Royal Hotel Bacchus Marsh

After our night of a couple of breweries and a Royal in Daylesford, it was time to continue on the tour.  So we prepared ourselves to get back on the road and head on the Royal Hotel Bacchus Marsh. 

First up in the morning I took an entirely uneventful walk back into Daylesford from Hepburn Springs.  It was a short walk that absolutely did not involve getting halfway before realising I had forgotten the keys or forgetting how to judge the difference between uphill and downhill. The important thing is I retrieved the car and we were on our way.

I’m still not sure if it was a scheduling error or if hours had changed or what, but we ended up arriving in Bacchus Marsh before the pub opened. Which left us in the awkward position of being those guys sitting outside the pub waiting for it to open. Well sitting and periodically trying the door and cupping our hands to the window trying to peer inside.

When opening time finally rolled around I’m sure they weren’t super excited to let in the guys that had been loitering at the entrance for half an hour. We don’t always tell the pubs we visit about the Royal Tour or why we’re there. But in these circumstances (i.e. A.M. ales at a pub where we’re the first customers) we do tend to let them know. Just to explain to them and justify to ourselves. I had been patiently waiting on a park bench across the street, but by the time I had crossed to the now open pub, John was in the middle of giving that explanation/justification.

The bartender that let us in thought it was awesome. And the publican thought it was awesome. Probably because it is awesome, but it’s nice when other people think so too. The enthusiasm was almost enough to make us feel like (very) minor celebrities.

As for the Royal Hotel Bacchus Marsh itself, it was a work in progress. And I mean that in the best possible way. It had fairly recently been purchased and was in the midst of getting done up. The exterior already looks very schmick in that nice, but not overly done up kinda way. Like it’s had a spruce up, but it’s definitely still got some character.

The interior was still in the process of getting new carpets and a general overhaul. As I say, a work in progress. Carpets still to be done. Some fittings not fully finished. But if I’m being honest, we could’ve easily settled in for a session as it was. The beer selection was also one of the best we’ve encountered so far on the tour. Some nice craft local stuff to go along with the standard fare.

We grabbed our first beers of the day and headed out to the beer garden area. This is definitely one of those Royals we wish we had more time at. The pub was already nice enough. But it was probably the vibe more than anything else. And I don’t mean in a Dennis Denuto sense. More like in a welcoming friendliness sense. Everyone we interacted with there, was happy to have a chat, friendly, and interested. And that’s not something you can always say about a pub in the morning.

We often say we would be keen to come back to a particular Royal. But given that we’ve still got Greater Melbourne ahead of us at some point on the Tour, and the desire to see the progress the pub reno’s are making, I dare say this is one we definitely get back to.

Royal Stats

• Town/Suburb: Bacchus Marsh, VIC
• Population: 24,717
• Date Visited: Saturday, November 4, 2023
• Visited By: Cory, John, and Anthony
• Beer Sponsorship on Sign: None
• Beer Consumed at Pub: Holgate Chocolate Porter (Pot)
• Price of Pot of Said Beer: $7.00
• Unique Award: Royal with the Most Potential
• Tour Progress: 31.6% (43/136)