Colonial Brewing Co was founded in the Margaret River wine region in 2004 by serial entrepeneur Ross Smith. They opened a sleek brewpub on 70 acres & managed to make enough waves that they attracted the attention of Empire Beer Group. The group purchased Colonial for a reported $15m in late 2006.
Empire Beer Group wanted to cash in on the early success of Colonial but cashflow issues became apparent early in the piece. They had grand plans including a large brewery in Fremantle. In mid-2007 they deviated from that path by acquiring a pub in Perth for a further $3.5m. Rumours swirled that Smith had not been paid his full dues & became a cliche disgruntled ex-employee by reportedly driving a tractor through the front doors of the brewpub. By August 2008, the dream was well & truly shattered as Empire Beer Group sold both the pub & Colonial Brewing Co to it’s current owner; Chris Morris, of Computershare fame, & his Colonial Leisure Group for $4.5m.
Brewery Type
Physical
Region
Inner Suburbs
Tasting Room
89 Bertie St, Port Melbourne
Since Morris brought stability to the brand they’ve gone from strength to strength. The solidified their position in Margaret River before planning expansion. They had been in talks for a number of years to establish a brewery in Cape Schanck on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, but council red tap scuppered those plans. Shortly after CUB announced plans to shift the production of Matilda Bay beers from Port Melbourne to Cascade Brewing, Colonial announced they had acquired the Port Melbourne site in 2015 to really kickstart their East Coast expansion.
Figures from 2019 illustrate just how significant their growth has been. In early-2015 they had about 8 accounts per week in addition to their Margaret River home. By 2019 they were ranged in 1500+ Independent bottleshops, the major chains & had over 200 on premise accounts. In early 2020 they announced a further upgrade that would increase their total capacity to about 8 million litres placing them within the top 10 producers in the country, by my estimations.
There will be people that argue that Colonial Brewing Co doesn’t belong in this directory. I understand your point of view; but the masses of shiny, stainless steel occupying a warehouse in Port Melbourne is enough of a reason for me. They’re a brand, born in Western Australia with a functioning brewery in Victoria. In this regard they differ from Queensland producer Range Brewing’s taproom in Abbotsford, despite being a very cool venue & a part of our vibrant scene, they will not be included as they don’t produce beer in Victoria.
I’m sure a number of you will have visited the Bertie Street site in one of its various guises. It’s a really impressive venue that they’ve managed to squeeze a lot of tanks into! One of the unique features of the brewery is the cyclone fence running through the middle of the venue that separates the brewing area from the tasting room. The hospitality side has a few different areas that will suit just about anyone. There’s food trucks, table tennis tables, indoor greenery (although less than I remember), painted murals; you name it it’s got it! It’s a really cool space that appeals to everyone & really ties into the beers they make.
It would be remiss of me to not mention the controversy surrounding the name that has popped up sporadically since 2016, but made national news in 2020. Smith named the brewery Colonial in 2004 as they intended to take over the Margaret River wine region. Seeing that they don’t market their origin story; I find this to either be a convenient narrative that backfills their story or a naive missuse of language. Every change of ownership has presented the opportunity to rebrand, which each subsequent owner has not taken. Simply put; the word “colonial”, if it is not already, will be considered problematic at some point in time in the future given what Aboriginal people in this country have experienced & continue to endure. At the time of writing the brewery has confirmed they have no plans to change its name. If I was a betting man I would guess a name change for Colonial Brewing is inevitable.
Colonial brew incredibly clean, balanced beers. They aren’t in the game to blow your socks off, but you know everytime you pick up one that it will be good quality. That is absolutely what is going on here. Colonial IPA is brewed using all Australian hops, that provide nice bitterness as well as tropical and pine flavours. It’s an incredibly consistent product and one I reach for semi-regularly when in less crafty destinations.
Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!
