The Barossa Valley is synonymous with wine. Some of the best wines in the world are made here. But did you know there’s a growing list of Barossa Valley breweries and distilleries? Here are just a few of them to give you some other options in between all that wine tasting.
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TL;DR? Here's the outline
Seppeltsfield Road Distillers
Opened in 2018, Seppeltsfield Road Distillers is run by Nicole and Jon Durdin. All their gins are brewed in the still that greets visitors on arrival to the cellar door.
She’s affectionately known as Christine and is the centrepiece of both the production and the cellar door.
During our visit she was not working on gin but brewing up a batch of whiskey, so be on the lookout for some new spirits and flavours from these guys in the future.
We chose to try the gin flight. For $20 we got 15ml of each of the four gins Seppeltsfield Road Distillers sell and a bottle of tonic water.
The first gin is their take on a classic London-style gin. It’s followed by a very fruity house gin that was almost my favourite.
The third gin was called “Savoury Allsorts”, as its name suggests it’s a licorice-flavoured gin. This one was not to our taste, but to be fair, we don’t like any aniseed flavours. If you do, you may like this gin.
Our favourite gin was the Barossa Shiraz Gin. Once ice was added and then mixed with tonic water it was a delicious, light drink – almost like a light sparkling red wine in flavour.
Barossa Distilling Company
Barossa Distilling Company are located right on the main road through Nuriootpa, in the complex that houses the Penfolds cellar door.
It’s set up in an area that still houses some of the historical stills Penfolds used to make brandy, so the tasting room has a very funky, industrial feel to it.
We again chose the gin flight so that we could taste four of their gins for $26 There is a fifth gin on the menu too, but it was sold out during our visit.
Generations is a tasty London dry-style gin. This style always seems to be nice to drink but it doesn’t stand out, and that was the case here too.
Budburst is a pink gin. It was fruity and light with the tonic water and strawberry garnish, I can imagine it as a great summer afternoon drink. Barossa Shiraz Gin was a lovely blood red, full of flavour and immediately became our new favourite.
But it only lasted a few minutes because we then tasted Miss Maple. This gin is infused with maple syrup, so is lovely and sweet. It was nice straight, and even better with the tonic. This would be a perfect substitute for a dessert wine at the end of a meal.
Rehn Bier
I’ve mentioned before I am not a beer drinker, so my husband is the taste-tester at breweries. He had heard good reports of Rehn Bier, so this was something he definitely wanted to taste.
Rehn Bier is located in a warehouse-style building. It’s the factory and tasting area all in one, so has an industrial feel to it that I like when it comes to breweries. Their tasting paddle consisted of a choice of four beers for $12.
We almost always choose the ginger beer because I tend to like that, and he also tried a pilsner, an Australian ale and a red ale. All were okay without being really to Simon’s taste, but we both liked the ginger beer the best.
Barossa Valley Brewing
While Rehn Bier is a shed all about the beer, Barossa Valley Brewing is a venue.
Visit on a weekend afternoon and you will enjoy live music playing outside, beer-drinking games being played (throwing a beanbag through a hole – not sure what it’s called) and lots of people enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.
I do see this as mostly a summer venue though, as while there are undercover areas, they are still very open and it was very cool.
Again Simon chose a tasting paddle, it was $18 for six beers. I was curious about the Chocolate Coffee Stout, so they offered us a small taste of that as a little bonus. The paddle consists of their cider and whatever beers are on tap at the time, which, if there are more than five, you can choose.
It did not include the beers that only came in cans, such as the interestingly named “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Bacon” beer.
The favourite beer here was the Summer Session Ale, followed closely by the Extra Pale Lager. Both of these were easy-drinking beers perfect for those hot summer days.
While you are in the Barossa Valley, these posts may help you
Things to do in the Barossa Valley that Aren’t Wine Tasting
Eating Vegan in the Barossa Valley
Barossa Hot Air Ballooning
Visiting more great South Australian locations? These posts might help
Adelaide 3 Day Itinerary
Best Places for South Australia Whale Watching
Glamping South Australia – The Ultimate Guide to Camping in Style
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