Four new artisan producers have joined the ever-growing Central Coast Makers Trail.
This self-drive food, drink, agritourism and aquaculture journey between Wyong Creek and Mooney Mooney now includes two award-winning breweries, a world-renowned herb and spices brand, and a water-based oyster tasting tour, all an hour or so south of Newcastle.
Sydney Oyster Farm Tours
This family-run oyster farm has been supplying oysters to the Sydney and regional NSW markets for more than 15 years. Visitors are invited to go behind the scenes and taste farm-fresh oysters, from farm to plate. Oyster farming is considered one of the most sustainable types of farming compared to other forms of aquaculture as they have a very minimal burden on the environment. Oysters draw their nutrients directly from the environment and require no additional feeding therefore it is extremely clean and less impactful on the surrounding ecosystem.
Highlight experience: Book the "Immerse Yourself" in-water experience to sample succulent oysters while standing waist-deep in water from an exclusive sandbank on the Hawkesbury River.
Herbie's Spices
Herbie (Ian Hemphill) spent his childhood surrounded by herbs and spices. His parents, John and Rosemary Hemphill, were pioneers of the herb and spice scene in the 1950s. Herbie has 50 years' experience in the industry, including face-to-face lectures to groups from the general public, industrial brokering, manufacturing and marketing. Herbie's Spices are used by renowned kitchen teams in both Australia and overseas.
Highlight experience: Visit Herbie's Spices in Charmhaven for factory-door sales.
Six String Brewing Company
Launched in late 2012 by Chris Benson and Adam Klasterka, Six String Brewing Company at Erina has built a strong following producing full-flavoured - or "Amplified Ales" - and are continually brewing up out-of-the-box beer concepts. Their ever-changing range of beers, cider and soft drinks are all brewed and packaged onsite. The Six String Tropical Pale Ale won the Champion Pale Ale category at the Independent Beer Awards last month.
Highlight experience: Book the Brewery Tour & Tasting, running every Saturday morning at 11am, for a behind the scenes experience. Tours include a beer paddle tasting looking at the characteristics of beers and how to differentiate between different beer styles.
Block 'N Tackle Brewery
The brewery started out as in an Avoca Beach garage in 2015 and is now an established brewery and taproom in Kincumber in a quiet industrial estate. With extra taps recently added to take the tally to 12 taps, and the rolling out of many "pilot batch" brews, the beverage line-up is ever-changing to offer a new experience at the brewery every time. They also have an English hand pump serving a vast variety of beer styles that rotate all year round.
Highlight experience: Don't miss their Brewery Tours, run on Saturdays and hosted by the head brewer/scientist. Tours include a four-beer paddle of their core range beers.
The Central Coast region was allocated $17.2 million in last month's federal budget for a "Food Manufacturing and Innovation Hub" at Lisarow.
The project is expected to provide a purpose-built facility to house scale-up food businesses, a range of pilot facilities and a skills hub servicing the local food and beverage manufacturing sector.
Manufacturing industry body Central Coast Industry Connect (CCIC) has been an instrumental player in the growth of the Central Coast Makers Trail, which is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and NSW governments under their disaster recovery funding arrangements.
"The Central Coast has a strong food and beverage manufacturing presence, contributing $1.4 billion in output to the region," CCIC executive director Frank Sammut says.
"CCIC has worked on this project for the past five years with Regional Development Australia Central Coast and our stakeholders, and to now see it being one step closer to reality is exciting."
For more information, including a map of the Central Coast Makers Trail, go to centralcoastmakerstrail.com.au.
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