Mountain Culture

A crisp, piney Mountains Culture IPA feels like the right reward after completing the nearby Charles Darwin walk. This craft beer brand is on the up, with new taprooms now open in Sydney and Hobart – but none match the charm of the original Katoomba brewpub, set inside a 1912 printing house. Small-batch beers are brewed and canned on site, while larger quantities come from their production facility in nearby Emu Plains.

Owners DJ McCready, a former brewer at Mona Vale’s Modus Operandi Brewing, and partner Harriet use reverse osmosis water and imported hybrid yeast to craft their signature hop-forward, hazy ales. Start with a classic. The Status Quo New England Pale Ale was recently named Australia’s number one craft beer in the GABS Hottest 100 for its fourth consecutive year.