Two Birds is one of the great success stories of Australian craft beer, starting as a gypsy operation & evolving into a brewery, taproom, national & international brand. They’re widely known as the first female owned brewery in Australia, however there is so much more to their story that that oft used term.
Jayne Lewis & Danielle Allen met in their hometown of Perth in the early-2000’s. Jayne was a winemaker turned brewer who was one of the up & coming stars of the brewing world; having worked at Little Creatures, Matilda Bay & Mountain Goat, whilst Danielle worked in new product development marketing at Woolworths. It wasn’t until a trip to the US in 2010 that the duo even considered going into business together. At a brewpub in San Luis Obispo (a reference to which is displayed at The Nest) Jayne voiced her desire to brew her own beers rather keep brewing for other people. Danielle had always wanted to do her own thing & the duo realized their skills were complimentary & perfect for starting what would start out as a small brewing company & hopefully morph into something much larger.
Brewery Type
Physical
Region
Western Suburbs
Tasting Room
136 Hall St, Spotswood
Things moved relatively quickly, after returning in September 2010 the duo had a business plan sorted by Christmas. Less than six months late, in June 2011, both Jayne & Danielle had quit the security of their full time jobs on the same day to start their brewing company. And thus Two Birds Brewing was born; “bird” being a somewhat derogatory slang for woman in Austrlaia. In August 2011 they released their first beer, a Golden Ale that would become a key part of their core range for years to come until being retired in the middle of 2019 due to declining sales.
The duo had always planned to have their own brewery, but thought it would be at least 5 years from when they launched. Within 2 years they’d accelerated those plans, with the need for a physical home becoming apparent, as consumers were constantly asking where they were from & there was less understanding of the contract model at that time.
And so began the search for a permanent home, culminating with Jayne’s husband Louis finding the final site online while waiting for a flight at LAX. The building is an art deco manufacturing factory, with a heritage listed facade, constructed in the late 1930s. The 18hL brewery was installed, the build completed & “The Nest” was opened to the public for the first time in July 2014 – at least 2 years ahead of their original plan. They didn’t have a packaging line & continued to brew all packaged releases at various other breweries around Melbourne. This change in early-2017 with the acquisition of the neighbouring warehouse, meaning that all Two Birds production was brought in-house.
Sitting in the back area of The Nest is one of my favourite beer experiences in Melbourne. It really feels like you’re sitting in the brewery, with just a wooden railing & some plexiglass separating you from the stainless steel. It’s a really nice space, seemingly always bathed in sunshine, with a huge painted mural across 2 of the concrete walls making it feel less like you’re in a warehouse, whilst still being firmly in an operational brewery. If being in a warehouse isn’t your thing, there is plenty of seating inside the main bar area which has a nice modern feel to it.
If my memory serves me correctly, these were the pre-Untappd days afterall, Sunset Ale was the first Two Birds beer I ever had. I was impressed with it then & I’m impressed with it now. A beer that has evolved over the years, but has stood the test of time. There’s lovely deep malt character complemented by citrus & pine hop notes. It’s amazingly full bodied for a beer that only clocks in at 4.6% ABV & one I hope to see around long into the future.
Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!
**Update October 2021**
Since publishing this profile Two Birds has changed hands twice. The first occurred in early January 2021 when Jayne & Danielle announced that they had been acquired by Fermentum, the parent company of Stone & Wood. Less than 9 months later, on 9th September 2021, Lion acquired Fermentum & all its subsiduaries. At this time Two Birds Brewing cannot be considered an Independent Brewer.
