Moo Brew set to celebrate 20 years of artisanal beers

Long before there was MONA, there was Moo Brew.

Moo Brew, the oldest and largest craft brewery in Tasmania, will celebrate turning 20 later this month.

With two specially-brewed limited release beers on offer and a party at MONA, beer lovers will be able to raise a glass to two decades of brewing led by MONA supremo David Walsh.

Walsh founded Moo Brew when he discovered a bottle he liked and wanted something to put in it.

The brewery was established in Berriedale at Moorilla Estate in 2005 - several years before Walsh’s museum opened its doors - later moving to their purpose-built home in Bridgewater.

In 2023 the team opened Manky Sally’s in Salamanca, a taphouse and nano-brewery boasting tiny tanks and an oversized attitude.

Moo Brew returns to MONA on Saturday, November 22, taking over the lawns to celebrate its r birthday with the help of the museum’s chef Vince Trim and an all-Tassie music line-up, There will then be a "riotous" after party at Manky Sally’s.

The two new limited-release beers, brewed to mark 20 years, are the Single Hop Tassie Pale Ale and Belgian Golden Strong Ale, brewed by all three of Moo Brew’s former and current head brewers: Owen Johnston (2005-2014), Dave MacGill (2014-2020) and Jack Viney (2020-present).

The Single Hop was re-released this week with the Belgian Strong Ale following on November 27.

The beers will be available in good bottle shops and venues around Tasmania and via Moo Brew’s website. Both will be available to Mona and Manky Sally’s imbibers on November 22 as part of the birthday celebrations.

Moo Brew Head Brewer Jack Viney says: 'It's not often a craft brewery makes it to 20 years, and it’s testament to the enduring love of Moo Brew - and the efforts of the people behind it -that we’re able to pull this off.

"Getting together with our former head brewers was so special, and we’re thrilled to present a traditional Belgian-style beer (a nod to David's beer cellar) in the OG bottle, as well as the much beloved Single Hop tallboy."

Birthday celebrations from 12pm–4:30pm at MONA will feature games, giveaways, flame-grilled lawn food from the Heavy Metal Kitchen, and a stout and oyster bar.

Beers and merch available via www.moobrew.com.au.

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.

Beer pong: Get behind the scenes at Hobart's new micro brewery

So you are visiting Hobart/nipaluna and have already ticked off de rigueur destinations like MONA and kunanyi/Mt Wellington.

How about a craft brewery tour and tasting at Moo Brew's recently arrived Salamanca mini bar Manky Sally's.

The team at Manky Sally's are now offering a behind-the-scenes peek at the life cycle of a Sally’s brew.

Managing director Lauren Sheppard and head brewer Jack Viney say visitors have been thirsty to know more about Sally’s award-winning brews and how they’re made.

The new tours include a tasting paddle served on a table tennis bat - an homage to Moo Brew founder David Walsh, a lifelong player of ping pong.

‘The crew at Moo are an inventive bunch," says Viney. "And with almost 18 years of beer ideas to work through, the smaller tanks at Sally’s allow us to take risks on brews with unexpected flavour combinations such as Black Forest Stout, Pineapple Guava Sour and Yuzu Green Chilli Gose.

"We’re excited to offer an inside look. Letting people get up close is the next step in Sally’s evolution. We might even crowd-source some ideas."

MD Shepherd chips in: "A motivator for Moo was to create a brew space and drinking experience unlike anything you’d seen before. Rifling through our museum’s warehouses for the fit out, designing a menu offering that complements the beers, and experimenting with the different Sally’s brews, we’ve created a unique destination that celebrates the very best of Moo Brew and MONA."

Tour tickets are $30 per person for a 30 minute tour + tasting paddle of four beers and run from Thursday to Monday, 2:30pm and 4:45pm.

Manky Sally’s is at Salamanca Place, Hobart. See https://moobrew.com.au/pages/manky-sallys

Moo Brew's new Hobart taphouse also offers stunning food options

Hobart's waterfront Salamanca precinct has a new watering hole with the opening of Manky Sally's taphouse.

The bar is the brainchild of the team behind the oldest and largest craft brewery in Tasmania, Moo Brew, which is part of the empire of MONA boss David Walsh.

Moo Brew managing director Lauren Sheppard, head brewer Jack Viney and head chef Sam Bray are at the helm and Manky Sally’s features its own nano brewery.

The taphouse has over a dozen Moo brew offerings on tap - rotating seasonally - along with a guest Tasmanian brewery offering. 

MONA's design team are behind the concept.

The front bar has retro vibes with its wooden veneer panelling, sheer pinstripe curtaining, tiled bar frontage and vinyl menus. 

