A 1,000-person venue in Forrestdale’s Business Park is expected to open by mid-2024, after a deal was struck between a local developer and Limestone Coast Brewing.
Perth developer William Shire has signed an agreement with Limestone Coast Brewing to bring a 1,000-person microbrewery to Forrestdale Business Park.
Mr Shire, who owns 17 hectares of land in the commercial precinct with capital partners, plans to develop an $8 million brewery on the site, about 30 kilometres south-east of Perth.
This week, he signed a memorandum of understanding with Limestone Coast Brewing to supply beer to the planned microbrewery.
The Business News 2020 RISE small business of the year developed a hub-and-spoke brewing model, where the beer is brewed at its Malaga factory and transported to the venue where the beer making process is completed.
The group, which also supplies East Perth’s Long Neck Brewery, Southern Cross’s Goldfields Brewing Co and The Island Brewhouse at Elizabeth Quay, is raising $10 million to expand its operations to Melbourne, on the pathway to listing.
Limestone Coast Brewing co-founder Brad Hill explained that every location’s beer was unique, and his group provided the science behind the art that is brewing.
“It’s not a cookie cutter approach; we bring the consistency [but] the craft beer in each venue is unique,” Mr Hill said.
He told Business News he and business partners Sven Grone, Jason Macdonald and Geoff Munday planned to operate across 20 venues in Western Australia as well as expanding to Victoria.
“We have had really strong growth in craft beer,” he said.
“In Perth I think we are about 10 years behind the United States and they have been growing at 20 per cent year-on-year.”
Former XXXX boss Ken Freer has recently joined Limestone Coast Brewing’s advisory board and John Ahern of ARK Group fame is stepping into a non-executive director role at the company.
A joint venture partnership including Willbury Holdings Pty Ltd and Intrepid Bay Pty Ltd bought the Armadale Road site where the brewery is planned in 1996 for $500,000.
Mr Shire said the site, situated near planned multi-million sporting facilities, Bunnings Armadale and Tonkin Highway, was a significant catchment area with more potential.
“The vision for this property has been 30 years in the making, which will redefine entry into Armadale from the west,” he told Business News.
“Armadale Road is one of the more important east-west linkages in the state [and] when the sea port gets moved from Fremantle to Westport, this will be the half way point between the airport and sea port.”
He added that there was a lot of value in the surrounding hills areas, including Roleystone and Kelmscott, and a shortage of notable venues in those locations.
Close to 5 per cent of the Armadale site has been developed, with a Hungry Jack’s, Ampol located there and agreements signed for a car wash to be built.
The microbrewery is in the design phase, with plans to open by mid-2024.
