Head to Copperhead Brewery
John Caruso discovers five reasons why Copperhead Brewery is the Coast’s best kept secret this winter…
Cooroy is just a scenic twenty minute drive from Noosa. In practice, for a lot of people, it might as well be two hundred. That’s their loss. Because at the corner of Kauri Street and Tewantin Road, Copperhead Restaurant and Brewery has been building one of the more complete hospitality offerings in the region – with the year-end function season closing in faster than most people are ready for, it’s worth the drive.
If your mental file on this venue is a few years old, you may remember it as the place the Bennett brothers bought because they loved the food and the beer. Or perhaps you know it as the place where head chef Mark Potter has been running the kitchen for eight years with a passion for local produce and dishes that you won’t find on menus elsewhere. Maybe you love that head brewer Simon Grasby keeps the taps humming across a core range of fourteen beers, all brewed onsite with meticulous attention to the craft from Cerveza to Detroit Red and a Hazy IPA. For fun, one tap is dedicated to a monthly experiment.
What Copperhead has assembled across the years is one of the more considered, consistent, and genuinely cool hospitality offerings in the region. The building sets the scene – cement floor, exposed timber, old brick, industrial-style lights, comfortable furnishings, and floor-to-ceiling glass looking out to a sea of green. There’s a long, open bar; a view to the kitchen and standing proud in the corner, stainless steel tanks where the magic happens – it’s a room with character that didn’t arrive out of a catalogue.
In summer it’s cool and unfussy. In winter it earns a different quality entirely, the kind of warmth that comes from materials and mass rather than from mood lighting and music. The restaurant can also cater to large groups, and with ample parking it handles the full range of occasions and celebrations: Christmas parties, end-of-year dinners, wedding receptions, birthday gatherings, group lunches.
Restaurant manager Jimmy Van Den Bremer oversees the detail, and he’s passionate about what sets Copperhead Restaurant and Brewery apart.
“We run a dedicated and experienced events team,” Jimmy says. “Our menus are fully adjustable to our guests’ needs, and we are located away from the hustle and bustle while still offering a prime dining experience.”
Here are just five reasons to head to Copperhead this winter…
1. Sunday Sessions
Make the most of the winter sun, with two-for-one cocktails and $8 schooners every Sunday from 3pm–5.30pm. Throw in a mixed sharing plate of scallop and pork belly, arancini and halloumi chips at $18 for one or $35 for two – and don’t forget the Pipe Clay Lagoon oysters at $4 each. That’s a Sunday well spent!
2. Everyone loves a Lunch Special
From Wednesday to Friday between 11.30am and 3pm, enjoy two courses and a drink for just $49 – one of the best value lunch specials you’ll find on the coast. Entrées include San Francisco fish cakes with mascarpone tartare, or house-made duck liver pâté with croutons and pickled grapes. For mains, take your pick of a 200g Black Angus rump with hand-cut chips, house salad and jus, or house-made linguine with chorizo, tomatoes, parsley and peas, and your choice of schooner or house wine is included. Decisions, decisions!
3. Brilliant Burgers & Local Beer
Fancy a burger, frothing local beer and cheap kid’s meals to get through to the weekend? From Wednesday to Friday from 3pm–5.30pm, grab any burger – wagyu, palmi, snapper or vegetarian – with chips and a schooner, for $29. Children’s meals are $15 and include a soft drink and ice cream. Everyone’s happy and your bank account will love you for it too.
4. Thirsty Thursdays
For anyone who’s developed a preference for Simon’s work on those fourteen taps or are keen to offer their opinion on the monthly experimental brew, Thursday evening is a reasonable excuse to act on it. Copperhead’s 1L Squealer refills are $10 or $25 if you are new to the squealer game. Plus enjoy a half-price beer while you wait.
5. Functions & Christmas Parties
Parking in Noosa can be a blood sport on a good day, but not at Copperhead. Easy parking means they are equipped to accommodate your next special occasion from Christmas parties, end-of-year dinners, wedding receptions, birthday gatherings or group lunches with seating for up to 130 guests. Their industrial open bar, contemporary furnishings and sleek design make it a space with genuine warmth and soul.
Copperhead Restaurant and Brewery is the kind of place you come for the beers, but end up staying for everything else. The friendly team knows what they’re doing – and they love doing it. The kitchen punches well above its weight, and the brewery is the real deal. Head to Cooroy to discover some hinterland gold – Copperhead has the character, and the menu to make the drive worthwhile.
Is Copperhead calling you? Discover more than just their tasty beers….
