Phat Brew Club are set to open a spectacular second venue. The Perth brewers are set to take over a space in the Hillarys Boat Harbour waterfront precinct.
They've secured the lease on a 390 square metre waterfront site in Perth's north, complete with 120 square metres of alfresco space overlooking Hillarys Bay itself.
With an expected 250-person capacity, Phat co-founder and managing director Travis Moore describes the future setting as "casual and comfortable", although with a slightly different feel to their home in West Perth, which opened early last year.
“We don’t want to do the same thing that we’ve already done,” Travis says, adding with a laugh that regulars will still recognise the connection with their home.
“There’s definitely going to be some colour in [there]."
The expansion will be partially enabled by a crowdsource funding (CSF) equity raise that's launching this week via OnMarket, which Travis says is the first of its kind in Western Australia.
“This will make us the first private company with a liquor licence in WA to have been able to do this," Travis says.
“The current Liquor Licensing Act prohibits companies in WA and South Australia with a liquor licence to crowdfund due to the stringent checks required on each investor, even if they are only buying in at $250.
It's a situation we first reported on in 2019 with both states viewing all owners, even if their total shares are a very small percentage of the private company, as being a "person of authority" over a private company with a liquor licence, whether it's a pub or brewery. Effectively, such legislation is designed to ensure the right types of people run pubs or gambling venues (rather than an outlaw motorcycle club or similar enterprise) that's made equity crowdfunding more difficult for breweries in the West compared to their East Coast counterparts.
Although Otherside Brewing were involved in a crowdfunding campaign back in 2021 via Birchal, that was through the brewery's then-parent company Triple-1-Three, which was an unlisted public company, as too was Spinifex who completed an equity raise in the same year.
In the case of Phat, Travis says as a private company, they've received an exemption from the WA government after extensive conversations, which enables this crowdfunding to take place.
“It took us four months of lobbying various ministers, and there are some conditions and parameters around the exemption," he says.
"But they were all really good, and understood where we were coming from: that it’s just good business allowing us to compete in a beer industry that’s had us with one hand behind our back."
The decision to open a second venue to grow was led by the success of their West Perth home and, while they explored several areas, once they saw the spot in Hillarys Bay they knew it was the right fit.
“For us, we’re good at running venues and making beer," Travis says. "So, we wanted to lean into the venue side of things, but do a smaller version of what we do in West Perth and bring it to totally different area. Our ‘Culture of Good Times’ is what we want to bring to our venues.
“It’s always been the plan to have another taproom, and potentially another two, but firstly expand – firstly, north of the river. Perth’s so spread out, and Phat HQ is right in the centre, which is awesome, but we wanted to bring some of that experience, and some of that essence, to a different market that maybe can’t make it to West Perth all the time."
The new venue shares the boardwalk with longstanding venue The Breakwater, and looks east across Hillarys Bay. The sheltered cove is often busy and hosts frequent swimming lessons in summer and a major New Year's Eve party.
“It’s just a beautiful spot," Travis says. "It’s a tourist hot spot for Perth, but it’s also a place that people living north of the river really come to.
"There’s a huge market up here and so much potential. If you’re into craft beer, or just want beers that are different, fun and fresh as, you haven’t got a lot of venues in the north that you can go to."
Brewing will continue in West Perth with potential to expand in capacity and footprint, albeit options they're approaching with a conservative mindset.
“The reason we’re doing this is for achievable expansion," Travis says. "We’re not planning on brewing millions of litres of beer and distributing it worldwide. This will enable another venue for people to come and be a part of, and extends what we’ve always done.
“Keg sales are a tough market, and wholesale in general is tough. Your margins are very low and you’re up against CUB and Lion with all of their contracted taps everywhere. [The Breakwater] is a classic example; every single tap in there is contracted – there’s no choice for consumers or venue managers”
He is, however, sagely aware of the challenges facing the broader beer industry.
“The market over here is a different beast," he says. "For the past four years, we’ve had a completely different impact to what the east coast breweries have faced. We were also fortunate to open at the end of COVID."
Hillarys Boat Harbour has been an entertainment and boating hub in Perth’s northern corridor since the late 1980s, and is home to AQWA, the aquarium of Western Australia. The precinct is owned by the Department of Transport, which has significant development plans within the next ten years, and is also a key departure point for the popular Rottnest ferry.
Once open, Phat’s Hillarys venue will share the Western sunset with near beer venue neighbours Spinifex and Froth, both in North Beach; Rocky Ridge are also opening a taphouse in Duncraig just minutes away.
Phat's head chef Tabatha Khoo, formerly of Servo Leederville, with be overseeing the food offering at both locations, and expanding upon Phat’s modern Asian street food oeuvre.
“You can’t compete now unless you’ve a good food offering," Travis says. "People come to your venue for the food, and they’ll stay for the beer.
“There’s a lot of ifs, buts and maybes within all of it, but we’re excited about our Phat future."
Phat Brew Club’s CSF raise commences with an expression of interest campaign on September 24 via OnMarket. Opening dates are contingent on the CSF, we'll provide you with an update once details are locked in.
About the author: Guy drinks and writes about beer, goes for a run most mornings and makes his own chilli hot sauce. Find out more on Goodtimes Craft Beer via Facebook and Instagram.
For me, beer writing is about sharing experience with others, most of which is as much about what happens around the glass as what’s in it. It’s why I started a blog in 2014 after years of drinking beer and through quite literally bumping into founder James Smith at Good Beer Week began writing for The Crafty Pint. Many amazing friendships have developed from the love of water, malt, hops, yeast, adjuncts and hype!
The beer(s) or moment(s) that turned you on to good beer
Early 90s experience with Dogbolter and bottles of Delirium Tremens at the Sail and Anchor proved that there was more to beer than the cheap stuff I was drinking. A few years later, Chimay Blue once again teased before Little Creatures Pale Ale and Feral Hop Hog set the course for beer with flavour and nuance.
Favourite beer styles
Balance and drinking context are key but a short list includes Brett saisons, super fresh West Coast IPAs, well constructed BA sours, BA imperial stouts and fresh India pale lagers.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
Depending on the beer and circumstance, bitterness and acidity are the hurdles to overcome.
- Right now, Eagle Bay’s IPL is a great modern expression of technique and approachability. The hop presence arrives in soft mango and lime with enough bitterness but it’s the tight carbonation and refreshingly super dry finish that seals the deal.
- Boston Brewing’s Afterglose: Raspberry gose brings a near-perfect fruit / salt / acidity balance to a vibrantly coloured beer. It’s a real talking point which can lead to conversation about the history of beer styles, acidity on the palate or just: "Do you want another one?"
- Any fresh Czech-style pilsner. This has to be fresh in order to pick up the grassy noble hop characters and zippy bitterness on the slightly more biscuity malt body. While familiar to many, a really fresh expression is great starting point for a massive world of beer.
Tell us about a standout beer moment
A favourite beer memory involves spending an afternoon sitting under the dripping eaves of a café in the 5th Arrondissement watching Parisians run in and out of a bakery with fresh baguettes while I drank large goblets of Duvel as the winter rain soaked the tiny cobblestoned square. So much about beer is context!
