Dining reviewer WENDY JOHNSON thrills to the taste of a smoked-trout pizza, but has reservations about the preparation of a couple of others at a new place in Kingston. 

The Tumut River Brewing Co was opened by two mates with one dream – to make craft beers in a microbrewery. That was sometime in 2014.

Fast forward to last month and the operation has opened in Kingston with beers made in the Snowy Mountains, wines primarily from Tumbarumba and pizzas made on-site in a huge oven that looks like an igloo.

Rows of beer, in black cans sporting bright colours, are there for the tasting, and the “True Brew Crew”, wearing black, branded T-shirts, are busy patting down operations. 

The beers have funky names, including Full Grunt, Bounty Hunter, Bad MOFO, Sugar Baby and Happy Jack Creek. A Ginja Ninja spicy ginger beer is on offer.

If you’re grabbing a bite, pizzas start at $25 and top off at $30. Gluten-free bases are available (not suited to coeliacs).

Our first pizza was a standout. Celebrating produce from the Snowy Mountains, this pizza featured a generous service of moist and oily (but not too oily) smoked trout. 

Other toppings included finely sliced onions, salty green capers and loads of mozzarella ($30). The crust was thicker at the edges, more refined in the middle but not overwhelming on the digestive system.

We enjoyed the pizza with a refreshing riesling from Johansen Wines, Tumbarumba ($12 glass/$40 bottle).

The second pizza we shared was the maple bacon and blue cheese, selected because it sounded intriguing ($30). While the combo of main ingredients should work in theory, the amount of blue cheese was overpowering for our taste. We also felt the pizza needed to be in the oven a tad longer to melt all the cheese (some was quite firm).

Last up was the lamb and feta pizza ($30). We were drawn to the reference of the meat hailing from Franklin Butchery, a local Tumut operation that specialises in locally bred, grass-fed beef, lamb and pork. The pizza features mid-strength JW Pilsner, a refreshing beer made by the brewery, as well as salty feta and garlic oil. As with the maple bacon and blue cheese, more time was needed in the oven to properly melt the cheese and ensure the pizza was piping hot.

With these pizzas we enjoyed both the Johansen Chardonnay ($12 glass/$40 bottle) and the Double Joy Dry Rose ($12 glass/$40 bottle) from Borambola Wines, a family-owned business in Gundagai. 

Other pizza options include a kransky and pineapple (the kransky from Wagga Farm Gate Butcher, $29) and a chicken satay ($30). Although we didn’t have it, we eyed the simple rosemary and potato pizza. The couple next to us gave it a thumb’s up.

Teething pains will no doubt be worked out as staff settle in.