Dad & Dave’s Brewing is a family operation, that much is obvious from the name.
The home brewing duo turned pro and a few years later in 2017 opened up their Brookvale facility. They’re now neighbours to Nomad Brewing Co. as well as 4 Pines and their HQ truck bar.
A Family Affair
Dad (John) and Dave aren’t the only family members with an interest in the brewery. They’re joined by mum, Jess, Scott and James. In a beer landscape that’s still dominated by large international corporations, it’s nice to see small family businesses can still pop up and attract local support.
Approachable, Traditional Beer
The pair started brewing back in 2011 with the intention of making approachable, traditional beer (and to save a bit of money). The core range they’re brewing now certainly reflects that desire as it features a pale ale, a golden ale, a pils, and a Belgian IPA. The two both studied brewing courses to equip them for opening a brewery.
While most of the focus is on the core range of balanced and uncomplicated beers, they save up their creative juices for limited and special releases. Some of these make it into bottles, some are only available on tap at the brewery. They’ve even begun to dabble with barrel ageing.
Part Of The Scene
Dave’s background is as a chef, lending an appreciation to balance and flavour to his approach to brewing. After rapid growth at a home brewing scale, they made a commercial batch under contract arrangements before opening their Brookvale brewery and cellar door in 2017.
The addition of Dad & Daves Brewing strengthens the beer scene north of the bridge, adding to what’s probably the closest challenger to Marrickville’s crown as the craft beer epicentre of Sydney.
Their beers have received awards at Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show and the Craft Beer Awards.
You can find them in restaurants and bars around Brookvale, Manly and the surrounding suburbs. The bottles are also available from a number of Sydney’s leading independent and specialist bottle shops.
Beers:
- #1 Pale Ale
- #2 Belgian IPA
- #3 Dad’s Pils
- #4 Dave’s Gold