 16 years, and replace it with something a little more modern. That more modern was the simply titled “Pale Ale” which had been finding fans at their taproom since 2021 thanks to its new world hoppy combination of El Dorado, Galaxy, Vic Secret and Trident in the shape of the hop-derived product, Salvo. Compared… Read more
Style
Pale Ale
ABV
4.0%

Bright Brewery M.I.A. IPA (2019 onwards)

Published November 15, 2019
Way back in the Paleozoic era (well, something like 2012, anyway), the first release of M.I.A. was the moment that tipped us off that Jon Seltin was a brewer to watch. He'd not long been plucked from homebrewing and put straight into the head brewer role at Bright and this IPA – named after an incident that saw him crash land his paraglider and go missing in action the day before it was being launched – was a real statement of intent. The beer, brewer and brewery have all undergone change since… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
6.5%
Bitterness
50 IBU

Bright Brewery Alpine Lager

Published October 11, 2019
As 2019 draws to a close, Bright Brewery have put two of their core range beers into cans, with their flagship Blowhard joined by this Alpine Lager. And, while the former takes a ballsy approach to the world of pale ales, this is a more restrained affair. You'll pick up some floral and somewhat earthy hop aromas from the pale golden beer in your glass (or can), while there's a little malt sweetness at play with a touch of tropical fruitiness on the palate, before the finish – one that's more gently… Read more
Style
Lager
ABV
4.5%

Bright Brewery Fainters Dubbel

The Fainters Dubbel is a Belgian Abbey style beer, meaning it's not one for the fainthearted. Displaying a flurry of malt flavours accentuated with raisins and spicy cloves, it comes in at 8.5 percent ABV. As the brewers warn: "Treat it with reverence, lest it smite you down!" A freeze distilled Super Dubbel version of has also been played with on occasion.… Read more
Style
Abbey Dubbel
ABV
8.5%

Bright Brewery Staircase Porter

A fantastic, full-bodied dark ale in the traditional British style, the Staircase Porter is a true winter warmer. Bursting with dark chocolate and coffee flavours, it's topped off with the aroma of scorched almond. One of the stars of the Bright Brewery right from the early days.… Read more
Style
Porter

Bright Brewery Razor Witbier

Belgian witbiers are known for their dry finish and spicy aromas and flavours. And the Razor, made with unmalted triticale wheat grown as the base of nearby Mount Buffalo, is no different, with a light, refreshing flavour displaying hints of coriander. It's proven a stayer too, collecting a trophy for Bright Brewery at the 2019 Indies awards in Melbourne.… Read more
Style
Witbier
Awards

Champion European Style Ale – Indies 2019

Bright Brewery Hellfire Amber Ale

An aromatic and moderately bitter amber ale, Hellfire is all about the malt. Layers of sweet toffee and caramel, even a touch of nuttiness, lead the way with hops and bitterness just there to provide balance.… Read more
Style
Amber Ale

Bright Brewery Pilot XPA

Back in the summer of 2012/13, Bright decided they should add a light beer to their offering. Then brewer Jon Seltin came up with Pilot Light, a beer inspired by low ABV English IPAs. It's a beer that's regularly returned since and generally includes slight recipe tweaks while remaining a beer designed to help showcase hops within a low ABV. The Pilot of today features Motueka and Sultana which provide distinctive tropically fruity aromas and flavours. It has a pleasingly full body for such a light… Read more
Style
Light Beer
ABV
2.5%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Bright Brewery Specials

Bright Brewery Affogato Stout & Stubborn 2023

Published May 28, 2023
Few breweries embrace winter in the same manner as Bright, who pair a midwinter festival of live music, fires and dark beers with a series of wintry limited releases, of which this pair are the most recurrent. Affogato Stout pours so jet black, and with such a thick swirl and dark brown head, that it sets you up to expect a gnarly, leather and ash imperial beast. Yet take a sniff and you find yourself a long way from that: it’s all creamy vanilla nougat, bitter chocolate and smooth espresso on… Read more
Style
Affogato Stout & Imperial Stout
ABV
5.5% & 16.0%

Bright Brewery Cold & Wet & King Konge IPAs

Published May 5, 2023
Bright Brewery have been exploring their backyard with some mates from further afield, teaming up with Queensland’s Revel for a hoppy collab. The north-south partnership saw them head to the Rostrevor Hop Garden to get their hands on some fresh Galaxy to make Cold & Wet while Revel were busy making the same cold IPA but with theirs instead featuring dry hop pellets. The Victorian approach delivers peach, pineapple and some light lemondrop and herbal grassiness, with everything finishing light… Read more
Style
Fresh Hop Cold IPA & Kveik IPA
ABV
6.5% & 6.0%

Bright Brewery Mystic & Cucumber & Basil Ale

Published December 14, 2022
Mystic Park might be a fantastic place to go if you like mountain biking but, to me at least, it’s burnt in my memory as a warning. There I was, going past the spot just outside Bright while on holiday in Victoria’s High Country and wondering if I could try my hand at mountain biking. That fleeting idea lasted all of three seconds until I spotted the number of ambulances out the front waiting to collect the injured. Turns out it’s a dangerous pastime, which the crew at Bright Brewery know… Read more
Style
DDH DIPA & Sour
ABV
9.0% & 4.0%

Bright Brewery Lemonade Shandy & Big Jolly Boi

Published November 22, 2022
Christmas in Australia tends to confound our pals in the Northern Hemisphere and helping make life more confusing are these two beers from Bright Brewery. They might be radically different but both really feel like Christmas beers and in the case of Lemonade Shandy, particularly if the sun’s out and backyard cricket is the order of the day. Sure, the can might feature lawn bowls but it feels like its 3.5 percent ABV and lemonade stylings, which are akin to Pub Squash with extra zest, would be perfect… Read more
Style
Shandy & Christmas Ale
ABV
3.5% & 7.0%

