Blackman's Brewery

After witnessing the success of the first Great Australian Beer Festival in Geelong, the organisers told The Crafty Pint that their aim was to turn the city into something of a craft beer capital for Australia. The festival's ongoing success and the boost given to the local beer scene by the arrival of Little Creatures in 2013 suggests they were on to something.

But developments in recent years suggest one of Geelong's near neighbours, the surfing hub of Torquay, may have lofty goals of its own. Leading the way in Torquay is Blackman's, opened by local boy Renn Blackman and his wife Jess Guidice.

When we say "local boy", it's strictly true as Renn was born and raised half an hour down the road, but it's equally true that he's well travelled too. Before taking over the iconic Surfrider restaurant in Torquay's Bell Street, he first trained as a brewer at Edith Cowan Uni in WA before embarking on stints at The Monk in Freo embellished with a spot of keg washing at the Sail & Anchor across the road before the brewery was closed down. There followed a spell at the Old Swan Brewery on the banks of the Swan River in Perth before he joined the Aussie enclave at London's trailblazing Camden Town Brewery.

The lure of home brought him back to True South in Blackrock in 2013 and, when he and Jess were ready to head to the other side of Port Phillip Bay to open Blackman's, they brought the True South brewery with them. The Newlands kit was installed at the rear of the building and rapidly expanded while the former restaurant was given a stripped back industrial aesthetic, complete with taps protruding from white tiles behind the bar. Meanwhile, Mr Blackman senior was on hand to help turn Blackman's into the welcoming venue it is now, not least by building his son a beer garden from reclaimed WA timbers.

His input hasn't gone unrewarded as Renn and Jess decided to name the beers after members of the Blackman family; there's Bob the spiced witbier, Reg the IPA that Renn hopes will be the beer his brewery becomes known for, and so on. And fine beers they are too, with Renn showing from the off that his time on the road wasn't wasted. The quality of those beers have been noticed by the brewery's peers too, with Blackman's declared 2019's Champion Small Australian Brewery at the Australian International Beer Awards.

A friend he met on his travels was brought in to ensure the food side of the business was in step with the beers too. Mitch, the man behind Beersine – the Perth-based business that specialises in cooking with beer and creating beer dinners, worked with Renn at The Monk and spent three months helping set up the kitchen, designing the menu and guiding the chefs so they better understood the relationship between beer and food. He left a few of his goodies, such as Brettanomyces chilli sauce, behind too.

It's proven to be a combination of friends and family that saw Blackman's hit the ground running and keep going, with significant expansion of the brewery, the opening of a venue in Geelong, a second brand called The Barrel Farm and much more besides. And quite right too. After all, who doesn't love a tale of local boy done good?

Name
Blackman's Brewery
Address

26 Bell Street
Torquay
VIC 3228

Phone
(03) 52615310
Open Hours

Tues to Thurs: 4:30pm to 10pm
Fri & Sat: 3:30pm to midnight
Sun: Midday to 9pm


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

The Specials

Blackman's Brewery How's Your Day?
Barrel Farm by Blackman's Barrel Aged Golden Sour
Blackman's Brewery Happy Pants
Blackman’s Brewery Czech Pilsner
Blackman's Brewery Super Wonderful Hazy
Blackman's Barrel Farm: Lemon Sorbet Sour
Blackman's Brewery Just Another IPA: Mosaic + East Kent Golding
Blackman's Barrel Farm: Whisky Barrel Aged Gin Infused Cherry Porter
Blackman's Barrel Farm Double Yuzu Wit
Blackman's Brewery Just Another IPA: Simcoe + Topaz
Blackman's Brewery & Pink Boots Society Australia Hazy IPA
Show 55 more

Blackman's Brewery Regulars

Blackman's Brewery Pivot City Lager

Published September 2, 2022
Ballarat and Bendigo might be known for their gold but Geelong once played a - excuse the pun here - pivotal role during the Gold Rush. The deep water in this part of Port Phillip Bay made the city a natural shipping hub and as the railways built up too, the area known as The Pivot became an essential point where goods and gold were shipped from Barallat and the Western District to the rest of the world. You'll still find names and references to that history around the regional city and even the… Read more
Style
Australian Lager
ABV
4.3%

Blackman's Brewery Patsy Wildberry Sour

Published October 28, 2020
It's been a while since the original beer naming philosophy got a workout at Blackman's. Their initial core range all took names from co-founder and head brewer Renn Blackman's family members. And now it's time for great aunt Patsy to get a look in. She comes dressed in bold deep pink attire and sees a sour make its way into the year round Blackman's lineup for the first time, following many a limited release and those under side label The Barrel Farm. Remove her attire and she's more rose blush… Read more
Style
Fruit Sour
ABV
4.6%

Blackman's Brewery OG XPA

Published September 26, 2019
How can a brewery, even one as good as Blackman's, claim an XPA as the OG when there are so many around these days? When OG refers to their latest venture: a new beer and burger bar in Ocean Grove, just a few kilometres down the road from their OG brewery in Torquay. They pour a bunch of Blackman's beers there but the brewery team felt it also deserved one of its own. It's a beer that slots neatly into the part of the beer spectrum that increasingly appears to be where craft brewers aim when designing… Read more
Style
XPA
ABV
4.4%

Blackman's Brewery Lager Collective Juicy Banger

Published March 23, 2017
There aren't too many small breweries that produce lagers on a regular basis, let alone see them as a key part of their oeuvre. Yet they're close to the heart of Blackman's head brewer Renn Blackman. There's a fine lager as part of the brewery's core range and there have been others released along the way, sometimes as collaborations. Now, they've decided to make lagers the focus of a new series, one seemingly designed to show how many different directions you can head. First of the three beers scheduled… Read more
Style
IPL
ABV
5.8%
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

