I thought it would be good to take J to Little Creatures Brewing in the gorgeous town of Fremantle. The brewery is split into a great hall, brew house, Creatures Nextdoor, and the deck so there’s plenty of space to find a seat and enjoy a beer. We entered the great hall holding several vats of beer, the open kitchen and pizza oven, a bar and plenty of tables on the ground as well as the top floor and around the back. It felt like the place kept on going and going.
The brew house offers 1 hour tours including beer tastings at $12 per person with no bookings necessary. We turned up around 11.30am and since neither of us were hungry, we decided to sign up for the 12 noon tour. Names and payment are taken at the bar in the brew house.
As it was still early, we did a bit of exploring around the area. The set up has been well thought out with the brew house easily accessible to the great hall via the top floor, seats all along the sides and back of the great hall looking over the crowd and the massive beer vats. Bicycles are available for free hire at the brewery too for those that want an alternative way to travel around Fremantle.
Our guide gave us a little history of how beer was made, the key ingredients used and how they make it now. There were 6 of us on the tour (plus 3 little girls with their dads), and we took turns smelling the different types of malt and hops. Interestingly, Little Creatures uses whole hop flowers in some of its beers. Some are imported from the United States but luckily the brew house is very close to the Fremantle Port for importing purposes.
Apart from the three little girls who were obviously bored and didn’t want to be there, I found the tour very interesting learning some new facts about the beer making process. Our guide was obviously very passionate about beer and so knowledgable about every aspect. We sat back down in the brew house while tastings of 10 beers/ciders were provided. I don’t drink but J was happy to take my tastings off my hands. Our guide continued telling us about the different notes and how each beer had been made. The tour ran over time by half an hour so I was little bored by the end, but I think it is worth doing and you get your money back via all the tastings. Tours are on every day at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. They also offer beer school at certain times of the month.
It was definitely time for lunch. We had seen the kitchen from above with staff rolling pizza dough, so pizza was on the cards that day.
I like that they measure out each ball of pizza dough for consistent pizza bases.
It was around 1.45pm by the time we found a table (the place was absolutely packed) and ordered. J and I decided to order one pizza and two share plates. We were expecting a minimum half hour wait for food, but surprisingly, our pizza arrived within about 15 minutes. We must have gotten there just after the lunch rush with everyone finishing up their food rather than ordering. We ordered the prosciutto, pancetta, ham and provolone pizza ($23). Topped with plenty of prosciutto and ham, the pizza was thin, soft with a lovely chewy texture. The pizza base couldn’t hold the toppings without flopping down and taking the toppings with it, so I found it easier to fold it over and bite into it. No complaints from either of us. Tasty yummy wood fired pizza.
Our share plates came out a few minutes later. We ordered the chilli tomato mussels ($24) which was served with two pieces of sourdough on top. I could smell the garlic from a few metres away. The mussels were small to medium-sized and had been completely marinated in a simple tomato sauce with loads of garlic. Again, no complaints. Delicious and full of flavour and garlic. The bread was saved for last to dunk into that awesome sauce.
We also ordered the jerk chicken with chilli, onion and sour cream ($22). The 4 portions of chicken had been dry rubbed with some subtle spices, no hint of chilli or pepperiness. I liked that the chicken skin had gone a little charcoal from the BBQ while the chicken meat remained tender.
Overall, we both enjoyed our experience at Little Creatures Brewing – both the tour and lunch. While the place is packed out, it does get very loud on the ground floor of the great hall. Luckily our table upstairs towards the windows gave us a bit more privacy and insulation from the noise. We also got a great view of the marina. Food service was quick and we would both go back to try more pizzas. Our brewery guide was fantastic – professional but down to earth, and very knowledgable.
Little Creatures Brewing can be found at 40 Mews Road in Fremantle. Open seven days a week. They are also in Fitzroy and Geelong in Victoria.
Foodgasm 9/10
Value for money 8/10
Service 9/10
FPJ score 26/30
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