Moo Brew comes of age with an arty party

Before anyone had heard of MONA, Mona Foma or Dark Mofo there was Moo Brew.

Moo Brew, David Walsh's first hospitality brainwave and now Tasmania's largest craft brewer, comes of age later this month: turning 18.

And Walsh is throwing an arty party at Manky Sally’s to celebrate "entering adulthood with a commitment to creativity, quality and a deep love for the art of brewing".

Moo Brew began life when Walsh found a beer bottle he liked while travelling overseas - and decided he’d need to start a brewery to fill it.

Opened in 2005, the fancy but tiny brewery was initially built in Berridale at Moorilla Estate, one of Tasmania’s oldest wineries, which Walsh had purchased in the mid-90s and dubbed ‘Moo Land’.

In 2011 Moo outgrew the Berriedale brewhouse and moved to a purpose-built brewery in nearby Bridgewater.

Moo Brew’s latest venture, dive bar and taphouse Manky Sally’s, opened earlier this year at Salamanca Place on the Hobart waterfront.

‘Eighteen years of independent local craft brewing is a notable milestone, with so few breweries able to claim this title, we’re overflowing with pride," says managing director Lauren Sheppard.

"This coming of age is all the sweeter with the opening of Sally’s, allowing us to showcase the very best of Moo Brew."

Head Brewer Jack Viney adds: ‘Moo Brew’s commitment to the classics and thirst for experimentation allows us the freedom to create, cause a stir, and break the rules when it suits. I’m stoked to head up a brewery that's proudly local, unpretentious, and keen on making damn good beers from Tasmania."

Manky Sally’s will host Moo Brew’s 18th Birthday Bash from 3pm on Saturday, November 18. They say everyone is welcome, even though it is a tiny space. 

  
Moo Brew drops will be flowing through all 14 taps: seven pouring Moo’s classics, while the other seven will experimental brew, including a Yuzu Kosho Gose birthday brew -with drinks from the first keg on the house.