Brick Lane Brewing

They say it takes a village to raise a child and the African proverb certainly runs true for breweries.

For Brick Lane, their village was on the smaller side when 25 founders came together to launch the brewery in 2017. But among them were some big names from the world of sport – Billy Slater, Dan Carter and Eddie Maguire – along with others with prominent backgrounds in hospitality and the wider alcohol industry.

For anyone with a strong interest in Victoria’s craft beer industry, however, it would have been the man in the head brewer role that sparked most interest. Having started his professional brewing career at Bright in Victoria’s High Country, Jon Seltin’s beers reached a wider audience as the inaugural head brewer at Hawkers Beer when they launched in 2015.

And, clearly a sucker for punishment, Jon was keen to get involved in designing another state-of-the-art brewery alongside the Brick Lane team at their site in Dandenong.

That suburb on Melbourne’s outer edge is one that’s become a surprisingly popular home for craft beer, whether it’s those on the larger side like Brick Lane and the space shared by KAIJU! and Exit, or the community-focused brewpub that is BoJaK Brewing.

The site was chosen so Brick Lane would have space both to grow and to design a brewery capable of operating exactly how they wanted. Largely, this meant a focus on efficiency and sustainability, where waste could be reduced and energy repurposed across the brewery. They're keeping to those plans too; in 2022, major expansion – including a 100 hectolitre brewhouse alongside their original 50 hectolitre Braukon plus huge tanks squeezed millimetres apart – lifts their annual capacity to around 20 million litres, while a range of environmentally-friendly measures are central to the expansion too.

In the early days, the lineup of Brick Lane beers was one that showcased Jon and the brewers’ ability to dial in recipes, putting balance and approachability first. The likes of One Love Pale Ale, Base Lager and Red Hoppy Ale are, above all, beers to be enjoyed with mates, preferably by the pint or at a barbecue.

In 2020, those core beers were joined by the Someday Sour range of fruit-driven and tart refreshers, while the one-off releases have included their contribution to the All Together global collab led by New York’s Other Half, which turned out to be as good a hazy IPA as you’ll have come across from an Aussie brewer.

Beers bearing the Brick Lane name are by no means the only drinks to come out of the brewery, however. The team regularly brews for others, with a list of partners that encompasses some of the country’s best-loved indie brewers on one hand, major retailers on the other.

And it’s that word – partner – that seems to encapsulate the way Brick Lane’s story has evolved better than most. The brewery team collaborates regularly with people and organisations in and outside the world of beer, whether that’s their high profile sponsorship of Melbourne Storm or their work with Shane Delia’s Maha Go via the All Together project, one that helped feed hospo workers pushed into unemployment by COVID-19.

Then there’s the brewery’s spot at Queen Victoria Market, one they first occupied during the winter Night Markets of 2018, when they poured other indie brewers’ beers alongside their own. That partnership morphed into a permanent spot and, ultimately, the Someday Caravan, meaning this iconic Melbourne location famed for showcasing local food now offers local beer too.

When Brick Lane first emerged, the big names behind the project commanded much of the attention but, as the business has evolved, it’s been such moves – plus the arrival of beers like the fine modern IPA Supernova in their core range, and nolo offshoot Sidewinder – that define their position within Australia’s craft beer village as much as anything.

Name
Brick Lane Brewing
Address

41 Imagine Way
Dandenong South
VIC 3175

Phone
(03) 9525 0938
Open Hours

Thurs & Fri: midday to 6pm
(bottleshop sales only)


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

Brick Lane Brewing Regulars

Brick Lane Hi-Fi Dry

Published November 11, 2022
There's clearly never a quiet moment at Brick Lane. In 2022, they've completed a major expansion, become a registered B Corp and unveiled their ambitious plans around sustainable brewing. As the year comes to its end, they've also added a new beer to their core range lineup – and Hi-Fi Dry has them pretty excited too. The zero-carb Japanese lager is targeting beer drinkers looking for a “better for you” option when it comes to beer and, beyond the lack of carbs, Brick Lane state each one contains… Read more
Style
Zero Carb Japanese Lager
ABV
4.2%

Brick Lane Sidewinder: Lime XPA & Passionfruit XPA

Published May 11, 2022
Brick Lane kicked off their ultra low-alc Sidewinder range in 2021 and with two additional core range XPAs added in May 2022, it seems clear the brewery sees a big future in the alcohol-free space. Both beers are fruit-spiked post-fermentation and use the same base recipe as the brewery’s XPA Deluxe, with Lime XPA pouring a little cloudier than the regular XPA and even from its appearance, you can tell there might be some lime lurking beneath. If the colour wasn't a big enough giveaway, the big… Read more
Style
XPA
ABV
Both <0.5%