Bright Brewery (& Pocketbeagles) The Spicy Beagle & Halloween Ale

Published October 18, 2022
We’re in close proximity to the spookiest time of the year and I’m not just talking about Halloween. On October 15, the designer behind Pocketbeagles, Clint Weaver, celebrated his booze (and non-booze) clients at CoConspirator’s home in Brunswick with a Pocket Party. OK, so maybe it wasn’t so frightful† and more delicious, with canned cocktails served, delicious snacks enjoyed and four different beers made just for the event. Among them was The Spicy Beagle, a mango, lime and chilli sour… Read more
Style
Mango, Lime & Chilli Sour & Pumpkin Ale
ABV
4.5% & 6.0%

Bright Brewery Vienna Lager & Lemon Myrtle & Wattleseed Imperial Pastry Sour

Published October 10, 2022
Well, this feels like a fitting snapshot of craft beer in October 2022. Bright Brewery’s Vienna Lager has been released in time for that big German festival everyone's celebrating in one way or another. It spent eight weeks lagering away, pours clear copper and provides a soft sweetness, touches of biscuit, a bitter and clean finish and layers of floral notes thanks to Magnum and Perle hops. In other words, it's a classic lager brewed true to tradition. Then, some way from European brewing tradition… Read more
Style
Vienna Lager & Imperial Pastry Sour
ABV
5.0% & 7.7%

Bright Brewery Pina Colada IPA

Published August 13, 2022
It gets awfully cold in Bright at this time of year, and to balance that chill the town’s eponymous brewers have brewed a tropical treat. Pina Colada IPA brings together the classic cocktail’s combination of pineapple and coconut atop a pillowy and hazy base. That taste of pineapple more closely resembles drinking a glass of tropical juice over biting into a piece of the fruit and, while the coconut is a little lighter than those fruity overtones, it nicely marries with the beer's underlying… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
7.0%

Bright Brewery Strawberry Dream

Published July 29, 2022
Bright Brewery don't tend to shy away from bringing fruit and beer together and when it comes to Strawberry Dream, the High Country brewery have taken a trip to the local milk bar too. The beer's inspired by strawberry milkshakes and has seen the brewery go quite heavy on the fruit puree, with some 800 kilograms of the stuff used in the beer. But while Strawberry Dream might be a milkshake ale, you can't help but feel there's another milk bar favourite that it best conjures, with its aroma incredibly… Read more
Style
Milkshake Ale
ABV
5.8%
Published July 11, 2022
Bright Brewery aren’t ones to let the cold weather pass them by, with the High Country brewery greeting their surrounding snow-capped mountains with multiple beers. Starting with their Darker Days India Brown Ale, the collaboration was made with Tassie’s Moo and launched at Bright’s wintery celebration of the same name. The beer combines three New Zealand hops in Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Kohatu with Australia's Enigma and a variety of specialty malts for a beer that brings chewy notes of fig,… Read more
Style
India Brown Ale, Pastry Stout & Imperial Stout
ABV
6.6%, 8.0% & 11.5%

Bright Brewery Fred's Raspberry Pale Ale & O'Jaffa

Published March 15, 2022
Bright Brewery have celebrated International Women’s Day 2022, with a particularly touching tribute beer. Fred’s Blackberry Pale Ale was named in honour of the High Country brewery’s late cofounder Fiona ‘Fred’ Reddaway with members of Fiona’s family taking part in the brewday at Fred's Shed along with women who work different roles at Bright. You can see how the brewing unfolded by watching this video and steering the beer development and brewing was trainee brewer Madi Cooper, while… Read more
Style
Raspberry Pale & Choc Orange Stout
ABV
4.5% & 6.7%

Bright Brewery Higher Ground, Cascara Old Fashioned & Breakfast In Bed

Published February 10, 2022
Bright Brewery certainly aren’t slowing the release schedule down for 2022, releasing three beers in close succession barely a month on from their first trio of the year. First up is the High Country brewery's entry into the world of big, tall, traditional pilsners: Higher Ground is a German pilsner made with a mix of noble hops and German malts, then lagered at zero degrees for weeks. The result is a beer that pours a slightly hazy golden straw colour with a perfect white head and high carbonation.… Read more
Style
German Pilsner, Cocktail Ale & Multigrain IPA
ABV
4.8% & 7.0% & 6.5%

Bright Brewery Crisp, Mango Bright Sour & Mystic

Published January 5, 2022
There is clearly no shortage of love for fruit in Victoria’s High Country, with Bright Brewery providing multiple serves as 2021 made the switch to 2022. It seems appropriate then to start with the release that doesn’t actually contain fruit and instead focuses on the root vegetable ginger, with Crisp Boozy Ginger Beer one of 2022’s earliest entrants for drops that do exactly what the name suggests. Brewed with organic ginger, Crisp pours blonde with a light haze and packs in plenty of ginger… Read more
Style
Various
ABV
4.0% & 4.3% & 9.0%

Bright Brewery That's Fresh

Published December 3, 2021
It might be hard to believe but back before everyone was sharing their Spotify yearly wraps, there was only one possible way to listen to popular music: So Fresh CDs. Four times a year these delights would be released, gracing the ears of Australia’s teenagers with the latest hits from across the world. But no release was ever better than So Fresh: The Hits of Summer because not only were you able to enjoy the latest hits but there was also an entire second disk that included songs from the previous… Read more
Style
Hazy Pale
ABV
5.4%

Bright & Molly Rose & Mr Banks Jam Band Vol.1

Published November 8, 2021
Well, they tried their damnedest to make Darker Days happen in 2021, but Bright's winter – and then spring – festival was destined to fall foul of too much damn COVID. Had it taken place, they would have been joined by mates from Molly Rose and Mr Banks for the High Country weekender; as it is, they still got the band together to create a beer. Called Jam Band, it's a hazy IPA in which the brewers' sights were very firmly trained on tropical fruity fun thanks to the very du jour choice of Strata,… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA with Bergamot
ABV
7.0%

