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8 of the most thirst-quenching Geelong pubs and breweries

Kristie Lau-Adams Kristie Lau-Adams
Salute the humble hop at our pick of the finest Bellarine and Geelong pubs and breweries.

I’ve always been a Melbourne laneway kind of reveller but a recent visit to Victoria’s second city, Geelong, converted me into a craft beer cheerleader. Home to industrial-chic warehouse operations churning out hopalicious heroes, plus sprawling all-day taprooms with stellar beer gardens, Geelong pubs and breweries are casual-cool yet filled with quality indulgence.

Here are my top port city picks – stretching into the Bellarine Peninsula – for good times and great classic pours.

In short

If you only visit one of the best Geelong pubs, make it Little Creatures Brewery Geelong. With a kids’ playground, indoor and outdoor seating and slick merchandise, it’s the city’s OG craft beer superstar.

1. Little Creatures Brewery Geelong

a beer party at Little Creatures Brewery, Geelong
Gather with friends at Little Creatures Brewery. (Credit: Michael Peters)

Arguably the flagship taphouse that kickstarted Geelong’s craft brew craze, Little Creatures Brewery Geelong is my go-to for a family-friendly afternoon session. When I visited, I managed to get a table for eight adults and two children without calling ahead – it’s that huge. The rustic-meets-industrial brewery and beer hall is housed in a vast brick building that was formerly a wool mill. If you’re here for Little Creatures proper, you’ll love the Freo-born business’ signature hop-driven American Pale Ale, best washed down with woodfired pizzas and share plates. The food is surprisingly delicious, earning the Geelong pub’s dining room a place on my list of the best Geelong restaurants. Hopheads can take a brewery tour or simply try a paddle of whatever taps, including the crowd-pleasing Pipsqueak apple cider, take their fancy.

Address: 221 Swanston St, South Geelong

2. Mount Pleasant Rd Brewers

the bar counter at Mount Pleasant Rd Brewers
Enjoy a range of beers on tap. (Credit: Mount Pleasant Rd Brewers)

In town on the weekend? Run, don’t walk, to Mount Pleasant Rd Brewers, which only opens Friday to Sunday in summer, or Friday and Saturday during the cooler months. The independent brew masters blend seriously killer flavours that flow freely in their small yet cosy taproom and umbrella-dotted brew garden out back, drawing Geelong locals plus passionate beer fans from all over. Nine taps pour the brand’s beloved lager, IPAs, pilsners and experimental takes while a snack menu lines stomachs if there’s not a food truck hanging on-site.

Address: 110 Mt Pleasant Rd, Belmont

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3. Malt Shovel Taphouse

the interior of the Malt Shovel Taphouse
Imbibe elevated tipples in the garden-inspired gastropub.

With its super contemporary look and feel – all white walls and flourishes of greenery – this Geelong taphouse welcomes both the uninitiated and the hobbyist brewer. Expect 16 beers on tap at any one time, a collection curated from different local brewers in addition to their own. Can’t decide on one? Opt for a tasting flight instead, and if you don’t pledge allegiance to the humble hop, there are wines and cocktails, too. Take your poison out to this Geelong pub’s sizable beer garden, festooned with string lights and featuring a retractable roof – it’s an ideal spot to while away an entire afternoon in the sunshine. Once hunger strikes, you’ve got options: this place specialises in rotisserie meats (think beef brisket, roasted herb porchetta and more), but pub grub classics like steaks, burgers, a chicken parmi and salads, are also up for grabs.

