{"id":127382,"date":"2026-02-19T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=127382"},"modified":"2026-02-19T12:41:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:41:59","slug":"queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A space described as Geelong&#8217;s biggest beer garden is now open for business.<\/p>\n<p>The Queen of the West put the finishing touches on the $750,000 Geelong Hospitality Group project on Friday afternoon last week.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/QUEENOFTHEWEST_B_43301.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"408\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two 4.5m ficus trees are in the centre of the space. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Geelong Hospitality Group general manager, Tom Ward, and City of Greater Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj pulled two of the beer garden&#8217;s first pots just before the space opened to its first customers.<\/p>\n<p>The 700sqm space in the Pakington Street venue can host up to 450 people standing or 250 seated patrons.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/QUEENOFTHEWEST_B_48094.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The area is designed to feel open while protecting patrons from the elements. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Designed to feel open while protecting patrons from the elements, the enclosed beer garden features 7m ceilings and large windows along the eastern side, drawing in natural light throughout the day.<\/p>\n<p>A mix of native and exotic plantings feature throughout the beer garden, including 4.5m tall ficus trees in the middle of the space and ornate garden bed borders.<\/p>\n<p>The beer garden&#8217;s bar has 12 taps pouring local and imported beers, alongside a cocktail list and a curated wine selection.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/QUEENOFTHEWEST_S_92774.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"1058\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The beer garden&#8217;s bar features 12 taps. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A dining focal point is woodfire pizzas, continuing the venue&#8217;s Italian-inspired food offering, with a new oven integrated within the space as well as an Argentinian-style parrilla grill to support a new asado barbecue menu.<\/p>\n<p>Ward said the beer garden was designed with the local community, familiarity and connection at its core.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are incredibly excited to be opening the beer garden at the Queen. Our vision was to create something Geelong has not seen before, an expansive indoor-outdoor destination where everyone can come together, rain, hail or shine.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/QUEENOFTHEWEST_P_64649.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"527\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Woodfired pizzas are a dining focal point. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Since taking ownership two years ago, we have been gradually expanding at the back of the pub, and every time we have added new space the customer feedback has been positive.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We have been blown away by the response and received over 2,000 bookings in the first 48 hours.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/IMG_8905_04426.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"560\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj and Geelong Hospitality Group general manager, Tom Ward at one of the tables in the 700sqm beer garden. Photo: James Taylor.\u00a0 Two 4.5m ficus trees are in the centre of the space. Photo: Supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He said said pubs were increasingly becoming all-day social destinations.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Geelong&#8217;s pub scene has evolved significantly over the past five years and is enjoying a real resurgence. Pubs are cool again, particularly among younger people aged between 18 and 25 years who are looking for more relaxed places to socialise, rather than heading to late-night venues in town.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/IMG_8871_14691.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"533\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj and Geelong Hospitality Group general manager, Tom Ward clink glasses after pulling two of the first pots at the beer garden. Photo: JAMES TAYLOR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are responding to that shift with day parties, regular DJs, live music and sporting event programming, creating a space that works from afternoon through to late evening.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A space described as Geelong&#8217;s biggest beer garden is now open for business. The Queen of the West put the finishing touches on the $750,000 Geelong Hospitality Group project on Friday afternoon last week. &nbsp; Geelong Hospitality Group general manager, Tom Ward, and City of Greater Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj pulled two of the beer [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":127391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-127382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Geelong\u2019s Queen of the West opens a 700sqm beer garden with 12 taps, woodfired pizzas, live music, and all-day social experiences.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden - Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Geelong\u2019s Queen of the West opens a 700sqm beer garden with 12 taps, woodfired pizzas, live music, and all-day social experiences.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"jamespetertaylor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-18T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-19T01:41:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-28.jpg?_t=1771465320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@notthatjt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"James Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2655215c02475fb33ffa43a1c8fe2677\"},\"headline\":\"Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-18T17:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-19T01:41:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":555,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-28.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/\",\"name\":\"Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden - Geelong Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-28.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-18T17:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-19T01:41:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Geelong\u2019s Queen of the West opens a 700sqm beer garden with 12 taps, woodfired pizzas, live music, and all-day social experiences.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-28.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-28.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"The beer garden is located at the rear of the Queen of the West hotel. Photo: SUPPLIED\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"width\":248,\"height\":37,\"caption\":\"Geelong Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2655215c02475fb33ffa43a1c8fe2677\",\"name\":\"James Taylor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James Taylor\"},\"description\":\"James\u2019 first job in journalism was at the Bendigo Advertiser, where he held a number of roles, including reporter, sub-editor and arts and features writer. He has also worked for several publications at Fairfax, including the Knox Weekly, Casey Weekly and Pakenham Weekly, and in the UK with the Berkshire Media Group. Raised in Geelong, James has been back in his hometown since 2011 and now lives in Waurn Ponds. Outside of journalism, James divides his time between barracking for the Cats, chasing his two-year-old daughter around, and posting on Twitter (@notthatjt).\",\"sameAs\":[\"jamespetertaylor\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/@notthatjt\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/author\\\/jamestaylor\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden - Geelong Times","description":"Geelong\u2019s Queen of the West opens a 700sqm beer garden with 12 taps, woodfired pizzas, live music, and all-day social experiences.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden - Geelong Times","og_description":"Geelong\u2019s Queen of the West opens a 700sqm beer garden with 12 taps, woodfired pizzas, live music, and all-day social experiences.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/","og_site_name":"Geelong Times","article_author":"jamespetertaylor","article_published_time":"2026-02-18T17:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-19T01:41:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-28.jpg?_t=1771465320","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"James Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@notthatjt","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Taylor","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/"},"author":{"name":"James Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/2655215c02475fb33ffa43a1c8fe2677"},"headline":"Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden","datePublished":"2026-02-18T17:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-19T01:41:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/"},"wordCount":555,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-28.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/","name":"Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden - Geelong Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-28.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-18T17:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-19T01:41:59+00:00","description":"Geelong\u2019s Queen of the West opens a 700sqm beer garden with 12 taps, woodfired pizzas, live music, and all-day social experiences.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-28.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-28.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"The beer garden is located at the rear of the Queen of the West hotel. Photo: SUPPLIED"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/queen-of-the-west-cracks-open-new-beer-garden\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Queen of the West cracks open new beer garden"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","name":"Geelong Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization","name":"Geelong Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","width":248,"height":37,"caption":"Geelong Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/2655215c02475fb33ffa43a1c8fe2677","name":"James Taylor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ceb72a20a2941ff28326fc7c1d56a74ecb6e6ac1d9b5a50749c0314e0b11d5a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"James Taylor"},"description":"James\u2019 first job in journalism was at the Bendigo Advertiser, where he held a number of roles, including reporter, sub-editor and arts and features writer. He has also worked for several publications at Fairfax, including the Knox Weekly, Casey Weekly and Pakenham Weekly, and in the UK with the Berkshire Media Group. Raised in Geelong, James has been back in his hometown since 2011 and now lives in Waurn Ponds. Outside of journalism, James divides his time between barracking for the Cats, chasing his two-year-old daughter around, and posting on Twitter (@notthatjt).","sameAs":["jamespetertaylor","https:\/\/x.com\/@notthatjt"],"url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/author\/jamestaylor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127382"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=127382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}