Middle Island Brewing Co serves up Warrnambool's first craft beers

Forged in the depths of lockdown, the label is a collaboration between three passionate local home brewers, Marty Howells, Sam Munro and Simon Adams.

The three men wanted a brand that was iconically Warrnambool, choosing the odd-couple pairing of penguins and their maremma guardians on Middle Island, and locals have taken note.

They launched their first two styles - an extra pale ale and a German wheat beer - in late October, and while they still only have a handful of stockists, tins have flown off the shelves.

"The response has been incredible, we've now sold over 120 cases in just 11 days," Mr Munro said.

"We thought at this point we would only have sold about 20 cases."

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The broad appeal of their Southern Ocean Ale, a pale but punchy number with tropical notes, is easy to see, but their Howling Hefe is more of a left-field debut.

The "Hefe" comes from "hefeweizen", the name for a Bavarian-style wheat beer with a hazy appearance and aromas of ripe fruit and spice.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but the Middle Island brewers have given their hefe a crowd-pleasing Australian twist, Mr Munro said.

"We've added Galaxy hops, which is the same hops Stone and Wood use in their (multi-award winning) Pacific Ale," he said, which adds citrus and passionfruit to the banana and clove of the hefeweizen.

"We could've released another pale ale, but everyone's doing pale ales so this was a chance to really shine," Mr Howells said.

He said there wasn't too much difference between home brewing and making 1000 litres of beer.

"You use a lot more water and a lot more grain but the basic principles are the same," he said.

At the moment the three are what's called "gypsy brewers", using the facilities at other breweries to make their beer.

The Southern Ocean Ale and Howling Hefe were brewed at Prickly Moses in Barongarook.

"They were unreal to brew with and we can't wait to get back there," Mr Howells said.

He said each of the three has his own style preferences. The hefeweizen was Mr Adams' idea, Mr Howells is passionate about bold ales and funky stouts, while Mr Munro loves simple, approachable beers like clean, classic lagers.

Mr Adams has been brewing beer at home for a good 30 years, and Mr Howells has close to two decades of homebrewing experience.

"We're really well balanced with the three of us, to be able to play to each other's strengths but also give great feedback and know what each is trying to achieve," Mr Howells said.

It was Mr Adams who pushed the new venture into existence.

"Simon and his wife were having a chat to me one night and said you need to start a brewery or a home brew shop," Mr Munro said. "I liked the idea and said I knew the perfect person to complete the group."

Mr Howells was only too happy to jump on board. While he had won awards for his home brewed stouts, he had dreamed of brewing on a larger scale.

"I'm working on a stout now with a bit of a tropical edge that might be one of the next styles in the lineup," he said.

The next cab off the rank is likely to be a session ale - an easy drinking pale ale with slightly lower alcohol content - which should be on shelves by mid-January.

Mr Munro said he's also keen on creating a lager to cater to those who prefer a beer without too many heady aromatics.

They are keen to have something for all tastes, but the most important thing is pleasing local palates, Mr Howells said.

"If we can get local people drinking the beers then that's the most important bit."

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