Prayers answered as new brewery finally opens in former North East convent

But the owners of the North East's newest brewery are hoping the town can now become a destination for craft beer lovers.

The Convent Brewery opened for business on the June long weekend within Rutherglen's Mount Carmel Convent building on High Street.

Gina Di Stefano and her husband Ben Kennedy have operated the Rutherglen Convent as a group accommodation business since 2020 and have had plans to incorporate a microbrewery since 2021.

Three years on, that vision has become a reality.

"We had quite a lengthy delay on the liquor licence coming through," Ms Di Stefano said.

"We had everything ready to go and that was the last thing we were waiting for. That came through before the June long weekend.

"It's west facing and there's not many places in town where you can watch the sunset over the hills.

"The biggest draw card has been the deck. It's all been really well received so far."

Experienced restaurateurs Julian Romero and Kelly Araque have come on board to operate the Convent Brewery.

The pair own The Happy Mexican eatery in the central Melbourne suburb Abbotsford and recently took over the Lansdowne Hotel in Sydney.

They have brought with them an authentic Mexican menu, including five varieties of tacos, chilaquiles - homemade corn chips served with green salsa, cheese, avocado, coriander, onion and sour cream, quesadillas for the kids, and churros for dessert.

"All the flavours are very traditional from Mexico, so it's as Mexican as you can get it in Australia," Mr Romero said.

Mr Romero is also the head brewer and says eight beers are served on tap, with two other rotations, and he has plans to add more.

The core beers include a Belgian farmhouse ale called Saison, a New England India pale ale named Raglan, while a hazy pale, IPA, XPA, lager, apple cider and raspberry sour have also featured on the taps.

Mr Romero has recently added a brown ale to the mix, which has already proven a popular winter brew.

"Rutherglen has the good wine, but it's missing good beers, so there was a chance to start a brewery," he said.

"I believe there have been a couple attempts at opening a brewery here (in Rutherglen), but we've got the experience and the knowledge.

"I've been brewing commercially for three years. Brewing is a passion for me and I'd say I've been doing it for about 10 years.

"It should work really well."

Mr Romero said brewing would be done in Melbourne until it is permitted on site, which he expected to happen within 12 months.

It would then allow the Convent Brewery to start canning its beers to sell beyond the venue.

"At the moment, we've got eight on tap, but we have two we are swapping in and out, so we have 10 all up. The aim is to eventually have 14," he said.

"All of our beers here are designed to be paired with the food that we have."

Ms Di Stefano said she had been delighted with the initial response to the brewery.

"The food is something a bit different for Rutherglen and we've had lots of people come back every weekend, so that's been really heartwarming," she said.

"It's been a really long process to get to the point of actually opening the doors, but we've been really overwhelmed by the support of the local community especially.

"It's not a tourist time in Rutherglen at the moment, but that's been amazing to see people walk through the door after thinking about it for so long.

"We've got seating inside and outside or diners can choose to sit amongst the brewery tanks, but people like to be close to the view.

"The deck wraps all the way around. Over the long weekend we had such beautiful weather, so everyone was pretty much out on the deck soaking up the sun.

"We're so happy with the beer and the food that Julian and Kelly have brought in, it's a perfect match."

Mr Kennedy said the Convent Brewery was available for weddings and functions.