Because a cold pint and a coastal breeze are better when you don’t have to drive far.
Caloundra isn’t just about beaches, cafés and brunch. It’s quietly become part of something much bigger: the Sunshine Coast now has over 21 independent breweries and counting, making it officially “Australia’s Craft Beer Capital” (a title claimed by Visit Sunshine Coast and backed up by more trophies per square kilometre than anywhere else in the country).
The best part? You don’t need a hire car or a complicated plan to taste the region’s finest brews. Whether you’re staying in a beachfront hotel or a central Bulcock Street apartment, these trails are doable by foot, bike or a short ride, letting you enjoy more pints and less planning.
Here are two genuine trails that turn craft beer into a proper Caloundra experience, plus a build-your-own taproom crawl for the locals who already know the lay of the land.
Trail 1: The Beachside Brewery Walk
The route: Moffat Beach → Coastal Pathway → Kings Beach → Bulcock Street
How to get there: Walkable or a short bike ride, roughly 4km end to end
Stops: 3
Start where the beer is actually made. Moffat Beach Brewing Co Beachside at 12 Seaview Terrace sits 50 metres from the sand at Moffat Beach, and it’s the original home of what is now officially Australia’s most awarded independent brewery. Matt and Sharynne Wilson relocated from Sydney in 2012, opened a beachside café, installed a tiny 300-litre brewhouse in the back in 2015, and the rest is a trophy cabinet that takes up an entire bench at their Production House down the road. Champion Small Independent Brewery at the 2018 Indies, Champion Australian Independent Brewpub in 2020, Champion Small Independent Brewery again in 2021, Champion Small Australian Brewery at the 2022 Australian International Beer Awards (plus two champion beer trophies), Champion Medium Independent Brewery at the 2022 Indies, and Champion Session Beer for Moff’s Summer Ale at the 2023 Royal Queensland Beer Awards.
Pull up a stool in the courtyard, order a tasting paddle from the eight rotating taps, look out over the Pacific and you’ll understand why people describe this place by saying “this is the life.” The beers to start with if you’re new: Moff’s Summer Ale (the session beer that started it all), Passenger (a reliable pale), Iggy Hop (for the hop heads) and whatever seasonal they’ve got rotating through. There’s live music between the tanks every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening, and the kitchen champions fresh local produce for breakfast, lunch and dinner (closed Monday nights).
From Moffat, pick up the Coastal Pathway south. It’s a flat, sealed path hugging the headlands with ocean views the whole way. By the time you reach Kings Beach you’ll have walked off your first tasting paddle and be ready for the next stop.
Kings Beach Tavern at 43 Burgess Street is perched on a hill overlooking the ocean, with an expansive outdoor deck and live acoustic music on the deck Wednesday through Sunday. The bistro pours a solid range of local and interstate craft alongside all the classic pub taps, and the seafood and steak menu is built for pairing. This is a community landmark that’s been here for more than half a century (it started life as the Old Perle Hotel in 1908), and it’s one of the biggest live music destinations on the Coast. Order a schooner of something local, grab a seat on the deck, and let the ocean do the rest.
For your final stop, wander down to Bulcock Street and finish at Thirsty Beaver Bar and Kitchen at 79 Bulcock Street. This is Caloundra’s dedicated BBQ smokehouse with a Red Dirt Smoker running low and slow all day, producing 18-hour pork ribs, beef short ribs and brisket. More importantly for this trail, they have nine local beers on tap, which means you’re tasting Sunshine Coast craft with every round. The smoked meat and craft beer pairing here is the sort of combination that makes you wonder why every bar doesn’t do this. Wednesday is rib night if you want to time it right.
Trail 2: The Makers Loop
The route: Caloundra Road → Industrial Avenue → Edison Crescent (all within Caloundra West / Baringa)
How to get there: Short drive or rideshare, all three stops within 10 minutes of Caloundra CBD
Stops: 3
This is the “behind the scenes” trail for anyone who wants to see where the beer, spirits and craft brews are actually made, not just served. All three stops are production facilities with public taprooms or cellar doors, and between them they hold more international awards than most regions manage in a decade.
Start at Moffat Beach Brewing Co Production House at 51 Caloundra Road, Caloundra West. This is the main production brewery, opened in late 2020 when demand outgrew the tiny Beachside brewhouse. The space is industrial and impressive: a flashy four-vessel Tiantai system producing 20-hectolitre batches, elevated and blue-lit so it looks like the brewing tanks are watching over the taproom from above. There are 20 rotating taps here (compared to eight at Beachside), including limited releases and experimental batches you won’t find anywhere else. The food offering is different from Beachside too: low-and-slow BBQ smoked on-site using quality local meats, with burgers and American-style sides. You can book a brewery tour to see how the magic happens, and if you find something you love, they’ll can and seal it in front of your eyes at the counter so you can take it home. Larger groups are welcome and there’s plenty of parking.
