Our Story
Daniel and Naomi Simpson moved from their home in Springfield on the Central Coast of NSW to Woodburn to take over the lease of the Rod N Reel Hotel in Oct 2006. Somewhat naive child free, and 26 years old, they had recently travelled through America and Canada noting how great it was that each pub had its own local brew. It was here, before small breweries took off in Australia that Daniel had the idea of opening a microbrewery at the Rod N Reel. However, circumstance and lack of finance did not allow the idea to come to fruition for some eighteen years.
Fast forward to late Feb 2022, the largest flood in the region’s history inundated the Hotel with 2.5 meters of water, destroying almost everything in it. Feeling that they owed it to the town of Woodburn to get the Hotel operating again, they set about rebuilding and subsequently purchased the building in Dec 2022.
Unsure of how the town around them would come back, with many of the towns’ people displaced, living in caravans and struggling to rebuild their lives, it was evident for the hotel to prosper it had to become a destination that people would travel to. After a lot of research and planning, and with the help of Bespoke Brewing Solutions, the Microbrewery opened on 1st Dec 2024 with seven beers brewed on premises.
