There’s no denying that Brisbane loves a rooftop cocktail—thanks to our glorious year-round weather and epic city skyline, sky high drinking is a staple weekend activity, especially when it involves an orange-hued sunset. Well now you can add rooftop beers to your usual Saturday itinerary, with the opening of Valley Hops Brewing in Fortitude Valley.
Landing on the roof of Cloudland just in time for summer, the latest offering from the Katarzyna Group is, as you’d expect, far more glam than your usual neighborhood brewpub. The sun-drenched rooftop venue features stunning metalwork arbours lined with creeping vines and a mix of wooden picnic style tables, booths and high tables, all covered by a clear glass awning to keep out inclement weather. Taking pride of place amongst it all is a massive metal fire pit surrounded by stone benches for the cooler month and, in keeping with Cloudland’s extravagant decor downstairs, a coloured glass leadlight that lines the entire bar.
Before you ask, yes, they are brewing beers right there on the rooftop. Visible behind a latticed glass wall are the massive steel tanks turning hops into Valley Hops Brewing’s core range of a crisp lager, a tropical ale, a mango and passionfruit sour, an IPA and pale ale. Manning the tanks is beer-obsessed Head Brewer Josh Warren, formerly of Green Beacon, who’s taken inspiration from the Valley’s people and places for the range of brews.
Of course, any good brewpub needs a menu of good drinking eats, and you’ll find plenty of those on the rooftop too. Coming out of the kitchen are a selection of wood-fired pizzas, from familiar favourites like the diavola and margherita to the more gourmet norcina, with cream, truffle, porcini mushroom, sausage, parsley and pepper. There’s also a line up of shared plates from the grill, including the likes of lamb shoulder flatbreads, spicy octopus skewers and pork ribs with sriracha, as well as antipasti boards and snacks such as salt and vinegar chicken wings and pineapple fritters to munch on.
You don’t have to be a craft beer lover to enjoy a rooftop sip either—the drinks list features a lengthy list of top notch wines for those not (yet) able to tell an IPA from a pale ale.
Valley Hops Brewing is open now, and you’ll find them just an elevator’s ride above Cloudland in Fortitude Valley. Get all the details on the new rooftop watering hole here.
Find more of Brisbane’s best breweries here.
Image credit: Supplied