Madocke Beer Brewing Company’s Bière de Mer — brewed with desalinated Gold Coast seawater — has taken out the top prize at the Royal Queensland Beer Awards, scoring an impressive 19 out of 20.
There’s something poetic about a beer born from the sea winning the most contested category at Queensland’s premier brewing competition. But that’s exactly what happened when Madocke Beer Brewing Company’s Bière de Mer Australian Pale Ale — crafted using desalinated seawater drawn from the Gold Coast — was crowned Champion Pale Ale at the Royal Queensland Beer Awards.
The win is remarkable for several reasons. The Champion Pale Ale category is the most fiercely fought in the competition, attracting 159 entries this year. To rise above them all, Bière de Mer didn’t just edge the competition — it dominated, scoring 19 out of 20 with the judging panel, the second-highest mark recorded across the entire awards.
“We were stunned to receive Champion Pale Ale, especially against friendly Australian rivals when our specialty is authentically Belgian-style beers.” , says Annelies Nijskens, Co-owner and Manager, Madocke Beer Brewing Company
A Belgian Brewery with Deep Aussie Roots
Madocke, based in Ashmore on the Gold Coast, describes itself as Australia’s home of Belgian brewing. Its Belgian-born owners have built a reputation for producing an extraordinarily diverse range of styles — Strong Ales, Tripels, Quadrupels, Special Belge and more — all under a single brewhouse roof. It’s a breadth the owners believe would be difficult to match even back in Belgium.
Bière de Mer was born from an unlikely collaboration. Madocke joined forces with Veolia, a global leader in environmental solutions including water supply and desalination, to create the beer as a promotional item in 2025. The concept was simple but striking: take Gold Coast seawater, put it through Veolia’s desalination process, and brew an Australian pale ale with it.
What neither party anticipated was how quickly it would become a fan favourite. Once Veolia’s marketing campaign wrapped up and the remaining stock hit Madocke’s taproom on Southport Nerang Road, it sold out almost instantly — and customers have been asking for it ever since.
“Whenever Bière de Mer takes a break from the taproom, everyone is straight away demanding for it to come back,” said Annelies Nijskens, Madocke’s co-owner and manager.
A Win That Redefines What’s Possible
For a brewery whose identity is rooted in Belgian tradition, winning the flagship Australian craft style category carries a special significance. “At Madocke, we produce a full range of styles that we reckon would be hard to find under one brewhouse roof anywhere else — even in our birthplace of Belgium,” Nijskens said. “It is great to achieve this latest recognition as true blue Aussie-Belgian brewers.”
The award also raises an intriguing question for the broader brewing industry: could desalinated seawater become a serious ingredient in craft beer? If Bière de Mer’s judges’ score is any indication, the answer might just be yes.
Bière de Mer is available on rotation at Madocke Beer Brewing Company, Southport Nerang Road, Ashmore, Gold Coast.
Discussion about this post