# Cubby Haus



## Lecterfan (24/10/16)

So, I finally saved some coin and spent some time with a few fellow brewers at Ballarat's new microbrewery, Cubby Haus Brewing:

http://www.cubbyhausbrewing.com.au

First, I'd like to say how happy I am that Ballarat has a no-bullshit, fair dinkum microbrewery dedicated to producing a small, staple range of really good beers. He operates out of his shed, it'll be warm in summer, but with the big roller door open and the yarrowee creek behind him I think any whiff of evening breeze will make the place entirely hospitable for those few short weeks that Ballarat gets out of hand on the heat scale. 

To me, this is what a burgeoning microbrewery should be: a brewery he put together himself, clean, accessible amenities, comfortable and unassuming (no pretension), and good beer.

His weizen was quaffable...I preferred the older keg that had cleared and mellowed a bit, but the new keg (being a bit more stirred up) still had a refreshing tartness appropriate to the style.

The Australian Pale Ale was a solid, easy drinker that will appeal to those who enjoy a good, clean, ale, and also to those non-craft types who just want a decent bloody beer. It is closer in colour and flavour to Coopers red (sparkling) than Coopers pale, and (interestingly) is not a hoppy/APA type.

The ESB was a really solid beer, I compared the keg to the bottle and preferred the latter, mostly due to temp (it was not as cold as the keg), but he also stated that the bottle batch was a later batch and he had dialled in his process. In general, the later batch seemed more cohesive, with alll the ingredients working together.

The American Brown was a great brown ale, but to earn the name 'American', I think it really needed a bit more hop presence. It was, I think, the most solid of his beers.

I only had a small taster of his oatmeal stout, not being a big fan of the style, but it was also really solid.

The prices were all reasonable or what you would expect (and I have to admit this begrudgingly as I am a tight-arse who prefers to spend money on ingredients than someone elses beers), $22 for a 6 pack takeaway, basic pub prices for pots/schooners/pints. I will return.

If you are going through Ballarat, go and check it out. If you are on facebook, go and give him a 'like' and a 'share' - https://www.facebook.com/cubbyhausbrewing/?fref=ts - because this is the kind of place that Ballarat needs...somewhere to go for a decent beer where you can avoid the people who are only there for the trend factor. I wish him success, but not so much success that it loses its authentic roots and charm.


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## billygoat (24/10/16)

Was a very nice afternoon.
Nice brewery, good beers and a very friendly host.
Will definitely be going back.


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## spog (24/10/16)

The small setup reminds of Emersons in Dunedin,no big BS just getting the job done.


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## DU99 (24/10/16)

sounds a interesting place..


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## Lecterfan (24/10/16)

spog said:


> The small setup reminds of Emersons in Dunedin,no big BS just getting the job done.


It just so happens that - in my limited time in NZ - Emersons were my fave there also haha.


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## Dave70 (25/10/16)

Lecterfan said:


> To me, this is what a burgeoning microbrewery should be: a brewery he put together himself, clean, accessible amenities, comfortable and unassuming (no pretension), and good beer.


Or for that matter, a macro-brewery. You have to wonder sometimes why a product as simple as beer cant (by and large) seem to survive scaling. 
Its a great thing they're doing here. Best of luck to them.


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## chrisluki (25/10/16)

Sounds cool guys.

One thing I would be suggesting is that if they are looking to grow, they should take another look at their branding.


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## spog (25/10/16)

Lecterfan said:


> It just so happens that - in my limited time in NZ - Emersons were my fave there also haha.


I rolled up at Emersons just as they opened one morning wanting to by a tee shirt,they were out of what I was after so they gave me a different one free and an impromptu tour.
9.00 AM sampling from the bright tanks,niiiice !


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## herbo (25/10/16)

Excellent review LF. I agree.

It's also feasible to take small kids there, maybe only for a short time, but still ok. He has a train set on a table and a red trolley thing that can entertain them in short bursts. I would probably prefer not to take them but sometimes taking them along for a short time is better than missing out!


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## billygoat (26/10/16)

herbo said:


> Excellent review LF. I agree.
> 
> It's also feasible to take small kids there, maybe only for a short time, but still ok. He has a train set on a table and a red trolley thing that can entertain them in short bursts. I would probably prefer not to take them but sometimes taking them along for a short time is better than missing out!


I was going to push LF around on that red trolley thing but I lacked a bit of coordination later in the day.


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## Blind Dog (26/10/16)

Did you see how big his equipment was?

edit - I mean mash tun, lauter tun, etc. not any other equipment anybody else might be thinking of


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## Lecterfan (27/10/16)

Yep, he took us through his system etc - it's all easily visible from the bar but we went back and climbed all over it for a look. His output is currently 500L per batch from memory.


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