Australia’s first dedicated craft beer store is about to open the doors at its new home. Slowbeer has moved a couple of kilometres closer to the heart of Melbourne from its old base in Hawthorn to new, bigger premises in Richmond, where it has installed extra taps and will be inviting guests to pull up a pew inside or out so they can enjoy their purchases on site – with a platter of cheeses and cured meats on the side if they so desire.
“The focus is shifting to be more social,” says owner Chris Menichelli. “We’ve got seating inside, will be adding footpath trading very soon and plan to open a beer garden at the back for next summer.
“I really wanted to push the food side of things but not in a pretentious way, just in a relaxed, social manner. We’ll have a board with four local and imported artisan cheeses that change regularly plus some smoked and cured meats, preserves and olives.”
The beer range will remain much the same, although there will soon be four taps pouring and the ability to offer more growlers, which will be decorated with the store’s new branding and logo. The intention is to use the greater capacity to hold more frequent events at the store, the first of which will be Slowbeer & Food Pairing, Italian Style during Good Beer Week. It will focus on the Bizarre range of beers from Birra del Borgo, one of the most adventurous Italian craft breweries whose beers are just starting to arrive in Australia now, alongside Italian cheese, charcuterie and antipasti.
The new store is at 468 Bridge Road, Richmond, and opens on April 24. It will be open seven days a week, from midday to 9pm. There is a corkage charge to drink in store, ranging from $2 per bottle to $4 depending on size.
Happy Valley
The Valley Cellar Door beer garden in action
Slowbeer isn’t the only bottleshop in Melbourne offering the option to eat and drink in, with Chapel St Cellars, Mordy Cellar Door and Valley Cellar Door in Moonee Ponds among those where you can do both. Chapel St Cellars now has seven taps pouring while Valley has just expanded its draught offering, moving from one tap to four, expanding its beer garden and operating more as a bar than bottleshop.
If you head to Valley Cellar Door this Saturday, you can catch ‘Beer Song’ writers ElbowSkin performing an hour’s set of musical comedy in the beer garden from 4pm. Tickets cost $25pp.
Alternatively if Japan is your thing, Chapel St Cellars will be showcasing beer and sake for its Good Beer Week event on May 19. Tickets cost $35pp.
