CBCo Margaret River

Margaret River is home to more microbreweries than any other region of Australia. Among them is a handful that boast mightily impressive homes, such as that of CBCo – known as Colonial Brewing Co prior to September 2022.

Theirs is a sleek, contemporary affair sat amid 70 acres of sprawling farmland. Founded in 2004, it combines a family-friendly brasserie & brewery focused on creating "beers with integrity", a large kids' play area and a wide lawn that regularly hosts live music, DJs and mini-festivals. There's even a driving range for anyone who wants to tee up while at a brewery.

These days, you'll find CBCo’s beers pouring at venues all around WA and increasingly in most other states and territories too. The company now operates a second, larger brewery in Port Melbourne too, helping get more of the beers into the hands of drinkers on the East Coast.

For visitors to the WA venue, there's plenty to tempt those not interested in beer, from the selection of wines from the region to a fresh and simple menu done well (especially the pizzas...). In a drive to reduce food miles, they've developed a half-acre kitchen garden and orchard too.

It's an approach in keeping with the overall aim at CBCO's original home base: to create an authentic, unpretentious and convivial atmosphere in which their beers can be enjoyed by families, tourists, beer lovers and beer novices alike.

Name
CBCo Margaret River
Address

Osmington Road
Bramley
Margaret River

Phone
(08) 9758 8177
Open Hours

Wed & Thurs: midday to 5.30pm
Friday: midday to 8pm
Sat & Sun: 11am to 5.30pm


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

CBCo Margaret River Regulars

Colonial Brewing Co XPA

Published August 16, 2021
This Citrus XPA joined the Colonial core range midway through 2021, with the beer available in Dan Murphy's across the country and BWS outlets in the brewery's home states of Western Australia and Victoria. Given the brightness of the orange on the can, we'd wager you could ascertain which fruit would be the champion of this beer from some distance and here, citrus is provided by adding both mandarin juice and Eclipse hops from Hop Products Australia. The beer pours a bright, clear golden orange… Read more
Style
XPA
ABV
4.6%
Bitterness
20 IBU

Colonial Brewing Co Hazy Pale

Published August 16, 2021
Hazy pale ales have become important members of many brewery’s core ranges, tapping into the unstoppable love some beer drinkers have for tropical hops served atop a lush creamy surface, while offering a little less booze compared with typical IPAs. Midway through 2021, Colonial Brewing added their own, with the metallic blue cans channelling classic Casio G-Shock watches and becoming available across Coles Liquor's group of stores. The beer inside isn't quite as over-the-top as the can might suggest,… Read more
Style
Hazy Pale
ABV
4.8%
Bitterness
25 IBU

CBCo South West Sour Watermelon Raspberry

Published August 10, 2021
The peach-hued South West Sour has become a major beer for Colonial Brewing, having first been brewed as a seasonal at their smaller Margaret River brewery and since joining the ranks of the brewery’s core range. Ahead of summer 2021, that beer’s been given a buddy in South West Sour Watermelon Raspberry, which takes that original beer’s tart base and brings in watermelon juice and pureed raspberry. It pours a similar light gold to its sibling but there’s a touch of pink in its colour that… Read more
Style
Fruited Sour
ABV
4.0%
Bitterness
6 IBU

Colonial Brewing Co South West Sour

Published February 12, 2018
Colonial’s seasonal release program gives the brewers a chance to play around with local and fresh ingredients plus whatever happens to be on trend. In South West Sour’s case, the Indian summer gave the Margaret River team a chance to cast a gaze over the refreshing Berliner weisse style. The intent was to create one that celebrates a style for season rather than being clinically true to style. In this sense the 4.6 percent ABV and Bertie Cider like can sit well within the Colonial range and… Read more
Style
Hoppy Sour
ABV
4.6%

Colonial Brewing Co Small Ale

Published April 7, 2015
In 2014, Colonial Brewing decided to pop beer inside a can in the shape of their Kolsch rebranded as the somewhat logic-bending Draught Ale. A fine drop it is too, one that deserves to find a home in Eskies across the country whenever the warm weather hits. They followed it up with a second canned beer. But this one comes with a twist. Or is that a spin? Or a 360 degree turn? You see, not content with merely popping their Small Ale (a 3.5 percent ABV citrus hopped mid-strength that takes its name… Read more
Style
Midstrength
ABV
3.5%