And select good beer venues

Blackman's Brewery Mervyn Pale Ale

Published December 22, 2015
Renn Blackman decided to brew a one-off beer for summer and came up with the Mervyn Pale Ale. Clearly things are going well for him and partner Jess at their Torquay brewpub because, with more than two months of summer left to run, they'd pretty much exhausted of the first batch and have a second one waiting in the wings. Anyone that's sampled Ernie or Reg (Renn's Aussie pale ale and IPA respectively) will be aware that he knows his way around playing with fruity New World hops and it appears that… Read more
Style
American Pale Ale
ABV
4.6%
Bitterness
35 IBU

Blackman's Brewery Bob Wit

The tasting notes for the Blackman take on the Belgian witbier style describe Bob as "eccentric" and a glance at the ingredient list confirms it's a little out of the ordinary. While the style is one to which fruits and spices are often added, the lineup doesn't usually include coconut alongside the citrus zest and coriander, but it makes an appearance here to add another layer of interest to a beer that's designed to offer refreshment for people walking off the beach and a little bit more. It's… Read more
Style
Belgian Witbier
ABV
4.3%
Bitterness
15 IBU

Blackman's Brewery Ernie Aussie Pale Ale

Now, we've not met Ernie but we're going to assume he's got a bit of character about him. Why? Well, while for many brewers the aim of a golden ale has been to rein in all hints of extravagance from both hops and malt to create something innocuous, the Blackman's Ernie – "made with sessionability and Sinatra in mind" – is quite the standout. Clearly, Renn has done it his way and loaded up enough Aussie Ella and Galaxy hops to ensure the drinker is welcomed in by a wave of floral and… Read more
Style
Aussie Pale Ale
ABV
5.0%
Bitterness
28 IBU

Blackman's Brewery Reginald IPA

The beer that Renn hopes his brewery will become known for is far and away the biggest hitter in the brewery's core range. A West Coast US IPA reinvented for the Surf Coast, it does just what you'd expect, with citrus, pine and stone fruit aromas leaping from its rusty amber body. A full, soft malt backbone ensures they don't do much in the way of damage to your bitterness sensors in a beer that has gone on to fulfil Renn's hopes and become something of a flagship for the brewery. It's also spawned… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.2%
Bitterness
65 IBU

Blackman's Brewery Arthur Smoked Porter

The beer that ticks the box marked "dark beer" in the Blackman's core range is another, like the Reginald IPA, that pulls no punches. It's a porter with all the trimmings, weighing in at a not insignificant 6.3 percent ABV and featuring smoked malt from Germany's home of the rauchbier Bamberg. The outcome is a deeply black and weighty beer with a touch of that unique sweet smoke aroma sitting atop layers of chocolate, burnt caramel and nuttiness. … Read more
Style
Smoked Porter
ABV
6.3%

Blackman's Brewery Winnie Cider

Brewer's notes: Cloudy, fruity, left of centre, unfiltered cider, Winnie is a little bit C-R-A-Z-Y! A dry sty;e that has a tart, effervescent finish.… Read more
Style
Cider
ABV
4.6%

Blackman's Brewery Lager

You could be forgiven that when a small brewery based in regional Australia adds a lager to its lineup its, as much as anything, a means of trying to offer something locals unaccustomed to heavy hitting IPAs can relate to. But if you look at Renn's brewing education it takes in time at The Monk in Freo, whose midstrength pilsner is a former AIBA trophy winner, and Camden Town in London whose Hells pretty much reinvented lager for craft beer-loving Brits (with a respectful nod to Meantime). So, he… Read more
Style
Unfiltered Lager
ABV
4.6%
Bitterness
28 IBU

Blackman's Brewery Specials

Blackman's Brewery How's Your Day?

Published February 20, 2023
They don’t seem like easy days but Same Day IPA days at Blackman’s Brewery always look like a whole lot of fun. The frequent event sees the brewery crew start early, dress up, launch their freshly-packed beer with style and spend hours travelling across Victoria to get a beer into venues and bottleshops so it can be enjoyed that very night. So the arrival of How’s Your Day? was always going to be a good one but the colourful can bring an extra wave of vibrancy. So too do the tropical and juicy… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.0%

Barrel Farm by Blackman's Barrel Aged Golden Sour

Published February 14, 2023
The Barrel Farm project from Surf Coast-based Blackman's has been running since early 2019, when it was announced via a Sour and Sour IPA. They've touched many bases over the intervening four years – an array of styles, ingredients and barrels – yet for all the tasty drops to drop along the way it feels like this is the sort of beer they've been working towards all that time: a milestone release years in the making and a reminder you can't cheat time. Golden Sour is a blend of three-year-old… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Golden Sour
ABV
5.5%

Blackman's Brewery Happy Pants

Published January 27, 2023
Happy pants might no longer be fashionable but Blackman’s Brewery’s love for West Coast IPAs has never disappeared. Given the fact such beers have continued to find success even in the face of juicier juggernauts, maybe the future is bright for fun but unfashionable pants too? Maybe you're holding onto a pair of torn-up pants from the 90s waiting for their day to come but it's quite likely the best time to try them is now as you crack a West Coast. Indeed, Happy Pants is about as classic a West… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
7.2%

Blackman’s Brewery Czech Pilsner

Published December 23, 2022
Lagers are enjoying a sustained resurgence in craft beer but Renn Blackman has long had a soft spot for them. Blackman’s Brewery has three in their core range these days, including Juicy Banger; a delicious IPL that appears to have outlasted the entire category. But you won’t find Czech Pilsner loaded with new world hops, with the beer instead a loving tribute to the likes of Pilsner Urquell. Before being brought out in cans for summer 22/23, this pils already had a storied life too, in part… Read more
Style
Czech Pilsner
ABV
5.2%

