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As voluntary administrations (VA), restructurings and wind-up notices continue to flow through Australia's craft beer sector, the owners of yet another brewery have decided to bite the bullet, albeit without the hefty drama of a VA.
Alchemy Brewing Co, a brew-pub on Lygon Street in the Melbourne suburb of East Brunswick, announced on social media yesterday that it would be throwing a farewell party on 29 June.
"It’s with a heavy heart I’m announcing Alchemy Brewing will close at the end of the month," co-founder Pim Muter wrote on the company's social media.
"I am incredibly proud of the venue I built but we’ve had a rough ride and it’s time to call it quits," said Muter, who established the venue in December 2019 with Sam Percy.
The news follows the announcement last month that Gold Coast brewery Black Hops was rescued from administration in an environment of decreased sales and higher costs. As it seems to often be the case in these situations, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) was the brewery's largest unsecured creditor.
Other recent downfalls in the sector include Gippsland-based Grand Ridge Brewery and Deeds Brewing in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris, as well as WA-based operations Otherside Brewing and Black Brewing, all of whom entered administration within the last few months.
An insightful anonymous column in industry publication The Crafy Pint for its 'Secret Brewer' series yesterday emphasised that the number of voluntary administrations only represent a small percentage of the entire brewing industry, but they have damaged the industry in many ways.
These include leading suppliers to change the way they do business with everyone after being burnt by a brewer in administration, or fostering cynicism amongst consumers who may assume it's just a means to wipe debt and move on.
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