From there, it’s a five-minute drive to Beachtree Distilling Co at 14 Industrial Avenue, Caloundra West. This is Australia’s only certified First Nations distillery, co-founded in 2021 by Steve Grace (a Kamilaroi man and master distiller) and Kirra Daley. It has since been named World’s Best Craft Producer two years running at London’s World Gin Icon Awards (2024 and 2025) and World’s Best Sustainable Distillery in 2025. The operation is solar-powered, uses organic sugar cane as its base (naturally gluten-free), native Australian botanicals like lemon myrtle, finger lime, strawberry gum and pepperberry, and filtered rainwater. No additives, no artificial flavours, no preservatives.
The cellar door is open Wednesday to Saturday for tastings, gin flights, grazing platters and cocktails. The Organic Koala Gin is a classic juniper base balanced with lemon myrtle, cinnamon and vanilla. The Organic Quokka won Australia’s Best Contemporary Gin at the 2022 World Gin Awards in London. The Native Skippy Gin took Double Gold at the 2023 New York World Spirit Awards. Their “You Sip, We Plant” reforestation initiative has now planted over 25,000 trees. Even if you’re not usually a spirits person, a tasting flight here will change how you think about what a gin can be.
Your final stop is another five minutes down the road at Brouhaha Brewery Baringa, 1 Edison Crescent, in the Aura development. Brouhaha was founded in mid-2016 by Sunshine Coast local Julian as a small brewpub in the hinterland town of Maleny, and the Baringa site is their main production facility and taproom, set up in an open-plan industrial format with laid-back coastal vibes. Head Brewer Matt Jancauskas was named Best Brewer of the Year at Queensland’s 2017 Beeries Awards, having previously spent two years at London’s Beavertown Brewery (owned by Logan Plant, son of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, which is genuinely one of the best pieces of brewery trivia on the Coast). Grab a tasting paddle and work through the signatures: the Strawberry Rhubarb Sour (which has crushed the stereotype that craft beer is only for blokes), the Raspberry Saison (a cult following across every venue), the IPA and the Maleny Lager.
Three makers, three taprooms, all within a 10-minute radius. That’s a proper afternoon.
Build Your Own: The Taproom Crawl
Not every great craft beer experience needs a brewery attached to it. Caloundra’s pubs and bars have stepped up their tap game significantly in recent years, and several venues now pour serious local craft alongside the usual suspects. Here are the best starting points for assembling your own crawl:
Caloundra Hotel (CBX) at 12 Bulcock Street has 24 beers on tap, a spacious deck, and char-grilled steaks that are the house specialty. It’s the top of Bulcock Street, so it’s a natural starting or finishing point for any crawl through town. Wednesday is pool comp night if you want to make an evening of it.
Baringa Tavern on the corner of Aura Boulevard and Edwards Terrace has 40 taps across two bars, which is one of the biggest tap lineups in the Caloundra area. The spacious deck overlooks parkland, woodfired pizza comes from the open kitchen, and the $15 Pub Classics menu Monday to Thursday (250g rump, cheeseburger, schnitzel, fish and chips, margherita) means you can eat well between rounds without breaking the budget.
Golden Beach Tavern at 32 Bowman Road runs a $19 rump steak special Monday through Thursday (5:30pm to 7:30pm) and has a relaxed family bistro with an outdoor deck. It’s a classic local haunt that’s been doing the simple things well for years.
Local Tips for Brewery Trails
- Plan your route: Our interactive trip planner lets you map breweries by distance, style or vibe, handy if you want to stay within walking or cycling distance.
- Sample, don’t overdo it: Tasting paddles are perfect for trying multiple beers without overdoing it. Most venues offer four to six tasters for a set price, and the brewers genuinely want you to try the range rather than just order a schooner of pale ale.
- Snack along the way: Many venues offer small plates, smoked meats or partner with nearby cafés. The Production House does BBQ. Beachtree does grazing platters. The Thirsty Beaver does 18-hour smoked ribs. You won’t go hungry.
- Timing matters: Early afternoon is perfect for quieter tastings and brewery tours. Sunset stops are best for views and atmosphere, especially at Beachside where the Friday to Sunday live music kicks in as the light fades.
- Midweek is a secret: If you think craft beer is a weekend-only thing, try a Tuesday or Wednesday session at one of the quieter taprooms. You’ll often find the brewer on the floor, happy to talk through what’s new, what’s experimental, and what they’ve been perfecting for the next seasonal release.
Why These Trails are perfect?
Brewery trails in Caloundra are about more than just the beer. They’re about exploration, community and connecting with local makers. You can start and finish without leaving your accommodation base, enjoy ocean views on Trail 1, go behind the scenes on Trail 2, or assemble your own pub crawl from the Build Your Own list. You’ll meet passionate brewers and distillers, taste beers and spirits you genuinely cannot find anywhere else, and discover why this stretch of the Sunshine Coast has earned the title of Australia’s Craft Beer Capital.
So grab your tasting paddle, map out a trail from your hotel, and discover Caloundra one sip at a time. Because when it comes to craft beer on the Sunshine Coast, the adventure starts at your doorstep.
Start planning your Caloundra food trail now – explore the Taste of Caloundra dining directory and interactive map to discover what’s on your next plate. Have a favourite Caloundra dining spot we should know about? Get in touch, we’re always hungry for recommendations!