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One of the very many but rarely noted wonderful things about craft beer is that, for the most part, it is vegan friendly. It's a trait it shares with The Cornish Arms, a venue that is not only quite possibly the most vegan friendly pub in the whole of Australia but very certainly the most vegan friendly AND craft beer loving pub in the whole of Australia. The cavernous old pub (it can seat 300 inside and out) in the heart of Brunswick's thriving Sydney Road has been reinventing itself in recent years, moving from a venue better known for live music and bog standard beer to a welcoming pub for all where the focus is on top notch pub food and fine beers and wines. On the beer front, having witnessed changing tastes at other venues and also within the Brunswick community, the managers began introducing more local craft options. The reception encouraged them to keep going to the point where the vast majority of the 12 taps now pour beer from independent Aussie breweries. At one end of the scale, Coopers has two taps and offers the Cornish kegs of its rare specials, such as Aged Best Extra Stout, while elsewhere you'll find the likes of Boatrocker, Two Birds and 4 Pines in a lineup that doesn't change too often but always covers a wide range of bases from quaffers to hoppy drops to malty ales and dark beers. For local students and anyone else valuing quantity over all else, there's a tap pouring Australian Draught at ridiculously affordable prices too. Perhaps the biggest change in terms of impact on business, however, was the decision to implement a serious vegan menu. When the East Brunswick Club shut down, they took on its chef and expanded the kitchen so that he could bring his existing vegan dishes with him and also create a quality menu for omnivores. The vegan dishes – many of them hearty as hell, such as the Double Down and Parma – have proven such a hit that more than a third of the pub's business comes from vegan customers and their friends. Word has spread to the point that some fans think little of embarking on three or four hour round trips from country Victoria to enjoy the vegan menu with quality beer (or one of the vegan ciders or wines). As for the venue, aside from the vast, chequerboard walled main room, there's roadside seating and a sweet little beer garden at the rear, as well as a pool table and weekly trivia nights. The colourful venue has been through many guises since being built in 1854; we'd wager "vegan craft beer haven" may well be its least likely yet.


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