EAT: Jetty Road Brewery, Dromana
Winter is when a brewery taproom earns its keep, and Jetty Road is the most considered of the bayside ones. The fit-out is deliberate rather than the usual shed-with-tanks, and the deck is generous enough that even in July there is somewhere to sit that is not directly under a heater.
The move is to ignore the core range for a moment and ask what is on the rotating taps. That is where the head brewer takes risks, and the seasonals are usually worth it. Order the one you have not heard of.
It is at 12-14 Brasser Avenue, Dromana, next door to the drive-in. Walk in.
Pair it with: the Dromana Hotel afterwards, if the afternoon turns into an evening.
WALK: Farnsworth Track, Point Nepean
If you have an hour and want the most clifftop view per step available on this coastline, this is the walk. Farnsworth runs 1.5 kilometres one way between Portsea Ocean Beach and London Bridge, with dramatic Bass Strait views at almost every point along it.
July suits it. The swell is up, the light stays low and side-on for most of the day, and the heath either side of the track has none of the summer dust on it. It is short enough to fit into a break in the weather, which in winter matters more than the walk itself does.
Park at Portsea Ocean Beach. Allow an hour return, more if you stop, which you will.
Pair it with: a coffee back in Portsea before the drive home.
DISCOVERY: Mornington Peninsula Chocolates, Flinders
A small producer making chocolate by hand on Cook Street, with a hot chocolate bar attached and a cafe you did not plan to spend forty minutes in. In July you will.
The hot chocolate is the reason to come in the cold months, and it is worth saying that this is a proper one rather than a cocoa sachet with ambition. The handmade range rotates with the season, and the gift stock is the answer to the question of what to take to someone’s house on a Sunday.
It is at 50 Cook Street, Flinders. Buy a mixed box and keep at least one bar back for the drive home.
Pair it with: Flinders Sourdough two doors up, if anything is left by the time you get there.
Quick Reference
- Jetty Road Brewery, 12-14 Brasser Ave, Dromana. Rotating seasonal taps. No booking needed.
- Farnsworth Track, Portsea Ocean Beach to London Bridge, Point Nepean. 1.5 km one way, about an hour return.
- Mornington Peninsula Chocolates, 50 Cook St, Flinders. Hot chocolate bar and handmade range.
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Questions readers actually ask
FAQ
Where is Jetty Road Brewery and do I need to book?
Jetty Road Brewery is at 12-14 Brasser Avenue, Dromana, next door to the drive-in. Walk-ins are the norm rather than the exception, though a large group on a weekend afternoon is worth ringing ahead for.
How long does the Farnsworth Track take?
It runs 1.5 kilometres one way between Portsea Ocean Beach and London Bridge, so allow about an hour return at an unhurried pace. Check Parks Victoria for current track conditions before you go.
Where is Mornington Peninsula Chocolates?
At 50 Cook Street, Flinders, a short walk from Flinders Sourdough and the General Store. There is a hot chocolate bar and a small cafe alongside the handmade range.
