Burleigh Brewing Company

“We’re in Burleigh Heads, which is absolutely the best place in the world.”

This is a big call, considering Brennan and Peta Fielding’s brewing journey started in beautiful Hawaii – where Brennan grew up on a sailing boat – and included Japan and USA along the way. But from the moment this family-run brewery started up on the Gold Coast in 2006, Brennan and Peta didn’t look back.

The early days weren’t easy. In 2006, bars and bottleshops of the Gold Coast were full of beers from the big multinational brands, and the craft beer scene in Queensland was almost non-existent. Brennan and Peta were pioneers, and when they started producing Burleigh Brewing beers, it felt like they were met with crickets chirping.

But they had a mission: to be a brewery that supplies people in its local area, and to introduce people to a variety of different beer styles and flavours. And it didn’t take too long to convince their locals that freshly made beer flowing from an independent brewery was a very good thing.

The brewery expanded as much as possible on the original site, but eventually it was bursting at the seams. So in 2015 the Burleigh Brewing team packed up their big stainless steel toys and moved a few hundred metres down the road where they had room to brew more beer and invite more people into their space.

It’s here at the Taphouse that you can enjoy Burleigh Brewing beer at the source today. Bring your mates. Bring your dog. Grab a bite to eat, soak in some live music or comedy, and settle in for a few schooners. There’s an ever-changing lineup of brews you can’t get anywhere else, so you’ll never find yourself short of something new to try. But the core range beers are always pouring alongside them, so you never have to miss out on your favourites, either.

Beer’s always been the focus at Burleigh Brewing, and their slew of awards shows that. In recent years, that’s included the Grand Champion trophy for a limited release Bock (2019 Royal Queensland Beer Awards), Champion Australian Style Pale Ale for Twisted Palm (2021 AIBAs), and Champion European Style Ale for their German wheat beer Hef (2022 Royal Queensland Beer Awards). They pride themselves on quality and integrity throughout the entire brewing and packaging process: “No shortcuts, even when nobody is watching.”

But Burleigh Brewing goes beyond just beer. The crew love to champion all kinds of arts and culture for their Gold Coast community as well, including partnering with local festivals, supporting local artists, hosting skate competitions and celebrating local surfboard shapers.

Because this is a brewery that doesn’t like to stand still. A brewery that started with two employees and now has over fifty. A brewery that started getting beers on tap down the road, then became a cornerstone of good beer on the Gold Coast, then became available in fridges and on taps around the country. A brewery that brings people behind the scenes to see how beer’s made, and gets out onto the road to take their beer wherever they can. A brewery that’s still expanding, still experimenting, and still evolving as it comes up towards two decades of bringing beer to the people.

This is a brewery that isn’t afraid to take on the world… but as they say, they reckon they’ve got the best place in the world already.

Mick Wüst

Name
Burleigh Brewing Company
Address

2 Ern Harley Drive
Burleigh Heads
QLD 4220

Phone
(07) 5593 6000
Open Hours

Friday: 3pm to 9pm Saturday: midday to 9pm
Sunday: midday to 6pm


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

Burleigh Brewing Company Regulars

Burleigh Brewing Burleigh Sass

Published July 18, 2022
Maybe it’s the heat, or maybe it’s the fact it’s home to Bundaberg but there’s a particular love for ginger beer in Queensland. In 2022, the Gold Coast pioneers at Burleigh Brewing added Burleigh Sass to their core range and while it might contain the root, it's a long way from many other ginger beers out there. The bright ale with ginger does have plenty of the flavours and aromas you’d expect but there’s none of the sweetness or heat often found in such drinks. Instead, the ginger… Read more
Style
Bright Ale With Ginger
ABV
4.2%

Burleigh Brewing Sublime Mexican Lager

Published November 30, 2021
It can get pretty hot and humid around Burleigh Brewing and to fight against them both they have Sublime Mexican Lager. Brewed with local lime zest, the beer was inspired by Burleigh’s head brewer and co-founder Brennan Fielding’s time back in America and travelling down California’s coast to Mexico. Even with it being designed as a summer thirst-quencher, there’s quite a mix of flavours to Sublime that means it's not just something you should drink down without giving it a second thought.… Read more
Style
Mexican Lager
ABV
4.6%

