Rusty Water Brewery

Visited 15/10/2022. Nice spot to stop at on the route through to Cowes. 6 taps (with 4 beer paddle available) plus large selection of their beers available in cans plus a small number from other breweries/cideries. Good chat to owner who explained they had plans to turn the venue into a proper brewpub under the Philip Island name but Covid got in the way of that. Relaxed vibe, with seating inside and out. Decent prices. Good visit.

Stopped there on my bicycle trip from Sydney to Melbourne. Went to Rusty Water for small dinner. Place was quite empty but it was in the beginning of February 2015. Place is located at the heart of the island on one of the bigger streets, parking available. I sat down at a big barrel. Ordered a flight with average to solid beers and a bucket of fries. Worth it. They also had some books about beer to read in.

Visited on 13th April 2016. Stopped off on the way to see the Penguin Parade. It’s part of a holiday complex and has a large koala outside. A few seats outside and a large restaurant set up. The place was pretty empty when we arrived. 4 beers on tap with a 3 beer sampler available. Food was nice. Beer was OK. Prices ok and service friendly. Decent spot for a rate on the way to something touristy so handy to know it’s there but wouldn’t make a special trip.

We came here on 21.2.2015 during our visit to Philip island famous for the penguins and not so much for good beers. This is not a real brewery, they contract the beers from a brewery in Victoria close by. Very touristic place and the beers are quite watery and one of the worst we had in Australia so far. We have not expected anything differently in a touristic area like this. Food was quite ok, had mussels and a salad, service ok. No need to stop here, rather go to one of the wineries on this beautiful island.

OK, now admittedly I’m an inner-north hipster type so this kind of place is never going to entirely appeal, but I was still pretty underwhelmed. I guess when you have a constant supply of tourists and your main competition is the RSL there’s no particular incentive to aim for the stars really. Beers are contract-brewed and of below average quality. A four beer sampler paddle only contained two of their own beers with no prior warning when ordering. Food was about standard for Phillip Island I suppose. Service was friendly but not the most clued in. Doubt I’d bother again.