Pilot Georg Bobbert decided to follow his dream during the pandemic and begin crafting the beers he loved so much - farmhouse ales, saisons and barrel aged sours.

The Bellambi cellar door, secluded behind the Buckaroo factory, finally cracked open The Barrel Shepherd brews for the public in May.

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"The intention wasn't, I guess, to be quite as big as what we are," he said.

Originally he was just going to make 60 barrels, then it became 70, then 80 and now they're up to 90 barrels - but they've "run out of room".

His wife Chan said they've only been opened Saturdays so far but people were loving the vibe of sitting amongst the barrels of sour beer and food trucks outside.

"There's nothing like it in Wollongong, and people feel like they've stumbled on this unusual pot of gold," she said.

"It's not the vibe of a pretentious wine bar, but there's ... the wine barrels and beers on tap."

Bobbert borrowed vats at Bulli brewer Resin to create his base compound for his beers before the ferment was transferred to a stainless steel tank, or wooden wine barrels for ageing (where they'll stay for anywhere from four months to four years).

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Fruits like discarded grapes from wineries and overripe nectarines from Darkes Forest have been added in the process, with the end result a much lighter and cleaner flavour to your standard Furphy or Great Northern.

On tap they've currently got three varieties aged on grapes, another on rhubarb and one on nectarines - but Bobbert said they do have a "table beer" which is a good base to start.

Bobbert, who grew up on a biodynamic sheep farm, went with the name Barrel Shepherd as a nod to his papa but also to the process of making the beer.

"I create an environment for the wort [the unfermented beer] to become what it will in the barrels," he said.

"I tend to them and maintain them, guide them in their journey, but I can't control or contain them. You hand control over to the barrel to get a little bit of input again at the end."

The Barrel Shepherd is currently open Saturday afternoons (check their social media for times) with food trucks in tow, and family friendly.

Retail sales in bottles are a plan for a future, as is extending their opening hours.

You can find them round the back of the Buckaroo Factory, 16 Bellambi Lane but entering off Pioneer Road.

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