All Hands Brewing House officially launches at Sydney’s King Street Wharf.

All Hands Brewing House has been operating since late 2017 but the owner, Red Rock Venues, has now officially launched the venue.

All Hands Brewing House is not the first brewpub to sit on the site at King Street Wharf. It was preceded by King Street Brewhouse, the home of Red Tape Brewing. Before that it was a James Squire brewpub.

The design of the current iteration was two years in planning and took seven months to build.

The official launch of All Hands Brewing House comes not long after the opening of the James Squire branded Squire’s Landing at the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay, and Endeavour Tap Rooms at The Rocks. Brewpub venues located in busy tourist areas are not new in Sydney but there has been a resurgence throughout 2017 and 2018 of venues in this mould.

As awareness of craft beer increases, hospitality-led venues are providing a comfortable space for tourists and city workers to drink beer brewed on-site

Head Brewer Sam Clayman worked closely with designers and architects to install the state of the art brew house, and commissioned it in November 2017. The first few months were spent dialling in recipes. The brewery includes lab equipment and kegging machine.

A range of beers including the Bunny Hop Lager and Wood Duck Cream Ale sit alongside taps from multinational brewers and a house cider produced off-site for All Hands.

“We have five core taps and four rotating taps so there’s room for experimentation,” Clayman said.

Experimentation will include seasonal releases and higher alcohol beers but Clayman says “approachable is what we’re going for”.

According to the brewers, the Wood Duck Cream Ale is by far the most popular beer being brewed at least once a week. They also said that the popularity of the other beers fluctuates according to the season with a dry-hopped West Coast style IPA, a dry stout and a lager all regular sellers for the venue.

The unique challenge in the brewpub model is that there is only one outlet for the beer, meaning the schedule of the brewing team is dictated by what is moving through the taps in the pub.

The 16 hectolitre capacity brewhouse features five fermentation vessels and is located to the back of the venue. There is a group of six bright tanks near the front of the pub visible to customers when standing at one of three bars in the space. Five of the bright tanks go directly to the taps with one reserved for kegging beers.

There are also hand pumps serving regular line-up beers packaged in casks or speciality beers suited to the method of dispense.

The venue will also include a beer-friendly menu, inspired by southern comfort food, and designed by Red Rock Group Executive Chef, Graeme McLaughlin, and Executive Chef, Michael Acevedo.