OUR HISTORY

Every story starts somewhere, and ours began in a dilapidated old shed in Brunswick West back in 2008, where Dan Dainton first tried his hand at the scientific art of homebrewing. Little did he know that those backyard dreams of beer being “more” - plus a little bit of arm twisting of the old man Kev - would lead to one of Australia’s most recognised and respected craft beer brands being established.

From the beginning, Dainton Beer has always been about brewing beers that are exciting, tasty and a little bit different. It was built on a belief that beer could be more. More tasty, more fun, more exciting and available to more people. So we set out to bring punters freedom of choice because beer drinkers deserved more.

In 2013, we released our first commercial brew Red Eye Rye - a beer that pushed the then boundaries of what beer could, and should, be. Dan was clearly onto something because, a few years later, that very beer went on to win a trophy at the 2018 Indie Beer Awards.

Our production brewery and taphouse opened its doors in 2016, allowing for a whole new level of experimentation. While our batch sizes might have grown a bit since the shed days, brewing innovative and exciting beers (that are a bit of fun!) is still right at the heart of what we do. In 2022, we opened our second taphouse in Croydon, Victoria at the site of the old Public Brewery. Allowing us to bring our big, bold and tasty beers to the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

With our amazing team of brewers, we have managed to pick up 50+ awards along the way, including twice winning the best in show award (i.e. Champion Craft Beer) at the Indie Beer Competition for the 3D and Cherrywood Smoked Rye Baltic Porter. Even more excitingly, we won Champion Independent Large Brewery of Australia (and Victoria) at the 2020 Indies awards. We must be doing something right!

Dan Dainton, Co-Founder & CEO
Kev Dainton, Co-Founder

Recent Awards

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL BEER AWARDS (AIBAS) 2022

- Equalizer Hazy Pale- Darklord Imperial Stout- Major Tom New World IPA- Return of the Red Eye
-Barrel-Aged Imperial Red IPA - RRAWWWGGR
- Big Chewy Red IPA
- Barrel-Aged Cherrywood Smoked Rye Baltic Porter- Dainton Lager- Jungle Juice Hazy IPA

INDIES 2022

Darklord Imperial Stout
Equalizer Hazy Pale
Overdrive West Coast IPA
Blood Orange NEIPA
Choctail Espresso Mocha Stout
D6 6-Hop Anniversary NEIPA
Jungle Juice Hazy IPA
Red Eye Rye Red IPA
RRAWWWGGR Big Chewy Red IPA
Barrel-Aged Cherrywood Smoked Rye Baltic Porter

GABS HOTTEST 100 2022

Equalizer
Blood Orange NEIPA
Jungle Juice Hazy IPA

Trophies

Indies 2020

Champion Large Brewery Overall
Champion Large Brewery Victoria
Champion Strong Beer Apocalypso II

Indies 2019 & 2018

Champion Australian Beer
3D TDH Double Red Eye Rye
Champion Strong Beer
3D TDH Double Red Eye Rye
Champion Amber/Dark Ale
Red Eye Rye Red IPA

IBA Craft Beer Awards 2017

Champion Australian Beer
Cherrywood Smoked Rye Baltic Porter
Champion Porter/Stout
Cherrywood Smoked Rye Baltic Porter