Cambrian Hotel Bendigo

Description

REAL CRAFT BEER
DELICIOUS, ECLECTIC MENU
SUNNY BEER GARDEN FUNCTION SPACE

Multi-award winning pub renowned for its outstanding food and extensive wine & beer list.

The Cambrian Hotel has lived and breathed the independent beer industry and has strived to embody the industry’s down-to-earth, honest, ethical and inclusive character for almost ten years.

It has grown in stature to become regional Australia’s best loved and most respected independent beer pub.

As such, it has consistently ranked in the top regional Australian and Victorian venues while improving its position every year:
- Beer and Brewer magazine - top 15 regional Australian beer venues 2017-2020
- Beer Cartel Annual Craft Beer Survey, Victoria’s Favourite Craft Beer Bar - 18th (2019), 25th (2018)
The Cambrian is also a past multiple trophy winner at the Golden Plate Awards, regional Victoria’s only dedicated hospitality awards program. In 2018 it won the State Award for “Best List of Beers, Wines and Ciders”.

BACKGROUND

The Cambrian is one of those classic historical pubs that has been around since the 1880s. Built by a Welshman, Charles Daniels, who sold beer from the venue initially, before turning it into a pub.

This was a time when miners would pay for their beer in gold, opium dens thrived throughout Bendigo, and alcohol consumption was at its peak. According to official records, in 1906 there were 231 Hotels in the Bendigo/Eaglehawk district, a figure which has now dwindled to less than one quarter of that.

The current operators, Adam and Andrew Carswell, purchased the lease in September 2013.

One of the main reasons the Carswell brothers purchased the lease for the Cambrian is that they simply love pubs !!! They believe that pubs are at the epicentre of Australian cultural life, much like what izakayas are to the Japanese. Suffice to say, they’ve spent A LOT of time in them and know what to look for in a good one. They also strongly disagree with the modern day trend of pubs becoming vehicles for big business alcohol distributors. They had a very good idea of what they thought a pub should be and relished the opportunity to try and create that.

Adam and Andrew (and the rest of the Cambrian’s staff) love the independent beer industry and believe that the monopoly of Lion and CUB is a major reason why many suburban/regional pubs are in crisis. A certain drab sameness has crept in, along with the drone of racing commentary and generic jingles of the pokies.

The Cambrian is the only pub in its local market not contracted to the multinationals and has actively fought for many years to revive the traditional pub model via its 100% dedication to independent breweries, anti gambling position and no discrimination policy.

They are also the only pub in Bendigo that is not a member of the pokie industry funded AHA.

Adam and Andrew have worked extremely hard to emulate the character of the independent beer industry in Australia by creating a multicultural, inclusive, sociable environment where doctors, farmers, teachers, hotel managers, engineers, cleaners, tradies, retirees, uni students, people out of work, industry moguls, artists, musicians and everyone else in between feel equally accepted and welcomed. They haven't become part of the community, so to speak, the community has become them.

They have always been motivated by the desire to make the Cambrian thrive, in honour of its founders and the many different proprietors who've stood behind the bar.

They also consider it a privilege to be able to forge their own path, with attention kept on the past combined with a real desire to put in place their own ideas. They've made a conscious decision that maintaining their integrity is, and always will be, more important than chasing profits.

Its relationships with community groups, particularly sporting clubs, are one of the keys to its diverse clientele.

A quick scan of the Cambrian’s “socials” shows the results of their efforts:
"Great community pub."
"Great hosts and great hospitality always."
"Fantastic food and hospitality."
"Best pub in the known universe."
"Great pub amazing food and still has a country feel."
"Love, love, love this place!"
"This is an ace pub."
"Quality of food was sensational."
"Can't recommend more highly."

Year on year, the Cambrian has increasingly upped the ante to work arm in arm with independent breweries, independent beer festivals and independent beer organisations to enthusiastically (some would say maniacally) promote independent beer.

This includes five years of Bendigo on the Hop Opening Nights/Brewers Dinners and five years of Bendigo on the Hop “Pop Up” venues.

It is worth considering that, especially early on, the Bendigo market did not have an established independent beer customer base, making the Cambrian an absolute innovator in this space.

The Cambrian has never tapped any beers just because they've heard it's popular, or has a certain gimmick attached to it. They promote brewers and breweries that have proven themselves and can be trusted for their quality and consistency, with an obvious preference given to breweries in the central Victorian region.

As a result, the list of independent brewers featured ON TAP at the Cambrian has been extensive but not exhaustive, once again focussing on quality not quantity.

The list includes: 3 Ravens, 40 Acres, 7 Cent, 8 Wired, A Local Beer, AleSmith, BadShepherd, Balter, Bandicoot, Batch, Bentspoke, Black Dog Brewery, Blackman's, Boatrocker, Bodriggy, BrewCult, Brewdog, Bridge Road, Brookes, Buxton, Colonial, Cornella, Dainton, Deeds, Deschutes, Dollar Bill, Epic, Feral, Fixation, Founders, Grand Ridge, Green Beacon, Hargreaves Hill, Hawkers, Holgate, Hop Nation, Kaiju, Lindemans, Lost Coast, Magic Rock, Mildura Brewery, Modus Operandi, Moon Dog, Mornington, Mountain Goat, Nomad, Old Wives Ales, Palling Bros, Pirate Life, Shedshaker, Southern Bay, Stockade, Stone, Stone & Wood, Temple, The Grifter Brewing, Tooborac, To Øl , Tuatara, Two Birds, Venom, Wayward, Weihenstephaner, West City Brewing, Wild Beer Co, Wolf of the Willows.