Blackman's Brewery Super Wonderful Hazy

Published December 15, 2022
Given the speed of new releases, sometimes it feels like the crew at Blackman’s Brewery collectively bleed West Coast IPAs. But as 2022 comes to a close, the Victorian brewery have produced a hazy filled with a hoppy punch in Super Wonderful Haze. Those super wonderful hops are Cryo Idaho 7, El Dorado, Citra and New Zealand’s Motueka and Taiheke which the brewery double dry hopped with. Pouring with a pale golden haze, there’s an immediate wave of nectarine nectar, while that’s joined… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Barrel Farm: Lemon Sorbet Sour

Published December 2, 2022
Blackman’s Barrel Farm series has often seen the brewery work closely with their mates and neighbours on the Surf Coast but Lemon Sorbet Sour started life a little closer to home. To brew it, brewery founder Renn Blackman popped around to his family’s home to grab some lemons from his mum’s tree before peeling them to add along with some of Torquay’s famous seawater. Without turning up uninvited, I think I can comfortably say that Renn’s mum knows how to grow lemons thanks to the beer’s… Read more
Style
Fruited Kettle Sour
ABV
4.4%

Blackman's Brewery Just Another IPA: Mosaic + East Kent Golding

Published November 14, 2022
The Blackman’s Just Another IPA series is all about unlocking uncommon hop combinations and it doesn’t really get more uncommon than Mosaic and East Kent Golding. The former is one of the quintessential American hops and is used extensively in IPAs across the world. While the latter has been around for centuries, is seen as one of England’s greatest and is often found in traditional cask beer and ales. So while they might have distinct personalities and have once fought a war with each other… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Barrel Farm: Whisky Barrel Aged Gin Infused Cherry Porter

Published October 28, 2022
Dark beers and whisky barrels have been brought together countless times and both brewers and distillers love adding fruit to their creations but this release feels particularly special. Blackman’s Whisky Barrel Aged Gin Infused Cherry Porter is part of their Barrel Farm series and as well as being a mouthful to say, is quite a mouthful to drink thanks to its web of flavours. The beer started life as a porter before spending six months in ex-NED Whisky barrels alongside some 100 kilos of Tasmanian… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Cherry Porter
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Barrel Farm Double Yuzu Wit

Published September 27, 2022
You might not know it if your only association with the stuff is through beer but yuzu is one ugly fruit. With thick skin, a squashed shape and lots of seeds, yuzu looks like a lime gone wrong. But fortunately, like with people, it’s what’s on the inside that counts and yuzu’s unique brand of citrus makes it a fitting adjunct for many beer styles. That’s certainly true for Blackman’s Brewery’s Double Yuzu Wit, which combines Belgian wit yeast, coriander, lemon peel and camomile. But… Read more
Style
Yuzu Witbier
ABV
6.0%

Blackman's Brewery Just Another IPA: Simcoe + Topaz

Published September 19, 2022
Single hop IPAs can be a lovely introduction to certain varieties and some hops just work perfectly together in a blend. But Blackman’s Brewery’s Just Another IPA series takes a less common path and by showcasing types that aren’t quite as commonly seen together, while in other good news for hop heads, the beers get released the same day they're packaged too. The second release lets Simcoe + Topaz shine, with the American and Australian hop coming together in a bold and bitter IPA. On the… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Brewery & Pink Boots Society Australia Hazy IPA

Published August 19, 2022
It feels like Pink Boots Society Australia have been in a constant state of collaboration in 2022, with the not-for-profit spending much of the year making beers to celebrate their tenth anniversary. Hazy IPA was brewed with Blackman’s Brewery, with the brew day on the Surf Coast recognising the superheroes supporting women working in the beer industry and having courageous conversations. The heroic hazy is filled to the brim with the current Pink Boots Blend from Yakima Chief Hops, which features… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.0%

Blackman's Brewery Just Another IPA: Citra & Motueka

Published August 2, 2022
Blackman’s Same Day IPA have long championed hops and freshness but in 2022, the super-fresh beer drop has been used to showcase unusual pairings too. Just in case you’ve missed the long-running series: as the name suggests, Same Day IPA sees the Victorian brewery package an IPA very early in the morning and get it to retailers straight away so hop lovers can enjoy the beer as fresh as possible. Just Another IPA meanwhile, is about hop combinations aren’t seen all that often, with the first… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Brewery Angry Reg

Published July 1, 2022
They love making IPAs at Blackman’s Brewery and fortunately, they tend to be quite adept at brewing them. Their Same Day IPA series has shown a spotlight on beer freshness, their Needs More lets singular (and occasionally dual) hops shine and before either of those beer series launched, they were brewing Angry Reg, a dialled up version of their popular core range Reginald IPA. It's since become something of a phenomenon too, with the big beer in big tins being released each year when the days are… Read more
Style
West Coast Double IPA
ABV
8.8%

Blackman's Brewery Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout 2022

Published June 25, 2022
It can be bitterly cold on the Surf Coast in winter and Blackman’s Brewery haven’t let the season pass them by without releasing a fitting beer for the coldest, wettest days out there. Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout is a 10 percent ABV and spent months sitting in barrels from Kentucky’s Maker's Mark and Knob Creek. It won't take long until you spot what that time in barrels has done either, with a mix of raisin, burnt sugar, toffee and vanilla all at play in the silky smooth beer. Joining… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
ABV
10.0%

Blackman's Brewery Needs More Strata & Laid Back

Published June 3, 2022
They’ve never been ones to shy away from new releases at Blackman’s but now their Geelong brewery has been operating for around a year, it feels like the breadth and speed of new beers is particularly impressive. Needs More Strata is the eighth member in the brewery’s single hop series, with this new entrant triple dry-hopped with the freshest Strata Blackman’s could get out of the States. The IPA uses both T90 pellets and Cryo Strata which provide a wafting wave strawberry as soon as you… Read more
Style
IPA & Nitro Stout
ABV
6.5% & 5.3%

