April 6th, 2023Lost watering hole brews up new jobs

Lancefield’s Lost Watering Hole brewery is keeping tourism flowing in the Macedon Ranges with its
recently completed brewery and restaurant now open.

Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas last Friday visited the brewery and restaurant, which has created 24 new local jobs. The independent brewery has produced 2000 litres of beer per week since December 2022 and has served a total of 14,000 meals at its restaurant since opening.
The brewery celebrates the history of the area which is close to one of Australia’s richest fossil deposits
of extinct giant species including the giant kangaroo, the giant wombat and a giant flightless bird.
A well-digger discovered the bones of these ancient Australian species in the late 19th century which
helped scientists understand why these species known as megafauna are extinct.
Visitors to Lost Watering Hole will note the nod to these giant species that once roamed the land, with
eye-catching features, including fossils embedded in the polished concrete floor.
Megafauna also appears on Lost Watering Hole branded beers including Big Roo pale ale, Swamp Rat
dark lager, Flightless draught kolsch and a Wide Wombi IPA.
The onsite brewery can produce 100,000 litres of beer a year and is equipped to produce and package
for other labels.
The recently completed project – backed by the state government’s Regional Jobs Fund – will help meet a high demand for Victorian craft beer. The state is leading the way in Australia’s craft beer scene and is home to almost a third of the nation’s independent brewing businesses.
The Regional Jobs Fund is part of the state government’s flagship Regional Jobs and Infrastructure
Fund – central to the government’s investment of more than $36 billion in rural and regional
Victoria since 2015.