For 20 years publican Daniel Simpson has wanted to brew his own beer at the Rod n Reel Hotel in Woodburn.

That dream is close to becoming a reality.

After the floods, Daniel bought the pub building and has put in a Development Application for a microbrewery.

“We like the idea of the beer being made on the premises,” he said.

“We’re hoping it will drive tourists from Evans Head and help revitalise Woodburn.”

Daniel and his team are still deciding the name of the Woodburn beers.

“We will have a full and mid-strength beer a dark beer and a golden ale,” Daniel said.

The microbrewery will make four different types of beer that will be on tap.

Each brew batch will make 8-10 kegs.

Daniel knows the boutique beer market is currently saturated.

“A lot of breweries are going broke because they over capitalised.

“We’ve already got the market.”

Daniel expects pubgoers to be sitting at the bar or in the beer garden overlooking the Richmond River sipping a Rod n Reel ale “this side of Christmas.”

The cost of building an on-site brewery will cost $273,000, according to the DA.

The microbrewery will be built behind the main bar and will not be accessible to patrons.

The beer production cycle takes between 3–4 weeks from being brewed to ready to drink.

Because of the site size, the Rod n Reel will be limited to five fermenters.

The brewing process will be done on weekdays between 8am–4pm.

The brewery does not require bottling or canning equipment to be installed as the pub is expecting a high volume of keg sales.

The DA includes addressing waste for the brewing process.

Organic solid waste such as hops, grain and yeast will be collected by a local farmer and used as stock feed.

The liquid waste from the brewing process is held in a settling tank on site. It will then be treated for pH levels and discharged into the sewer.

Daniel said if you support the building of the microbrewery let the council know. The DA is on public exhibition and can be read in full at the Richmond Valley Council website here.

This article appeared on indyNR.com on 30 May 2024.