Brewery brings 200-year-old European tradition to the Tweed

A Tweed brewery is adapting a centuries-old European brewing tradition to local conditions, using native ingredients and sustainable practices to produce barrel-aged beer.

Caldera Brewing and Blending Co has drawn on traditional European techniques to create mixed-culture, barrel-aged saisons, a process that can take up to two years.

Run by Nick Loeve and his wife Hayley Gaulton, the brewery is among a small number in Australia specialising in the style, which relies on the fermentation of multiple yeasts and bacteria.

The term saison dates back to 18th-century farm workers in France and southern Belgium, who brewed beer using excess crops to drink during summer months.

For Loeve, the style reflects a close relationship with agriculture, an approach he applies by sourcing locally produced and ethically farmed ingredients.

He said the use of native plants such as lemon myrtle and mugwort helped tie the beer to its local environment.

“We’re taking a traditional European style of beer making and changing it to fit a tropical climate,” Loeve said.

The couple started the business in 2022 and recently received Tweed Shire Council’s Sustainability Award in recognition of their practices.

They plan to use their space in the South Murwillumbah Industrial Estate to host collaborations with other local producers, pop-up chef events and beer launches.

Since December, the brewery has opened its doors on Saturday afternoons for guided cellar tours and food-and-beer tasting sessions.

Caldera’s beer is also sold at Murwillumbah and Byron farmers markets, and is stocked by select bottle shops and restaurants.