Bright Brewery Passionfruit Pale Ale & Mandarin Dream

Published October 12, 2021
They’ve been charging ahead with fruit at Bright Brewery, with two punchy releases making their way out of the High Country. Passionfruit Pale Ale doesn’t just have juice providing the refreshment but also Eclipse, Galaxy and Azacca hops to add zesty mandarin and some light pine to the huge hit of passionfruit. It means, it’s probably best to think of the beer as a Pacific-style ale with those fruited notes turned up though with none of the sessionability lost. Mandarin Dream follows on from… Read more
Style
Pale Ale & Milkshake Ale
ABV
4.7% & 6.2%

Bright Brewery El Grande Mole

Published August 20, 2021
There are precious few ways to keep yourself entertained in lockdown but one method I’ve been enjoying is by giving my housemate’s a new release beer, telling them very little about it, then making note of their response. With Bright Brewery releasing a Mexican Black Mole Stout, it seemed like a perfect beer for such brilliant entertainment (if anyone has any streaming shows to recommend, I’ll take them) and the reactions were along the lines of: “Look at how thick it pours, this is so rich.” and… Read more
Style
Mexican Black Mole Stout
ABV
7.0%

Bright Brewery Mixed Berry Sweetart Sour

Published July 29, 2021
Bright Brewery may be back open but when you're venue is as popular as the High Country brewpub is, leaving lockdowns causes some issues. Reduced capacity limits means bookings can disappear fast and while drinking at that brewpub is one of life's great joys, fortunately, you don't need to visit it to enjoy a taste of Bright. With Victoria's latest lockdown causing the brewery to postpone their Darker Days festival, the team quickly launched not one but two beer boxes featuring those producers impacted… Read more
Style
Sour Ale
ABV
4.3%

Bright Brewery Aviation Cocktail Sour & Maple Heist Porter

Published July 15, 2021
Towards the start of 2021, Bright Brewery looked to deliver a cocktail experience in beer form with Penicillin. Following on its tail is this GABS beer, which saw the High Country brewery partnering up with the town’s Reed & Co Distillery to create Aviation Cocktail Sour, which has been given a wider release following the festival's conclusion. The botanicals used in the beer were selected by Reed’s head distiller Hamish Nugent to reflect the namesake cocktail made of gin, maraschino liqueur,… Read more
Style
Cocktail Sour & Maple Porter
ABV
5.1% & 6.5%

GABS Festival Pack 2021

Published June 24, 2021
GABS might be over for another year, but the party lives on in the mixed packs they've put together for Dan Murphy's. It has to be said the six beers inside for 2021 are a pretty good microcosm of where the festival beers sit these days too, covering hops, haze, dessert, high ABVs and odd colours. Starting with my pick of the six and it's Mountain Culture's Wanderlust. Sure, a 7 percent ABV NEIPA from a brewery that specialises in such beers isn't that out there and GABSy, but for pure drinking pleasure… Read more
Style
Various Styles
ABV
Various ABV

Bright Brewery POW, Affogato Stout & Stubborn Russian 2021

Published June 8, 2021
From recycling missions to looking out for our canine friends and, in the case of POW, a campaign to help protect the environment in their Alpine home while encouraging positive action against climate change, Bright walk the talk when it comes to being good citizens of the craft beer world. With POW – Protect Our Winters – they're doing it in a similar manner to Doggobrau, opting for an easy-going and approachable beer. It's a 4 percent ABV pale featuring Mosaic, Motueka and Sultana hops to create… Read more
Style
Pale Ale & Affogato Stout
ABV
4.0% & 5.5%

Bright Brewery Doggobrau

Published April 30, 2021
It goes without saying that dogs are loveable creatures (and Border Collies the most loveable of all – it's a fact; don't @ me). The fact Donald Trump is the only US president in aeons not to have one says it all. Within the craft beer world, the fondness for furry, four-legged friends seems to be even stronger than in wider society too, with all manner of dog-focused events and promotions (not to mention brewing companies with dogs in the names and branding). Joining that long line of canine-friendly… Read more
Style
XPA
ABV
4.5%
Stockists

For more on the campaign, head here

Bright Brewery North East Victoria IPA & Fun Socks Talus IPA

Published April 26, 2021
When is an IPA not an IPA? These days, in pretty much any way you can think of. Maybe the better question is: "What even is an IPA these days?" In the case of Bright's North East Victoria IPA – a celebration of their home region – it's a combination of fresh hop IPA featuring hop cones plucked on brew day and a bunch of botanicals foraged by the brewers: pepperberry, mint bush, hop-leaf bitter pea, narrow-leafed peppermint gum, and lemon eucalyptus. Were you unaware of the farmer's… Read more
Style
Spiced Wet Hop IPA & Single Hop IPA
ABV
6.7% & 6.8%

Bright Brewery Leaf Peeper Red IPA & Raspberry Sweetart

Published March 17, 2021
There's not really a bad time to visit the Victorian High Country, but we're sure plenty would pick autumn as the finest. It's a stunning enough region as it is, but when many of the trees start turning shades of red, orange and yellow it's like a new postcard scene every time you turn a corner. In the beer world, you can generally tell when autumn is here by the arrival of a wave red IPAs. So, when you've got autumn and a brewery in the heart of the High Country, it can only mean one thing... Say… Read more
Style
Red IPA & Raspberry Sour
ABV
6.5% & 4.3%

Bright Brewery Pineapple Dream & Penicillin Cocktail Sour

Published February 25, 2021
UPDATE (01/03/21): Pineapple Dream cans have been recalled by the brewery. They have found some cans are experiencing secondary fermentation, leading to bulging, potential rupture, and potentially increased ABV. These issues are only affecting cans not kept in cold storage, but they are recalling all cans to be safe. Kegs are unaffected. At the current rate, it shouldn't take too much longer for Reid Stratton to have touched upon every flavour, aroma, texture and concept possible since taking up… Read more
Style
Milkshake Ale & Cocktail Sour
ABV
6.2% & 7.0%

Bright Brewery Inversion High Density Hop Charge Hazy IPA

Published February 9, 2021
Who needs abbreviations like DDH and NEIPA when tallboy tinnies give you enough room to plaster long-form on them? Certainly, the team at Bright Brewery clearly felt no need to keep things tight with their imperial version of Inversion, which is described as a "High Density Hop Charge Imperial Hazy IPA". If we break that down, there's certainly a high density to the hazy appearance, with this 8.5 percent ABV drop displaying the requisite deeply opaque, orange-yellow haziness required for… Read more
Style
Imperial Hazy IPA
ABV
8.5%

