Beaufort's David Troup said the inspiration behind the Three Troupers brewery, which started last year, came from years of combining years of farming with his passion for beer.

"Where we are, you could virtually throw a stone over thousands of acres of malt barley nearby," he said.

"Down through Skipton and the Western District area, there's a lot of barley being produced, I was sick of seeing it go down a sheep's throat, so I decided to do something a bit different."

Three Troupers now produces two beers, a pilsner, a light clear and hoppy lager, a pale ale, a dry and malty drop.

Mr Troup was happy to join the growing band of craft brewers in western Victoria, including Camperdown's Red Duck brewery, Warrnambool's Flying Duck and Mildura Brewery.

"I saw the micro-brewery thing taking off in America 20 years ago, but it has really taken off here, mainly in north eastern Victoria, but also over here," he said.

* Extract from a full report in Stock Journal, April 23 issue.