Cascade Brewery and HistoryExperience. A 'Cicerone' in the Making

 When checking in for your tour at the ‘Cascade Brewhouse’, each participant receives a brochure outlining the history of Cascade Brewery, the brewing process, the range of beers available and a token that entitles you to a 10% discount on Cascade souvenirs / gift purchases. 

The first question the lady asked us was, if we were wearing flat shoes – to which we replied “yes”. Furthermore, the lady will instruct you where your meeting point is and what time you should be there. We were there about an hour early, so we had dinner there. 

I had ‘Fish and Chips’ @ $24 – delicious and crisp and the girls had ‘Garlic Pizza’ @ $12 – delicious also. They do offer free Wi-Fi but you must sign in with your email or Facebook account. Highly recommend dinner there, service was quick and food delicious. 

Anyway, we headed to our meeting point, a nice cosy room with seats available and a coffee table in the centre of the room with a box of hi-vis vests and goggles. There is a fireplace as a display with their beers displayed on the shelf above and samples of ingredients used during the brewery on the side. ‘Lucinda’ our tour guide enters the room, addresses herself and gives us a safety induction before we start our tour - there is a television above the fireplace, where she uses this as a slide presentation – which works well, especially if you find it hard to hear, it’s right in front of you in text format with images. 

Lucinda would ask if there is anyone who have a fear of heights, as you will be climbing up a height of 100 stairs. Luckily, the group I was with didn’t have a fear of height. I have no clue what would have taken place should you have fear of heights though? 

We all had to put on hi-vis vests and wear a pair of goggles for protection because we were going to enter their work site and it’s a safety requirement, oh… no alcohol is to be consumed prior to the tour, as it is unsafe to enter their work site. Lucinda took us back in time to 1824 in front of the original building where it all started, by an English settler ‘Peter Degraves’ who arrived in Tassie and became the founder of Cascade Brewery – there were lots of interesting fun facts about him. 

Then fast-forward to the 21st century, Cascade Brewery is still standing strong, fully operational and the oldest brewery in Australia! Here’s a fun fact, the water used in the brewery is sourced from Mount Wellington – not too far from the brewery itself. Lucinda eventually takes us where it all happens – where the golden liquid is being made, bottled or poured in barrels and shipped out. 

Lucinda displays a solid and well-rounded knowledge of beer, the brewing process and able to identify different types of beer and their strength, and a brief description of their unique taste. Lucinda explains the brewing process in a simplified manner for all to understand – whether you have a passion for beer or not. We also get the opportunity to smell and taste different samples of Hops (optional) used for brewing – very interesting and interactive part of the tour. 

My girls described the smell of the workplace to chicken ‘layer pellets’ – the smell can be unpleasant. Also, Lucinda tests your knowledge regarding beer and in return for the correct answer, you will receive a Cascade crown seal – which is a token for an additional free glass of beer. 

Fully enclosed flat shoes are definitely a requirement, participants walk approximately 1.5km plus 100 stairs, in some areas, you walk on metal mesh flooring – heels and loose shoes are unsafe. It is at this point, when upon the metal mesh flooring you can see right through the flooring and if memory serves me correctly, the highest part of our tour – just a reminder for those who have fear of height. 

We then retraced our steps back to the modern ‘Cascade Brewhouse’ to do the best part of the tour… sample 4 x 7oz of your choice, tastings of beer. Lucinda gives each participant 4 x Cascade crown seal – this works as an exchange to your beers. Before you choose your beer, Lucinda has a row of beers displayed on the shelf, gives you a brief overview of their strength and flavour and with the help of her colleague ‘Darren’, you get to choose your beer and drink. If you want to take one home, it equals to 3 x Cascade crown seal for one. 

I ended up having one there and one to take back with me, as I was driving. Darren was fun, very approachable and knowledgeable with beer as well. Although I asked him to choose a beer on my behalf, he was hesitant because everyone has different tastes and I may not like his selection. 

Darren did pick out the beer for me, it was ‘Cascade Pale Ale – Authentic and Full Bodied’. If you’re reading this Darren, it was perfect, just what I wanted – thank you so much! The tour is approximately 75 minutes, one hour for the tour and 15 minutes for your beer tasting. 

The tour was very informative and interesting but I came out none the wiser – information overload, just go with your tastebuds, go with the flow and enjoy your experience. The tour runs at various times throughout the day from 11am to 6.30pm (being the last tour) @ $30 pp. 

Thank you so much for the tour Lucinda, you were exceptional.