Blackman's Brewery Super Hop

Published May 6, 2022
They never seem short of new IPA ideas at Blackman’s Brewery but even with beer drinkers and brewers constantly on a quest for the latest and greatest hoppy beers, it can be good to return to an old favourite. Super Hop is a West Coast IPA that was the first beer released under the brewery’s “Same Day IPA” banner in 2019 which saw kegs and cans delivered to Victorian venues and bottleshops the same day they were packaged. It's a release that certainly impressed too, securing a gold medal… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
7.2%

Blackman's Barrel Farm Autumn Ale

Published April 26, 2022
Maybe it’s thanks to the infrequency with which they’re brought together but there’s something about hearing the words “brown ale” and “Belgian yeast” that sparks joy. Sure, brown Belgian-style beers aren’t altogether non-existent, and an Oud Bruin or Flanders brown ale is a style many of Australia’s barrel brewers enjoy exploring. But an English-style brown made with Belgian wit yeast is another proposition entirely and is the approach Blackman’s have taken with their Autumn… Read more
Style
Belgian Brown Ale
ABV
5.5%

Blackman's Brewery Funky Town & Party Town

Published March 25, 2022
Blackman’s Brewery have released IPAs hours after they’ve been packaged, regularly showcase the wide world of hops with their Needs More series but these twin hoppy releases represent a different kind of release for the brewery. Funky Town and Party Town are the first double drop from Blackman’s and both 500ml cans are big and bold showcases of a wide mix of hops. In the case of Funky Town, it’s the smaller of the two at 7.3 percent ABV and the Cryo Hazy IPA features a range of different… Read more
Style
Cryo Hazy IPA & Party Town
ABV
7.3% & 8.2%

Blackman's Barrel Farm: Cherry Sour

Published March 10, 2022
There was a period a year or two ago when Blackman's were on a right old tear when it came to goses. Blink and you'd miss one, maybe two. Hops have been very much in favour for the Torquay-based crew more recently, but they're back in salty sour territory with this release from their Barrel Farm offshoot. Cherry Sour brings with it the familiarly downy texture common in their goses, aided by the addition of salt and the finest of beads. There’s a lovely soft pink head before it fizzes out of existence,… Read more
Style
Cherry Gose
ABV
5.0%
Stockists

Launching at the Geelong brewery here

Then available widely from March 11

Blackman's Brewery Beer Garden Lager & Big Happy Tears

Published February 22, 2022
There will be few brewing companies around Australia happier to see the lager renaissance than Blackman's. They've always had a lager as part of their offering, usually more than one, and tend to feature them as limited releases more than most. That's the case here with Beer Garden Lager, originally brewed for the beer garden at their Torquay HQ and now given a wider release. The name might have you imagining a traditional lager – the sort you'd knock back in giant glasses in between frequent trips… Read more
Style
Hoppy Lager & West Coast IPA
ABV
4.6% & 7.5%

Blackman's Brewery Cold IPA & Incredible Haze

Published December 5, 2021
Looks like there's been a fire sale on pastel colours in the Torquay area recently as two rather different modern IPAs make their pitch for a space in your fridge this summer. Cold IPA was first released in spring but has proven popular enough to get a second run, and given it featured in our first post-lockdowns four, five and six blind tasting (results on the site December 6) we figure it should get a run on the site. For those new to the new IPA variant, you can read more here. In simplest terms,… Read more
Style
Cold IPA & Hazy DIPA
ABV
6.5% & 8.5%

Blackman's Brewery The Barrel Farm: Table Sour

Published October 13, 2021
Travel back to March 2019 and how would you spend your time? Warn the world about COVID-19? What if nobody believed you? A better use of your time might be to just enjoy it, spend the afternoon enjoying the early autumn sun and breath in deep: you don’t need to worry about the particles in the air. Maybe head to a winery on Victoria’s Surf Coast, to enjoy a day picking chardonnay and pinot noir grapes with the crew at Blackman’s Brewery. Once those grapes are picked you can add them to a few… Read more
Style
Table Sour
ABV
4.5%

Blackman's Brewery Happy Tears

Published May 12, 2021
It's fair to say they've had plenty of practice crafting West Coast style IPAs at Blackman's over the past couple of years. Even putting aside the fact they've had Reginald in their core range since day dot, there's been a run since, say, Super Hop during which they've barely gone more than a couple of months without releasing a new one, not least since their Needs More... series kicked off. While that series has focused mainly on single hop expressions, here they want to have hop fiends crying Happy… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
7.5%
Stockists

Leaving the brewery on May 14

Blackman's Brewery Needs More Idaho 7

Published May 3, 2021
I still remember the first time. It was a limited release IPA from Cavalier showcasing nothing but Idaho 7 called, funnily enough, Idaho IPA, that was debuted at Good Beer Week almost five years ago to the day. The US hop variety might not have set the world alight like, say, Mosaic in the time since but I fully expect its presence to grow and featured it as the finishing hop in our Crafty Cabal relaunch beer, Disco Monks From Outer Space. Here, it stars in Blackman's Needs More Series, with this… Read more
Style
Single Hop IPA
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Brewery Needs More Mosaic

Published March 26, 2021
We're a few days late writing about this beer. Given the Blackman's team go to the effort of making Crafty Towers one of the stops on their "pack-and-deliver-on-the-same-day" mission, we feel we should do our best to taste that day and post the next. But, given they only learned I was in Canberra when the beers had already been deposited, here we are. That said, if my day six sampling is anything to go by, as long as you can find some, you're not going to be wishing for more hop character. The… Read more
Style
Single Hop IPA
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Brewery Needs More Amarillo

Published February 23, 2021
We quickly became big fans of Blackman's Needs More... IPA series in 2020, even plugging it as part of our end of year review for Victoria, so it feels like we've given the Torquay crew something to live up to. Clearly, they have every intention of doing so as they've already got three new versions of their hop showcase lined up for the early months of 2021 – we're putting on an event for Crafty Cabal members focusing on their hoppy beers in March too. The new year's run kicks off with a hop variety… Read more
Style
Single Hop IPA
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Brewery Needs More Mosaic & Simcoe

