Mountain Culture, Katoomba – SMH Good Food app listing

A crisp, piney Mountain Culture IPA sounds like the right reward after completing a nearby Charles Darwin hike. This craft beer brand has taken off, with new taprooms opening in Sydney and Hobart; but none have lived up to the charm of the original Katoomba beer bar, housed in a 1912 printing press. Small batch beers are brewed and canned on site, while larger quantities come from production facilities at nearby Emu Plains.

Owners DJ McCready, former head brewer at Modus Operandi Brewing in Mona Vale, and his partner Harriet use reverse osmosis water and imported hybrid yeast to produce their signature, hazy-forward beer. Start with a classic. Status Quo New England Pale Ale was recently named Australia’s number one craft beer in the GABS Hottest 100 list for the fourth consecutive year.