Aunty Jacks

There’s something particularly satisfying about drinking a beer in the place where it was brewed. At Aunty Jacks, in the heart of Ballarat’s CBD, that connection between brewery, kitchen and table is taken a step further, with the beer not only poured fresh from the source but becoming part of the restaurant’s broader food and sustainability story.

Housed at 315–317 Mair Street, Aunty Jacks opened in 2020 and has quickly become an integral part of Ballarat’s contemporary beer scene. The sprawling brewpub occupies a former blinds and curtain warehouse, transformed with an eclectic fit-out that mixes industrial influences with repurposed materials. The result is a venue that feels distinctly Ballarat: historic, industrious and a little eccentric.

The brewery itself is very much part of the dining experience. Rather than beer being something brought in from elsewhere, Aunty Jacks brews on site, producing around 100,000 litres annually across styles including lager, pale ale, stout and seasonal releases. The current core range includes a crisp European-style Lager, the rich and malty Mair St Märzen, Session Ale, Pale Ale, IPA and Vanilla Porter.

And there’s serious brewing pedigree behind those taps. Head brewer Matt Ives joined Aunty Jacks shortly after it opened, bringing extensive industry experience and brewing science studies in the UK and Belgium. The beers have also earned recognition at the Australian International Beer Awards, with the entire core range taking home medals in 2023 and the Mair St Märzen claiming a trophy for Best European Style Lager.

For diners, however, the proof is in the pairing.

We started with the Brewer’s Grain Salad, a clever dish that puts the brewery’s philosophy literally on the plate. Heirloom carrots, dukkah, Meredith Dairy goat’s cheese and pomegranate molasses create a combination of sweetness, creaminess, spice and acidity, while the inclusion of brewer’s grain provides a direct link to what is happening in the tanks just metres away. It’s a dish that manages to be wholesome without feeling worthy, and demonstrates how thoughtfully the kitchen approaches ingredients.

The Crab & Prawn Pasta was another standout, combining seafood with clams, chilli, garlic, cherry tomato and fresh herbs. It’s the kind of generous, flavour-driven dish that sits naturally alongside a cold Aunty Jacks beer, while the fish and chips delivers the familiar pub classic that feels right at home in a brewpub setting.

What makes Aunty Jacks particularly interesting, though, is what happens to the ingredients that don't make it onto the plate.

Brewing generates a considerable amount of spent grain, but at Aunty Jacks it isn't simply treated as waste. The brewery wheels its spent grain around the corner to 1816 Bakehouse, where it is transformed into sourdough bread. The remainder is sent to local farmers to feed sheep and cattle.

It is a beautifully circular relationship. The same grain that helps make the beer can ultimately become bread on the table, closing the loop between brewing and baking. Aunty Jacks' Beer & Bread experience makes this connection particularly explicit, pairing beer tastings with regional produce and bread created by 1816 Bakehouse using the same grain used to brew the beers.

1816 Bakehouse, established in Ballarat in 2018 by head baker Josh Chapman, is an artisan sourdough bakery with a strong focus on handmade production and local suppliers. Its relationship with Aunty Jacks is a fitting example of the collaborative food culture developing across Ballarat, where producers and hospitality venues increasingly overlap rather than operate in isolation.

Sustainability extends beyond the spent grain. Aunty Jacks has 59 solar panels supplying more than 80 per cent of the brewery's electricity needs, uses heat recovery to reduce energy consumption and aims for zero kitchen waste by finding another purpose for food offcuts. Even the venue itself has been fitted out using repurposed materials, while its beer cans are fully recyclable.

That approach gives the experience more substance than simply visiting a brewery for a paddle of beers. There is a sense that the people behind Aunty Jacks are interested in the complete journey of what is produced here – from grain, to beer, to bread, to the food arriving at the table.

Come for the beer, stay for the food – and take a moment to appreciate that even the grain that brewed your pint might have a second life as tomorrow's loaf of sourdough.

Location: 315–317 Mair Street, Ballarat Central, Victoria

Phone: (03) 4159 0117

Link: www.auntyjacks.com.au