Healesville's Giant Steps cellar door becomes Matilda Bay brewery and bar

Healesville drinkers are never short of excitement. Local distillery Four Pillars has just claimed the title of world's best gin producer and, before Christmas, the cellar door and restaurant for Giant Steps winery will start a new era as Matilda Bay – a pub and brewery for the revived CUB craft brand.

It's a complicated full-circle story. CUB has recruited Giant Steps' owner Phil Sexton, a beer and wine mogul who originally helped establish Matilda Bay in the early `80s, and was also instrumental in the success of the Little Creatures beer halls, to revive their flagging craft beer brand.

Sexton, with the encouragement of his "beer nut" son, has ousted Giant Steps' cellar door offering from the Healesville space (tastings can still be done at cafe Habituel until an on-vineyard facility is completed in September 2020), and installed a public bar, due to open later in December with brewing facilities to follow in mid January.

Sexton plans to reinvigorate the Matilda Bay beer range without entering into the modern craft beer melee of making ice cream-flavoured brews. "That's not what craft beer is about," he says. The range will share the dozen taps with what Sexton does think are Australia's best brews. The kitchen, still captained by Giant Step's chef Ben Ledingham will still make use of the pizza oven and offer fast, simple, beer-friendly dishes taking a special interest in the vegetarian offerings Sexton thinks can be overlooked in the area.

Matilda Bay will open late December at 314 Maroondah Highway, Healesville.