Modus Brewing Mona Vale

Modus Operandi opened the Mona Vale brewpub in July 2014 as the Northern Beaches brewery that kicked the modern craft wave along — Jaz and Grant Wearin's original site, running a 16-tap brewpub with a beer garden and a mezzanine that looks down over the working brewhouse. The kitchen runs burgers, pizzas, wings and bowls, the beer has picked up champion smaller, medium and large brewery awards in successive years, and the site shifted to 100% green energy a few years back.

Well-behaved dogs on leash are welcome in the beer garden and street-side outdoor seating, with water bowls on the floor. The resident brew-dog, a labrador called Stout, greets visitors more often than not. Mona Vale sits close enough to the beach and the off-lead reserve at Mona Vale Headland that the post-walk stop-in is close to routine.