Colonial Brewing Co Pale Ale

Head back in time and the Pale Ale you'd have found pouring at Colonials' WA home was one that confounded trends within the state, whereby brewers favoured Little Creatures inspired American pale ales. Theirs was inspired by traditional German altbiers – earthier and more malt driven. These days, there's a new Pale Ale in town and it's one that's become part of the brewery's canned core range. The contemporary Pale Ale features a mix of Aussie and American hops, although in a combination that's… Read more
Style
American Pale Ale
ABV
4.4%

Colonial Brewing Co Draught

Colonial's flagship started out with the name Kolsch as it took its inspiration from the German beers from the Cologne region. Long before many other craft breweries looked to add an approachable beery beer to their lineup, this was that sort of beer, the kind anyone from a mainstream lager drinker to a beer geek wanting something refreshing to quaff could agree upon. It went on to become the first Colonial beer to be canned too, transitioning from Kolsch to Draught as it did so. The beer inside… Read more
Style
Kolsch
ABV
4.8%

Colonial Brewing Co IPA

There are breweries out there well known for releasing a broad range of IPAs. Yet, over the years, Colonial Brewing Co has released a cavalcade of its own, many under the IPA on Tour banner. Yet they've tended to be draught only, snuck into a few venues without much fanfare. One variant has stuck around, however: an all Australian one that became part of their regular canned lineup when they fired up the canning line in Port Melbourne. All Australian means all Aussie hops atop an Australian malt… Read more
Style
Australian IPA
ABV
6.5%

CBCo Margaret River Specials

CBCo Barrel Projects: Aurum

Published December 21, 2022
After close to a year, CBCo have a new addition to their Barrel Projects series with the arrival of Aurum. OK, so “fresh” might not be strictly true: the third release under that banner has been barrel-aged for 24 months in a combination of chardonnay and pinot noir barrels. It was then blended then, proving that you can showcase a bit of agriculture and terroir wherever you are, bottle-conditioned with honey sourced from bees close to their Port Melbourne home. The mixed culture golden ale… Read more
Style
Mixed Culture Golden Ale
ABV
5.3%

CBCo Market Sour: Orange, Mandarin & Fennel

Published November 25, 2022
Walking into a market is always a feast for the senses. The sound of the crowd and the smell of fresh fruit, spices and something delicious and fried all wash together at once but still somehow hold their character. CBCo’s Market Sour series is a tribute to those kinds of moments, with the brewery taking stock of market stalls and bringing those flavours together with a tart tang. Orange, Mandarin & Fennel is the brewery's third time mixing these combinations, with this gose featuring mandarin… Read more
Style
Sour
ABV
4.6%

Colonial Brewing Co Inquest 2022

Published July 19, 2022
Colonial’s annual double digit ABV, midwinter explorations could retrospectively be seen as a sort of globally-inspired dark beer passport, charting both the imperial strength and empire-like reach of the substantial stout. What began with a straight-ahead English style imperial stout has morphed in subsequent years, turning up as both Belgian and heavily Centennial hop-imbued American versions over time. Inquest 2022's entry looks to the north of the beer's origins, turning up as the Scottish… Read more
Style
Peated Imperial Stout
ABV
10.5%
Stockists

Available in limited release from Colonial’s Margaret River and Port Melbourne breweries

And stockists nationally

Colonial Brewing Co Robust Porter (2022)

Published June 2, 2022
Colonial's Robust Porter is a longstanding favourite within the brewery team, with the seasonal stalwart brewed in time for winter since 2014. But, while the dark beer has a long history, it's one that's evolving with the recipe changing slightly each year. For 2022’s iteration, the biggest twist has been the addition of Mosaic hops (alongside two they've previously used in Centennial and Perle) that add the softest array of tropical fruits. That’s not to say we're anywhere near black IPA or… Read more
Style
Porter
ABV
6.0%