Published October 13, 2020
The all-the-hops-you-can-handle Needs More series from Blackman's is already up to number four, and this time comes with a wee tweak. Rather than showcase just the one hop variety, they've taken one of the hops that's dominated the global craft beer world in recent years, Mosaic, and partnered it with a big-hitter that's been around a little longer and starred in the July release: Simcoe. As for the latest character to adorn the cans, it's someone I last saw wearing a tie-dye dress, knocking out… Read more
Style
TDH IPA
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Brewery Tiramisu Imperial Milk Stout

Published October 2, 2020
Blackman's close out their Bakehouse trilogy with a bit of a blast from the past: a beer inspired by Tiramisu. If, somehow, you've never come across the Italian staple, it's a coffee-flavoured affair featuring ladyfingers, a whole lot of fluffiness and no little cocoa. So when you're welcomed by a fair hit of coffee as you crack the can you know they're on the right track. Once you've got to the key part of the process (drinking the beer) you find a streak of filter coffee riding through the middle… Read more
Style
Imperial Coffee Milk Stout
ABV
7.5%

Blackman's Brewery Raspberry Shortcake Imperial Pastry Stout

Published September 18, 2020
There's a good chance the first release in Blackman's imperial pastry stout series would have disappointed some pastry-chasers as, in a fashion typical of the Torquay brewers, it was far leaner and drier than the "Mudcake" of the title might have suggested. It made for a beer you could drink in a 500ml measure without suffering a seizure and a future dental bill running into the thousands, but didn't go overboard with the lashings of sticky sweetness some desire. The follow up doesn't either,… Read more
Style
Imperial Pastry Stout
ABV
8.7%

Blackman's Brewery Needs More Sabro

Published August 22, 2020
Current circumstances dictate that the only beers passing my lips of late are those arriving at the doors of Crafty Towers, most of which come in the form of samples or care packages. As such, my personal checklist for the year isn't as extensive as when regular interstate travel for festivals and to catch up with beer world friends old and new was a regular occurrence rather than a wistful pipe dream. Yet, even if I'd managed to sample every beer coming out of Aussie breweries in 2020, it would… Read more
Style
Single Hop IPA
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Brewery Needs More Simcoe

Published July 16, 2020
Normally, Blackman's on road legend Luke ensures their Same Day IPA releases arrive at Crafty Towers on the same day they're packaged so we can tell you about them ASAP to aid those seeking the freshest of hop hits. The release of Need More Simcoe was exactly the same, but with one small issue: there was no one home at Crafty Towers. Undeterred (and having made the trek across Melbourne), Luke instead left a four-pack as a gift to be discovered within a wicker basket upon our return. And what a welcome… Read more
Style
Single Hop IPA
ABV
6.5%

Hops to Home & Blackman's Hopsie & Homie

Published June 1, 2020
It's not particularly rare to come across brewers using essentially the same beer then changing one element – the hops, the yeast, the barrels, etc – to showcase the impact that change can have on the finished product. It's essentially what Blackman's have done here in partnership with online retailer Hops to Home although the different directions in which they've taken the base of this IPA leave them a long way apart on the beer spectrum. Hopsie is a West Coast IPA that fires of crystalline… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA & Raspberry Hazy IPA
ABV
6.6% & 6.7%

Blackman's Brewery Vanilla Choc Mud Cake Stout

Published May 25, 2020
You couldn't throw too many more words at the name of this beer that would make it significantly richer, sweeter or more gooey in your mind's eye. It sounds like the proverbial GABS stout and left the Torquay brewery around the time GABS should have been on. Yet the beer comes from Blackman's so isn't quite as it might have been in other hands... Sure, the experience is overwhelmingly one of dark chocolate fudge mud cake in a glass, yet these are brewers with a tendency towards dry and balanced finishes… Read more
Style
Vanilla Choc Stout
ABV
7.5%

Blackman's Brewery Needs More Citra

Published May 11, 2020
The Same Day IPA series sees the Blackman's team package a batch of IPA then deliver it to customers around Victoria on the same day so people can be enjoying hoppy goodness the same evening. For their first such beer of the COVID-19 era, that has meant a lot more deliveries straight to individual customers as well as retailers, a change up that has still seen the first batch disappear quickly with a second on the way. Needs More Citra is also comfortably the most overtly hoppy of a series that's… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.5%

Barrel Farm By Blackman's Sours

Published February 5, 2020
Since the latter part of 2019, Blackman's have been releasing a steady stream of sours under their Barrel Farm banner. Somehow, we never got around to writing about a couple of them upon release but with three now available and just one more to come we can at least play catch up... They're pretty distinct too, with the Raspberry & Acai Sour reminiscent of a healthy brekkie bowl or a superfoods smoothie thanks to its somewhat gelatinous texture. Prior to hitting the palate, it opens with red berries,… Read more
Style
Various Sours
ABV
5.2% & 4.5% & 6.0%

Blackman's Brewery Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time Hazy IPA

Published November 15, 2019
They've released plenty of IPAs over the years, launching with Reg, souping him up to Angry Reg, popping out a sour NEIPA under their Barrel Farm offshoot, creating the delightful Superhop and more. But this is their first hazy IPA, one they tell us comes loaded with "copious amounts" of US hops Mosaic, Simcoe, El Dorado and newcomer Strata. It sits at the sweeter, stickier end of the burgeoning hazy world, with sweetness a trait we've noticed in a couple of the early adopters of Strata.… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
7.0%

