Some breweries feel like they could be anywhere. A nice taproom with wooden tables in a warehouse that could just as easily be in St Kilda as South Sydney or the Sunshine Coast.
Hobart Brewing Co is not like that, however. Strolling into their vast waterfront beer garden and famous Red Shed in Hobart’s old railyard precinct, you get an unmistakable sense of time and place. Full of history and old-world charm, with Mount Wellington looming in the distance, HBC feels like a truly Tasmanian brewery.
“Hobart's backyard is probably the best way to describe it,” is how marketing manager and licensee Nick Devereux puts it. “The venue itself is quite raw and stripped back with a really chill vibe. I wouldn’t describe it as a formal taproom experience.”
Inside the shed, the taproom is rustic and eccentric: there’s a corner bar built from steel rods and concrete with malt-bag light shades hanging overhead. For a second, you think that’s it, then you spy the enormous adjoining room housing the brew kit, a free pool table, and the stage which hosts a regular lineup of live music and comedy right by the gleaming stainless tanks.
But it’s outside that HBC really shines, thanks to the colossal communal beer garden full of tables, plants, industrial containers, a huge painted mural and plenty of nooks and crannies waiting to be explored. Throw in several food trucks and the buzz of live music and it’s almost impossible to beat this spot on a breezy Hobart summer day. In winter, it gets pretty lively too, with crowds rugging up around the beer garden’s blazing fire pits with dark ales and stouts in hand.
Of course, this wharfside wonderland would fall flat if the beers underwhelmed but, thankfully, they hold their own and more. Started in 2014 by founder Brendan Parnell and American-born brewer Scott Overdorf (who retired in early 2024 and prompted a Craft Beer Heroes tribute on these pages), HBC have become of Tasmania’s largest producers of craft beer on the back of a very solid, very tasty core range that features a pale ale, cream ale, IPA, mid-strength hazy and their first ever drop, the delicious Tassie amber ale named Harbour Master.
To keep the interest of locals piqued, HBC also offer a range of special releases and pilot batches (previous editions include a fresh hop IPA, a blood orange and vermouth sour and a tiramisu stout, just to name a few), plus a sizable local wine and spirits list to boot.
“We've got 14 beer taps at the bar so we’ll always have special keg-only releases too to keep the variety alive,” Nick says. “It’s a creative outlet for our brewers and a great way to get more experimental and have some fun too.”
In addition to grabbing a fresh pint in the sun or around a roaring fire, punters can also catch a slew of entertainment including regular trivia nights, touring comedians and a rotating roster of local live acts. It’s just another reason to visit this unmistakably Tassie watering hole.
“We offer people a unique space that’s unpretentious and one you probably wouldn't see outside of Tasmania,” Nick says. “Just a five minute walk from the CBD and suddenly you’re in a half-acre beer garden where you can enjoy a pretty relaxed beer.
“I feel like they're putting out some really, really, really good beers at the moment and we’d love people to come check them out.”
Jason Treuen