Bright Brewery Mystery Beer No.2 & Cherry Cream Dream Nitro Milkshake Ale

Published October 16, 2020
Think you know your beer? Then Bright want you to have a crack at guessing their Mystery Beer. It's the second time their head brewer Reid Stratton has concocted a beer without telling anyone what the style is, and if you can guess it right you'll win a year of beer – a case a month for 12 months. First time around he brewed a Stickebier, a stronger version of the German altbier style, and beer two comes with a secret ingredient for you to guess at too. You can check out a promo video featuring… Read more
Style
Mystery Beer & Nitro Dessert Beer
ABV
5.9% & 5.7%

Bright Brewery Spring Fling & Fruit Cocktail Sweetart

Published September 14, 2020
The first time Bright Brewery embarked on a Spring Fling, they layered the passionfruit so heavily we felt you could easily believe you had a tangy fruit sour in your hands rather than a fruited pale. As Spring Fling returns – this time in can rather than bottle – the balance has swung back in favour of "pale ale". The passionfruit is much more subdued, leaving you with an easy-going modern pale with a dash rather than coating of passionfruit. The brewery's Sweetart series has hit number… Read more
Style
Passionfruit Pale Ale & Fruit Sour
ABV
4.7% & 4.1%

Bright Brewery Rock Paper Scissors NEIPA

Published August 12, 2020
It's come to something when it's not enough to release multiple new beers every month and you feel the need to give the same beer three different labels... I'm not sure I fully understand the reason, other than Rock Paper Scissors is a three-piece game; maybe you're supposed to challenge your mates with a can hidden behind your back and the winner gets to drink them both? What I do understand is it's another NEIPA / hazy IPA from head brewer Reid Stratton, this time featuring newly launched hop variety… Read more
Style
NEIPA
ABV
6.2%

Bright Brewery Popcorn-Ucopia & Off The Wagon Wheel

Published August 12, 2020
Two confectionary-inspired beers left Bright around the same time during winter 2020, with one also appearing in this year's GABS Mixed Packs. That's Popcorn-Ucopia, destined to be their Festival Beer before the festivals were postponed, and which sets out to bring you salted caramel popcorn in liquid form. Now, I've got a pretty sweet tooth (OK, I'll consume pretty much anything without a face if I'm honest), but even I approached this with trepidation as the success rate with dessert beers / pastry… Read more
Style
Dessert Amber & Fruited Chocolate Porter
ABV
6.0% & 5.8%

Bright Brewery Barrel Series: Doppelbock 2019

Published August 12, 2020
You don't see doppelbocks around very often (although we have posted a couple to the site recently); even less so barrel-aged versions. Yet there's little Bright haven't turned their hands to in the past year or two, with this release from their glitzily-labelled Barrel Series following the barleywine that dropped at the end of 2019 and which I thoroughly enjoyed and April's shiraz barrel-aged Belgian Golden Ale. Doppelbocks, by their very nature, are of the rich, malty and sweet sort and here the… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Doppelbock
ABV
10.0%

Bright Brewery Stubborn Russian 2020

Published July 13, 2020
Bright Brewery’s Stubborn Russian has been part of the brewery’s winter roster since 2011, being released each year as the temperature of the Alpine region descends towards zero. It’s been on quite the journey over the past decade too with the Bright team having made it in different sizes, added adjuncts, aged it in barrels, changed its appearance and created an accompanying beer festival in Darker Days. So how’s the tenth iteration shape up? For one, it’s been released with three different… Read more
Style
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV
12%

Bright Brewery Guava Sweetart, Banana Split Stout & Black Diamond

Published June 22, 2020
And now for a spot of eclecticism from Bright Brewery... In the pink corner, the latest in their fun fruit sour series is Guava Sweetart. Bright golden and not so much sour as sweet-with-a-cleansing-clip, there's a schnapps-like edge to the aroma of what's otherwise as much tropical soft drink in character as it is beer. From tropical soft drink to dessert in a glass, namely the old school classic banana split sundae. Here, the brewers have added lactose, vanilla, cacao nibs and 400kg of ripe bananas… Read more
Style
Fruit Sour & Dessert Stout & Black IPA
ABV
4.3% & 5.8% & 6.0%

Bright Brewery Hop Harvest Ale 2020 & Affogato Stout

Published April 30, 2020
There can be a tendency when playing with wet hops rushed from farm to fermenter (or whirlpool or wherever a brewer decides to add them to their brew) to end up extracting a subdued, more mellow, sometimes grassy character as they've not been dried and thus had their unique character distilled. That's very much not the case here with Bright's 2020 Hop Harvest Ale. Brewer Reid Stratton has taken the Ella variety – a relative of Galaxy – and squeezed a vibrant and intense fruitiness from the cones… Read more
Style
Harvest Ale & Affogato Stout
ABV
5.5% & 5.3%

Bright Brewery Belgian Golden Ale & Kiwi Sweetart Sour Ale

Published April 2, 2020
Strong Belgian style ales were once the sort of beer a brewery would have in their lineup – usually as a seasonal – as a radical point of difference, the sort of place occupied today by, say, a high ABV, fruit and lactose hazy double IPA. Despite the vast changes in the beer world and rapidly evolving tastes, strong Belgian styles are, if anything, less prevalent – at least in terms of a percentage of local beers on tap and in fridges – and more of a throwback option. From their very earliest… Read more
Style
Fruit Sour & Belgian Golden Ale
ABV
4.3% & 8.2%
Stockists

Golden Ale only available online

Parkhill Cellars

More stockists...

