A Taste of Irish-Australian Brewing

From humble beginnings as a homebrewing hobby in Darwin to a bustling cellar door in Mudgee, Clover Cellars offers locals and visitors an authentic experience steeped in tradition and passion.

Clover Cellars, formerly known as Hop & Clover Brewing Co., was born from founder Dave Henderson’s home-brewing experiments during the wet seasons in Darwin, when he couldn’t leave his house. Over the years, Dave, a Naval Sailor originally from Derry, Northern Ireland, transformed his hobby into a craft beer business. With the help of his partner, Shiree Phillips, and Dave brings over two decades of experience in hospitality and corporate events. Together, they created Clover Cellars - a unique cellar door nestled in Mudgee’s scenic landscape, offering handcrafted beers, spirits, and botanical sodas with an Irish twist.

The journey of Clover Cellars has been one of passion, persistence, and creativity. It all started when Dave’s brewing kit caught the attention of Gumtree Australia, which featured his home-brew set-up in an ad campaign. This unexpected boost led the couple to take the next step, producing their beers commercially through gypsy brewing, which involves using other breweries’ equipment. By 2018, Hop & Clover beers were available in over 100 independent stockists across NSW, all while Dave was still serving in the Navy and Shiree was managing their growing family.

In 2020, the couple moved to Shiree’s hometown of Mudgee, drawn by the region’s charm and its vibrant community spirit. They decided to bring their brewing business home, focusing on local distribution and establishing Clover Cellars as a central spot for regional beer lovers. Shiree, the managing director and operational force behind the business, ran local farmers’ market stalls, launched the Mudgee Beer School, and helped build the business’s presence in the area. “We’re thrilled to be part of the Mudgee community, sharing our love for good, honest drinks,” says Shiree.

Today, Clover Cellars is known for several signature products, each crafted with a dedication to flavour and quality. Among their most famous creations is the Mudgee Honey Ginger Beer, a refreshing drink with a unique twist, and their Irish Red Ale, which uses manuka wood to smoke the malt, giving it a rich, smoky toffee flavour. They’ve also expanded into spirits, producing a floral gin under the Sailor & Clover Distilling Co. brand, with botanicals like wild chamomile and elderflower. For non-alcoholic options, Clover Cellars offers Ivy’s Garden Soda Co., featuring inventive flavours like Strawberry Gum & Rose and Lemon Myrtle Lemonade, crafted from native and locally-sourced ingredients.

Visitors to Clover Cellars can explore their full range of beers, spirits, and sodas while enjoying an Irish ploughman’s plate in the cozy setting of their cellar door, and the duo have plans for exciting events, including an Irish celebration for St Patrick’s Day in 2025, complete with traditional music, food, and, of course, plenty of Clover Cellars brews. 

With deep roots in both Irish and Australian traditions, Clover Cellars brings something truly unique to Mudgee’s thriving beverage scene; and their vision for the future is simple but meaningful: to continue creating quality drinks while enjoying their life in Mudgee with family, friends, and the community that has warmly embraced them.

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@clovercellarsmudgee

hopandcloverbrewing.com.au

68 Edgell Lane, Mudgee