Future Brewing will mark its second birthday this weekend with a five-day celebration that brings together the best of East Coast and West Coast flavours.
Running from Thursday 2 October to Monday 6 October, the milestone event underscores just how far the independent Sydney-based brewery has come in two years, despite tough market conditions, and provides an opportunity to reflect on its achievements.
Laura Howard, Co-founder of Future Brewing, told Beer & Brewer: “Some of the highlights have been collaborating with other breweries internationally and our local friends from One Drop, Bracket, Kicks and Range up in Brisbane.
“Some of the best moments have been events that have brought the local craft beer scene together like our hazy beer fest, Juicy Dreams, and our dark beer event, Dark Arts. It’s the best feeling when the taproom is full of people having a great time. Getting invited to These Hills Fest (hosted by Beak) in the UK this year was pretty special too.”
And beyond the memorable collaborations and events, Howard is especially proud of the quality of beers that the brewery has consistently produced since launching in 2023, and plans to build on this momentum in the years to come.
“We’ve kept things tight and stayed small and kept our focus on spending where it counts most – and that is on ingredients to make the best beers possible,” Howard added.
“We want to stay small but need to grow a little to be able to brew more beer, so we plan to get a few new tanks and add a few taps within the next year or so. We want to focus on the taproom and creating a space that people want to hang out and that is like a community hub.”
Marking the milestone
This weekend, the brewery has lined up a program built around an East Coast vs West Coast IPA showdown, inviting drinkers to weigh in on their favourite style. The festivities will also include a rotating list of limited-edition beers, while local food partner Nativo will serve taco specials inspired by each coast.
For Future Brewing, it’s an opportunity to highlight the best of what they do – hop-forward styles made in a modern way, with a lot of hops.
“The East Coast vs West Coast theme is a play on the hip hop rivalry of the 90s in the US and of course the beer styles known in the US from the East Coast – Hazy IPAs and from the West Coast – West Coast IPAs,” Howard explains.
“We love both styles and as much as we join the haze craze it’s also a statement that we’re just as serious about West Coast styles – especially when done in the modern (Future) way, not too malty and bitter, they’re actually fresh and crisp with just enough bitterness that you want to keep going back for another sip.”
Future Brewing has brewed four beers especially for its birthday – a Hazy and a West Coast IPA, and then, turning the notch up a little, a Hazy and a West Coast Double IPA – all dry-hopped and bursting with flavour and aroma.
“These beers are kind of us coming full circle – one of our first beers we brewed was a West Coast IPA called From the Get Go. It was sort of a statement that we’re making West Coasts from day one, not just haze. We spent a couple years in California before starting the brewery so fell in love with the modern West Coast style being done there. We also travelled the East Coast visiting New England all the best Hazy producers from Virginia to Vermont. So, these beers are a nod to those producers and where we’ve come from to get here,” Howard added.
