First Stop – Stanthorpe

Kevtoberfest Road Trip #2

With a brewery and a distillery, wineries and gourmet food shops, Stanthorpe was always going to be the first stop on our journey to Victoria. We didn’t have to go far; the small town at the centre of Queensland’s Granite Belt region is just 144 kilometres south on the New England Highway. We’ve been to Stanthorpe before, so there was no sightseeing on our itinerary. This time we were on a mission.

Our first destination was Vincenzo’s at the Big Apple, filled to the rafters with gourmet delights both local and international in origin. We stocked up on our favourite fresh cheeses and sourdough baguettes still warm from the oven.

At Castle Glen Australia, the shelves are lined with delicious liqueurs in specially crafted bottles. Musk Stick, Dark Choc Mint and Dark Choc Musk liqueurs found their way to the caravan.

The Granite Belt Brewery serves more than just beer. Using locally sourced ingredients, the restaurant chef creates delectable dishes to complement the craft beers on tap. We shared an entrée of duck and pork spring rolls before our main meals of twice-cooked pork belly slow braised in Stanthorpe apple ale, roasted Brussel sprouts, apple compote and ale jus. I enjoyed a refreshing apple ale while Glen sampled four beers on a tasting paddle. To begin the Kevtoberfest collection, Glen bought a bottle each of Granite Pils, Irish Red Ale and Pozieres Porter. They were carefully packed away to be shared later with Kevin.

We even did some practice for Kevtoberfest!

With the pantry stocked and the beer collection started, we continued south into New South Wales.

Road Trip Tally: Breweries 1/Craft shops 0