“We start serving beers at 5am and we serve right through to about 9pm,” says Corey Law of Brisbane Airport’s latest addition, Newstead Brewery Co. The airport’s general manager of food, beverage and retail for Airport Retail Enterprises, Law says the number of local craft breweries moving into Australian airports is growing – as now evidenced by Stomping Ground in Melbourne, Capital Brewing Co in Canberra and Newstead Brewing in Brisbane.
That’s what led Law to Newstead Brewing. Opened in 2021 on level two, near gate 38 at Brisbane Airport’s domestic terminal, Newstead is a 300-square-metre taproom fitted with 12 taps of core range and limited-release beers. That includes a tropical sour ale and session IPA, to a double IPA and oatmeal stout. There’s also a large back bar of spirits, classic cocktails and beer spritzes.
For the food menu, Law says they worked closely with the chefs at Newstead Brewing’s then-existing venues in Newstead (now closed) and now Milton. From the all-day breakfast menu, there’s a bacon and egg brioche roll, eggs Benedict served on a croissant, and smashed avocado with feta, tomatoes and pickled onion. Small plates include crispy beer-battered cauliflower with herb and citrus mayonnaise, and a chicken bao with chilli-pickled cucumber and Sriracha sauce. Larger dishes include pizzas, burgers and pub-style classics such as 90-day grain-fed rump steak with your choice of bearnaise or mushroom sauce. In short, carby food that pairs well with a beer.
When designing the venue, the team took inspiration from the stainless steel of a beer keg, alongside splashes of colour, neon lighting and some greenery. Unlike a normal brewery where there’s usually a keg room nearby, space limitations required some creative design. “The keg room is about 80 metres away,” says Law. “So the beer lines go up into the ceiling and travel to the taproom. There’s about 3.5 kegs of beer [flowing] in the ceiling at any one time, that all the passengers in the concourse of the airport are walking under.”
“We try to stay away from traditional airport menus and create a very different, brewery-driven food menu,” says Law. “And we serve any meal at any time of the day. If you want a steak at 5am, you can have a steak at 5am. If you want a full breakfast with poached eggs at 8pm, you can have that as well.”
We asked Law to give us a rundown of some of the other picks at Brisbane Airport to check out while you wait for your next flight.
Coffee Royal
According to Law, the airport sells around 120,000 coffees a month. Many of these are made by the team at Coffee Royal. “[Coffee Royal] is our highest-selling coffee shop in the terminal,” Law says. “It’s making about 40,000 coffees a month.”
It serves Merlo Coffee, a concise breakfast menu with smashed avocado on toast, and cafe-style fare like beef burgers and steak sandwiches. There’s also a selection of around 40 gins, some craft beers and a curated wine list that features drops from Brisbane’s City Winery.
Seeds by Bruno Loubet
Seeds chef Bruno Loubet owned Michelin-starred restaurants in England before returning to Australia where he now runs a cooking school near Toowoomba. As a promoter of plant-based eating, Loubet highlights salads, breakfast bowls, fresh made-to-order juices and quiches. “This venue is designed around local produce [and] healthy, vegan [food],” says Law. “Airports haven’t really had this in recent years, so we wanted [to offer] something fresh and healthy.”
Mezze Za Za
Law says Mediterranean spot Mezze Za Za is one of the most popular dining options at the airport. “It’s totally different to other airport food you’ll see around the country,” he says. Specialising in Greek gyros, there’s a trio of breakfast options, including a chorizo and bacon wrap with egg, cheese and tomato relish. There’s also two all-day wraps – the za’atar (tzatziki, fries, tomato, onion and spice mix) and Thor (garlic sauce, tabouli, lettuce and hummus) – that come with a choice of chargrilled chicken, spit-roasted lamb shoulder, deep fried whiting fillet or falafel.
The Common
A recent addition to the airport, The Common offers breakfast, lunch, tapas and share plates, along with an extensive craft beer and cocktail selection. Here get dishes like loaded potato gems with bacon, cheese and spring onions; hard-shell tacos with spiced beans, pickled onion, chipotle mayonnaise and your choice of beer-battered barramundi or crumbed chicken; and an Angus beef burger with fries.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Brisbane Airport.