QHA_August-2021-Digital

A CRAFTY BUNCH
GRANITE BEER
QHA REVIEW | 54
Creating commercial-grade brews for the public has
a little bit more pressure for perfection than a home
brew and for Geoff Davenport who owns Granite Belt
Brewing in Stanthorpe, it was trial and error teamed
with a little help from the inlaws.
“We trialled a few and adjusted a few times, but the
Irish Red Ale is something we were happy with the
first time because my in-laws are Irish, so I’ve done
21 years of hard labour so I’m now Irish as well,”
Geoff said.
“We were really blessed because my cousin’s fatherin-law
ran a micro brewery in Western Australia so he
came over and really helped us put the equipment
together for the first four or five brews which was
brilliant. But some of the brews have evolved because
of what people like,” Geoff added.
At Granite Belt Brewery, patrons can see how the
brewery works from a viewing lounge, they can smell
the ingredients and enjoy an explanation from staff
on how the brewing process takes place. In the Brew
Bar, there is a tasting paddle on the menu to explore
all the brews on offer, while there is also lunch and
dinner available from the restaurant.
“We have our core beers and then we also do our
seasonal brewing. I’ve just released a 9.5% Imperial
which is really smooth, it has cocoa aromas and a
deep dark chocolate flavour, it’s warming with 9.5%,”
Geoff said.
“Our most popular brew would be the Irish Red Ale
which has caramel and toffee notes, but we also
make pale ales, lagers and a cider which uses locallyproduced
apples - of course being from Stanthorpe
- and our cider only has two ingredients, apples and
yeast..
“We’re not trying to be hoppiest brewer, we’re just
looking for the easy-drinking beers for any scenario,
we have the mid strength, pale ale, a porter for night
time, there’s a beer for every situation, so we’re not
trying to be completely different,” Geoff added.
The brewery is an extension of the Granite Belt
Retreat which Geoff and wife Dee purchased about
12 years ago.
“There was a restaurant, a function room as well
as 20 cabins, but we felt like it needed something
else and Geoff grew up watching his father make
home brew, so it was something we both had an
appreciation for thanks to our heritage which it Irish
and Scottish,” Dee explained.
The couple had recently returned from the UK when
they purchased the Retreat and missed the variety
of beers they had become accustomed to overseas.
Noticing a hole in the market, and being a regional
town where it was hard to access craft brews, the
pair sought to add a brewery to their business.