Australia's reigning Indies Champion Brewpub has new owners, with All Hands Brewing House snapped up by Signature Hospitality Group last week.
Signature, which counts TGI Fridays, The Sporting Globe and Foresters Restaurant and Bar in Brisbane within its portfolio, purchased the brewpub for $20 million from Red Rock, owner of venues including Melbourne craft beer pioneer Cookie, the PJ O’Brien’s Irish Pubs and others in Perth and Cairns.
Signature CEO James Sinclair told The Crafty Pint the group was excited about their first move into brewing, particularly given All Hands’ location overlooking Sydney’s Darling Harbour.
“With a strong heritage in craft brewing and a passion for high-quality food and sports entertainment, All Hand Brewery House aligns with our values,” he said.
The site has a long history as a brewpub, initially opening as a James Squire brewhouse in 2004. It later become aligned with Bluetongue Brewery before becoming King Street Brewhouse, which was home to the Red Tape Brewing Company beers brewed in-house.
More recently, Red Rock undertook major renovations and installed a new brewery where, under the All Hands banner, head brewer Sam Clayman's beers saw them claim Champion Brewpub and Champion NSW Brewery at the Independent Brewers Association’s 2019 awards.
“The site’s rich heritage in craft brewing was very impressive and attractive to us,” James says. “We’ve seen craft beer boom over the past few years and are excited about the award-winning beers being produced on site.”
As for what’s changing, he says not much. Sam is staying on as head brewer and, while you might start to see more All Hands appears in other Signature venues, James says the focus for now is on tweaks to the Darling Harbour brewpub.
“We’re currently looking to enhance the alfresco and dining areas alongside the craft brewery but it’s still business as usual,” he says.
“Our brewers always have a few ideas up their sleeve, but you’ll have to wait to find out.”
Will Ziebell is a history graduate who knows more about The Wire than he does about beer. He was awarded the AIBA Best Media trophy for 2018; HBO have told him to please send his fan mail elsewhere. He can be found on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
The beer(s) or moment(s) that turned you on to good beer:
Spending time living in the UK (and backpacking across Europe) when I was 21 certainly gave me a better understanding of the beer and different styles of the world. But I'd say it was a holiday to the High Country a little while later when lunch and a tasting paddle at Bridge Road Brewers created an obsession with Australian breweries and locally made beer.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
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Boatrocker's Miss Pinky: It's a raspberry-packed Berliner Weisse that neither looks or tastes the way many people conceive of beer.
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Bad Shepherd Hazelnut Brown: A luscious mix of chocolate and hazelnut that can appeal to the sweet tooth within us all.
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Stone & Wood Pacific Ale: As the father of my oldest friend once said to me: "It's the perfect refreshing pint that smells like they've loaded it with the God's herb."
The last beer you enjoyed:
Garage Project's DFA while sitting at the bar at Miss Moses as the sounds of The Rolling Stone drifting in the background.
Three things that represent you:
- Bruce Springsteen
- Ken Burns
- The State Library of Victoria