Burleigh Brewing Twisted Palm

Published October 25, 2016
Given they're located on the Gold Coast, perhaps it was only a matter of time before Burleigh Brewing entered tropical territory. They've done so with Twisted Palm that's inspired by head brewer Brennan Fielding's desire to "bottle a day on the beach at Burleigh Heads". To him, that meant opting for plenty of juicy hops, with Twisted Palm (named after the local pandanus trees) the sort of lively, refreshing beer you would want to grab out the fridge after a hot day at the beach. Pale golden… Read more
Style
Tropical Pale Ale
ABV
4.2%

Burleigh Brewing 28 Pale Ale

Styled as a throwback to the 70s and the 28-day swell enjoyed at Burleigh Heads during that decade, the 28 is a fine addition to the canon of Australia pale ales. Floral and citrusy on the nose, it pours a bright copper, with some sweet caramel malts and a bitter tang with hints of orange marmalade, grapefruit and lychee, rounded off with a gently tingling zing. If you're pairing it with food, the brewers recommend Moroccan Lamb as the perfect match.… Read more
Style
US Pale Ale
ABV
4.8%

Burleigh Brewing Bighead

Bighead is Burleigh's "no carb" beer, a lager registering just 88 calories per 330ml bottle for the most weight conscious of beer drinkers. Burleigh Heads, where the brewery is based, was originally given the name "burly head" - aka big head - back in the 19th century, hence the naming of this beer. Described by the brewers as "a full-flavoured, full-strength lager that is 100% natural, free of additives and preservatives, and has a smooth, clean taste".… Read more
Style
Lager
ABV
4.2%

Burleigh Brewing FIGJAM IPA

Originally brewed as a short run limited release for the brewery bar, the FIGJAM later appeared in the Gold Coast brewery's longneck "Bit on the Side" range. Bloody lovely it was too - clean yet complex with lots of hoppy goodness crammed into every bottle. We put it in our pick of the Best Beers of 2012 in James Halliday's Wine Companion Magazine and, as such, are delighted that it has now been added to the brewery's year round range. The blend of specialty malts and five US hops remains,… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
7.0%
Bitterness
70 IBU

Burleigh Brewing Company Specials

Burleigh Brewing Burleigh Bandit

Published August 17, 2022
Burleigh Brewing’s Brewers' Notebook series (trying saying that ten times fast!) sees them shine a light on the beers they love, but Bandit is also a tribute to craft beer's early pioneers. Sure, a case could be made that the Gold Coast’s longest-running independent brewery are pioneers themselves but with this beer, they’re celebrating the brewing bandits in America who, decades ago, pushed beer’s boundaries. The red IPA brings a rich array of malt flavours that flicker between toffee,… Read more
Style
Red IPA
ABV
6.0%

Burleigh Brewing Razzle Dazzle

Published May 3, 2022
There can’t be too many Australian brewers who were brewing in the 1980s but Burleigh Brewing’s cofounder certainly was. Back then, Brennan Fielding was making beer in America and in those days, fruit wheat beer was as popular as The Breakfast Club and neon lighting. Given neon lighting has made such a comeback on craft beer cans, it seems fitting for those American wheats should return too. Burleigh have looked back to those halcyon days with Razzle Dazzle, a raspberry wheat beer that uses fresh… Read more
Style
Fruit Weat Beer
ABV
5.8%

Burleigh Brewing Burleigh Fifteen

Published August 10, 2021
There aren’t too many independent Australian breweries that have made it to 15, so it seems like a milestone that’s very worthy of a special beer. Such a celebration seems even more essential when you’re a pioneer in your region, with Burleigh Brewing having launched in the Gold Coast in 2006, well before South East Queensland was home to nearly as many breweries as it is today. If you’d like to learn more about how the journey of Burleigh's cofounders Peta and Brennan Fielding, you can read… Read more
Style
Dusseldorf Dunkle
ABV
6.0%

Burleigh Brewing Burleigh Smokin'