It is connected via a mirrored walkway to a cosy back lounge where there’s more than 3000 of Moo Brew’s amber bottles - each containing a glowing LED - that make up an interior wall and false ceiling in a quirky corner of the venue.

Dinner is on offer seven days a week, with lunch available Friday-Sunday, featuring seasonal, shareable and affordable snacks, which pair with Viney's experimental brews.

Menu highlights include crispy and delicious báhn mì sliders filled with pate and pickles ($10); chilli and lime whitebait with vinegar salt and chilli mayo ($17); and Xinjiang spiced wallaby on a stick with Sichuan chilli crisp (terrific! for $10). 

There is also an ale and chocolate ice-cream sandwich using Moo Brew’s Dark Ale, which I have not yet tried. 

Other dishes I did sample included a vibrant fish ceviche ($21), an Australian take on the Japanese pancake dish okonomiyaki (with wild-shot venison - $18), and a daily special: a tangy/spicy venison larb with prawn crackers and salad that would be perfect pairing with several of the Moo Bew beers.   

Chef Bray, who has worked at several top eateries, has created a menu that is both fun and very far away from standard pub grub.  

Manky Sally’s is at 25 Salamanca Place, Hobart. Open seven days, 11am--11pm. See 

https://moobrew.com.au/ 

The writer was a guest of Moo Brew

Meet Hobart's new drinking den - Manky Sally's

 

David Walsh does not do ordinary.

The owner of Hobart's quirky MONA museum, Moorilla Wines, Domaine A and Moo Brew is about to open Hobart's newest drinking den: with the unlikely name of Manky Sally's.

The taphouse and bar will be on the Salamanca strip - located just a stone’s throw from the Mona Roma ferry terminal.

The oldest craft brewery in lutruwita/Tasmania, Moo Brew began life when Walsh found a bottle he liked - but not a beer to fill it.

The new venture is equally experimental with Moo Brew’s managing director Lauren Sheppard and head brewer Jack Viney at the helm.

Manky Sally’s will feature a nano-brewery, and serve up "new and classic brews".

‘Do not expect timber benches, metal furniture and people sitting around barrels’, says Lauren, ‘with the name a cheeky nod to our location, Manky Sally’s is not your typical taphouse.’

The bar’s interior features decor and fittings that have been foraged from MONA’s four warehouses. From artworks that may or may not be forgeries, to atmospheric lighting and fancy chandeliers to taxidermied creatures and vintage carpets.

Suitably Walsh wacky.

Tunes will be supplied by a MONA-curated vinyl collection and there will also be the occasional live performance.

Head brewer Viney says: ‘Trying something different with 7000 litres of beer is risky, but on 300 litres? Not so much. Manky Sally’s tiny brewing tanks will give us the chance to conduct some creative experiments and get instant feedback from the people drinking at the bar."

There will be 14 taps at Manky Sally’s serving eight core Moo Brew beers, two seasonal releases, two experimental beers brewed onsite, a guest Tassie beer and a cocktail. There will also be batched cocktails, Tasmanian spirits, and Domaine A, Moorilla and other local wines.

Dinner will be on offer seven days a week, with lunch served Friday-Sunday, featuring seasonal, shareable snacks.

‘We’re creating the type of bar where we’d choose to drink’, says Shepherd. "It’s like nothing else you’ve ever seen and that’s really the point."

Manky Sally’s will be at 25 Salamanca Place, Hobart - hopefully from mid-December. See https://moobrew.com.au/

Moo Brew moving in on the Hobart waterfront

The oldest craft brewery in Tasmania is setting up shop in Hobart's iconic Salamanca quarter.

Moo Brew has signed a lease on a property in Salamanca and has plans to developing an unconventional venue to match its unconventional beers, Moo Brew is owned by David Walsh, the man behind madcap MONA, and there are plans for the new venue to be equally unconventional.

The venue will be "part taphouse, part bar" and will house a nano-brewery for concocting experimental brews in situ, as well as offering Moo Brew’s classic range of beers.

The team will also be serving wines from Moorilla and Domaine A - also part of the Walsh empire - alongside an array of food and beverage options to suit all appetites.

On signing the lease, Moo Brew general manager Lauren Sheppard said: ‘Moo Brew doesn’t always take the obvious route. Opening a venue is the next stage of our journey, and we could not be more excited to be doing it in Salamanca, and doing it our way.’

Located a stone’s throw from Brooke Street Pier - home of the Mona Roma ferry terminal - the venue is set to begin welcoming punters from the end of the year, approvals permitting.