Blackman's Brewery Indie Ale

Published October 25, 2019
Australia's first Indie Beer Day – an initiative of the Independent Brewers Association – sees breweries, venues and beer lovers across the country unite to say #cheerstoindiebeer and put on all manner of celebrations in honour of the country's independent brewers. It also sees the launch of an actual Indie Ale, courtesy of Blackman's Brewery. This is no repackaged beer rushed out to take advantage of the day, either. Rather, it's the brainchild of their main man-on-the-road about Victoria, Luke… Read more
Style
Kolsch Style Ale
ABV
4.4%
Stockists

And good beer stockists where you find Blackman's beers

Blackman's Brewery Milk Choc Dark Lager & Hop Smash

Published September 26, 2019
Two limited releases at once for Blackman's as spring starts to warm up. One continues their fondness for lagers, and indeed darker ones, with Milk Choc Dark Lager sitting somewhere between a Schwarzbier and a chocolate porter in character. It's fuller in body than the former; indeed it comes across bigger than its 4.8 percent ABV would suggest, which allows for a richer chocolaty experience, with a drying roastiness there to add balance. As for Hop Smash, it's one of many collabs that first appeared… Read more
Style
Dark Lager & XPA
ABV
4.8% / 4.4%

Blackman's Brewery Coffee Lager

Published June 17, 2019
Coffee has been used in beer in many different ways over the years. Sometimes brewers want to add its roasty qualities to a beer, on occasion it's more about extracting the perfume like characteristics of the beans instead. And many methods have been explored in terms of how the coffee is prepared, and when and how it's added. So what of Blackman's collab with Geelong's Coffee Cartel? Well, let's just say they kept the approach simple. My tasting notes refer to a distinct and very coffee like roasted… Read more
Style
Coffee Lager
ABV
4.8%

Barrel Farm By Blackman's Quince & Honey Saison

Published June 17, 2019
The third release from Blackman's offshoot dedicated to beers of a more funky and farmhouse nature sees the Torquay team move from sour to saison. It's no straightforward saison, however, with locally sourced quince and honey added to the mix. As you might expect, the resultant beer sits at the fuller, sweeter end of the saison spectrum, a fair way from some of the wilder, tart affairs on the market. Richly fruity and malty upfront – and full of body too – with just a little perfume like fragrance… Read more
Style
Quince & Honey Saison
ABV
6.5%

Blackman's Brewery Super Hop West Coast IPA

Published April 26, 2019
The latest chapter in Blackman's push of the "fresh is best" message when it comes to their hoppy beers has arrived in the shape of the Super Hop West Coast IPA. It's the first in a series of beers that will be released every two months under the "Same Day IPA" banner and will see kegs and cans delivered to partner venues in Victoria on the day they're packaged. In other words, the brewing team will head into the brewery in the early hours, fill kegs and cans, then enlist the… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
7.2%
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

Bar Josephine

Nardi's Cellarbrations

More stockists...

Barrel Farm By Blackman's Sour & Sour NEIPA

Published March 19, 2019
Barrel Farm is a new side project from Torquay's Blackman's Brewery, where the brewers get to indulge their love of Old World blending and brewing. Apparently, inspiration dates back to a first visit to Cantillon in 2012 and, seven years later, has been launched with two beers. You wouldn't mistake either for a Cantillon beer, but you would find common ground with the sort of beers upon which Renn Blackman and team have built their reputation, as both Sour and Sour NEIPA work in subtleties more than… Read more
Style
Sour Ale & Sour NEIPA
ABV
4.5% & 6.5%

Blackman's Brewery Strawberry Gose

Published December 29, 2018
At the end of a year in which the limited releases from Blackman's have been prolific and innovative in equal measure – tomato and basil gose or seawater IPA, anyone? – they've had time for one more. It's sees them return to the gose style they've explored in many ways over the past year or two, this time opting for a relatively sane adjunct in the form of strawberries. The colour doesn't give much away, but the aroma does the job instead, where a soft strawberry essence is met by both saltiness… Read more
Style
Strawberry Gose
ABV
4.8%

Blackman's Brewery Sea Spray IPA

Published November 12, 2018
The Blackman's Brewery crew has never been shy when it comes to celebrating their surrounds and those around them. There's the beers named after family members, past releases tied to surfing competitions taking place just along the coast from their Torquay home and collaborations with local artists too. And, with this beer, they've gone and actually included some of their surrounds in the shape of seawater lugged from the nearby beaches and poured into an IPA. It's not the first time we've come across… Read more
Style
Seawater IPA
ABV
5.8%

Blackman's Local Standard Ale

Published November 2, 2018
Over the past couple of years, we've seen a sharp rise in the number of breweries adding beers designed for their locals – often bearing a name referencing their locale too – as well as mid-strengths to their offering. Here, with its Local Standard Ale, Torquay's Blackman's is doing both at the same time. At 3.9 percent ABV, it's a little higher in booze than many mids, but still well within "session" territory. It's also one that packs a pretty potent punch on the hop front, firing… Read more
Style
Session Ale
ABV
3.9%

Blackman's Brewery Loral Or Yanny IPA?

Published September 3, 2018
Way to interfere in a Saturday evening gathering, Blackman's Brewery... No sooner had the twin cans of Loran Or Yanny? hit the surface in the kitchen before the host is playing the Yanny or Laurel clip on his phone, his speakers and jamming headphones onto people's heads. Which, presumably, means the Torquay brewers have hit onto something with their latest pair of IPAs. The concept, inspired by the fact there's a hop called Loral, is to provide a bit of education for drinkers while garnering a marketing… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
6.2%

Blackman's Brewery Tomato & Basil Gose

Published August 1, 2018
There's little that's off bounds when it comes to brewers and ingredients these days and, for the most part, when we read about something new or quirky there's a frisson of excitement. Whether "tomato & basil" falls into that category is a moot point, bringing with it thoughts of pizza beer or Shapes accidentally dropped into your glass... Thankfully, the brewers at Blackman's have clearly applied the unlikely additions with subtlety. What's more, given this isn't their first rodeo… Read more
Style
Tomato & Basil Gose
ABV
4.8%