Brick Lane Sidewinder: XPA Deluxe

Published December 13, 2021
Having launched their Sidewinder range of ultra low-alc beers earlier in the year, Brick Lane have seen out 2021 with a second in that series. Whereas number one was a hazy pale that came in at 1.1 percent ABV, Sidewinder the second sits a little more comfortably in what we have come to know no-alc beers to be: sub 0.5 percent. Given the Melbourne brewers have long made such beers for others, we shouldn’t be surprised to find they know how to do them well. This one pours pale yellow and a little… Read more
Style
Alcohol-free XPA
ABV
<0.5%

Brick Lane Sunsetter Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Published December 13, 2021
Often it’s music that seems to inspire the names of Brick Lane releases but sometimes it’s more about the moment they’re trying to capture. That’s true for the limited-release and barrel-aged Trilogy of Fear series which explored beer’s darkest corners in the depth of winter and it’s just as true of their ginger beer, added to the brewery’s core range at the end of 2021. Sunsetter is designed for those long moments when the sun slowly goes down and you’re out enjoying the warm afternoons… Read more
Style
Alcoholic Ginger Beer
ABV
4.6%

Brick Lane Sidewinder: Hazy Pale

Published August 4, 2021
Brick Lane have been brewing alcohol-free beers for a range of contract partners for some time, so when you look at the Melbourne brewery’s lineup, it seems there’s an ultra low ABV-shaped hole in their core range. That hole was filled midway through 2021, however, with the launch of the brewer’s Sidewinder series, named after the boats from the 1970s and featuring a can that takes you there too. Breaking a little from the norm, the first in the series isn't below 0.5 percent ABV but instead… Read more
Style
Ultra Low Alc
ABV
1.1%

Brick Lane Backyarder

Published December 18, 2020
For all the eye-catching craziness that has come to represent much of the new release space in 2020, as the year draws to a close and summer sessions loom there's been a mini-flurry of rather more straightforward beers coming our way: uncomplicated lagers with the mainstream more than outer realms in mind. Among them is Backyarder from Brick Lane, a brewery that already has Base and Fine Line Lager in its oeuvre. This time around it's a mid-strength, and you don't need to be a genius to deduce what… Read more
Style
Mid-Strength Lager
ABV
3.5%

Brick Lane Draught

Published August 27, 2020
Throughout 2020, the brewers at Brick Lane have been playing around with hops, fruit, haze and acid but their latest release has a rather different brewing tradition in mind: the Australian draught. The black and red label has a striking simplicity and given this is a beer that’s “high gravity brewed”, provides “superior crispness and “fuller refreshment”, it’s pretty clear this is one intended to be bought by the six-pack, if not the case. The brewery wants you to share it with mates… Read more
Style
Lager
ABV
4.9%

Brick Lane Someday Watermelon & Raspberry Sour

Published June 19, 2020
There's no rhyme or reason to the beer world these days. Unless, of course, you live by the motto: more of everything, always. You'd typically expect to see brewers launch a range of easy-going, fruity refreshers in the lead-up to summer rather than at a time when people in their hometown are waking up to morning frosts. But Brick Lane must figure any day is good for Someday. The series launches with a twin set, including this Watermelon & Raspberry offering. It's the former that takes to the… Read more
Style
Fruit Sour
ABV
4.2%
Stockists

Available in VIC, NSW & QLD

Or order direct here

Brick Lane Someday Blood Orange Sour

Published June 19, 2020
One of two fruit sours to leave Brick Lane at the same time in winter 2020, Blood Orange is the leaner of the pair. While Watermelon & Raspberry is akin to a sorbet in a can, here you're hit with a blast of unmistakable blood orange aromas in a beer that continues comes at you with a singular purpose. Clearer in the glass than its compatriot, anything overtly sour or funky is kept well under wraps, yet there's still a sharpness to its cleansing edge. Fruity, refreshing, easy-going. James Smith… Read more
Style
Fruit Sour
ABV
4.2%
Stockists

Available in VIC, NSW & QLD

Or order direct here

Brick Lane Brewing Lager

When Brick Lane launched, you might have taken a look at their backstory and backers, which includes some big names from worlds such as sport and media, and figured this was unlikely to be an operation that, a few years down the line, would launch a lineup of fruit sours or take part in a global brew led by NYC hype-meisters Other Half. What you might well have expected was a lager with the majority of the country's drinkers in mind. By 2020, it's become a case of: "Why not have both?" What… Read more
Style
4.4%

