Club Brewing Co is unlike any other brewing company in Australia. They don’t own their own brewery; that’s not that unusual. They don’t own any stainless; slightly less common, but also not unheard of. They don’t own their own taproom; also not a unique situation. Every beer they make is a one off; there are a few out there, as breweries move with the market this will become more common. So what is it that makes them unique?
All Club Brewing Co beers are sold via a quarterly subscription through their website. All their beers are brewed in collaboration with an physical brewery using their stainless steel (with a few batches being brewed at Craft & Co.). Each quarter you receive a mixed case with 8 of each beer that they’ve collaborated on in the past few months. There is no wholesale of their beers! That means you can’t go down to a bar and find them on tap, nor can you find them in your local craft beer bottle shop.
Brewery Type
Gypsy
Brewed At: Various
Region
Inner Suburbs
Tasting Room
None
Like so many other breweries, the idea came to Chris Thomas, Dennis Nowak & Daniel Ryan over a couple of beers one night in January 2015. Unlike most of the time when this conversation occurs a few beers deep, the idea still seemed good the next day. The boys were further encouraged when they received a response from Danish brewer Christian Skovdal Andersen (Beer Here) within 15 minutes of sending out their idea.
Others soon followed; including John Keelings (Fullers, UK) & Mitch Steele (at Stone when he agreed, before starting his own brand). And thus the trio spent the best part of the next 2 years making the idea came to fruition, with their first pack being sent to subscribers in December 2016. The concept is still going strong & their list of collaborators has become seriously impressive, see here, with brewers of note from the USA, Europe, Asia, New Zealand & Australia having taken part so far.
Having put off committing to the membership for most of the year, I was finally about to bite the bullet before I was lucky enough to notice a Facebook post where Exit’s Uitgang Bar, which is quite close to my work, said they had a few cans of their collaboration with Club Brewing for sale. Naturally I headed straight down there!
This is a really nice Amber Ale! I’d say it’s the best one I’ve had in years, as the style really has fallen out of favour. It’s got a lovely malt base with layers of caramel with overlying rye spiciness. The hops are punchy but not overpowering with grapefruit & a touch of pine the most obvious. I know Club won’t brew it again, but hopefully Exit make something similar down the track!
**UPDATE** – In late-September 2020 Club Brewing announced their next pack would be their last, in part due to the effects of COVID-19.
Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!