Address: Corner Bellarine and Malop St, Geelong

4. Flying Brick Cider Co.

a cider tasting paddle at Flying Brick Cider Co.
Swap your beer for a cider tasting paddle. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

Over on the Bellarine Peninsula, Flying Brick Cider Co. is a haven for the sweeter stuff. Choose from three core creations as well as taproom-only seasonal batches that lean into peak fruity flavours. The team are proud to play with purely Australian-sourced fruits including local apples and Packham pears, so it’s a great spot to visit if you like your cider more delicious and less carbonated water. Vibe-wise, the Geelong pub dazzles through its natural light-flooded beer hall and restaurant which opens to spacious lawns (often used for weddings). Wash your homegrown beverages down with grazing platters, hearty pub classics spanning burgers, steaks and a market fish, while children get their own dedicated menu of deep-fried delights.

Address: 1251-1269 Bellarine Hwy, Wallington

5. FarmDog Brewing

a bartender holding two glasses of cocktail at FarmDog Brewing, Geelong pub
Kick off the night with punchy cocktails. (Credit: Johnny Rollins Photography)

While we’re exploring the Bellarine, drop into FarmDog Brewing too, a top-notch operation located on McGlashan’s Wallington Estate winery. You’ll score a range of beers plus house crafted gins, best sampled as a FarmDog Gin Tasting Board with Fever Tree tonic and zesty garnishes. Beer paddles are also a popular choice, plus there’s a long list of classic cocktails to choose from if your sweet tooth can’t be silenced. The FarmDog love extended into a second tasting room right in the heart of Geelong in September 2025, offering the same famous blends in an intimate bar space right off Little Malop St. Destined to be hot in summer 2025, mark our words.

Address: 225 Swan Bay Rd, Wallington and Unit 2/5 Denny’s Pl, Geelong

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6. Blackman’s Brewery Geelong

people sitting inside the pub at Blackman’s Brewery Geelong
Beer lovers gather at Blackman’s Brewery Geelong.

Located in an industrial precinct, Blackman’s Brewery Geelong is perhaps the archetypal new-age craft beer brewery. Open since early 2021, Blackman’s brews are poured out of a repurposed neon orange shipping container, and its mash tuns and fermentation tanks are on full display in all their shiny silver glory behind the taproom’s chairs and tables. There’s about 10 beers – and one cider – in its core range, plus a steady stream of seasonal brews. The spacious spot often plays host to live music sessions of a weekend, with regular food truck pop-ups too. If you’ve got time on your side, pay a visit to this Geelong brewery’s sister bars in Torquay and Ocean Grove, too.

Address: 29/8 Lewalan Street, Grovedale

7. The Batesford Hotel

Brown leather seating and tables in a pub
The charming country pub delivers historic charm. (Credit: Ryal Sormaz)

Moving into proper country pub territory, The Batesford Hotel is a regional Geelong pub with bucketloads of charm. You’ll spot it about six minutes’ drive from town, right along the highway – look for the long white building with a Carlton Draught sign on the roof, and don’t let the facade fool you. Inside, a beautiful, refurbished space, rich in timber and forest green to reflect its lush surroundings, instantly impresses. Live music flows all weekend, classic pub meals roll out of the kitchen and a beer garden dotted with picnic tables, right by a river, sets a totally serene scene.

Address: 700 Ballarat Rd, Batesford

8. Murphys

the exterior of Murphys Geelong
This Geelong institution was first established in 1855. (Credit: Jarrod Ward)

Let your hair down at Murphys, a pub every Geelong local’s practically grown up with. The spot to catch a game of footy or sink cocktails with friends, Murphys is my favourite pick for low-key hangs as the drinks flow freely of a weekend and there’s always a crowd. The views are impressive from the pub’s rooftop too, stretching out over the skyline, with protective sheeting ensuring it’s a great spot even when the weather is miserable. Grab an affordable feed as weekly specials include Tuesday Parmi Night, Wednesday Burger Night and Thursday Steak Night, while the regular menu features six different parmis, several burgers, steaks, pastas, fish and chips, and more.  

