Bass Point Brewing’s Bushrangers Bay beer. Photos: Supplied.
Craft beer enthusiasts in Shellharbour have a new hangout, after brothers Daniel and Brendon James opened a Barrack Heights taphouse for their popular Bass Point Brewing brand crafted with inspiration from their hometown.
After 20 years of developing their recipes through homebrewing in the backyard, the brothers decided to launch their first beer into the market two and a half years ago, selling out within four days.
As they began developing their unique beer recipes and growing a strong customer base through festivals, events and stocking select venues, the pair received constant requests to open a venue.
Joined by brother-in-law Wade Jacob, they finally took the leap to turn their passion project into a microbrewery and taphouse last month by opening the Barrack Heights establishment.
“My brother and I have always been passionate about craft beer and always enjoyed going to craft breweries and tasting different beers, more than the mainstream beer,” Dan said.
“We were just sitting in his backyard having a chat one afternoon about two and a half years ago, and we thought there’s no breweries in Shellharbour.
“Someone’s going to do it – and they will – so we should do it.
“We thought, we’ve got families and full-time jobs, so let’s just do it another way. Let’s build our brand around the beautiful place we live, which is Shellharbour.”
He said the theme on the cans was that of a postcard destination with a note to a friend who they had shared a good experience or beer with at one point in their life.
“We dedicate each beer to them, basically like a little message on the back of a postcard,” he said.
“We came up with the gravel loader as an iconic piece of history around Bass Point.”
He said each beer was named after an area around Bass Point, with some places better known than others, from The Shallows and Bushrangers Bay to Maloneys Bay and Beaky Cove.
“A friend of mine has a brewery, so we brewed our first beer there, and we sold out in four days with the pale ale,” he said.
“We thought, that’s alright, we’ll do that again with another beer and that didn’t last much longer. We thought, we’re onto a winner.”
He said they began brewing traditional beers with unique flavours like blood orange and white peach, and attending festivals and events to promote the brand.
“I’m a chef by trade, so with a couple of the beers I like to be able to put the combination of fruits with them,” he said.
“With our Christmas beer, we had a plum pudding white stout beer that we made.
“With all those ingredients, we try and use local where we can … but obviously there’s no hop farm in Shellharbour.”
He said requests to open a taphouse kept coming and, while they had always wanted to open one, the challenge was finding the right location.
“Ideally we were hoping to be at Shell Cove and near Bass Point with the business park planned, but that’s been a bit delayed,” he said.
“So we found another nice spot at Barrack Heights with a beer garden in the backyard.”
Located within an industrial estate, Dan said the aim was to stay small, maintaining personal relationships with customers.
And while the brand was growing as they now brewed and served from the new site, it was still a side hustle for them as they held down day jobs.
“We all have full-time jobs, so in a way it’s our hobby that’s become a bigger hobby,” he said.
“It’s just the three of us and then our wives have been getting involved as well.
“We’re not trying to become a big brewery.
“We are just a small family brewery, and that’s pretty much what we’re happy doing – just knowing our customers and serving good beer.”
To add to the experience, they’re bringing in food vans every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, often running beer specials to pair with the food on offer.
“The amount of people that are riding their bikes and walking to the brewery and then going, ‘Oh, wow, I don’t have to go and sit in the club for a beer,’” he said.
With the favourite being a pacific ale, the variety of styles on offer was bringing in a mix of customers.
“We get the customers that like a nice crisp summer beer,” he said.
“Then you’ve got the so-called beer experts which, like myself, I drink beer like I drink wine.”
Dan said that meant a beer could be selected based on mood or climate, with a dark ale possibly selected during winter and maybe a pilsner during summer.
He said now they were looking to introduce fun and healthy elements, including a run club “so it’s not all about drinking beer”.
The trio are also cyclists, regularly attending and setting up a tent at cycling events around NSW and the ACT.
“We did the Bowral Classic and made a beer just for the Bowral Classic,” he said.
“We also made a beer for one of the local Surf Life Saving clubs – they’ve got their own dedicated beer as well.”
Bass Point Brewing is located at Unit 4, 7 Sunset Ave, Barrack Heights and is dog friendly.
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