Bright Brewery Swagman Brett Pale Ale

Published March 13, 2020
I was planning to kick off this piece on Bright's latest beer with a comment on how the appointment of a new brewer – and, in this case, a willingness to commit to their ideas – can really change the feel around a place. But then the label caught my eye and that suggested something else. The beer is technically called Swagman yet that name is shunted down the visual hierarchy so that BRETT PALE ALE catches your eyes first. It's done to such a degree you could imagine people will drink a few and… Read more
Style
Spiced Brett Pale
ABV
4.8%

Bright Brewery Mystic IIPA & Barrel Series Barleywine 2019

Published December 31, 2019
Bright Brewery end a big year of releases with two of the biggest of them all. Mystic IIPA explodes with aromas of Navel oranges, ripe tropical fruits and some boozy fumes that tickle your nostrils so you know the IPA in your glass is of the imperial variety. The fruity character is less explosive on the palate, where it's more herbal and spicy, lean and quite slick thanks to its oily bitterness, yet finishes dry. The Barrel Series Barleywine 2019 is a sign of things to come from Reid Stratton and… Read more
Style
IIPA & Whisky Barrel-Aged Barleywine
ABV
9.0% & 13.9%

Bright Brewery Lime Sweetart

Published December 31, 2019
Since Reid Stratton took over as head brewer at Bright earlier this year, the brewing team has wholeheartedly embraced fruit, regularly plundering the fruitbowl for limited release inspiration. The Lime Sweetart is the festive release in the brewery’s new sour ale series, and makes use of the zest of Tahitian limes plus whole Australian desert limes. It creates a beer dripping with citrus tang, where there’s a slight sharpness to the lime flavour before it’s followed by a minerality and tart… Read more
Style
Fruit Sour
ABV
4.3%

Bright Brewery Spring Fling Tropical Pale

Published November 15, 2019
Passionfruit is a potent little bugger, isn't it? And Bright's head brewer Reid Stratton has got his hands on some and isn't afraid to us it. Here, it's been added to a pale ale base beer, thus boosting its tropical fruit juice aromas. More than that, the fruit addition also gives the beer a really distinct tang; if you didn't know better, you'd swear you were drinking a fruited lacto sour. James Smith… Read more
Style
Pale Ale with Passionfruit
ABV
4.7%

Bright Brewery Mystery Beer No.1

Published October 24, 2019
Bright's man about Melbourne Evin Craney had long had an idea. Well, he'd probably had more than one, but there was this particular one: that a brewery should allow their brewer to create a beer – no guidance as to what it could be or what should be in it – and they and they alone would know what it was. The beer would then be sold and drinkers would be invited to guess what it was. At Bright Brewery, he found the people willing to back his plan and, as of October 2019, it is no longer a plan… Read more
Style
?????
ABV
6.1%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Bar Josephine

Superbus Wine

Park Werribee

Black Bee Bar

Penny Young

Melbourne Cellar Door

Local Bottle Store

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Bright Brewery The Orchard NEIPA & Mango Sweetart

Published October 11, 2019
The brewery team at Bright has clearly been feeling fruity this spring, with both these limited run beers very much defined by their fruitiness, albeit in rather different manners. The Orchard NEIPA is a NEIPA with a twist, one that takes the shape of Norwegian yeast kveik, the super-speedy fermentation wizard. Poured into your glass, it looks like the Snowballs you might enjoy at Christmas (if you lived in a different era or are my wife). Citrus aromas dominate, with a fair bit of grassiness in… Read more
Style
Kveik NEIPA / Mango Sour
ABV
6.5% / 4..2%

Bright Brewery Inversion NEIPA & King Kveik

Published August 23, 2019
Head brewer Reid Stratton continues to make his mark at Bright Brewery as the new releases come not only thick and fast but from diverse regions of the beer world. In the case of Inversion, it's a NEIPA inspired by the brewery's region of the world in winter, with an icy mountainscape coated in clouds on the label. The clouds are repeated in the glass, which pours a little darker than most NEIPAs doing the rounds and with a little more sweetness too. It's a sweetness that helps accentuate the hop… Read more
Style
NEIPA & Kveik Ale
ABV
6.7% & 5.9%

Bright Brewery Stubborn Russian 2019

Published July 8, 2019
Bright Brewery's Stubborn Russian series of imperial stouts has been appearing each winter since 2011 and each iteration often brings a different ABV and a new mix of adjuncts. This year the bottle’s taken on a new look too; gone are the hammer and sickle seen in previous years and in their place is another image that loomed over the Cold War: the space race. This year's release is the first to come out under the watch of Bright's new head brewer Reid Stratton and, at 12 percent ABV, it sits just… Read more
Style
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV
12.0%

Bright Brewery Black Diamond & Affogato Stout

Published July 8, 2019
Bright Brewery's Darker Days festival didn't just herald the arrival of the 2019 Stubborn Russian – which you can read about here – it also saw the High Country brewery welcome two other dark stubbies into the world. Black Diamond is a returning black IPA, named after the most challenging ski runs in Victoria’s alpine resort. On the hop front, there’s a mix of piney and herbal flavours that match against a rather roasted malt profile with lots of dark chocolate. The second release, Affogato… Read more
Style
Black IPA & Affogato Stout
ABV
6.0% & 5.3%

Bright Brewery Sayonara Yuzu Sour

Published June 20, 2019
Bright Brewery join the ranks of the local brewers to have fallen for the bright and zesty charms of Japanese citrus fruit yuzu. They've opted to showcase it within a sour beer, which might not be the most obvious move heading into winter (especially winter in Bright) but they tell us it's because the Japanese like to bathe in yuzu baths on the winter solstice. Now, you'd need to buy a lot of Sayonara to be able to bathe in it, but will you want to? Unless you're yet to be won over by the charms… Read more
Style
Yuzu Sour
ABV
4.3%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Pixel Bar

Bright Brewery Off The Wagon Wheel

Published June 6, 2019
The dessert or lolly-inspired beer is as much part of the furniture at GABS as the roving band, circus acts and bell-ringing these days. But that doesn't mean there aren't fresh parts of the fridge or pantry left to be plundered for ideas, with Bright deciding it was time that old classic, the Wagon Wheel, was rolled out in 2019. They set out to bottle the feeling by layering a chocolate porter with vanilla beans, coconut flakes, fresh raspberry purĂŠe and cacao nibs. And it's those ingredients you… Read more
Style
Choc Vanilla Raspberry Porter
ABV
6.5%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Union Wine Ascot

