Western Australian’s developing taste for boutique beers is fuelling an upsurge in the number of new craft or microbreweries, with a 25 per cent increase in 12 months and continued growth forecast next year.
Western Australian’s developing taste for boutique beers is fuelling an upsurge in the number of new craft or microbreweries, with a 25 per cent increase in 12 months and continued growth forecast next year.
Three boutique microbreweries have opened in WA since June this year – Tanglehead Brewery in Albany, Mash Brewing in the Swan Valley and the Indian Ocean Brewing Company in Mindarie – with three more scheduled to open in the coming months.
Cowaramup Brewing Company is expected to open its doors to the public in early November, later than its scheduled October opening due to delays with finalising its brewing equipment from Canada.
Mad Monk Brasserie will open at the former Miss Maud site on the Fremantle cappuccino strip in November; and craft brewery Brew 42 will open in Allanson, west of Collie, in December.
According to the Western Australian Brewers Association, WA has experienced the biggest growth in microbreweries of any state during the past two years and now leads the country (along with Victoria) with a total of 24 microbreweries in operation.
Nationally there are around 80 microbreweries in operation.
WA microbreweries are gaining a reputation for producing some of the country’s best boutique premium beer due to the success of pioneers such as ASX-listed Little Creatures, Gage Roads and Sail and Anchor.
Cowaramup Brewing Company’s Jeremy Good, who is also vice-president of the brewers association, said the industry has undergone unprecedented growth in the past 12 months on the back of growing demand at the premium end of the beer market.
“This year and last year have been the most prolific growth years in terms of new breweries coming on stream. It has certainly exceeded our expectations,” Mr Good told WA Business News.
“But there is still plenty of room for growth in the boutique and craft brewing industries.”
Located on North Treeton Road just three kilometres from Bussell Highway, the Cowaramup Brewing Company holds a special facilities licence for 200 people. This enables the brewery to operate as a tourist venue with a bar and beer tasting facilities, a restaurant and licensed lawn area overlooking the picturesque rural landscape, including views of neighbouring Treeton Estate vineyard.
The company also grows its own hops on site, in keeping with the agricultural zoning of the land, with this year marking the brewery’s fourth hops harvest.
Local tourism business, including wineries and neighbouring brew-eries, have supported the new micro-brewery, according to Mr Good.
“They have all been very supportive because they see the diversity that we will offer will add to their business,” he said.
Brew 42 was the brainchild of home-brew enthusiast turned profess-ional brewer, Allen Shaw, his wife Claire and business partners Andrew Pimm and Christopher Martin.
The brewery will be housed in a rustic barn-style construction on 1.4 hectares of rural bushland on McManus Road in Allanson, eight kilometres west of Collie, and will incorporate a bar, tasting room, cafe and art displays.
The brewery opens in December.
Mr Martin said all of the recipes had been hand crafted by Mr Shaw and fine-tuned through a series of small-scale test brewings.
And there are more microbreweries in the pipeline, with a new brewery opening virtually every second month in regional areas next year, including in Denmark, Albany, Margaret River, Dunsborough, Harvey and the Avon Valley.
