Northbridge gets a little crafty

It’s been a long time coming, but the newest of the 37 brewpubs and breweries on our fledgling microbreweries list, Northbridge Brewing Company, is finally pouring pints and proprietor Michael Keiller says the timing could not be better to establish an inner-city venture like his.

Mr Keiller said the pub, which he opened for the first time on August 7 in partnership with fellow Mustang Bar proprietor Michael Rasheed, is well placed to ride the wave of Australia’s craft beer revolution.

While it hasn’t been easy, with the pub taking more than seven years from concept to doors open, Mr Keiller said the delays had almost been serendipitous.

He may well be right, if lunchtime on its second Friday in operation is anything to go by - the venue was very busy at lunchtime today.

“During the process that this project’s been going through, you’ve seen the craft beer movement grow stronger and stronger, all around Australia,” Mr Keiller told Business News.

“Despite the frustrations of taking between seven and eight years to come to fruition, the timing has been pretty good for us.

“Even the major breweries have gone off and developed craft offshoots from the main brands, and there are some small breweries that have really grown in stature as well.”

Mr Keiller said there were many reasons the venue had been delayed, not least of which were battles with WA Police and Liquor Licensing to show why a new venue was needed in a locale widely associated with anti-social behaviour.

“We had everyone lined up against us, but if you’ve got a good story to tell and the evidence to back it up, you’ll win it through,” he said.

Now that it’s open, Mr Keiller said the Northbridge Brewing Company was just another facet of a suburb rapidly being redefined.

“Historically, Northbridge has been a late night entertainment area, whether that’s nightclubs or pubs with live music,” he said.

“It’s still a strong entertainment precinct on a Friday or Saturday night, but there are a whole lot of other things occurring in the precinct on the other days and nights.”

Northbridge Brewing Company offers four in-house beers, as well as a selection of craft beer favourites from around Australia; and to cater for all types, it also has Heineken and Hahn Super Dry on tap.

But it’s the in-house beers, created by WA brewing legend Ken Arrowsmith, that give the Northbridge Brewing Company that crucial point of difference.

“It’s a much wider demographic and market that we’re going to,” Mr Keiller said.

“One of the most interesting things when we opened was the number of prams that came through the front door.

“We are trying to be all things to all people.”