Brews with a view

With unparalleled views, a wide range of beers on site and a menu packed with flavour, Scarborough Harbour Brewing Co has made its mark on the Moreton Bay region since opening about 18 months ago.

The creation of husband and wife team Sonia and Guy Schweitzer, the brewery is home to the Upper Deck taking in sweeping views over Scarborough Harbour, and the Engine Room fitted with vats where the venue’s signature brews are made.

Sonia says Scarborough Harbour Brewing Co took about three years to come to fruition, taking into account planning and approvals, but was well worth the wait.

“We really wanted this place to become the new local – we focus on making customers feel welcome,” she says.

“It’s unique – not many breweries have this outlook.

“It was definitely Guy’s passion to open a brewery, but a contract in WA for his engineering company forced a relocation to Port Headland and then we went into COVID lockdowns so we only saw him twice that year and the brewery became my project.

“In the first six months we had many changes in the management team. This lead me to step into a more hands-on role with the day-to-day running of the brewery.”

Unique touches

The Engine Room bar and dining area, which also overlook Scarborough Harbour, is a cosy area fitted with dozens of metres of copper piping lights crafted by Guy.

“He drilled all the holes in the piping for the lights to shine through,” Sonia explains.

The bar is set against a backdrop of vats filled with blends with nautical names – there are about a dozen on tap at any given time.

Brews a nod to the region

Firm favourites such as the Reef Point Lager, Thirteen Hills XPA – named in honour of the Glasshouse Mountains, Bay West Coast IPA and Mariner Mid-Strength are on the menu year-round, but there’s also a rotating suite of new flavours to try, some of which make it onto the permanent list.

“Our lager is our biggest selling beer and then it really swaps around,” Sonia says.

“The Sailors Strawberry Sour is very popular – it was going to be limited edition but it’s won medals in Queensland and internationally.”

Before the brewery was established, Sonia and Guy contracted brewing to an outside company, moving operations onsite about five months after the venue opened.

Now head brewer Sam Nunnikhoven and brewer Eddie Fleck are filling kegs with their brews and canning for takeaway and other stores and venues.

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A large mural of the famed trawler Hercules, whose crew rescued the female pilot of a light plane that fell into Moreton Bay in 1971, adorns one wall of the Upper Deck. Painted by the Hercules owner’s grandson, it’s just one of the many touches the Schweitzers have added that pay tribute to the area’s history.

Sonia says the menu reflects a desire to make Scarborough Harbour Brewing Co feel like a welcoming local watering hole, with an emphasis on share plates including dips, cheese platters and pizzas.

But there’s also plenty of options for individual meals – think juicy burgers, perennial pub favourite chicken parmigiana, chef’s specials, fish and chips and offerings for the kids.

“We definitely always have seafood, but we’re tailoring the menu for share options, with pizzas and share plates,” Sonia says.

Scarborough Harbour Brewing Co is at 21 Bird O’Passage Pde, Scarborough.

It’s open Wednesday-Thursday, noon-9pm, Friday noon-late, Saturday 11am-late and Sunday 11am-9pm, with lunch and dinner every day.

There’s live music on Fridays and Saturdays from 4-8pm and Sundays from 2-6pm.

Click here to find out more.