Bobbie Peels

Ritchies Dromana

Ritchies Carrum

Bentleigh IGA

Hops and Vine

Village Vineyard

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Bright Brewery Red XPA

Published June 6, 2019
The thought process when sampling this new limited release from Bright went something along the lines of... "What does the Xtra mean here? It can't be pale as the beer is red (well, a rusty, deep amber). Maybe it's booze as, at 6.5 percent ABV, it's certainly packing a punch. But then isn't that taking it out of XPA territory? Maybe it's extra hoppy as, despite weighing in at red IPA strength, it drinks far lighter in terms of palate weight than many such beers, allowing the hops to shine: citrusy… Read more
Style
Red IPA
ABV
6.5%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

The Vin

Suburban Cellar Door

Independent Wine Store Rye

Bottle O Mooroolbark

Brighton Bay

Parkhill Cellars

Bar Josephine

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Bright Brewery M.I.A. IPA

Published June 5, 2019
This original version of this beer was very nearly its creator's final gift to the world. The day before it was due to be debuted to the world at the Victorian Microbreweries Showcase, then head brewer Jon Seltin went paragliding and had to do an emergency landing atop of Mt Feathertop. It took him six hours just to hike down, meaning he didn't return to the brewery until around 10pm (after being M.I.A. since 2pm), by which stage brewery owner Scott Brandon had called the police to retrieve his body.… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
7.0%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

The Vin

Penny Young

Suburban Cellar Door

Brighton Bay

Parkhill Cellars

Kekou

Hops and Vine

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Bright Brewery Stubborn Russian & Black Diamond 2018

Published August 17, 2018
There appears to have been a particularly large delivery of roasted and other specialty malts to an address in Bright in recent months as the brewery has put together no less than half a dozen dark beers of varying ilks. Four of them are only available at the venue or via their Mash Club (more on them later), but two are available more widely. One is the latest entry in their annual Stubborn Russian series of imperial stouts that's moved around stylistically over the years although is settled into… Read more
Style
Various styles

Bright Brewery Smoko 2017

Published August 21, 2017
Smoko is the act of taking a break from work for a smoke. It's also a riverside campsite in Bright in the Victorian High Country. And, back in 2015, Bright Brewery decided to take those concepts and combine them in a beer. And now they've done it again, albeit looking to recreate a campfire experience as opposed to brewing a beer with the characteristics of a durry. They've done so by collating a quartet of smoked malts – beechwood, mesquite, cherrywood and peated – and making them the stars… Read more
Style
Smoked Beer
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Plonk

Bright Brewery Stubborn Russian 2017

Published August 19, 2017
The 2016 vintage of Bright's Stubborn Russian Imperial Stout was the first time the brewers had worked with near neighbours Bright Chocolate. Clearly, both parties were happy with the outcome as they got the gang back together for the 2017 release. This time around, the chocolate makers selected Tanzanian cacao nibs and husks, which were added to the mash and then again via a “dry hopping” technique as the beer was maturing. The beer also nudged up a little in potency, moving from 10 to 11 percent… Read more
Style
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV
11.0%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Masons of Bendigo

Plonk in Canberra

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Bright Brewery Stubborn Russian 2016

Published October 10, 2016
We're a little bit late in posting the latest version of Bright Brewery's annual Russian imperial stout, which made it out not long after the end of Winter. Thankfully, the weather gods have decided to extend imperial stout drinking time by a few more weeks. The beer has been around for a few years now, typically changing a little for each release; past variations have included one blended with an old stock ale and another that was sent rocketing to 16 percent ABV. For 2016, it's been restrained… Read more
Style
Coffee Imperial Stout
ABV
10.0%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Bright Brewery Hop BLEVE

Published March 19, 2016
Living in the Victorian High Country has its advantages – lots of them. It's a beautiful part of the world, there's a full four seasons of cool stuff to do, particularly if you're of an active bent, there's a bunch of breweries, wineries and other local producers and, of course, it's one of Australia's key hop growing regions. It's the last of these that's now celebrated each March with the High Country Hop festival, launched in 2015 by Bridge Road Brewers and attended by all of the region's small… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.0%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

High Country Hops

Others TBC

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Bright Brewery Oktobifest

Published September 24, 2015
As welcomes to a new job in a new brewery in a new country go, this is one of the best. German brewer Tobi Dankert responded to an ad for a new brewer at Bright in the Victorian High Country that he'd spotted on The Crafty Pint, was signed up and moved to the Alpine town a few weeks ago. He was invited to brew a beer and opted for a style that was both timely and offered a nod to his home country. In return, the brewery not only named the beer after him but put his smiling face on the label too. Oktobifest… Read more
Style
Vienna Lager
ABV
5.0%
Stockists

On tap at the brewery and via their online store

Cellarbrations at Warilla

Olinda Cellars

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Bright Brewery Smoko Rauchbier

Published August 8, 2015
You don't see too many smoke beers around Australia, despite their unique charms and suitability for pairing with such a wide range of foods. As the success of 3 Ravens Dark at the 2015 Perth Royal Beer Show shows, done well they can excite even the toughest critic's palate too. Whether Bright's decision to brew one was sparked by a love of the classics originating in Bamberg, Germany, or the fact there's a small town nearby called Smoko we don't know. What we do know is that Smoko is the beer that's… Read more
Style
Smoke Beer
ABV
6.66%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Cellarbrations at Warilla

Bright Brewery Stubborn Russian 2015

Published July 13, 2015
Bright's annual winter release, Stubborn Russian, has been an evolving beast since its first appearance four years ago. Former brewer Jon Seltin liked to tweak the recipe each year and even released a small batch of one vintage that was aged in whisky barrels, rising to 13.5 percent ABV. That beer looks a little like a session Russian Imperial Stout compared to this year's as new brewer Ryan Tyack continues to put his stamp on things in the Victorian High Country. Given he spent much of his formative… Read more
Style
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV
16.0%
Stockists

