Just before Christmas last year, Hamilton’s Beaumont Street was lucky enough to land itself a working brewery and brewhouse – Good Folk Brewing.

It’s been 12 months since the venue launched and Good Folk Brewing is flourishing.

From winning multiple awards in this year’s Independent Beer Awards, selling out its seasonal Beergustation events, and the launch of a Chrissy box, we caught up with the Good Folk Brewing team to see exactly how the last 12 months have been and what the next 12 have in store!

Hospitality aficionados, the Elsley family, are behind the brand, so it’s no surprise to hear that the Good Folk Brewing brand has received a welcoming embrace from both the Newcastle community and craft beer lovers Australia-wide.

With The Blind Monk, Bartholomew’s, and The Grand Hotel amongst some of Elsley’s establishments, the family knows hospitality and how to do it well. However, Good Folk was their first move into the craft beer industry.

“The beers have all been really well received. Most of the craft beer bottle shops around Newcastle are already stocking Good Folk beer, we’re on a number of taps in local venues, and we’ve just started wholesaling to Sydney which is exciting,” Phil said.

In May 2023, only a short six months into Good Folks' journey, the brand received medals for four of their brews in this year’s Australian International Beer Awards, walking out with bronze for the Black, Normal Beer, and their New England IPA (NEIPA), and a whopping gold medal for their Danny’s Wedge.

Additionally, their Black (dark lager) landed a gold award in this year’s Independent Brewer’s Association awards.

“It’s been a really good 12 months. We’ve done really well for our first little run.”

With James Horne as head brewer, Good Folk has already built a strong lineup of signature brews including their Session Hazy Pale Ale, Rice Lager, Black, NEIPA, Mid Strength Pale Ale, Danny’s Wedge Tropical Pale Ale, India Pale Ale (IPA), and their brilliantly named Normal Beer (lager).

James will always have a seasonal or experimental beer happening on-site which means there is always something new to try. For now, you’ve got the Cold IPA, Native Sour, and the Nitro Red Ale on the limited-release lineup.

“When we’ve got our beer gustation dinners on, James will have two or three new beers for people to try. Our little 200L tanks give us three- to four-keg batches that you’ll only ever get to try here on site.”

The brewhouse itself continues to bring people through in droves. Whether for its always jam-packed weekly Good Folk Trivia kicking off at 7pm every Wednesday night or for the casual yet filling food menu.

The woodfired oven slings out tasty pizzas with toppings including traditional Italian favourites like Margherita, Calabrese, and Quattro Formaggi, as well as some signature flavours like Hot Potato, Zucchini, and Norma.

The rest of the menu is simple and complements the pizzas, including a cheese board, antipasto plate, house-made pretzel, and two salad options.

“The food here is very casual and snacky. It’s food that’s going to go well with beer and that you can share. Sit around one of these picnic tables, and grab a pizza and a few snack dishes. Everything in here is incredibly casual,” Executive Chef, Jeremy Fahy said.

With Christmas only a few short weeks away, the Beaumont Street-based brewery and brewhouse have thought of the beer lovers out there, and have launched their 12 Beers of Christmas box which is available for preorder, with pick-up available for the 20th of December.

Moving into 2024, we’re excited to see what the next 12 months hold for the Good Folk brand. With plans to add more events onto their weekly lineup, and with a year of experience up their sleeves, surely we’ll see their brews top the charts again!