Mountain Goat Brewery - Richmond

Warehouse Bar at Mountain Goat

Another of Melbourne's great craft beer venues and just around the corner from Moon Dog. Entry to the brew house is from a small side door on North St in Richmond, just around the corner from River st. It is easily reached by tram along Bridge Road. Mountain Goat are generally only open on Wednesday and Friday evenings (5pm til late), they are a little hamstrung having residential spaces nearby and they like to be good neighbours.

The warehouse houses a huge bar space with plenty of seating and ample tables. The office constructed of beer cartons is something to behold. Mountain Goat serve pizzas that are always a good choice with beer, the pizzas at Moon Dog are better. The popular high volume sellers are on tap plus a selection of their always very good "one offs". The night I visited I tried both the Barleywine and the "Drumpf" (a Trump inspired German IPA), both were quite tasty.

This is a great spot to visit if you love beer and are in Melbourne on a Wednesday or Friday evening. You could double up and visit the very good "Royston Hotel", just across the road for dinner and more good beer.

The "Drumpf" and the 2016 Barleywine

The Palace Hotel - South Melbourne

The Palace Hotel from City Road

Living in Yarra's Edge, being within walking distance,this is the closest I have to a "local pub". The Palace is located on City Road, pretty much on the border between South and Port Melbourne.

It has had a recent history as a restaurant within a pub building. The current owners have returned it to its traditional pub roots. It is now an "all comers" pub serving local residents and workers, you are equally likely to see families, fluro jackets or business shirts.

The pub has a pleasant beer garden, bar, pool table, casual dining room with an open fireplace and a small enclosed courtyard. Very much the traditional local pub.

The kitchen pumps out pretty good pub food and on special nights they do so at a good price. Thursday night is "pie night" where you can get  the pie of the day served with mashed potato, mashed peas and gravy for just $15. Almost all nights have a special meal - Monday is Parma night, Tuesday is Burger night, Wednesday is Steak night and Sunday is Roast day (all just $15).

Thursday Night is Pie Night $15!

The owners are pretty keen on craft beer so there is always something new in what is a quite wide selection of tap beers (they even have a hand pump). The latest beers on tap can be found here. Over the recent "Good Beer Week", The Palace hosted South Australia as a "Pint of Origin" pub, pumping South Australia's finest beers through the taps.

The Palace has as their logo a picture of a lovable Bulldog, I think it is the owners pet and they have obtained the right to have him wander the pub. There is something endearing and homely about a dog wandering around what is a fine old fashioned pub.

Recent winner of "Time Out Melbourne" pub of the year, The Palace is truly a fine old fashioned local pub. I highly recommend a visit.

Courtyard dining.

Moon Dog Craft Brewery

This is my favourite craft beer venue in Melbourne, if you visit Melbourne and wish to catch up for a drink, we'll do so at Moon Dog. It is a relaxed brewery with a bar in a small industrial street in Abbotsford (neighbouring one of Australia's biggest breweries CUB).

Moon Dog Brewery Bar Abbotsford.

The brewery has tonnes of personality, largely built on the interesting decor (second hand lounge chairs) and decorations (random posters and stuff), the names of the pizzas and beers and the eclectic soundtrack.

The staff are incredible, they add to the friendly relaxed atmosphere of the place. They know their beers and will offer you a taster to help with your choice.

You will see all kinds of people enjoying the bar - craft beer fans (from across the globe), brewery tours, families with young kids, passing cyclists, locals and even the CUB boys enjoy an after work ale here.

Interior view

Moon Dog also has the pizza van out the front producing what I regard as Melbourne's finest pizza. They use the beer yeast in the pizza dough and offer up great choices (see below), they usually have weekly special Pizzas also on the menu. The bar also serves up cups of free popcorn; a great beer snack.

My favourite Pizzas here are the "Pimp my Marg" and "Don't Hide the Salami".

Melbourne's best Pizzas

The brewery produces some of the most amazing beers you will ever taste. They are often producing weekly one-off kegs testing the brewers' ideas - one example is the recent "Black Cupcake" an insane Nitro Stout made with Marshmallows, Bounty Bars, Maltesers, Milo and Caramel. These tend to sell out very quickly so if you would like to be in the know just follow Moon Dog on Facebook.

The beer list is constantly turning over so expect something different every visit. There are a few staples - Love Tap Lager, Old Mate Pale Ale, and Mack Daddy Dark Ale.

Recent Beer Menu (excluding the Stout menu).

You can buy Moon Dog beers in most good bottle shops in Melbourne and it is on tap at most good pubs in Melbourne. If you can get hold of one of their special beers in a bottle at your local then do so.

Some of the Moon Dog offerings

Note: I am a big fan and have recently made a small investment in Moon Dog to help them with their  longer term plans.

My family on a recent visit to Moon Dog.

The Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy

The Rainbow Hotel is a fabulous watering hole on St David St in Fitzroy between Brunswick St and Smith St.

The Rainbow has a small front bar, an old style pub dining room with an open fireplace (great in winter) and a pleasant beer garden area just off St David St.

They have about 10 taps and regularly rotate different beers through them. Carlton Draught and Moon Dog's fabulous "Love Tap Lager" seem to be the regular tap hogs but there are always interesting tipples running through the others. The Rainbow also has a very good range of bottled beers.

Some of the craft brewers you are likely to find on tap here are 4Pines, 2Birds, Kooinda, Bridge Road, Mornington Peninsula and Hargraves Hill (and many others).


I strongly recommend you visit either on a Wednesday evening for "The Great Steak" night or on a Thursday to get a matched free pint with Chef's special for the day. The Great Steak deal (currently $14) is seriously great bargain steak meal that you can wash down with an equally great beer. The  Thursday "Food & Beer Match" special usually has 2 menu choices each matched to 1 of 2 selected beers currently on offer. You get the pint with your meal at the price of the meal only, an absolute bargain.

Yours truly by the fireplace in the Rainbow's Dining Room.

The current beers on tap can be found using the "Now Tapped App".
The latest events, new beers and meal deals can be found by following the Rainbow on Facebook.

Melbourne's Fabulous Beer Venues

After a bit of a hiatus it's time to fire up the keyboard again. I have moved cities and now reside in Melbourne, a great city for craft beer.

There are numerous old pubs in Melbourne that are independently owned and able to rotate their taps to serve an ever changing range of beers. The fashionable bars and restaurants in Melbourne are also keen purveyors of craft beer. Melbourne is also home to some of Australia's original craft beer bars.

Over the next few posts I will be showcasing some of my Melbourne favourites, such as;

•  The Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy.
•  The Palace Hotel, Port Melbourne.
•  Foresters Beer Hall, Collingwood.
•  The Local Taphouse, St Kilda.
•  The Alehouse Project, Brunswick.
•  Moon Dog Craft Brewery, Abbotsford
•  Cookie, Melbourne CBD.
•  Naked For Satan, Fitzroy.
•  Le Bon Ton, Collingwood.
•  Temple Brewing, Brunswick.
•  Holgate Brewery,Woodend.
•  Boatrocker Brewery, Braeside.
• The Great Northern Hotel, Carlton North.

Cheers