Draught and bottles from Bright Brewery and direct from them online

Bright Brewery Lord Helmet Schwartz

Published July 6, 2015
Tis the season for imperial schwarzbiers. Or at least, following the release of the Good Beer Week Masterclass collaboration, Inappropriate Touching, last week, it's the season for two of them. Lord Helmet Schwartz was Bright Brewery's entry for this year's GABS and also appears to be a reference to Spaceballs, the Mel Brooks spoof that a young Crafty Pint was taken to by his grandfather, who swiftly proceeded to honk throughout with laughter akin an excitable, ticklish seal being given a work over… Read more
Style
Imperial Schwarzbier
ABV
6.9%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Bright Brewery Hop Harvest Ale 2015

Published March 28, 2015
Here they come: the 2015 hop harvest, fresh hop, wet hop beer brigade! There will be a few on display this weekend (March 28) when Bridge Road hosts the first High Country Hops Festival, among them this from Bright. The story behind the beer is as follows... "At Bright Brewery we are very lucky to be only a few minutes down the road from one of Australia’s major hop farms, run by Hop Products Australia (HPA). Over the last couple of years the HPA Rostrevor Hop Garden in Eurobin has produced… Read more
Style
Harvest Ale
ABV
6.0%
Stockists

Keg:

Bright Brewery

High Country Hops Festival

And limited bottles online and over the Bright Brewery Bar

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Bright Brewery M.I.A. IPA II

Published January 13, 2015
The M.I.A. IPA was the first beer to notify those paying attention that, in Jon Seltin, Bright Brewery had unearthed a young brewer of great potential. A few years on, the potential realised, Jon is off to soon-to-be-revealed pastures new and has taken the exact specifics of the M.I.A. recipe with him but the new incumbent of the head brewer role at Bright, former Southern Bay and BrewDog man Ryan Tyack, has set about giving the beer a new (and not too dissimilar) lease on life. And given he played… Read more
Style
American IPA
ABV
7.0%
Stockists

Available in bottles and on tap at Bright Brewery

Very limited number of bottles available from the Bright Brewery web shop too

Bright Brewery Alpine Ale

Published January 13, 2015
New head brewer at Bright Brewery, Ryan Tyack, is wasting little time putting his own stamp on things. He's created his own take on the brewery's popular M.I.A. IPA (posted elsewhere on this site) and has also created this, a new Australian Pale Ale that the brewery's marketing manager and resident beer writer / beer geek James Davidson is calling as "exactly what the brewery has been needing to satisfy old and new beer lovers alike." Apparently, the name "Alpine Ale" is one long… Read more
Style
Australian Pale Ale
ABV
4.4%
Stockists

Bright Brewery (tap and bottle)

Cellarbrations at Warilla

Sovereign Liquor, Wangaratta

Great Alpine Produce & Trading, Porepunkah

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Bright Brewery Stubborn Russian 2014

Published October 22, 2014
The quality of beers he was releasing pretty much from the start of his time at Bright suggested young brewer Jon Seltin was one to watch. But it was on a visit to the brewery a couple of summers ago and a chance bumping into Jon (who was supposed to be on holiday but clearly couldn't keep away) that the attention to detail, creativity and ambition became apparent. Among the toys and experiments he unveiled was a barrel filled with a "stock ale", a type of beer originating in 18th century… Read more
Style
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV
8.9%
Stockists

Bright Brewery (draught & bottle)

Slowbeer

Grape & Grain

Olinda Cellars

TRU BRU

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High Country Brewers Rule 47 Collaboration 2014

Published October 21, 2014
The beauty of a beer writer joining a brewery in a marketing role: they love the opportunity to exercise their writing talents. Case in point is James Davidson, former Beer Bar Band blogger and Brews News contributor now ensconced happily at Bright Brewery in the Victorian High Country, which hosted the second High Country brewers collab brew earlier this year and sent us through the story of the day. He tells us: "Last year the High Country Brewery Trail started a new initiative by collaborating… Read more
Style
India Pale Wit
ABV
6.6%
Stockists

On tap at all four breweries

Good bottleshops (where you'd expect to find Bridge Road limited releases)

Bright Brewery Saison de Varleí¨ (plus variations)

Published March 31, 2014
We make little secret here at Crafty Towers of our love for saisons and accompanying belief that they are a wonderful beer for the Aussie climate. So it's always nice to see another one appear, especially it's one that is being released in three different formats. On our last couple of visits to Bright in the Victorian High Country, we've been lucky enough to have a nosy around the back of the brewery where head brewer Jon Seltin has all manner of experimental programs underway. He has involved a… Read more
Style
Saison
ABV
Various
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Others TBC

Bright Brewery Spiced Cloudy Apple Ale & Pilot Light

Published February 28, 2014
Just recently, we had our first experience of cult Aussie classic, Billy B's Golden Malted Apple Beer from Thorogood's in South Australia. We've been foisting it onto all and sundry ' heck, The Alehouse Project has even gone and ordered some to pop in its fridge. And now a Victorian brewery has announced an apple beer collaboration too. Bright brewer Jon Seltin has joined forces with craft cider producer Batlow Cider to create an experimental apple ale, the Spiced Cloudy Apple Ale. Using a Strong… Read more
Style
Spiced Apple Beer & English IPA
ABV
6.45% & 2.9%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Bright Brewery Oktoberfest

Published October 3, 2013
Having released the likes of a massive Barleywine and a tiny midstrength along with a fruity sour in recent months, the latest release from Bright is rather more middle of the road. Being October, it's an Oktoberfest style beer, aka a Vienna Lager, and ticks all the boxes of the style. It's a bright, copper-hued affair with biscuity, bready aromas and a touch of subtle German hop too, with those bready characteristics following through in the mouth with some soft toffee flavours in a beer that has… Read more
Style
Oktoberfest Vienna Lager
ABV
5.1%

