Cascade Brewery, Hobart

Even if you don't like beer visiting Hobart's Cascade Brewery is worth it just for its spectacular location. Nestled into the hillside the old brewery building is a stunning sight - it just feels old and looks beautiful.  On the day The Boy, Ms Irish and I visit the brewery there is mist hanging low on the hills behind the brewery - breathtaking.

Whilst I'm gobsmacked by the stunning location The Boy is more excited about brewery tour we're about to embark on. He also goes a bit mad in the gift shop after the tour - leaving with a Cascade hoodie and about 7 different types of beer as X-mas pressies.

The tour goes for about 90 minutes and costs $22 per person which I think is pretty good value. We start with a talk from our guide on how beer is made and the history of Cascade. 

After the introductory talk we then get onto the good part of the tour - visiting the actual brewery. We get to see the fermentation tanks as well as the bottling plant. It's all pretty noisy so a bit hard to hear what the guide was saying...oh well.

After the tour we head back to the bar to sample some of the fine brews that Cascade has on offer. The tour price includes three free tastings and The Boy goes wild trying different types of beer. I'm not much of a beer fan so sample some ginger beer, apple cider and raspberry cordial - all brewed by Cascade and all delicious.

After the tour we had planned to have lunch at the restaurant however we'd spent too much time beer tasting and missed out on the lunch menu. Lucky for us there was a snack menu on offer as we were both starving by this stage.

We shared a Damper with Dukkah as well as a Beer Battered Fish and Chips. The fish and chips were fantastic - the beer flavour in the batter really stood out, but not in a overpowering way. I wasn't such a fan of the damper with dukkah though - mainly as the damper had chilli in it which I didn't think married too well with the spices in the Dukkah...The Boy however loved it.

And as we always say it's not a proper meal without dessert. The Boy ordered a small tasting serve of Stout Ice-cream ($3.50). Bloody hell, this was FANTASTIC! The Stout gave the ice-cream a really unique flavour, definitely a hint of beer but more of a rich caramel flavour really.  The ice-cream was very creamy, and quite "chewy"...in short it was FANTASTIC!

Cascade Brewery is at 140 Cascade Road, South Hobart, Tasmania. Phone them on (03) 6224 1117. Even if you don't go for the tour it's worth a visit just for the Stout Ice-cream...trust me!