It’s been a tough year for Australia’s brewing scene. After what seemed like a never-ending boom period, the national craft-beer landscape contracted in 2024, with some big-name brew makers closing their doors. Despite this, the industry continues to persevere, with many breweries looking to change the way they operate. Some now double as versatile event spaces, while others are expanding their range beyond hoppy beverages. And even with the less-than-ideal conditions, new breweries continue to open.

Little Miss Sunshine, Brisbane City’s new light-filled beer maker, is looking to flip the script on the traditional brewery method by broadening its offering far beyond its range of crisp cold ones.

“We wanted to break the mould of a brewery,” says Donna Di Santo of RMS Group, the team behind Little Miss Sunshine and a number of other inner-city venues. “Traditionally when people go to a brewery, it’s industrial and the food is second to the beer. This concept is different in the sense that we are a bistro that just happens to brew its own beer.”

Located on the Turbot Street side of Heritage Lanes, Little Miss Sunshine is a departure from the norm when it comes to aesthetics. Housed in a glass-encased tenancy at the heart of the hospitality hub, Little Miss Sunshine subverts the rawness of its surroundings with a modern, timber-heavy fit-out that reflects Queensland’s sun-soaked majesty, as well as the site’s past as the home of the Brisbane Fruit and Produce Exchange.

The 250-seat venue boasts a main dining floor furnished with timber tables and bumblebee-yellow leather booths with terrazzo stone tops, a herringbone-pattern brick bar (equipped with a whopping 28 taps), a mezzanine dining level, a 16-seat private-dining room, and a scattering of alfresco tables underneath a big-screen TV. Neon signs and graffiti murals also add an extra dose of vivid pizazz to the ambience, which is imbued with equal parts approachable warmth and electric energy.

“It’s not what you would expect from a brewery,” says Donna. “Where most breweries are industrial and have a lot of stainless steel, we’ve gone with very light colourings and natural finishes.

“Little Miss Sunshine is about celebrating all things Queensland and Queensland is light – it’s fun and it’s sunny. The direction that we’ve gone with our decor is about incorporating that and just trying to have fun with it.”

Little Miss Sunshine’s fully equipped kitchen, helmed by head chef Ferdinand Sari (formerly of Babylon Brisbane) weaves threads of Queensland’s splendour throughout its culinary offering. Local produce is celebrated and showcased, with a homegrown familiarity mixed with some alluring international influences.

“The menu has got a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern base, but it’s also got a Queensland vibe,” Donna explains. “You can can grab a steak and you can grab a fish, or you can grab a Middle Eastern lamb skewer and Morton Bay bug pasta. We want it to be accessible to everybody.”

The bistro offering is broad and substantial, with something to cater to most appetite levels. Starting small, guests can nibble on snacks like baby squid with sweet paprika and lime aioli, lamb gozleme with mint yoghurt, harissa-coated chicken wings and dips with flat bread. From there, portions grow with a range of mains including chicken cotoletta (Little Miss Sunshine’s riff on a parmigiana), beer-battered barramundi fillets and Moreton Bay bug spaghetti. From the grill, guests can sink their incisors into rib-eye steaks and sirloins, beef shawarma and succulent lamb koftas, while wagyu cheese burgers and fried-chicken burgers round out the bistro’s big-ticket items.

On the beer front, head brewer Becky Centeno (formerly of Melbourne’s Burnley Brewing) is putting the finishing touches on Little Miss Sunshine’s core range, which will receive a multi-stage roll-out over the coming weeks and months (keep your eyes on the venue’s social-media pages for word on each beer’s launch party). The selection will include a lager, a modern Australian pale with a crisp, citrus aroma, an Italian pilsner, and either a session hazy pale or an IPA. Following the bistro-first mentality, Becky’s beers will look to be complementary to the food while also tapping into the venue’s broader Queensland inspirations.

“It’s not about making crazy, smoothie-like, sour-patch-kid, punch-in-the-face beers,” says Becky of Little Miss Sunshine’s brewing ethos. “Here it’s more about making quality beers that are delicious, approachable and that have that little je ne sais quoi – a different aromatic character that sets it apart. The beers are meant to be approachable, but also you can notice that they’re crafted at the same time. So, all four [of the core range] are perfect for Brisbane.”

The venue is equipped with a 10-hL, two-vessel system and six 1,250-L fermenting tanks, with the setup visible behind the bar and next to the stairs leading to the mezzanine. All beers that are brewed on site remain on site, with Little Miss Sunshine’s taps the only way to get a taste of them in Brisbane.

“It is a nanobrewery but, unlike other breweries, we have no intention of selling our beer retail or to other outlets,” Donna explains. “It’s exclusive to Little Miss Sunshine – we brew straight to keg, no bottling. It’s on tap, just it’s come in and grab it.”

These house-brewed beers are available alongside mix of other fan-favourite frothies from XXXX, Stone & Wood, Young Henry’s, BentSpoke, Balter, Little Dragon and Mountain Culture Beer Co. With a number of bars in its portfolio – including Isles Lane and Hellcat Maggie – the RMS Group is leveraging its drink-slinging expertise to expand Little Miss Sunshine’s beverage program with a range of cocktails and wines.

“Looking at who we are and what we do, we understand the need to have a really good back-of-bar offering,” says Donna. “We have our very own cocktail list, as well as the classics, plus quite an extensive wine list. It’s everything that you would come to expect of an operator like us.”

It’s pivotal point in time for Brisbane City, with a number of high-profile developments expected to change our metropolitan nexus in pivotal ways. Little Miss Sunshine’s arrival is exceptionally well timed, with The City’s George Street end set to transform significantly with the advent of these landmark projects.

“We believe that this end of town has a lot of opportunity with Queens Wharf due to open, the new arena set to go into Roma Street Parkland and then the Cross River Rail,” Donna says. “There is a lot happening up on the George Street end of town and we’ve spent the last two and a half years working towards making sure that we were ready for that.”

Though Little Miss Sunshine will slot neatly into this next wave of growth, for most punters, the venue is simply a cracking new spot to enjoy. The bistro and brewery is uniquely positioned (and equipped) to cater to corporate lunches, after-work beers and milestone celebrations, while its sunny disposition is a refreshing addition to The City’s gritty urban landscape.

“Queensland’s all about relaxing and having a good time,” says Donna. “So, we want people to be able to escape their offices, come down after work or come down for lunch. This is your local.”

Little Miss Sunshine is now open to the public Monday to Friday. Head to the Stumble Guide for operating hours, menu details and other important information.