Woolshed Brewery - Wilkadene - Paringa

WOW, what a great place to spend the afternoon on the banks of the Murray River just upstream from Renmark in South Australia. Some friends picked us up from the caravan park in their boat and we made our way along the river to the Woolshed Brewery - stopping several times for a dip in the cool waters of the Murray. You can tie your boat up to the riverbank and walk along the path to the shaded verandah and enjoy some of the great drinks brewed here. Upon arrival, we were quickly introduced to some of the locals and made feel most welcome by Tom and Sarah. 

This micro brewery has been created in an old woolshed on the property of Wilkadene which was a famous sheep and wheat station built and run by the Wilkinson family until 1988. The shearing shed was built close to the river to supply paddle steamers and it was decided that this was the perfect place to set up a brewery. The Woolshed Brewery can also be visited by car - drive along Murtho Road from Paringa and turn onto Wilkinson Road. There are Wilkadene houseboats moored at the front of the Brewery and I understand that these are available for rental, as well as a self contained cottage for accommodation on the property.

You can sample the products created  by this wonderful micro brewery and there are several varieties available. They include:

• Summer Ale – Kolsch Style Ale 
• Amazon Alie – Australian Pale Ale
• Cherax Destructor – India Pale Ale
• AAAmber Ale - Australian Amber Ale 
• Judas The Dark   - Dark ale with Roasted Wattleseed - a favourite of one member of the RvTrips team
• Firehouse Stout – Coffee Stout 
• Utopia Apple and Pear Cider – Dry Apple Cider with pear - a great refreshing drink - YUM
• Hard Lemonade - Alcoholic lemonade - this is a great drink but you need to be aware of the alcohol content as it is TOO easy to drink - delicious.

There are also great wines for sale and we cannot wait until the next batch of 'Stolen' Shiraz is ready for sale.

The Woolshed Brewery is open sevena days a week (CLOSED Christmas day, boxing day, New years Day & Good Friday) and you can even make a booking to have a guided tour of the Brewery and learn about the history of Wilkadene. There are no kitchen facilities at the moment but you can create your own platters from the local produce sold at the brewery. Then sit on the large balcony at one of the beautiful wooden benches and enjoy nibbles while tasting the drinks on offer. The long wooden benches have been created from a single piece of timber and are just beautiful. I have been told that if you want to organise a large function at the Woolshed Brewery arrangements can be made with local chefs for catering.

It was a a hot afternoon in the Riverland and several visitors to the Brewery were enjoying their beer while sitting in the cool waters of the Murray - what a great idea. We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon at the Woolshed Brewery and would highly recommend this as something to put on your list of places to visit while staying in Renmark or Paringa - a truly iconic experience.  

Almost everyone we spoke to in Renmark, asking about what to see in the area, quickly suggested that we should experience the Woolshed Brewery during our stay - we are very pleased we took this advice.