Otherside Brewing are set to welcome travellers into a new home this year, with the Myaree-based operation set to opening a taproom – or Brewlounge – in Terminal 2 of Perth Airport. The venue is a partnership with Delaware North, a catering business that works closely with a number of Australian airports.
“[Delware North’s] ambition in airports is to focus on supporting local. We’re a brewery born in WA, we represent local, use local produce, and we brew all our beers locally in WA, so the opportunity to partner with them reinforces those values to travellers and patrons in the airport," Braden Loader, head of brand and amplification at Triple-1-Three (the hospitality business that includes Freo.Social and Mojos as well as Otherside) told The Crafty Pint.
In a media release, Delaware North's managing director Gary Brown said they were excited to be part of the development, one that builds upon a 30-year partnership with Perth Airport.
“The Otherside Brewlounge promises to be a dynamic and highly engaging venue which will give travellers at Perth Airport a genuine taste of Western Australia’s incredible food and beer," the statement said.
Otherside aren't the first local brewery to take up residence in a major airport. Stomping Ground opened a brewpub at Melbourne Airport in February 2020, also in partnership with Delaware North, Capital Brewing have a taproom within Canberra Airport, and Newstead Brewing operate a bar at Brisbane Airport.
Earlier this month, Otherside's fellow Perth brewing company Blasta confirmed plans for a large production brewery close to Perth Airport, which will include a "departure lounge" with views towards the airport, showers, secure luggage storage lockers for travellers, quiet "pods" for meetings, screened live departure information, and ridesharing to the airport.
The Otherside Brewlounge was designed by the team responsible for their brewery and live music venue Freo.Social, with Braden saying the airport offers them another chance to promote local artists through their Tapped by Otherside funding program.
“There’s a massive bulkhead at the front and the floor artwork,” he says. “Both see us recruiting local WA artists to help represent their work through Tapped by Otherside.
“This is probably the biggest format we’ve had the opportunity to bring in artists to showcase them.”
Terminal 2 is one of Perth's domestic terminals and is frequently used by fly-in-fly-out workers. As a result, Braden says the move gives them the chance to connect with workers from within the state, who might not know the Otherside name or their beers as well as tourists.
“If you’re a FIFO worker and you are doing [two weeks on and two off], you can come and see us every two weeks,” Braden says. “So it’s kind of a second local and we can bring them into the fold with our Tycoons program so they can get benefits at the bar, or their name on a brick.”
Today's announcement also promised state-of-the-art audio/visual elements to showcase live sports, with Perth Airport’s Acting Chief Commercial Officer Rebecca Cook adding: “Our FIFO passengers spend a great deal of time at the airport and we are pleased to offer them a distinctive and fun way to spend their time before their flight, which includes the ability to watch live sports and music.
“The Otherside Brewlounge concept proposes a unique take on a pre-flight venue offering, with a dynamic personality and quality craft beers that will provide regional travellers in T2 a fantastic F&B experience."
The Otherside Brewlounge is planned to open in the second half of 2023 and will replace the Four Alls lounge.
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
