Ocean Grove craft brewery BrewiColo has picked up two awards at the Independent Beer Awards.
The Kofe brown ale won a gold medal and the Barwon Heads bitter grabbed a bronze at the awards held last week.
Founded by locals Kay Godfrey and Chilla Tuicolo, BrewiColo has stamped itself as a staple on the Bellarine Peninsula drinking and dining scene.
Chilla has Fijian heritage and ‘kofe’ is Fijian for coffee. The winning brew is a malt driven ale with quality coffee beans provided by Hello Coffee in Apollo Bay.
The bronze winning beer, Barwon Heads bitter, is an extra special bitter brewed with a combination of hops that gives a traditional English bitter a balanced feel.
Chilla said the gold medal beer was popular among locals.
“It’s a bit different to a few of the other darker and brown ales around,” he said.
“The way we brew it you get more of a coffee hit.”
Brewicolo’s most-popular beers are the Barwon Heads bitter and the pale ale.
Chilla said the judges said the Kofe brown ale was a “well-rounded beer, with good malt to it”.
“They said the coffee was at a good level and wasn’t overpowering,” he said.
As the weather starts to warm up, Chilla said local tastes will now shift to lighter beers.
“The Brewi Juice IPA and the Ocean Grove lager will start becoming more popular,” he said.
“People will now start favouring lighter style beers.”