Bright Brewery Little Brother

Published May 2, 2013
There's a very strict rule in place for any brewer taking part in this year's GABS - your beer must not be released anywhere before GABS is over (so we'll keep schtum about the US entry we sampled at the Craft Brewers Conference in March - was bloody delish though!!!). However, that doesn't mean you can't have offshoots of your GABS beer, which is what the team at Bright has done, creating a "parti gyle" brew with the left over grain from their epic entry. "Parti gyle" beers use… Read more
Style
Partigyle Ale
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Bright Pinky Framboise 2013

Published April 9, 2013
It's time to get fruity and funky with Bright Brewery as they bring their raspberry sour out of retirement, with the 2013 version having enjoyed a rather lengthy gestation period. The base beer has spent a year in tank with 100kg of locally sourced raspberries, during which time it's been fed with all manner of funky yeast strains: Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Brettanomyces lambicus and two Saccharomyces strains for good measure. According to Bright's head brewer Jon Seltin:… Read more
Style
Fruit Lambic

Bright Brewery MIA IPA 2013

Published February 25, 2013
This was a beer that really excited us here at Crafty Towers when it first appeared, being the beer that announced Bright's then new brewer Jon Seltin as one to watch (and watch out for overhead if strapped to his paraglider...). He's backed it up with many a fine release since and now is back with the latest take on the hoppy-as-hell IPA. It's not quite the same beer as last time around. Why? Because Jon "couldn't help ratcheting it up a couple of notches". Ah, good old temptation got… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
7.4%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Cookie

Bright Brewery Pilot Light

Published January 24, 2013
With the expansion complete and brewing operations back up and running again at Bright Brewery, the new beers are starting to flow from Jon Seltin. The first one to grace the taps of the brand spanking new Alpine set up is the Pilot Light, a sessionable English IPA. John tells us: "The Pilot IPA is a single batch release [at] 2.9 per cent crafted to taste like something much bigger. It was actually a really fun beer to brew, and quite a balancing act - it can be difficult to make a really full… Read more
Style
English IPA
ABV
2.9%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Bright Stubborn Russian 2012

Published June 21, 2012
Among last year's impressive haul of Aussie brewed Imperial Stouts was Bright's Stubborn Russian. It was actually one of the lower ABV offerings of the haul, something that has been seen to for this year. In the words of brewer Jon Seltin, it's "black, bigger, badder" stands at 9.6 pr cent yet "is smoother and more integrated than the last release - a good sign that it's a winner is the fact that it's now the go-to beer for all our beer-geek bar staff," he says. This year's contains… Read more
Style
Imperial Stout
ABV
9.6%
Stockists

Bright Brewery (bottle and on tap)

Slowbeer

Bright Mystic Mild

Published December 2, 2011
The latest seasonal from Bright Brewery sees them reining in the alcohol content after unleashing an Imperial Stout and punchy IPA in recent months. The Mystic Mild rocks in at just 3.0% but, that said, it's no flavour free zone or lager-like light. Nope, it's a beer that appears to look to the milds of the UK for inspiration, a deep amber / brown beer that, according to the brewers, is characterised by "raisin toast, dark bread and cigar box/cedar". It's on tap at the brewery now; we'll… Read more
Style
Mild
ABV
3.0%
Stockists

Bright Brewery

Bright Stubborn Russian

Published August 5, 2011
Anyone who follows Bright's new brewer Jon on Twitter will be aware that he's been getting rather giddy in recent weeks, first at the prospect of brewing a Russian Imperial Stout, then at naming it and now at releasing it. The last of these happens at the brewery today (Aug 5), with the brew at the heart of his excitement described as "intensely roasty and very full-bodied Russian Imperial Stout. Loads of dark fruit and mocha aromas, with a viscous, velvety mouthfeel." Sounds delightful.… Read more
Style
Russian Imperial Stout
ABV
7.5%

Bright Topaz Mí¤rzen

Published May 14, 2011
One of a rash of unique hop harvest beers to come out of Victoria's breweries this year, this saw Bright take the Topaz hop, a variety that's been around for years, and try something different with it. Traditionally used to make a beer bitter, here Bright decided to add it late in the brewing process after they were told that the guys that developed the hop at neighbouring Rostrevor Hop Farm reckoned it had previously untapped potential for aroma and flavour. It would seem the guys knew what they… Read more
Style
Hop Harvest Lager

Bright Pinky Framboise

Published March 6, 2011
They've been feeling fruity up in the Victorian mountains, it seems, with Bright deciding to mark the end of the summer with a raspberry lambic style beer. Brewed using 60kg of locally grown raspberries from Bright Berry Farms, the brewers tell us it pours an "eye-catching red/pink colour" and has a "distinct berry aroma" that "leads into a tart upfront flavour which is instantly recognisable as raspberry". It's the first time they've made the beer in three years but… Read more
Style
Fruit Lambic Style Ale

Winter Warmer

Published July 22, 2010
There's a series of TV ads in the UK that's been running for decades with the tagline: "It does exactly what it says on the tin." It could equally apply to Bright's winter warmer, which comes complete with a seriously thick mouthfeel and a fiercely dark brown head. They serve as an omen of what's to come: big mocha aromas with a touch of dark fruit and alcohol, which make way for a palate-smothering wave of rich chocolate, a roast coffee hit and a bitter finish. Get it before it's gone.… Read more
Style
Export Stout
ABV
6.2%

Bright Lager – RETIRED

A fresh, natural easy drinking lager, Bright Lager's a true product of its environment. It's made with grain grown on a farm just down the road from the brewery and hops from the surrounding Alpine Valleys.… Read more
Style
Lager

Bright Brewery Blowhard Pale Ale (RETIRED)

This American-style pale ale was always one of the most popular drops for visitors to Bright, with its gentle citrus characters making for a refreshing choice on hot days or after indulging in the region's many outdoor pursuits. Then, during Jon Seltin's time there it was reinvented, with the Cascade hop replaced by a blend of punchy New World varieties and the malt bill beefed up a little too. We were at the brewery the day he was due to keg the first batch of the new beer, had a sample, and instantly… Read more
Style
Pale Ale
ABV
5.0%