Address: 30 Aberdeen St, Geelong West

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Kristie Lau-Adams
Kristie Lau-Adams is a Gold Coast-based freelance writer after working as a journalist and editorial director for almost 20 years across Australia's best-known media brands including The Sun-Herald, WHO and Woman's Day. She has spent significant time exploring the world with highlights including trekking Japan’s life-changing Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage and ziplining 140 metres above the vines of Mexico’s Puerto Villarta. She loves exploring her own backyard (quite literally, with her two young children who love bugs), but can also be found stalking remote corners globally for outstanding chilli margaritas and soul-stirring cultural experiences.
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From coast to bush: these are Gippsland’s best hikes

    Michael Turtle Michael Turtle
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    Video credit: Tourism Australia

    From coast to mountains, hiking in Gippsland offers a stunning array of landscapes, with trails that take you deep into the region’s heritage.

    I step out onto the sand and it cries out underfoot. Kweek! I take another step and there’s another little yelp. Screet! Picking up the pace, the sounds follow me like my shadow, all the way down to the water. It’s obvious how this spot got its name – Squeaky Beach – from the rounded grains of quartz that make the distinctive sounds under pressure.

    For many, Wilsons Promontory National Park is the gateway to Gippsland, and the best way to explore it is by walking its network of hiking trails, from coastal gems such as Squeaky Beach through to the bushland, among the wildlife. But it’s still just a taste of what you’ll find on foot in the region.

    Venture a bit further into Gippsland and you’ll discover the lakes, the rainforest, and the alpine peaks, each changing with the season and offering summer strolls or winter walks. Just like that squeaky sand, each step along these trails has something to tell you: perhaps a story about an ancient spirit or a pioneering search for fortune.

    The best coastal hikes in Gippsland

    sunset at Wilsons Promontory National Park
    Wilsons Promontory National Park is a sprawling wilderness with many coastal bushland trails. (Image: Mark Watson)

    Wilsons Promontory National Park (or ‘The Prom’, as you’ll end up calling it) is an easy three-hour drive from Melbourne, but you might ditch the car when you arrive, with much of the park’s 50,000 hectares accessible only by foot. From the inky water of Tidal River (dyed dark purple by abundant tea trees), I like the easy walks along the coast, among lichen-laden granite boulders, to golden beaches and bays.

    a couple on Mount Oberon
    Panoramic views from the summit of Mount Oberon. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

    The trail to the panoramic views at the summit of Mount Oberon is a bit harder, up steep timber and granite steps, but it’s a popular 6.8-kilometre return. The more remote hikes are found through the open banksia and stringybark woodland of the park’s north, or along the multi-day Southern Circuit, which ranges from about 35 to 52 kilometres, with sunrises and sunsets, kangaroos and cockatoos, and maybe even whales.

    a golden sand beach at Wilsons Promontory National Park
    Walk ‘The Prom’s’ golden sand beaches. (Image: Tourism Australia/Time Out Australia)

    You might also see whales on the George Bass Coastal Walk, even closer to Melbourne on the western edge of Gippsland. This dramatic seven-kilometre trail along the clifftops takes in sweeping views of the wild ocean, occasionally dipping down from grassy green hills to coastal gullies and a secluded beach. It also now links into the Bass Coast Rail Trail for an extra 14 kilometres.

    the George Bass Coastal Walk
    George Bass Coastal Walk trails for seven kilometres along clifftops. (Image: Visit Victoria/Time Out Australia)

    Over at the eastern edge of Gippsland, in Croajingolong National Park, you can wander along the lakeshores beneath koalas and around goannas (I keep my distance since one chased me here!). For those who are even more adventurous, the park is also the starting point for the 100-kilometre Wilderness Coast Walk, usually done over seven days.

    the Croajingolong National Park, Gippsland
    Wander along the lakeshores in Croajingolong National Park. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    The best bush hikes in Gippsland

    the Baw Baw National Park
    The alpine heath of Baw Baw National Park. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

    Deep in the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine at Walhalla, mining guide Richard tells me how this small town in the mountains east of Melbourne boomed when prospectors found gold here in 1862. These days, you’ll find most of the town’s treasure – its heritage – above ground, with the Walhalla Tramline Walk a wonderful way to explore it.

