The team at Spangled Drongo Brewing officially fired up their brewhouse in June last year, but you may have heard their name prior to this.
After initially planning to build a brewpub and taproom (with a built-in skate ramp) in the art deco heart of Murwillumbah, the town and the venue-to-be were hit with one of the worst flood events the region has ever seen in February 2022.
Once the waters subsided, and with an empty but usable space in the centre of town, the Drongo team got to work setting up a flood response and volunteer centre. Thousands of selfless locals came through the doors and collectively helped to mop 1,300 flood affected homes, distribute over 5,000 volunteers, deliver over 27,000 meals, and raise over $200,000 for flood-affected community members.
Fast-forward 14 months and the brewery was finally able to be built, this time in Murwillumbah’s industrial estate. Taking inspiration from their namesake, the Spangled Drongo – an old-world woodland bird known to take on birds of prey twice its size to protect their young – the Drongo team have continued to embed impact into their business model with proceeds from each beer being donated to protect wildlife habitat; each beer sold protecting one square metre for a year.
With their beers now on the market for ten months, even non-birdwatchers will notice the Drongo popping up more frequently. Their flagship Pale Ale, a highly drinkable 4.5% Australian ale, is in hundreds of great pubs and bottle shops around the Northern Rivers, and the team are currently planning their second core range beer to be released in the coming months. Also in the works is a tasting room at their industrial estate brewery, complete with the built-in skate ramp from the original plan.
Or maybe you just know the name from the Aussie slang, with many human ‘drongos’ also known to inhabit our region (you might just be a bit of one yourself). As Head Brewer Brian says, ‘If you can do a bit of good, and have a bit of fun doing it, why would you purchase something else?’
www.spangleddrongo.com.au
Instagram: @spangleddrongobrewing
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