It was a sweltering hot afternoon when Gavin and I decided a jaunt on the train to Ipswich was in order. We headed to the free wildlife park to spot snakes & wallabies as well as a walk up to the water tower with a fantastic view of Brisbane in the distance and the surrounding suburbs.

Ipswich seemed to be growing its food and coffee scene and I was interested in sampling the newly opened 4 Hearts Brewing, Pumpyard Bar & Brewery.

The building is heritage listed and houses an array of other restaurants, it would be the perfect spot to sit outside, but on this particularly roasting hot day, we opted for the very welcome air con which hit us on entry to the building.

They brew all their own beer on site with most of the beers being poured directly from brite tanks. There’s always a list of interesting new guest beers and ciders to pick from too. The venue is stunningly set-up with all the brite (serving) tanks situated around the room where you’re sitting.

Did I mention that the food was delicious? We were both pretty ravenous and we went big! I chose the Mac Daddy Burger topped with Mac ‘n’ Cheese and it was insanely tasty. The beer battered chips were crispy too and they also make their own sauces on site for you to dunk away at. Gavin had the Buttermilk Southern Fried Chicken Burger topped with creamy, crunchy coleslaw and he was equally impressed. We struggled to eat it all but it was so worth ordering it. The Pumpyard make most of the food from scratch and source locally where possible. Their menu compliments their beers beautifully from Brewers Boards consisting of Tasmanian brie, spiced pepperoni and olives amongst other goodies, to fully loaded pizzas.

We both sampled some of their beers that they brew on site. I had 1/2 a pint of the Red IPA and Gavin tried a Slip N Slide Golden Ale. There’s water to help yourself to as well which was much needed on a hot summers day.

The building’s history is quite interesting, once the water supply site for the city of Ipswich, it was literally a ‘Pumpyard.’ Thereafter the site became a purpose built technical college which started construction from 1901 – 1941 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, but she never got to visit due to her death two weeks prior to her scheduled visit. It truly is a stunning building, today it’s a place where people can come together to socialise and chill out over some fantastic food and interesting beers no matter your taste.