About

The Story

Coldstream Brewery is owned by lifelong mates Mike and Rohan. Born two weeks apart in the same hospital and attending the same kindergarten at the age of four – they quickly became best friends. They grew up in the same country town in Gippsland and have remained friends throughout their lives.

Mike and Rohan first found an appreciation for the beer world on their travels around Europe in their early twenties. Mike and his then-girlfriend, now-wife worked as Veterinarians, while Rohan worked in pubs and bars. Rohan was able to happily immerse himself in the European beer culture – and drag Mike along for the ride!

The flavours they discovered in European beers provided a real lightbulb moment for the duo. They knew there was nothing like it on the market here in Australia, and that they had to take these flavours and beer-drinking experiences and combine it with everything they loved about Australia.

Coldstream Ciders

When Mike and Rohan returned to Australia, they knew they wanted to create their own brewery. They shared their plans with three other friends, one of whom knew how to make traditional apple cider. These five friends, who still get together to play basketball, saw a gap in the cider market and decided to take the plunge and create a brewery together, even if they couldn’t make beer!

The Brewery

With the cider idea ready, they needed a brewery. They began by purchasing their original brewing kit online, sight unseen in New Zealand in 2005. They travelled to Drury, just outside of Auckland, with only three days to carefully dismantle the brewery, and pack it into shipping containers. It only just fit!

Once the kit arrived in Australia, the next task was finding a site for the brewery as they now had the brewery, but not the site to set it up.

Coldstream, Vic

Located in Victoria’s world-renowned Yarra Valley, the Coldstream Brewery building has a long and rich history. It has had multiple lives including a tannery, a general store, a Chinese restaurant, and an antique shop. And it sat in the perfect location – Coldstream, which is often referred top as the gateway to the Yarra Valley.

The town Coldstream is known for its cold winter mornings and for these friends, that translates into crisp beers and ciders. When the site went up for lease, they knew it was the venue for their brewery. They went to work quickly, renovating the building to make it work for the brewery kit that had been purchased. A room at the rear of the original building was designed and constructed to house the brew kit. They called on tradie friends to help with the demolition of walls and floors – it was all hands on deck!

Back in 2007, brewing independent beer wasn’t as popular as it is now, so the team was very much making it up as they went along, and had a lot of fun doing it! Coldstream Brewery began with the iconic range of ciders, then moved onto a core line up of beers including Pilsner, Golden Ale, Pale Ale, and Porter which were all inspired by those European holidays.

From the start, the team at Coldstream Brewery have focused on quality, which is why the great taste of their beers and ciders remains unwavering to this day. Eventually the business took off, and more room was needed in the venue, so the difficult but worthwhile decision was made to move the original kit to Moorabbin.

The original kit might not be at the Coldstream site nowadays, but it still brews the beers. Recently, a nano brewery was installed that has allowed the team to test small batches at the Coldstream site, creating seasonal brews which patrons can enjoy all year round at the venue.

Our Home

Today, the team still calls Coldstream Brewery home, with the full range of beers and ciders on tap, and a full bar and restaurant.

At Coldstream Brewery there is a focus on providing great tastes and authentic experiences for everyone who walks through the door. The entire team are innovative in all they do and are always striving to improve. As a result, the staff are part of the family, passionate and dedicated people who are customer focused. They all understand the tiny details matter and strive to make sure every experience is always the best.

The Coldstream Brewery has been involved in several charitable efforts over the years. This has included the recent “Parma for a Farmer” fundraiser and supporting local homeless charities. During the COVID-19 crisis the brewery provided over 100 kitchen meals a week to those in need with the Holy Fools charity in 2020. And they are always ready to support the local footy and cricket clubs!

The Shivering Man

Visitors to the brewery often ask who or what is the Shivering Man. The Shivering Man takes pride of place on the roof and on the product labels. He represents both the cold climate of Coldstream and the bravery of baring it all and take the plunge to follow your passion – which is exactly what five mates did back in 2007 to make Coldstream Brewery what it is today.

Our iconic frontman has evolved recently to be an adventure loving cannon-balling man. After almost 18 years, we realised that movement better represented how we approach live – ALL IN! You will slowly see the shivering man change over the next few years. No matter the form he takes, we are still the same group of enthusiastic people willing to anything a go.