Blackman's Brewery Smooth Stout

Published July 5, 2018
It's felt a little like opposite day at times with the beers coming our way for sampling recently: plenty of dark beers seemingly designed to come across as more sessionable than their ABV would suggest and vice-versa too. Sure, there's been the odd barrel aged release designed to be as big as possible in every sense, but we digress... Were we to put Blackman's latest tall can into either camp, it would be the latter, with our notes claiming it "bats above its average in terms of impact and… Read more
Style
Stout
ABV
4.7%
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

And select good beer retailers in Geelong, Melbourne & regional Victoria

Blackman's Brewery & IGNI Soured Lager

Published June 7, 2018
For this lager, Blackman's worked with Geelong restaurant IGNI. But the collaboration didn't end there. No, they decided to get some local artists involved too, bringing in four of them to design labels for the beer. So, before we get to the inside of the can, a quick tip of the hat to (from top left clockwise) Hadyn of Torquay's We Are Purpose, Nick Mills, Casey Burill and Mel Macilwain. As for what's inside, it brings together two of the Blackman's brewers' favourite things: lager and sour beer.… Read more
Style
Spiced Sour Lager
ABV
4.6%

Blackman's Brewery Juicy Juicy Bang Bang Double IPL

Published June 7, 2018
One of the highlights of 2017 for many local beer drinkers was Blackman's Juicy Banger, the India pale lager that launched their Lager Collective series before becoming part of their year round lineup and making our Best New Victorian Beers of 2017 list. So what has the Blackman's team done: given you more. Juicy Juicy Bang Bang takes the original and soups it up across the board: more hops, more booze, more oomph. Unsurprisingly, it's a state of affairs that's turned out a beer that's fuller and… Read more
Style
Double IPL
ABV
7.5%

Blackman's Brewery Angry Reg DIPA

Published February 19, 2018
As time goes by and craft beer continues its seemingly inexorable rise, the education of both drinkers and retailers becomes an ever more important part of the process. Knowledge around how beer should be treated after it leaves the brewery so it reaches drinkers' glasses in the best possible condition is something the beer industry – brewers, retailers, passionate consumers, media – has been addressing in many and varied ways, particularly when it comes to highly hopped beers. And here, with… Read more
Style
Double IPA
ABV
8.8%
Stockists

Plus select outlets in VIC, TAS, QLD & SA

Nowhereman & Blackman's Coast To Coast IPA

Published February 7, 2018
Nowhereman Brewing’s Lager Party WA Beer Week event with Blackman’s Brewing offered the perfect opportunity to collaborate. So, on that warm November evening, as Renn Blackman and Nowhereman head brewer Paul Wyman sipped the clean drinking delights of bottom fermentation, their efforts from earlier in the day were beginning to bubble. Prior to starting out in the pro brewing game, the collaborators had been to beer school together and previously worked together at The Monk, in Fremantle, too,… Read more
Style
American IPA
ABV
6.0%
Bitterness
75 IBU

Blackman's & Barrow Boys You're Turning Violet Gose

Published December 11, 2017
At the start of the year, Blackman's released a blackberry gose. It was perfect timing as the Crafty clan happened to be enjoying a spot of summer camping nearby. Or so we thought. By the time we made it to the brewery mid-afternoon, every single can Renn and his crew had filled had already been picked up by locals. As we said back then, it was a sign of the times if ever there was one: a salty, sour, fruity beer selling out at a regional brewery in hours. Unsurprisingly, they're repeating the trick… Read more
Style
Fruit Gose
ABV
4.8%
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

And other good beer venues around VIC

Blackman's Brewery Lager Collective: Citra Black Dynamite & Zinger Slinger IPL

Published November 14, 2017
Early in 2017, Blackman's kickstarted its Lager Collective Series. As one of the few small breweries in Australia with as great – if not a greater – fondness for lagers as for ales, the idea was to showcase just how diverse the style could be. The first release was the Juicy Banger IPL, a beer in which they layered on big citrus and grapefruit aromas and flavours and won many fans in doing so. Two more beers have followed, with all three now out in cans at the same time. Citra Black Dynamite… Read more
Style
Hoppy Lagers
ABV
5.9% & 5.8%
Stockists

Good beer stockists across Australia

Blackman's Brewery Smokin' Beets

Published July 28, 2017
Renn Blackman has deservedly carved out a reputation as a brewer of clean, tight and, usually, to style beers. But every now and then he likes to get a little loose on the brewhouse, and that's the case with the Torquay brewery's latest limited release, a winter saison. It's a collaboration of sorts with ingredient supplier Bintani, which has supplied Renn and his team with a new saison yeast from Fermentis. To see how it performs, you'd have thought they might opt for a simple saison recipe. But… Read more
Style
Smoked Beetroot Saison
ABV
5.2%

Blackman's Brewery Blackberry Gose

Published January 21, 2017
A sign of the times. We received an email from Blackman's Brewery informing us they were releasing a new summer seasonal: a blackberry gose. It was to be tapped at their two venues and at the Ballarat Beer Festival on the coming Saturday. "Perfect," we thought, as we'd be passing by the brewery in Torquay on launch day so could taste at source before putting together the tasting notes. They'd canned some too – ideal for the campsite later that evening. One problem: by the time we rocked… Read more
Style
Blackberry Gose
ABV
4.8%
Bitterness
8 IBU
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

And select good beer outlets

Blackman's Brewery Festbier: Hopfen Weisse

Published October 25, 2016
Each year, Blackman's creates a beer for its Oktoberfest. The first was a lager that has gone on to become the unfiltered beauty that's part of the Torquay brewery's core range. And in 2016 brewer Renn opted to concoct a Hopfen Weisse, or hoppy German style wheat beer. If memory serves correctly, the first beer to take such a name was a collaboration between Brooklyn and Schneider-Weisse, while other Aussie versions have been seen in the past, such as Mad Brewers Hoppy Hefe and the one Brooklyn went… Read more
Style
Dry Hopped Hefeweizen
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

