Frequently Asked Questions

We do things just a little differently at Reub Goldberg Brewing Machine, so we’ve added in our most frequently asked questions to make everything as easy and streamlined as possible.

Our goal is to provide you with the freshest beer, in the most sustainable way - our taproom serves up small batch brews, and the only form of packaging is our stainless steel growlers.  We run the growler system as a Swap’n’Go service, enabling quick transactions, prolonged beer life, sanitary cleaning and infinite reuse of the growlers.

You can also choose to join the RGBM Ecosystem at any point - this is our rewards program - which enables you to earn FREE BEER and other excellent bonuses.

A growler is a reusable vessel designed for holding beer. We chose our stainless steel growlers to maximise their beer storage capabilities - double walled for good insulation, an arrow neck to minimise any oxidation, and a pressure rated pop-top to hold a good seal and maintain carbonation.

We fill our growlers with a dedicated counter-pressure filler - this means the beer is not exposed to oxygen, keeping the flavours fresh and maintaining the carbonation level. We give our growlers a guaranteed shelf life of one month from the fill date as long as they are stored cold. Once opened we recommend drinking within 48-72hours and resealing the growler between pours. The insulated vessel will keep your beer cold for over 6 hours, making it perfect for outdoor adventuring.

Absolutely - your first growler will be a 1.5L - from then on simply pay for the beer refill size you want, and we will drop off the corresponding growler size. You can switch up and down between sizes as much as you like.

Welcome! You will need to purchase a growler on your first go. First decide on the beer you’d like to drink by checking out the selection on our Shop page. Once you have made your beer selection, click on the beer fill and then select the New Growler option. This will automatically price the beer and growler combo according to the beer you chose. From then on it runs similar to a gas bottle exchange - you simply pay for the beer fill you want, in the size you’d like to drink and we switch out your empty growler for the freshly filled one. Your first fill will be a 1.5Lgrowler, every fill after that you can choose which size you’d like.

In the afternoon of your local area delivery day. Our local Beer Run goes three days a week, further Illawarra 1/week.

We deliver from Wollongong to Thirroul on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons - get your order in before midday to ensure same day delivery.

On Thursdays we do a South Beer Run down to Shell Cove and inland to Calderwood - orders in before midday Thursday.

On Friday we do a North Beer Run up to Helensburgh - orders in before midday Friday.

Don't forget to put your empty out on your delivery day!

Joining the ecosystem is free as long as you have purchased or are in possession of one of our growlers. It works like a digital punch card - every 10th growler fill is free and you also get a free fill on your birthday. We will continue to release special ecosystem rewards and exclusive offers, so watch this space!

Create a shop account through this website when you purchase a growler - this will generate an email from our rewards partner Stamp Me. The email from Stamp Me will provide you with your login details so you can view your RGBM Ecosystem punch card. From there you can see how many growler fills you have collected, and if you have any free fills or birthday presents. You can collect growler fills when you come in to the brewery as well, so feel free to mix it up between home delivery and takeaway depending on what suits your plans.

Thank you for asking! Please rinse your growler with hot water after use - do a quick visual check to make sure you got the beer residue out and managed to get the rubber gasket on the lid. We take care of the rest of the sanitation process after you drop off/we pick up the growler - however the rinse you give it after use ensures no mould grows and our lives are made significantly easier! Our cleaning protocol includes a 85 degree soapy water scrub, inspection for any further deep clean and an acid sanitation bath. They are then filled via a closed loop in a counter-pressure filler under sterile carbon dioxide gas, and re-dipped in an acid sanitation bath post filling. They are then stored cold until you pick up, or we drop off.

A small suburb with a lovely community feel, Tarrawanna is nestled between the escarpment and the coast just North of Wollongong. It’s about 1.5hrs drive from Sydney centre, and 10 mins drive from Wollongong.

Public transport options: 10 mins walk from Towradgi train station and there’s a local bus stop directly at the front of the Brewery.

We sell pre-packaged snacks, but don’t run a kitchen. However, we are BYO food and are situated next to a cafe, Thai restaurant and old school fish’n’chip shop - so order local and bring the food into the brewery. Alternatively bring platters, cakes, cob loaves etc from home and have a picnic at the brewery.

We do not. This is because we pre-fill our growlers using a counter-pressure filler rather than fill from the tap. See the Fresh& Cold FAQ for why we do it this way!

We offer a buy back service if for any reason you no longer wish to be part of the Swap’n’Go community. You can choose $15 cash, or $25 bar credit.

We do - please send us an email to receive details on the current availability and price list.

Please note - you are responsible for the cleanliness of your corny keg!