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Sam Rudolph and Alex Carr's highly anticipated Noodledoof brewery on Commercial Road, Koroit will open its doors this weekend.
The past year has seen the duo put in the hard yards and earn themselves a cold beer after converting the former McMahon's Garage into the stylish brewhouse.
Mr Rudolph and Mr Carr's love for the amber brew began years ago when the pair were living together in their early 20's and experimenting with home-brewing in Adelaide.
"Six years ago I started home-brewing with all-grain brewing," Mr Carr said.
"I was an electrician at the time and I just didn't like it anymore.
"I got right into brewing and I did an International Brewing Certificate. Then I got a job at Holgate Brewhouse in Woodend.
"Sam started to get interested in brewing again and my wife and I visited him here and set up a homebrew kit for him. We started making some beers just for family and friends."
Mr Rudolph saw a job advertised for a dietitian at South West Health and sent it to Mr Carr's wife Claire.
"I always thought it's be great to have a brewery here and I always said it to Alex, but I never thought he'd actually move here," Mr Rudolph said.
"I saw a job for Claire and she got it.
"At the time I'd been learning about bees with Brian Atkins who'd I'd met through footy. One day we were talking and I mentioned the brewing idea and he said it sounded like fun and he'd support us."
Soon after the friends acquired the old garage and converted it to the brewhouse. Now they have six beers on tap and a long list of goals for the business.
"The idea is to have a rotating tap list where our beers will be continually evolving," Mr Carr said.
"We'll have three or four traditional beers and a few pushing the boundaries and dabbling in sour, fruited and barrel aged styles.
"We're hoping to get the distiller operational soon. Hopefully we'll have some gin, vodka and our own whiskey in two to three years.
"We've spoken to Worn Gundidj about using ingredients from Tower Hill and incorporating the local ingredients from our doorstep."
The set menu was created by Adam Porter and has a range of options including vegan and gluten-free.
"Two months ago we didn't have a plan for a chef and we thought we'd just have a few pop-up's come in," Mr Rudolph said
"Adam messaged us on Facebook and then he came in and we talked.
"Later we found out he had a great CV from around the region.
"A little while later he asked what we would've done without him and we just laughed because we had no idea.
"I knew Kylie McIntyre (co-owner of Bochara Wines) and she put me in touch with Louise North who is a wine merchant and she set our whole wine menu."
Mr Rudolph's background in waste management for Moyne Shire Council means the pair have been environmentally-conscious in their business model. They buy their coffee in tins, send all their grain-waste to farms, will store Schultz Organic Dairy and have reusable growlers for locals to have Noodledoof brews at home.
The pair have a passion for local produce and have incorporated local builders, wines and products throughout Noodledoof and hope to expand this where possible.
As for the inspiration behind the brewhouse's name, it comes from the pair's nicknames.
"After I took a mark at one of the first training sessions I had at Port Fairy Football Club, a quick-witted player called me 'noodle arms'," Mr Rudolph laughed.
"When I first met my wife's brother's and friends, they weren't too keen on me for the first month and called me 'doofus' and it's stuck," Mr Carr added.
"When they realised their first impressions weren't correct it turned into a more endearing name."
On Saturday November 9, Mr Rudolph and Mr Carr will open their doors to the public for the first time.
"It's been a long year," Mr Rudolph said.
"But when I look around at the finished product I think 'wow, look what we've done in a year'."
Noodledoof will be open to the public from Thursday - Saturday from 7am-11pm and Sunday 7am-5pm.
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