At short notice, I found myself driving Daughter No.2 to Dubbo, where her nursing career commences. I’ve following the Devil’s Elbow journey on social media and expected to visit once Daughter No.2 had some leave – but all of a sudden I was #atthesource.
Scenes from Mudgee Brewing
Well it wasn’t sudden. A meandering 8 hour journey with no a couple of stops including the dependable Mudgee Brewery and Ballimore – a classic one pub town. Daughter No.2 needed some unpacking time, so I was able to stick my head into a few Dubbo pubs before ultimately meeting at Devil’s Elbow.
Ballimore and the Hair of the Dog Bar
It was 42 degrees in Dubbo on the palindromic 02/02 2020 – so it was middies of light at each pub stop. The pubs of Dubbo look great, but the beer selection is almost identical at each establishment. Amazing to see the spread of 4 Pines and Pirate Life in amongst Great Northern, Super Dry and Tooheys New.
Pubs of Dubbo. Amaroo (l), The Commercial, The Castlereagh, The Pastoral
On our way to Devil’s Elbow with the very punctual Dubbo Cabs, we were confronted by a dust storm rolling. Apocalyptic stuff. 42 degrees, now a dust storm and rain to follow if our driver was right. $20 cab from the centre of town to Devil’s Elbow, plus there’s plenty of parking for the designated driver.
Dust and Devil
The first thing you notice about Devil’s Elbow is just how big it is. Massive. Really high ceilings (to fit in the Brewing equipment) and plenty of seating including a mezzanine Level. The second thing I noticed was the number of punters. Sunday late arvo and this place was doing well.
Scenes from a brewery
Brendan, the owner, is a very friendly and accommodating fellow. He offered my daughter and I a tour and we got the works. We learnt that the Head Brewer is Lachlan MacBean from Newcastle. He’s been teaching the lads the tricks of the trade. I love how they had their own branded kegs made as well.
Beer menu
The beers are really good. One feature of Devil’s Elbow is that as much thought has gone into naming the beers as has gone into making them. In what is an extremely tough market to come up with unique names, Nun Launcher and Nosey Bob are certainly one-offs (source Untappd). The story behind each is told in some detail – all very locally focussed.
The beers
I’ve got to say Nosey Bob was probably my favourite of the night. A lovely smooth red ale with plenty of malt. There’s a pale, a helles, a mid (Dub Vegas), a dark and a Belgian Wit. I’ll need to return to try the IPA. It is a fabulous experience. The food is good and the atmosphere friendly. And by the way it did rain – and everyone’s smiles widened a little bit more.
Devil’s Elbow Brewery: 10 Commercial Avenue, Blueridge Business Park, Dubbo NSW
PS: I did stumble across a unique at the Commercial Hotel (161 Brisbane Street, Dubbo) as I snuck in the first quarter of the SuperBowl. Lazy One Lager is made by the the Lazy Estate Winery, just outside of Dubbo. Decent mid-strength in a bottle.
back of the ferry 