Published July 16, 2020
Burleigh Smokin’ is a beer modelled on the Rauchbiers made famous by the brewers of the German town of Bamberg and it's one that's proved a popular mover for Burleigh Brewing. After becoming a fan favourite whenever it appears at the Gold Coast taproom, the team decided to give it a wider release in cans and they even sent some to America where it picked up a gold medal in the World Beer Championships. The popularity, one imagines, comes from manner in which the jet black lager’s underlying roasted… Read more
Style
Rauchbier
ABV
6.2%

Burleigh Brewing All Ways Hopped Hazy IPA

Published December 12, 2019
So, in an era when highly hopped beers are de rigeur, what does "All Ways Hopped" mean? In the case of Burleigh Brewing's brewmaster Brennan Fielding: "We utilised our hopback, multiple dry hopping methods at numerous stages and our own in-house specialty hopping techniques." In doing so, they've created a beer that isn't that hazy when measured against many hazies on the market today and in which the aromas don't explode out of the glass as you might expect. What all those hops… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.7%
Stockists

And more venues here

Burleigh Brewing Wild Berry IPA

Published September 27, 2019
It started as a Burleigh Brewing Taphouse exclusive beer… and the people there loved it. So it made its way to Crafted Festival and Beer InCider… where it sold out. The Burleigh Brewing crew can take a hint, so they went and brewed more of this people pleaser, and now the pink stuff is available in a limited run of four-packs of tinnies. I say "pink", but it looks almost exactly like a light red wine - the low carbonation even has the head dissipating quickly to maintain the illusion.… Read more
Style
Berry IPA
ABV
6.8%

Burleigh Brewing Black Giraffe (Cans)

Published October 30, 2018
The Black Giraffe was one of the first releases in Burleigh Brewing's Bit On The Side series, with the black coffee lager making its debut way back in 2010 and promptly picking up a gold medal at the World Beer Championships in the US soon after (a feat repeated many times since). It made a habit of reappearing, sometimes a little tweaked but always the same at heart, in large bottle format and has now made the transition to cans. It's a combination of coffee roasted locally to the Burleigh Heads… Read more
Style
Black Coffee Lager
ABV
4.7%

Burleigh Brewing Dream Date

Published June 25, 2014
With a heritage that includes the Black Giraffe Coffee Lager, Figjam IPA and Hassle Hop, if there's one thing that can be said for Burleigh's Bit on the Side range it's that they're worth checking out. Latest to leave the Gold Coast in longneck form and march across the land is Dream Date, a beer that, like Fanny Gertude's Anzac Bickie Beer (remember her?), has a rather sweeter inspiration than the others. Specifically: dates. And even more specifically: "Hundreds of kilos of them" added… Read more
Style
Dark Date Ale
ABV
5.7%
Bitterness
50 IBU
Stockists

Find it here

Burleigh Brewing Hassle Hop

Published October 29, 2013
In any healthy team, there will always be differences of opinion, a willingness to debate, an appreciation that sometimes compromise is necessary to reach the best possible outcome. But sometimes, even a healthy team can decide that compromise can take a running jump and everyone can have their own way at the same time. Certainly, that seems to be what's happened at the Gold Coast's Burleigh Brewing, where a debate over the best hops currently available on the market - with five brewers arguing the… Read more
Style
Strong Pale Ale
ABV
5.5%
Stockists

In good beer stockists nationwide

Burleigh Brewing Black Giraffe 2013

Published July 18, 2013
This annual collaboration between the Gold Coast's Burleigh Brewing and their nearby roasters Zarraffa's Coffee is one we look forward to at Crafty Towers. And this year's release is another welcome arrival. Featuring "hundreds of kilos" of freshly roasted coffee, it's a seriously black and seriously balanced lager. The ethically-sourced, Guatemalan coffee joins chocolate, caramel and toffee malts to ensure it's part of a rounded brew rather than dominating, while the American hops are… Read more
Style
Coffee Lager
ABV
5.0%
Bitterness
50 IBU
Stockists

Check the brewery's Giraffe Tracker

Burleigh Brewing FIGJAM IPA

Published October 4, 2012
Avid readers of The Crafty Pint and its newsletter will recall mention of a short run IPA from the Gold Coast's serial medal-winners. Well, now it's back as the latest in Burleigh Brewing's longnecked "Bit On The Side" range, following My Wife's Bitter, Fannie Gertrude and the Black Giraffe. This is a take on the American reinvention of the classic British style, featuring a blend of specialty malts and five US hops and ending up with the 7 per cent / 70 IBU measurements that has proved… Read more
Style
American IPA
ABV
7.0%
Bitterness
70 IBU
Stockists

