Beer-lover’s guide to the Carlton Brewery Tour

Conveniently located just 4 kilometres from Melbourne's CBD, Carlton Brewhouse is more than just a great place to stop for a schooner and great grub, it is part of the largest brewery in the country.

Sneak a peek behind the brew 

A tour of Carlton’s historic Abbotsford site, a genuine working brewery, goes beyond just tanks and taps. It’s a walk-through Aussie beer culture that traces Carlton’s roots back to 1904, a time when Victorians consumed an impressive 84 litres of beer per person each year, fuelling a boom in the brewery business and, no doubt, the quest for effective hangover cures. Fast forward to today, and popular brews like Carlton Draught and Victoria Bitter are still going strong, backed by decades of dedication to keeping the flavours just as they need to be.

As you wander through the brewery – and its network of tanks and pipes – you’ll follow the brewing process and the river of fresh beer that flows through them each day. Towering fermentation tanks surround you, the hiss of steam fills the air, and the scent of roasted malt mingles with a hint of barley sweetness.

Watching the brewers at work, it’s clear these folks love what they do as much as we love consuming the results.

Great beer meets good conscience 

While you’ll be intrigued by its history, the Carlton Brewery is looking forward too, with solid eco-friendly brewing practices that reflect a commitment to the future. By 2025, they’ll be powering their operations entirely with renewable energy, using solar panels and partnerships that help build new renewable projects. Packaging will feature recyclable, reusable, or compostable materials (excluding caps and labels); they’re also upping the ante on significantly reducing water usage, working towards zero waste to landfill by 2030, and tackling its carbon footprint by cutting operational emissions in half and decreasing broader supply chain emissions by a third – no small feat.

It’s one thing to savour a good brew, but knowing it’s made sustainably adds a satisfying aftertaste all its own. 

Take flight 

Speaking of which, that brings us back to the Brewhouse and the moment everyone’s been waiting for – a complimentary tasting paddle of cold, brewery-fresh beers. Sip your way through Unpasteurised Carlton Draught, Carlton Dry, Victoria Bitter, Melbourne Bitter, and Brookvale Ginger Beer, as well as a guest beer, which changes regularly, to switch things up.

Every beer brewed by Carlton has a story, as all good beers should. During a tasting, the staff shares these stories, pointing out the nuances that make each sip that little bit different. You’ll learn to pick out subtle floral and citrus notes in the hops, caramel undertones in the malt, and the precise carbonation that brings it all together. You’ll finish the tour with a schooner of knowledge and a soft spot for a brewery that’s serious about its place in the world of beer.

What better reason could you need to linger longer to grab a meal, and another tasting paddle, at the Carlton Brewhouse?