L-R: Troy Taylor, Matt Hoffman and Steve Henderson

BrewCult will open its own bar in Melbourne next month, capping off a strong year of growth for the AIBA Champion Gypsy Brewer.

Located in Brunswick, BrewCult Bar has been founded by Steve Henderson and business partner Troy Taylor, formerly of craft beer pub The Pourhouse in Maitland, NSW.

“I get asked quite a lot, ‘where can I try all your beers?’ Up until now that place hasn’t existed,” Henderson told Australian Brews News.

He said the original plan was a brewpub, but finding an appropriate site had proven challenging, given the reluctance of inner city councils to approve industrial developments in residential areas.

Instead, he said BrewCult will “stay true to its gypsy brewer roots”, continuing to produce its beers at Dandy South Massive, the Dandenong South production facility it shares with Kaiju! and Exit.

The bar will pour BrewCult’s entire range alongside three guest beer taps and a rotating cider tap.

“We really want everything to be best of breed. It’s not necessarily about Victorian or local – we just want to make sure we’re giving people access to the best of what’s out there,” he said.

Henderson said the venue will also have a strong emphasis on delivering exceptional beer service, with its bar team headed up by experienced beer server Matt Hoffman.

Licensed for 80 patrons, the bar is currently being converted from a restaurant, which Henderson said offers an expansive space including a separate function area and beer garden.

Thanks Captain Obvious IPA

Co-operative brewery
Henderson said BrewCult has enjoyed considerable growth off the back of its AIBA 2016 success, which was mainly down to the performance of Thanks Captain Obvious IPA, which also wonGold at the Craft Beer Awards in Brisbane.

The brewer has recently added distribution in Western Australia and Tasmania, with South Australia soon to follow.

While it is not a shareholder in Dandy South Massive (DSM), Henderson said BrewCult is actually the biggest contributor to volume at the facility, which operates like a co-operative.

Henderson is its production manager, overseeing scheduling and procurement, with Exit’s Grum Knight and Nat Reeves of Kaiju! working on the brewery floor.

“We all work on each other’s beers, in one way or another,” Henderson said. “Together we get the economies of scale and we share the benefits of improved quality.”

He said DSM has several contract customers and has expanded its initial capacity with the addition of four 75-hectolitre tanks.

“We’re making a lot of beer. We can make 65,000 to 70,000 litres of product a month and we’re getting there, but everyone’s got the ability to grow, so it’s really good,” he said.

BrewCult Bar is scheduled to open on Friday November 11.