Burleigh Brewing

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Burleigh Brewing Black Giraffe 2012

Published August 20, 2012
Gold Coast's Burleigh Brewing has a habit for picking up trophies and medals for its beers. And when the Black Giraffe was first released a couple of years back it was no different, with the coffee lager scoring a gold medal at the World Beer Championships in the US. The 2012 release is slightly tweaked. It still rocks in at five per cent and is still brewed with 100 per cent 100% rainforest alliance coffee beans from Zarraffa's, this time sourced from Guatemala and promising "a more intense,… Read more
Style
Coffee Lager
ABV
5.0%
Stockists

Hunt down a Giraffe here

Burleigh Brewing Fanny Gertrude's Bickie Beer

Published March 31, 2011
Fanny's back! The beer that made its debut on tap at The Local Taphouse's Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular had a genesis as unusual as the actual brew itself, with deliveries of ingredients held up by the Queensland floods, thus making it a race against time to have it ready for the festival. As for the beer, the Gold Coast brewers added everything you'd expect from an Anzac bickie - coconut, golden syrup, oats - to create a really rather unique beer. Equal parts cream soda, nuts, toffee and the… Read more
Style
Cream Ale
ABV
5.0%
Stockists

Beer DeLuxe

Biero

Burleigh Brewing

IN BOTTLES:

Burleigh Brewing

Archive West End

Nectar

Sp

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Burleigh Brewing Black Giraffe

Published August 28, 2010
The second of Burleigh's limited release longnecks (the first being the puntastic English style My Wife's Bitter), the Black Giraffe is the beer that, more than any other, got Aussie craft beer lovers talking about the brewery. An exquisite coffee lager that packs in more flavour than is decent for a 5% beer, it's won major awards overseas with judges impressed by the full coffee whack backed up by chocolate, toffee and mocha. It uses 100kg of Zarraffa rainforest alliance coffee and made Crafty's… Read more
Style
Coffee Lager
ABV
5.0%

Burleigh Brewing Duke All Malt Helles - RETIRED

Only sold within the locality of Burleigh's Gold Coast brewery, Duke Helles is a European style lager ' with a slightly more malty character than the perhaps better known Pilsner style. The moderate hopping contributes a comfortable bitterness and a clean, refreshing taste. Fine and balanced with fresh floral highlights that hint at a European pedigree. For a food match, the brewers recommend anything from a backyard BBQ to a delicate gourmet meal.… Read more
Style
Helles
ABV
3.5%
Awards

Silver Medal, 2009 and 2011 World Beer Championships

Burleigh Brewing Duke Premium Lager - RETIRED

One half of the Duke duo of beers only sold within the brewery's local area, this is inspired by the European lagers brewer Brennan Fielding's father and grandfather enjoyed on the back of the family sailing boat in Hawaii. This filtered lager mixes biscuity malts with light, citrusy and spicy hop characteristics and finishes dry, making it ideal for the warm Queensland coast.… Read more
Style
Pilsner
ABV
4.8%

Burleigh Brewing HEF

It seems that pretty much every microbrewery in Oz has some form of wheat beer in their range, but they're not always particularly good. Thankfully, Burleigh's HEF is among the best, with flavours as full as the moustache on its label. Winner of the inaugural Queensland Food and Wine Show beer comp, it's packed with banana and clove aromas and flavours from the special German yeast with a touch of citrusy tang. Goes well with seafood or spicy dishes.… Read more
Style
Hefeweizen
ABV
5.0%

Burleigh Brewing My Wife's Bitter - RETIRED

First seen as a limited longneck release from Burleigh back in 2009, the My Wife's Bitter is their take on the classic bitter ales of the UK. Now it's out in 330ml stubbies on a much wider release - and appearing on a fair few taps too. Using English crystal and chocolate malts, traditional English hops (Fuggles and East Kent Goldings) plus an old English yeast, the result is a malt-driven beer that mixes sweet caramels, some nuttiness (particularly in draught form, where we're plumping for hazelnut)… Read more
Style
English Bitter
ABV
4.8%