The magnificent Carrington Hotel in Katoomba has won a hard-fought battle to transform part of its heritage structure into a micro-brewery and “major tourist attraction”.
Built in 1882 in the style of a Victorian grand hotel, it was named after NSW Governor Lord Carrington and has sheltered Prime Ministers, celebrities and even British Royalty.
The hotel’s power house produced electricity for the surrounding town, which increased its pivotal role the growth of Katoomba. This has been converted into a stunning boutique brewery, with tasting bar as part of a multi-million dollar upgrade to the establishment that has been a decade in the making.
Council recently approved the multi-stage development, citing its potential benefit to the local economy, and the plans as “an appropriate reuse of the heritage building”.
Speaking with the Blue Mountains Gazette, Carrington Hotel co-owner Michael Brischetto said the micro-brewery will be called the Katoomba Brewing Company.
The project has been in negotiation with authorities for over a year, and will now be completed in three stages and hopefully “become a major tourist attraction”, creating 25 jobs.
The brewery has capacity for two batches per day of 2,000 litres, and recipes are already underway to produce up to 10 crafted beers in bottle and draught by the end of the year.
It will also have a strong eco-focus, with facilities in place to reduce direct emissions by 99.9 per cent, with integration into the Hotel’s new co-generation electricity plant. Grain waste from the brewing processes will go to locals farms, used hops turned to compost, and cleaning done using harvested rainwater.
The development will also boast artisan retail spaces and a 112-seat restaurant, with a deck overlooking the Blue Mountains.
