Currumbin Valley Brewing has a fascinating story, one that is best told over a pint or two. While it’s always advisable to hear it from the horses mouth, the story began back in 2000, when Peter was living between here and the United Kingdom. At the time, the Gold Coast’s craft-beer scene was barely even in its infancy, while in London, it was thriving. Every time he’d return home, he’d long for the kind of beers he was drinking abroad, and, as Peter tells it, he had an epiphany one night in a bar in Warton, when he was greeted with a selection of eight beers he’d never heard of. A few years later, Peter’s path crossed with Luke’s at a local home-brew club called The Gold Club back in 2015. The pair bonded over a shared interest in beers that deviated from the norm, and the rest, as they say, is history. Currumbin Valley Brewing’s maiden batch was gypsy brewed at Black Hops in Burleigh Heads with all 24 kegs pre-sold. Fast forward to October 2018 and the business partners ticked a major milestone off the list, having completed their first brew on their new brewery housed on Smokey’s farm in Currumbin Valley. Peter recounts of the early days, “It was pretty hard work,” he says. “Most brewers tend to produce small volume and have a tap room, or have large volume and a national distribution, we did things the complete wrong way around with small volume and national wholesale.” In 2019, things were getting pretty dire for Currumbin Valley Brewing before a grape bubblegum sour turned the whole thing around. Currumbin Valley Brewing took out the People’s Choice award at The Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular, or GABS as it is commonly known. “If it wasn’t for that, within a month we would have closed,” Peter recalls. From there, the decision was made to put beer in cans and sell direct to the public, which proved to be a game changer for the pair as it freed up funds to reinvest in brewery infrastructure, upscale quality and consistency across brews.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the beer-loving mates, who had a false start on another tap room in 2021. While that wasn’t to be, with the help of the Currumbin community who rallied together and assisted with the fit-out, they’ve been able to open the doors to a long-awaited taproom on Traders Way in Currumbin. Stepping inside the venue, you get the sense that this is so much more than a place to drink, it’s a place for the community to come together, have a yarn and a beer. “We’re a bit rustic and rough-around-the-edges,” Peter says of the new space, which has almost entirely been repurposed and recycled, from the large cable reels that are being used as tables to the timber that has come from a tree that was cut down at the local school. “We just wanted a place to relax and hang out, that’s family and dog friendly.” Speaking of the bar, there will be 16 taps, the vast majority dedicated to Currumbin Valley Brewing’s own curious creations including the cleverly named Cheery Ripe Porter and their stellar selection of sours. Currumbin Valley Brewing’s range reads like something from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, with the gents continually pushing boundaries to create new and innovative flavours. To date, there has been more than 40 different flavours. Those who are not fond of beer, there’s a clutch of wine and spirits from Husk Distillers, Ink Gin and Grandad Jack’s to wet your whistle.

When it comes to the food, the gents recruited Peter ‘Booges’ Werth to helm the kitchen. Booges describes the menu as ‘food for beer’. Before you go thinking it’s just pub grub, you should know that Booges has been running kitchens for 30 years and makes absolutely everything from scratch. Among the selections, you’ll spy snacks such as house-roasted spiced macadamias and deep-fried olives alongside a charcuterie board to graze as you drink. Those in the mood for something a little more substantial can munch on a lamb burger, which Booges cooks for over six hours before rolling it, wrapping it and cutting it to form a patty shape. The Dominator is also pretty enticing with two smash patties, double cheese, bacon, pickles, tomato and CVB special sauce.

Currumbin Valley Brewing is now open! Skip to our Stumble Guide for opening times.