Brick Lane Fine Line Lager

I'm not exactly sure where the cut-off between mid-strength and light beer is, or if it matters, but certainly Brick Lane have taken the approach that, when other brewers go low for their mid-strength offerings, they go lower. The Fine Line Lager – one of two lagers in their core range – tips the scales at a mere 3 percent ABV. But don't go thinking this is some watered down offering; it's actually the more classically minded of the two. Aromas are of the noble hop variety – floral and spicy… Read more
Style
Light Lager
ABV
3.0%

Brick Lane One Love Pale

As a lifelong Manchester United fan (at least until they appointed Mourinho – a step too far after the Glazer takeover that took me into the arms of Burton Albion, AKA The Brewers, in stead), the phrase "One Love" instantly brings to mind the banner that adorns the Stretford End at Old Trafford, itself a reference to the Stone Roses classic. So, let's see how I can weave that into Brick Lane's core range pale ale... I'll be honest, I'm struggling to work out how to find reference points… Read more
Style
Pale Ale
ABV
4.4%

Brick Lane Red Hoppy Ale

Let's get one thing out the way quickly: this Red Hoppy Ale isn't actually that red. It sits somewhere between copper and amber. But, semantics out of the way, what's it actually like? The first thing that comes to mind is brittle, albeit one low on the nuts, higher on the sweet, sugary stuff holding it all together. The meeting of specialty malts and fruity hops creates a mix of soft berries and nougat on nose, then dry, toasty, doughy malt and a touch of spice on palate. I'd go with American amber… Read more
Style
American Amber
ABV
5.3%

Brick Lane Supernova IPA

One Love. Supernova. Is there a Mancunian music lover lurking within Brick Lane, one smart enough to now it's worth trying to appease both sides of the red/blue divide? Certainly, there are brewers who understand how to create an IPA for the current climate. Supernova is very much of its time: pale in colour with candied tropical aromas, pine and pineapple, plus hints of liquorice adding depth, of which the hop combo at play here provides plenty. Keep going and a dankness makes its way into proceedings,… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.8%

Brick Lane Brewing Specials

Brick Lane Trilogy Of Fear (2023)

Published May 26, 2023
Brick Lane's deep, dark and brooding Trilogy of Fear has returned for 2023 and, this time around, the beers hide a deadly secret. OK, it’s actually pretty cool rather than deadly, with the textural cans changing with the temperature. In keeping with the movie theme of the series, we feel it wrong to give away any endings, but there’s a lot to be said for creating beers that tell a story without the need to even crack a can open. Once again, the series is a deep dive into some very unusual woods,… Read more
Style
Imperial Stock Ale & Wood-Aged Imperial Stouts
ABV
10.8% & 11.0% & 11.0%

Brick Lane Trilogy Of Fear (2022)

Published July 1, 2022
Brick Lane’s big, black, boozy saga is back for 2022, with a new Trilogy of Fear ready to shock and awe the senses during winter's depths. Much like 2021's iteration, the trio started life as one single beer before walking down different dark paths; what links them is their jet black colour, viscous texture, and how each is inspired by the dark recesses of North America. Although it’s the biggest of the three – nudging 11.6 percent ABV compared with the paltry 11.1 percent ABV of the other… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Imperial Stouts
ABV
11.6% & 11.1% & 11.1%

Brick Lane Trilogy Of Fear 2021

Published August 9, 2021
For such a sizeable brewery, Brick Lane certainly seem keen to release myriad beers across as short a time as possible. In a little over a week, they’ve gone for a New Zealand IPA, launched a low-alc series with a 1.1 percent hazy pale ale and given us three barrel-aged imperial stouts. It’s the last of those we come to now, with the beers known as the Trilogy of Fear and being the first barrel-aged releases from the brewery, which given that fact, are fittingly based around a fear of the unknown… Read more
Style
Barrel-aged imperial stouts
ABV
12%, 12% & 10.4%

Brick Lane Avalanche Hazy IPA - Winter 2021

Published August 2, 2021
Brick Lane’s hazy exploration of hops continues in winter 2021, with the brewery looking across The Ditch for their latest Avalanche. The series first launched midway through 2020, followed by an IPA containing freshly-landed hops from the Northern Hemisphere, and now it’s New Zealand's Motueka, Wai-iti, Riwaka – plus some Strata from the US – who have a chance to shine. The hops see a mix of tropical flavours coming to the fore, with melon largely leading the charge followed by lime, green… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.7%