Select craft beer outlets

Blackman's Brewery Angry Reg Double IPA

Published September 21, 2016
Early in 2016, Blackman's Brewery's just-canned IPA Reginald took out the top spot in part I of our two-part IPA Blind Tasting, wowing our panel with its bold yet balanced character. Around the same time, the Torquay brewery released a bigger version called Angry Reg, a double IPA that ramped everything up again to 8.8 percent ABV and 85 IBU [International Bitterness Units]. It proved so popular that we'd barely noticed it was out and in need of listing on the site before it was pretty much gone. Thankfully,… Read more
Style
Double IPA
ABV
8.8%
Bitterness
85 IBU
Stockists

The Public Brewery

And select stockists in VIC, SA, QLD, TAS, NSW & WA

Blackman's Brewery Reginald IPA (cans)

Published May 10, 2016
After entering the packaged beer market with bottles brewed under license off site, Blackman's has brought everything back under its Torquay roof. They've taken delivery of a Cask machine from Canada and entered the world of canned craft beer. The plan is for all of their core range beers to end up in cans, but first to appear is Reginald, the brewery's American style IPA. The reason it's first in line is because you, the people, demanded it: in an online poll earlier this year, Reginald was the… Read more
Style
American IPA
ABV
6.2%
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

Then on national distribution

Blackman's & Barrow Boys Wet Hop Red Bock

Published April 21, 2016
The Barrow Boys' gypsy wanderings around Victoria took them on quite the trip for this collab with Blackman's. It started with Barrow Boys brewer Ash heaving north to Rostrevor Hop Farm to smuggle out 20kg of fresh Galaxy hops, at which point he hit the road for the Surf Coast. The reason being that he and Renn Blackman had pledged to brew a wet hop beer together while at Ballarat Beer Festival. Both being lager lovers, they'd come up with a recipe for a red bock and figured Galaxy would give them… Read more
Style
Wet Hop Red Bock
ABV
5.8%
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

Others TBC

Blackman's Brewery Bells Pro Session Ale

Published March 28, 2016
Given its location within the former Surfrider restaurant building a hop and a skip from the beach in Torquay, there's an obvious connection between Blackman's Brewery and Australia's surfing culture. And, with four of the country's top pro surfers having launched into the craft beer world with Balter on the Gold Coast, the link between the two worlds gets stronger still. So it makes sense that, as the Bells Pro takes place a few kilometres down the road from Blackman's, brewer Renn conjures up a… Read more
Style
Amber Ale
ABV
4%

Blackman's & 3 Ravens Sylvan Berry Berliner Weisse

Published January 11, 2016
If you're going to brew your first Berliner Weisse, you're as good doing it in the company of 3 Ravens' brewer Brendan O'Sullivan as anyone. He's picked up several awards for his home brewed takes on the style and is the man mainly responsible for the series of tastelessly tasty takes on the style released under Ravens' sibling label Mash Brewing, one of which took out a trophy in WA's awards last year. And that's what Blackman's has done, with brewer Renn hooking up with Brendan as well as a local… Read more
Style
Berliner Weisse
ABV
3.2%
Bitterness
5 IBU
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

Blackman's Brewery Imperial Smoked Porter

Published August 3, 2015
One imagines that, over time, Blackman's Brewery will become as well known for its lagers as any other beer. Not only are they one of very few small Aussie breweries that genuinely likes to make them but brewer Renn Blackman's history, including time at Camden Town Brewery, means he brews them damn well, as anyone who's become acquainted with his (now bottled too) Unfiltered Lager will attest. But, having concocted a few for Good Beer Week, when it came to choosing a beer to mark the Torquay brewpub's… Read more
Style
Imperial Smoked Porter
ABV
9.0%
Bitterness
70 IBU
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

Blackman's Brewery Rye Dark Lager

Published June 24, 2015
Renn Blackman is something of a rarity among local craft brewers in that he has rather a soft spot for lagers. In part, we assume it comes down to time spent at Camden Town in London, a trailblazing contemporary British micro that made its name with a German style lager when all others were focused on making ales. With Camden Town founder Jasper Cuppaidge heading to Torquay for a Good Beer Week collaboration feast, Renn had even more reason to add to his lager collection as the pair of them served… Read more
Style
Dark Lager
ABV
5.5%
Bitterness
49 IBU
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

Blackman's Brewery Versus Camden Town Imperial Pils

Published June 24, 2015
Lager loving brewers Renn (Blackman's) and former boss Jasper (Camden Town) joined forces to create a collaboration beer that was launched as part of their joint event as part of the 2015 Good Beer Week. It was one of four lagers poured on the night – two of them launching there and now making their way to a few other venues in Victoria and New South Wales. For their joint effort, they aimed high: this imperial pilsner nudges 8 percent AVB. And they also plundered an array of locally grown Aussie… Read more
Style
Imperial Pilsner
ABV
7.8%
Bitterness
55 IBU
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery

Builders Arms

Innocent Bystander

Baden Powell

More stockists...

Blackman's Brewery Bells Pro Pale Ale

Published April 1, 2015
Blackman's Brewery is in Torquay, where the beer is brewed just a hop and a skip from the surf. It means it's not much further away from Bells Beach, one of the world's most famous surf spots and home of the prestigious surfing competitions, the Bells Beach Rip Curl Pro. The 2015 comp kicks off in April, with Mick Fanning and co no doubt ready to work up quite a thirst. So it would be remiss of Renn Blackman and partner Jess Giudice not to offer them something to quench their thirst, which they're… Read more
Style
American Pale Ale
Stockists

Blackman's Brewery