    Just seven kilometres long, the walk takes you through decades of Gold Rush history, following the original rail trail from lush bushland to the mining sites, and through the charming village of just 20 residents with its wooden cottages and old shopfronts adorned with turn-of-the-century advertising posters. Blazing a trail where trailblazers once opened up the region, this is also the starting point for the 650-kilometre Australian Alps Walking Track.

    Nearby, Baw Baw National Park has walks through gnarled snow gums and alpine heaths that show off the colourful wildflowers in summer and the pristine carpet of white in winter. Several trails are perfect for snowshoes, including a 45-minute route from St Gwinear up to vast views across the Latrobe Valley.

    Further up into the mountains, the Toorongo and Amphitheatre Falls Loop Walk is an easy 2.2-kilometre path that serenades you with the sound of flowing water as you pass mossy rocks and tree ferns en route to two sets of waterfalls cascading over boulders in the remote wilderness.

    The best cultural hikes in Gippsland

    the Mitchell River National Park, Gippsland
    Hike the Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)

    Across a pool in a natural sandstone amphitheatre, deep within a cave behind a waterfall, it’s said the Nargun has its lair. A fierce creature, half human and half stone, that abducts children and can’t be harmed by boomerangs or spears, the story of the Nargun has been told around the campfires of the local Gunaikurnai people for generations.

    As a culturally significant place for women, hikers are asked not to go into the Den of Nargun, but a 3.4-kilometre loop walk leads you through a rainforest gully to the entrance where you can feel the powerful atmosphere here in Mitchell River National Park, along Victoria’s largest remaining wild and free-flowing waterway.

    the bee-eaters at Mitchell River National Park
    Bee-eaters at Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)

    The Den of Nargun is part of the Bataluk Cultural Trail, a series of important traditional Gunaikurnai sites through central Gippsland. Another location is Victoria’s largest cave system, Buchan Caves Reserve, with trails to important archaeological sites of human artefacts up to 18,000 years old. The FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk includes the naturally sculpted white limestone steps of the 400-metre-long Federal Cave, while the Granite Pools Walk goes among tall timber and moss-covered gullies.

    the ancient rainforest of Tarra-Bulga National Park
    The ancient rainforest of Tarra-Bulga National Park. (Image: Josie Withers)

    Also important to the Gunaikurnai people is Tarra-Bulga National Park, known for its ancient myrtle beeches and enormous mountain ash trees. Just 40 minutes return, the Tarra Valley Rainforest Walk offers a taste of this verdant landscape, while the Grand Strzelecki Track takes you deep into the lost world of forest giants on an epic 100-kilometre trail rich with tradition.

    A traveller’s checklist

    Staying there

    the WildernessRetreats in The Prom
    Wilderness Retreats in The Prom. (Image: Christian Pearson)

    Wilderness Retreats in Wilsons Promontory offers glamping-style tents with luxurious queen beds. Star Hotel is a reconstruction of a Gold Rush-era hotel from 1863 in the heart of heritage Walhalla. Caves House is a historic three-bedroom house with views over the Buchan River.

    Eating there

    the Carrajung Estate, Gippsland
    Enjoy a post-hike lunch at Carrajung Estate. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

    Kilcunda General Store serves great coffee and meals of local produce at the George Bass Coastal Walk. Alpine Trout Farm is located near Toorongo Falls in Noojee. Fish for your own lunch and barbecue it with the provided cookware.

    Carrajung Estate is a short drive from Tarra-Bulga National Park. The winery’s restaurant offers a seasonal menu of regional ingredients and you can stay at The Lodge.

    a seafood feast at Carrajung Estate, Gippsland
    The table is set for a seafood feast at the estate.

    Video credit: Tourism Australia