Brick Lane & Pink Boots Society Stereobreaker

Published June 2, 2021
With beer names like One Love and Supernova, we’ve long suspected there’s a large number of music lovers working at Brick Lane and their latest limited release seems to prove that beyond any doubt. Or maybe we've worked out who the biggest music fan at the brewery is, since Stereobreaker is a rye pale ale brewed by Victorian members of Pink Boots Australia and led by Brick Lane’s Emily Usher. It's a beer that's built around this year's Pink Boots Hop Blend from Yakima Chief Hops which consists… Read more
Style
Rye Pale Ale
ABV
5.8%

Brick Lane Guardian & Morning Star

Published April 20, 2021
Often it’s music references that seem to drive Brick Lane’s naming conventions but, for their twin releases in April 2021, the brewery instead looked to the heavens for for inspiration. Given the idea – and the yeast – heralds from Belgium’s Trappist breweries, those religious undertones seem particular fitting, as too does the fact both come in bottles as opposed to the regular schedule of Brick Lane releases in cans. Guardian is the lighter coloured – though boozier – of the two:… Read more
Style
Belgian Tripel & Belgian Dark Ale
ABV
7.8% & 7.1%

Brick Lane Avalanche Hazy IPA – Summer 2021

Published February 17, 2021
Given it took me three full weeks to stop listening to We Will Always Love You on repeat (no word of a lie – ask Mrs Pint), I'm pretty invested in anything referencing the ground-breaking Melbourne artists. Thankfully, Brick Lane's brewers are pretty invested in their Avalanche Hazy IPA series, as evidenced by their decision to host a Zoom chat to talk about their plans for the beer as number two – a showcase for freshly-landed Northern Hemisphere hops – heads out across Australia. It was a… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.7%

Brick Lane Birds Of A Feather Series

Published December 9, 2020
To welcome summer, Brick Lane unleashed their fruited sour series Birds Of A Feather, three different beers featuring six different fruits and built upon one base recipe. They might well be Brick Lane's most eye-catching cans too, with each colourful beer showcasing different feathery characters. Like many modern iterations of the style, they’re not particularly sour; instead, it’s largely the featured fruits that do a lot of the heavy lifting, while the 6 percent ABV means they're all rather… Read more
Style
Fruit Sours
ABV
All 6.0%

Brick Lane & Carwyn Cellars All Together West Coast IPA

Published September 11, 2020
In April, Brick Lane and Carwyn Cellars teamed up as part of the global campaign launched by New York’s Other Half Brewing to support hospitality workers affected by COVID-19 closures; you can read our story about it here. First time around, the collaborators opted for the hazy version of All Together Beer and, in September, with Melbourne into its Stage 4 lockdown, the decided to brewed the other Other Half recipe in the shape of a West Coast IPA. Proceeds from every sale of the beer are going… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
7.4%

Brick Lane Red Right Hand DDH Red IPA

Published September 2, 2020
Red Hoppy Ale has been been a part of Brick Lane’s core lineup since the brewery first fired up and with this seasonal, the brew team has turned things up to eleven to deliver the DDH red IPA, Red Right Hand. The name might channel Nick Cave and memories of Tommy Shelby's elegant violence but the striking can artwork brought to mind Avatar: The Last Airbender. That said, an anime series probably isn't what they were thinking by giving the beer the tagline “A Beer With Bad Intentions”. Like… Read more
Style
DDH Red IPA
ABV
7.8%

Brick Lane Avalanche Hazy IPA

Published August 14, 2020
Brick Lane really are stepping up the frequency of their limited release beers as we move through the second half of 2020; a fortnight ago it was the dark hoppy ale with one foot in winter and the other in spring and now it's followed by a beer with both feet in next season: the hazy Avalanche IPA. It’s a name that adds a little more weight to our theory that the team at Dandenong has an eclectic taste in music, while stylistically it's not their first foray into such territory either, with the… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA
ABV
6.7%
Stockists

For more, or to order online, head here.

Crafty Cabal members get a discount on all case orders too

More stockists...

Brick Lane Revolver

Published July 31, 2020
Brick Lane’s Revolver aims to appease the innate need in many craft beer drinkers to switch to darker drops during the winter while also providing them with a reminder that spring isn’t too far away. Dubbed a Dark Hoppy Ale, the winter release leans comfortably towards black IPA territory, combining dark roasted malts with the American hops Ekuanot and Simcoe and booze content that's nudging towards six percent. The brewery’s calling it a dark beer with a bright soul but given the name you… Read more
Style
Dark Hoppy Ale
ABV
5.8%