Tallboy and Moose

Tallboy and Moose sits at 270 Raglan Street in Preston, a short walk off High Street in Melbourne's north. The name comes from its two founders, Dan Hall and Steve Germain. Hall stands close to two metres tall, which makes him the Tallboy, and Germain carries the Canadian accent that makes him the Moose. They opened the warehouse brewpub in 2016 and, according to The Crafty Pint, connected with the surrounding suburb almost immediately.

This is a working brewery first and a pub second, so the appeal is straightforward. You come for house beer poured a few metres from where it was made, you stay for the food, and you leave knowing the suburb a little better. People who want a polished cocktail room should look elsewhere. People who want an honest local with good beer and room to spread out will settle in fast.

The venue is a converted warehouse, spacious but warmer than the format usually allows. Concrete Playground described the fit-out as relaxed and family-leaning rather than industrial-cold, with long tables that fill on weekends and a quieter corner trade on weeknights. The brewing tanks are part of the room, not hidden behind glass, which keeps the place honest about what it is.

The taps rotate through the house range, so the board changes between visits. Expect pale ales, hazy IPAs, lagers and seasonal one-offs brewed on site, with cider, local wine, spirits and non-alcoholic options for anyone not drinking beer. The brewery's own site and Google reviews both point regulars toward whatever is freshest on tap rather than a fixed flagship, and the staff are happy to pour a taster before you commit. Order a pot or a pint of the newest house beer and ask what was kegged most recently.

Weeknights skew local and low-key, with Preston residents and brewery regulars filling the front tables from the 4pm Tuesday-to-Friday open. Weekends shift earlier and busier from the noon Saturday and Sunday start, with families through the afternoon and a louder room by night. The events calendar pulls a wider crowd; the brewery hosts everything from pro wrestling and drag bingo to speed dating and discos, per its own listings.

• The food menu earns repeat visits, with pub favourites, kids meals and rotating weekly specials called out across Yelp and Tripadvisor reviews.
• The space works for groups, and the function team books farewell drinks for ten through to engagement parties of a hundred, per the brewery's booking page.
• Monday closures catch out first-timers, so check the day before you make the trip north.

• The beer drinker who wants the freshest house tap, not a fixed list
• Families and groups who need room and an early weekend open
• Anyone after a weeknight local with a genuinely odd events calendar

Pair a Preston session with a wider northside crawl. Try Stomping Ground Collingwood for another full brewpub, Moon Dog Craft Melbourne for a bigger and stranger taproom, or Temple Brewing Melbourne for a long-running East Brunswick brewhouse.