Colonial Brewing Tropical Lager & Autumn Ale

Published April 9, 2022
Colonial Brewing seem to be keeping their feet in two seasons at once with this twin release. Starting with summer (which is also known as "all year" in Colonial's original home of Western Australia), Tropical Lager is a pretty traditional Munich-style helles that’s been given a not-so-traditional hit of Centennial and Mosaic hops before being dry-hopped with Idaho 7 and Bru-1. The sparkling and ultra-lean lager has the slightest note of biscuit from the malt base with a soft bitterness… Read more
Style
Tropical Lager & Amber Ale
ABV
4.5% & 5.7%

Colonial Brewing Project: Belgian Wit

Published March 3, 2022
Colonial’s Tap Room Project beers, brewed at their original Margaret River brewery, have an underlying theme: classic styles tweaked with new world thinking and inspiration. Here they've set about creating a Belgian Wit that plays to this theme by featuring a dose of chamomile alongside the tried and traditional toasted coriander and orange zest additions. An ester-driven, spicy yeast strain is prominent against a light, slightly cloudy base beer while coriander and citrus notes also feature.… Read more
Style
Belgian Wit
ABV
5.0%

Colonial Brewing Project: Märzen

Published October 1, 2021
As with so much in beer, the historical influence of trade, tax and general human connection is entwined in the liquid we love. The annual Oktoberfest marks Märzen’s time in the spotlight, although the beer’s genesis is actually months early, as decreed by a 1553 Bavarian brewing quality ordinance. With warm summer’s affecting beer quality pre-refrigeration, brewing was only permitted in Germany between September 29 (St Michael's Day) and April 23 (St George's Day) to help avoid spoilage.… Read more
Style
Märzen
ABV
5.5%
Stockists

Available in limited release from CBCO cellar doors.

Colonial Brewing Inquest 2021

Published July 14, 2021
In these uncertain times, it’s good to have a beer release you can set your watch to. Colonial’s Inquest has become a release along those lines, with the American Imperial Stout being brewed for in winter every year since 2017 and at the time, it was the biggest beer in Australia released in cans. It's been joined by many other big tins since and though the recipe and approach changes each year, it does remain a highly awaited release from the brewery which is based in both WA and Victoria. This… Read more
Style
American Imperial Stout
ABV
10.0%
Bitterness
780 IBU
Stockists

National stockists are available here.

Colonial Brewing Hazy IPA

Published April 9, 2021
In a few short years, hazy IPAs have gone from being a rarity to a fixture in the Australian beer landscape, with some breweries devoting most of their brew schedule to them and others regularly rebrewing them or exploring different recipes. Colonial Brewing's Hazy IPA is one such beer that keeps coming back, first brewed at Colonial's Port Melbourne home in late 2019 (which is why it features Port Melbourne Football Club's home of The Borough on the can) then returning each year since with slight… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.7%

Colonial Brewing Co Gone Green IIPA

Published February 15, 2021
To celebrate the installation of 100kW of solar power on the roof of their Port Melbourne brewery (which, having dropped in for the first time since lockdown 1.0 last week, is becoming exceedingly full of brewing and packaging gear that needs powering), Colonial challenged their team to an in-house brew-off. The winning beer would be scaled up and released in honour of going green. The beer that came out on top is appropriate for such a moment too: Gone Green has been given the heaviest hop dose… Read more
Style
DDH IIPA
ABV
8.2%
Bitterness
80 IBU
Stockists

Both Colonial breweries

And other retailers here

Colonial Brewing Market Sour Blood Orange & Saltbush

Published October 15, 2020
Colonial's Market Sour series is back for a second dance across the nation's palates. If you tried the first, you won't have forgotten it, given it packed the biggest cucumber aroma you'll have encountered in a beer. This time around, the weapons of choice are blood orange – added in puréed form – and native saltbush, although the specialty malts play as much of a role, helping create a beer that sits somewhere between rusty copper and amber – shall we just go with blood orange? It brings… Read more
Style
Fruit Sour
ABV
4.5%
Bitterness
9 IBU
Stockists

