That was the unfortunate case during a visit to Brouhaha Brewery at Maleny.

The new addition to the Sunshine Coast hinterland tourist town combines a sleek on-site brewery headed by beer whiz-kid Matt Jancauskas (ex-Beavertown Brewery, London) with a restaurant/cafe manned by chef Mischa Cleland (ex-The Cove Hotel, Patterson Lakes, Victoria).

It is a smart and polished space boasting an industrial-inspired fitout accentuating the row of steel brewing tanks that line one wall.

Diners pull up a seat at one of the high or low tables, or out on the deck overlooking the hinterland, before placing their order at the timber sleeper-clad bar.

The lunch and dinner menu is a basic affair of pub staples and share plates given a cheffy twist, such as the Middle Eastern spiced popcorn chicken with harissa yoghurt, croquettes filled with local cheese and cauliflower accompanied by a curry aioli, and the traditional steak sandwich.

This place is all about the beer, though, and a tasting paddle of four brews ($14) is the perfect way to kick things off.

We filled our wooden board with a passionfruit IPA, raspberry saison, dry-hopped saison and a rogue add-in of Mornington Peninsula Brewery’s porter, as Brouhaha’s milk stout and coffee stout had sold out.

They were all interesting, distinctly different and beautifully balanced beers. The raspberry saison was a winning match for seafood, while the dry-hopped saison was a strong all-rounder, great by itself or with food.

It was then that the critic’s curse kicked in.

After waiting some time for our lunch, one of the friendly young staff members came over: “I’m really sorry but the chef has dropped your fish (for the fish and chips) on the ground and it was the last one. Can I get you something else?”

It was an innocent mishap that simply happened to the wrong diner. To be honest, I was just glad we weren’t served floor fish. Plus, it could have been worse. I was once having lunch with MasterChef judge Matt Preston when we received a pizza with a pen casing on it. Now that was unlucky.

As a replacement we opted for the Aussie bush spiced squid ($16.50) to be teamed with some beer-battered sweet potato fries. It was a more than satisfactory substitute with the calamari tender and well spiced, if a little salty, while the accompanying mayonnaise had been given a zingy twist thanks to finger limes. The sweet potato fries were more lukewarm than hot, but benefited from the brewery’s beer batter.

An empanada, filled with chorizo, capsicum and pork belly, packed a punch, though the pastry was a little soggy ($15). The unexpected star, however, was the haloumi and roast vegetable salad ($21).

Each morsel became like a “choose your own adventure” with pomegranate seeds, pistachios, sweet potato, cauliflower, roasted onion, roasted capsicum, radicchio, rocket and baby spinach hiding in the bowl between dollops of green goddess dressing and triangles of tanned, crisp haloumi.

It is the type of meal that makes you feel virtuous, even after working your way through a paddle of beers.

Brouhaha dishes up solid, well-priced fare that lets their great beer shine.