IRONHOUSE DISTILLERY

Welcome to Ironhouse Tasmania

In an East Coast pocket of paradise, soaked in sunshine and surrounded by sea, the team at Ironhouse Tasmania thoughtfully creates tipples that celebrate the island spirit.

Taking its name from an old iron-roofed drover’s hut that once stood on the property in the 1800s, the Ironhouse Brewery, Distillery and Vineyard of today is a gleamingly modern building perched on the fringe of the Tasman Sea.

At this unique, family-owned operation, they take great pride in filling your glass with only the freshest locally-sourced flavours. Ingredients are expertly grown, brewed, distilled and matured on-site, creating an authentic paddock-to-glass experience.

Located within White Sands Estate – a coastal resort spanning over 200 acres overlooking long white sandy beaches and the sparkling sea– it’s hard to imagine a nicer spot to get into the coastal spirit.

Step inside Ironhouse’s spacious venue and you’ll probably smell barley being mashed in the brewery, or whisky patiently maturing in wooden barrels, coffee beans being ground by a barista, and fresh local produce being cooked up for patrons to enjoy in the BrewHaus Cafe & Bar.

In winter, floor-to-ceiling windows let the sunshine in. On fine days, you can soak up the coastal ambience on the outdoor deck, savouring the sunny vibe and the salty tang of ocean breezes.

Whether it’s wine, gin, brandy or whisky that tickles your fancy, the friendly staff will talk you through their extensive range of tipples, to help you meet your perfect match.

The brewery

If you want to know what’s brewing in the microbrewery, just follow your nose. From the café, you can smell locally-grown grain being mashed behind large glass viewing windows, as busy brewers tend to shiny tanks and the bubbling, malted grainy goodness within.

The Ironhouse brewery was set up over 10 years ago, and today produces a tempting selection of beers made to traditional recipes, using naturally filtered water from their own spring.

All the ingredients are locally sourced – including a range of fragrant hops harvested from the celebrated hop fields of Tasmania’s Bushy Park.

With a real focus on freshness and purity, all the Ironhouse beers are made right here in the brewery. They’re refreshingly unpasteurised, and no preservatives or additives are used – just the classic, time-honoured, magical combination of hops, grain, yeast and water.

You’ll discover a revolving menu of beers on tap for tasting. Offerings include pale ale, red ale, Bohemian pilsener, lager, darker beers such as milk stout, and a rich, bold honey porter made with Tasmanian leatherwood honey. Limited-release brews also pop up, just to ensure you’re spoilt for choice.

If you’re feeling a little thirsty, but can’t decide what to choose, a tasting paddle allows for leisurely sipping of a selection of their beers while relaxing at a table. Or, grab a glass of your new favourite to enjoy on the outdoor deck. Cheers to that!

The distillery

A few years after pouring their first beers at their family-run brewery, the Ironhouse crew really got into the spirit and set up their own distillery.

The brewery itself produces the malted wash that is distilled into a clear, pungent, new-make spirit, which is siphoned into wooden barrels and left to quietly transform into whisky.

But that’s not all. Ironhouse also has its own vineyard, and some of the grapes they harvest are fermented into a clear, neutral-flavoured spirit that is then artfully turned into gin, vodka and brandy!

Their sparkling copper-column still and pot still were sourced from Germany, but arrived in bits and pieces with zero instructions attached. Their canny mechanical engineer must’ve done a good job assembling them – because today, Ironhouse’s little distillery pumps out about 8000 litres of new-make spirit each year.

Those spirits that are whisky bound are poured off into wooden sherry, port and bourbon barrels, which are then carefully stashed away in a special bond store, and left to slowly and patiently mature into single-malt 100% Tasmanian whiskies.

Sample the true Tasmanian spirit at the cellar door, where you can order a whisky flight to enjoy onsite!

The vineyard

If it’s fruits of the vine you love to sample, Ironhouse also produces its own wines – sparkling white wine, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir.

All the grapes are harvested from their own vineyards, which were planted over 10 years ago, and cover 60 neatly sprawling hectares.

The vines themselves are in a magnificent spot – located on rolling hills overlooking the Tasman Sea, with nothing but open sky above. They have the enviable privilege of basking in plenty of uninterrupted sun, in this region known to Tasmanians as the ‘sunshine coast’. The gorgeous grapes they produce burst with flavours enhanced by ideal growing conditions, including the cleanest ocean air and the freshest natural spring water.

All these good things find their way into the bottle, so a wine tasting at Ironhouse is definitely in order.

You can order a glass or two to sip over lunch at the café, where you’ll find the best local produce dished up for your enjoyment. There’s pasture-raised beef from the paddocks at Ironhouse Point, as well as the freshest seafood on the menu – including briny oysters from the nearby fishing port of St Helens.

And if you find a wine you can’t bear to part with, Ironhouse vineyard can ship some straight to your doorstep, for you to savour the experience when you return home.

Accessibility

Ironhouse Brewery, Distillery & Vineyard is located on Tasmania’s east coast at White Sands Estate, between Bicheno and St Helens.

White Sands Estate is about two hours by car from Launceston, and three hours from Hobart. There is no direct bus route to Ironhouse. The 737 bus leaves Hobart daily to take you to Bicheno. You would then need to arrange your own transport from Bicheno to White Sands Estate, a distance of about 40 kilometres, taking approximately 30 minutes.

The Estate has beautiful accommodation on site, including self-contained units and multi-room lodges – so if you’re visiting the Ironhouse Brewery and Distillery, you can settle in and enjoy everything the complex has to offer. It’s also the perfect jumping-off point to explore the surrounding area.

White Sands Estate welcomes handlers and all registered assistance dogs at their property.

The main building at Ironhouse, which includes the restaurant and cellar door, is wheelchair accessible, including one accessible bathroom. White Sands Estate has one two-bedroom villa on site that is wheelchair accessible and furnished with bathroom rails. For further information or assistance, please call or email the operator.