And other venues found here

Colonial Brewing Co TaylorMade Lager

Published September 2, 2020
They’ve previously made beers with football teams and here have teed up another sporting collaboration, this time donning their plus fours and caps for a stroll along the fairway with TaylorMade. It's a good time for golf in most parts of Australia too, given it's one of the more social-distance-enabling sports out there. As to the beer itself, the respective booze and equipment producers have their eyes set on easy-drinking refreshment with a 3.5 percent ABV lager. Those eyes are also trained… Read more
Style
Mid-Strength Lager
ABV
3.5%

Colonial Brewing Co Market Sour: Juniper, Lime and Cucumber

Published April 10, 2020
While others may have been slightly ahead in bringing such beers to their core range, with Boatrocker's Miss Pinky the first to hit major retailers, Colonial’s South West Sour is probably Australia’s most widely available sour. Launched in February 2018, the success of the peachy-coloured can now sees the brewery debut the Market Sour series, a bi-annual riff which will focus on fresh local produce. Straight from the fridge, the cucumber aroma is most evident [Not sure I recall a beer with such… Read more
Style
Fruited Berliner Weisse
ABV
4.5%
Stockists

Available from both breweries (check for changing takeaway guidelines before heading in) and independent CBCo stockists nationally.

Colonial Brewing Co Market Sour: Juniper, Lime and Cucumber

Published April 10, 2020
While others may have been slightly ahead in bringing such beers to their core range, with Boatrocker's Miss Pinky the first to hit major retailers, Colonial’s South West Sour is probably Australia’s most widely available sour. Launched in February 2018, the success of the peachy-coloured can now sees the brewery debut the Market Sour series, a bi-annual riff which will focus on fresh local produce. Straight from the fridge, the cucumber aroma is most evident [Not sure I recall a beer with such… Read more
Style
Fruited Berliner Weisse
ABV
4.5%
Stockists

Available from both breweries (check for changing takeaway guidelines before heading in) and independent CBCo stockists nationally.

Colonial Brewing Co Inquest 2019 – Imperial Stout

Published August 5, 2019
Big, dark and bold – that’s the mandate for the annual Colonial Inquest release, one which allows their 16 brewers to get creative, as was the case with the 2018 release we described as a "Frankenporter". For the final iteration this decade, Inquest returns to the imperial stout style but with a curious twist in the shape of experimental hop HBC 472. A sister of the highly regarded Sabro hop, HBC 472 imparts barrel-aged qualities of oak and coconut as well as tropical notes depending… Read more
Style
Imperial Stout
ABV
12.0%
Stockists

Launching from August 5 at both breweries and Colonial stockists nationwide

Colonial Brewing Co Sweet 16 Milkshake IPA

Published April 12, 2019
The increasingly popular milkshake IPA substyle is rapidly becoming commonplace in many Australian brewers' recipe files, but that isn't to say that all vanilla and lactose loaded IPAs are created equal. Here, Colonial have given us their take on the soft and supple IPA variant with their latest Project beer, and they've made sure it's a standout in a saturated market by loading it up with an experimental hop variety from Hop Products Australia. The yet to be named hop, which is grown in Tasmania,… Read more
Style
Milkshake IPA
ABV
5.0%

Colonial Brewing Co Robust Porter

Published May 9, 2018
Porter. Noun. A person employed to carry luggage and other loads, especially in a railway station, airport, hotel or market. This eponymous beer style evolved from the dockside strongmen’s favoured dark quencher in 1700s London, becoming, at one period during the following century, the most consumed beer style in the world. These days, with pale lagers holding that mantle by some considerable margin, this most malt focused of beers has become more of a respected classic, one pulled from the lesser… Read more
Style
Porter
ABV
6.0%
Stockists

Available nationally throughout winter 2018

Colonial Brewing Co Crosby, Stills and Mash IIPA

Published May 3, 2018
Colonial Brewing Co’s latest Project Beer riffs on late 60s/early 70s supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash in a way that not only neatly draws together the collaborative efforts of this gin infused double IPA but also offers a handy reference point for how the elements come together, in this case in the glass rather than via counterculture-inspiring vocal harmonic dexterity. Using the Idaho 7 hop variety from Oregon’s Crosby Hop Farm and some Willamette atop a relatively lean and slightly cloudy… Read more
Style
Gin Infused IIPA
ABV
7.5%
Stockists

On a limited, draught only tour through good Australian venues and growler filling retailers

