3 weeks Ago By Rachel Fenner
Is there a better way to begin a Sunday than with a pint of beer in hand? Thanks to Hidden deTours’ Behind the Scenes beer tour, that’s exactly how this reporter began their day. The tour lets up to 12 guests get up close and personal with brewers responsible for some top beers being crafted south of the river. It begins with guests being picked up at Kwinana train station and driven to the first brewery on the list, Brewship.
Owner Luke Breedon began his career in the Australian Defence Force before doing a u-turn and opening his out-of-this-world-themed craft brewery in Cockburn seven months ago. It’s a family affair with partner Chris McComb and daughter Trish both helping out at the small bar hidden in the industrial area. Eight beers are on offer for tasting, beginning with the Brewship draught, a crisp lager with a touch of bitterness.
A standout was the Brewship red ale, which could have been due to the time of morning as its caramel biscuit flavour proved an ideal stand-in for the traditional morning coffee. Breedon gave any future brewers invaluable insight into his experience in taking brewing from a hobby to a thriving small business. The beer tour moves to Found in Byford, where the head brewer is Will Irving, formerly of Feral and of Biggie Juice fame.
He’ll encourage people to get up close and personal with hops, malt and barley by way of smelling, and even a nibble of the beer-making ingredients. We played a fun guessing game where using just smell, we had to decide where in the world three different types of hops were grown. To my surprise, the strongest-smelling hops were grown in Europe, but I got the origin of the milder-smelling US hops correct.
Chatting with Irving, whose knowledge of beer is second to none, over lunch was a highlight of the tour. Six beer tastings were on offer at Found, beginning with a refreshing yuzu wheat beer and ending with the dark Found x Pound coffee brown. A highlight was the Northern Lights IPA enriched with hemp terpenes, an ingredient known to help with insomnia, pain relief and anxiety.
After a filling lunch from the recently launched new menu of fried chicken, hot wings, wood-fired pizza, squid and olives, Irving let us try three bottles of beer from his private collection. The tour finishes at King Road Brewery, recent winner of 92.9’s best pub in Perth.
Usually, a visit to this popular pub means fighting for a carpark and then struggling to find an empty table, but on this tour, the bus lands patrons at the front door to meet sales manager Rhydian Lewis for a tour of the production side of the business. Our group was then guided to a reserved table to get stuck into a tasting platter of three beers including King Road’s lager that won best in Australia two years ago. Ginger beers were on offer for those tired of beer.
Hidden deTours has been promoting local producers and delivering experiences throughout WA for 11 years. As a beer lover, the access to brewers and behind-the-scenes look to see how the booze is brewed that the tour offers is priceless. Designated driver Monique Boucher was a font of knowledge about the history of beer in WA and the three breweries visited.
Ms Boucher said the bevy of craft beer producers south of the river should be shown off. “I absolutely love the Rockingham and Peel area and I’m thrilled to showcase the natural beauty, rich culture, craft producers, hidden history and awesome hospitality that makes this region shine,” she said. Hidden deTour also has a Rockingham Peel Wine, Beer and Spirits Tour for private and corporate groups, which takes in four venues over six hours including breweries, wineries, distilleries or bars.
* The reporter attended as a guest of Hidden deTours. Tours cost $150 a head and run on September 22, October 20, November 24 and December 15. For more information, visit hiddendetours.
com.au/rockingham-brewery-tours ..
