IF you're passionate about craft beer, you've known for the past decade that the Grain Store is among the cream of the crop in Newcastle.
The popular Newcastle East craft beer cafe's standing in Australia's burgeoning beer scene has also been recognised.
Beer & Brewer magazine has crowned Grain Store as the 2023 Beer Venue of the year, the first time a regional establishment has claimed the honour.
Grain Store has been voted NSW's favourite beer venue in Beer Cartel-conducted surveys for the past four years.
"It's a cool achievement for our town," humbled Grain Store owner Corey Crooks said.
"There's hundreds of amazing venues around the country that are pushing for the same sort of accolade.
"It's special as it's our 10th year and we've stayed pretty true to what we do since we opened our doors in 2013."
The Beer & Brewer award is further recognition of Newcastle's reputation as a craft beer hub.
Since Grain Store opened a decade ago with a fiercely independent business model, Newcastle has welcomed an influx of breweries such as FogHorn, Modus Operandi, Grainfed, Shout, Method, Thirsty Messiah and Good Folk.
Crooks said 50 per cent of his trade comes from tourists.
"Beer tourism is a real thing," he said. "We've heard about it for years in regards to wine regions and people travelling and doing that.
"What we have in our own city, in terms of brewpubs, is a big reason why a lot of the people come through our door."
Crooks also credited his team of 23 staff for Beer & Brewer's recognition and said their service and commitment to ensuring no elements of "beer snobbery" crept into the venue were vital.
"People walk in our venue every day and they could normally drink Great Northern and we're certainly not turning up our nose or looking down at that choice," he said.
"We'll certainly still have something for them without shocking them too much from what they usually like."
Crooks has worked in the hospitality industry for 26 years, previously managing Carrington's Oriental Hotel (now Young Street Hotel), Paddington's Captain Cook Hotel and Wickham's Albion Hotel, among others.
Next year Crooks plans a $1.3 million refurbishment of the historic Cross Keys Hotel at Tighes Hill. The development application plans are before the City of Newcastle.
"We've got a builder lined up, so once we get the green light we're hopefully four months away from there," he said.
Independent beer, wines and food will again form the business model of the Cross Keys Hotel.
"The philosophy won't be too dissimilar from what we are at Newcastle East, but probably more of a gastro pub," he said.
