Sunsets, style and serenity

As Mike Webster surveys his domain from the top of the giant copper fermentation tanks at the Scenic Rim Brewery, he explains how a former builder came to be living and working in Mount Alford, a tiny south-east Queensland town that was once more famous for milk than craft beer.

“I started out as a home brewer when my kids were little and we were short of money,” he recalls. “When I could afford to buy beer again, I realised the stuff I was making was rubbish. My wife, Wendy is of Dutch heritage, and one of her cousins is a chief brewer for Heineken. I decided I might as well learn from the experts, so I went over and did a course.” The hobby turned into a career change when the Websters, who owned a holiday house at Moogerah, learned that the 130-year-old general store in nearby Mount Alford was up for sale, so they grabbed the chance to establish a cafe and microbrewery in the building.