Colonial Brewing Co The Emergence of Astra

Published March 25, 2016
In 2015, Colonial Brewing Co hooked up with the organisers of the Emergence Creative Festival in Margaret River. The result was the design of the cans for the brewery's Small Ale, the hoppy 3.5 percent ABV mid-strength they'd been honing in draught form for some time. As well as the sweet design, the beer saw them debut the 360 degree, flip top cans that effectively become an aluminium glass once opened (turning plenty of heads when The Crafty Pint and friends popped them in the Supernatural Amphitheatre… Read more
Style
Lager
ABV
4.6%
Stockists

Colonial Brewing, Margaret River

Other stockists TBC

Colonial Brewing Truffle Tripel

Published July 11, 2014
'I had a Truffle Tripel at the Truffel Kurfuffle.â? Try saying that after a few of them at the annual Truffle Kerfuffle festival in Manjimup, sponsored by Colonial Brewing... The Truffle Tripel was created by the Margaret River brewer for the festival and is a Belgian style ale using fresh local truffles that follows in the footsteps of their truffle porter in 2013. Only 11 kegs were concocted by the brewers at the Edith Cowan University (ECU) brewhouse using five kilos of truffles from The Wine… Read more
Style
Truffled Belgian Tripel
ABV
9.5%
Stockists

Colonial Brewery

The Print Hall, Perth

The Raffles, Applecross

The Royal on the Waterfront, East Perth

More stockists...

Colonial Brewing Project 3: Mission Brown

Published September 6, 2013
It seems that the deeper you delve into the minds of the brewers at Margaret River's Colonial Brewery, the murkier things get. There's an obsession with "Gary", something we don't fully understand but with which we totally empathise given there's something of a "Gary" obsession here too. Something we do understand is that there's a new series of limited releases coming out under the Project Beer banner - we know this as we ran a story on it. Yet we're still not totally sure what… Read more
Style
Brown Ale
Stockists

Colonial Brewery

The Royal on the Waterfront

Raffles, Applecross

Print Hall, Perth

Apple Daily

Portsea Hotel

Half Moon, Brighton

Robbie Burns, Collingwood

More stockists...

Colonial Gary The White

Published June 12, 2013
It's fair to say that Team America is a pretty popular film at Crafty Towers. The Pint family calls each other Gary in honour of the film's hero, Mrs Pint bought the soundtrack and discovered with glee that there are extra verses to many of the film's songs and, almost a decade on from its release, it's quite terrifying how much of the phraseology around the house can be traced back to the film too. So any beer that also takes its name from Mr Johnston and lifts quotes from the film in its tasting… Read more
Style
White Stout
ABV
7.0%

Colonial Brewing Dampfbier

Published March 22, 2013
They love their German beers at Colonial, in particular rare or forgotten styles. For this, their latest foray into that nation's beer history, they've headed to the forests of Bavaria and seem to have been inspired to even greater levels. The beer's release comes with a colourful tale about the origins of the beer that includes references to "flickers of sunlight flowing down", "strong, noble common folk" and "little bundles of yeasty joy". Essentially, it seems that… Read more
Style
Dampfbier
Stockists

Colonial Brewery

Apple Daily

Bobs Bar

Raffles Hotel

Print Hall

The Royal East Perth

More stockists...

Colonial Kottbusser

Published December 6, 2012
Mal Secourable, head brewer at Margaret River's Colonial Brewing Company, loves to brew German-inspired styles. It seems that he loves brewing them so much that it's impossible for us to get him to take the time out to tell us about any specials he's brewed. Thankfully, with Girl+Beer now calling the region her home, we have Crafty spies on the ground... Which means we know about the Kottbusser, a summer seasonal from Mal, which follows hot on the heels of the brewery's popular Baltic Porter. It's… Read more
Style
Kottbusser
Stockists

Colonial Brewery

Colonial Witbier (RETIRED0

Another beer ideal for wiling away a hot afternoon in Margaret River, this is a Belgian style witbier brewed with citrus peel and toasted coriander seeds. The result is a refreshing blend of light citrus fruitiness and aromatic spices, with a dryness to finish that makes it easier to head back for one more.… Read more
Style
Witbier
ABV
5%