The family running Rocks Brewing has told The Crafty Pint they're “devastated” after the business entered voluntary administration this week. The Sydney-based brewing company appointed insolvency solutions and business turnaround firm Jirsch Sutherland on October 29, with brewing operations and their Tap House continuing as usual for the time being.
Rocks beers first appeared on tap at Harts Pub in The Rocks close to fifteen years ago, initially brewed at a number of sites around New South Wales, before they opened their brewery and venue in Alexandria. The Osborn family took control of the business in 2018, running a multifaceted operation: brewing their own beers as well as beverages for others, operating a sizeable hospo operation onsite, and hosting occasional larger events such as the South Sydney Brewers Oktoberfest.
Now, citing a number of factors common among the administrations, closures and sales of the past two years, as well as a more personal battle, they have moved to “reset” the business.
Moni Osborn told The Crafty Pint: “We are absolutely devastated to be announcing that we've now entered into voluntary administration.
“We’ve worked really hard to repair relationships with our suppliers since taking over in 2018. We put great efforts reinvesting back into manufacturing and the venue, only to be hit by COVID and rising interest rates.
“On top of this, our Rocks Family also operated without our top man Simon for a year, as Dad battled cancer throughout 2023.
“This year, we've faced the cost of living pressures and our customers being unable to spend as much as they would like to.”
Trent Devine and Andrew Spring, partners with insolvency solutions and business turnaround firm, have been appointed as joint and several administrators, and will be undertaking “an urgent assessment of the business and its financial status, with a view to restructuring the company or possibly selling it.”
They told The Crafty Pint: “With cost-of-living pressures easing, the business is well positioned to take advantage of the next market cycle, so the key focus now is to deal with legacy debt and to investigate a restructure or possible sale of this unique brewery.”
The move comes towards the end of a brutal year for the local drinks and hospitality industries. Dozens of breweries and beer venues have closed, entered administration or been put on the market, a picture reflected in other sectors of the Australian beverage and hospitality industries. With summer approaching, business owners will be hoping for a bumper season, and for positive news from the Federal Government and RBA early in 2025.
Looking to the immediate future, Moni said: “For now, our operations and our team at the Tap House will remain open and continue as usual as we endeavour to reset.
“We encourage everyone to visit our Tap House over the next few weeks and of course support independent breweries when you can.”
James Smith launched The Crafty Pint in 2010, two years after moving to Australia from the UK. He was taken to Mountain Goat within weeks of landing in Melbourne, joined their indoor cricket team, and is still navigating the rabbit hole that is craft beer to this day.
The beers that turned you on to good beer:
- Watching pints of McEwan's 80 Shilling settle when visiting family in Edinburgh.
- Pints of flat Bass from the jug at the Cap & Stocking in Kegworth.
- A first Paulaner Hefeweizen when working in Munich in 1998: “This smells of bananas!”
- Castle Rock Harvest Pale – how could a 3.8 percent ABV beer be so good? (It turns out it was an early example of the three Cs – Cascade, Centennial and Columbus – in an English bitter).
- Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA poured through hops at the Sunset Grill in Cambridge, MA, in the company of a man who turned out to be the Beer Nut (while we were both covering a double murder case at the time).
- Ordering a Mountain Goat Hightail on my first day as an Aussie resident as it was local and I’d never heard of it; “A dark Australian beer; well I never…”
- Murray’s Icon 2IPA at Beer DeLuxe Fed Square, recommended by a guy I’d not long known who's now the main man at Fixation, served by Mik Halse, now head of sales at Hawkers. How could an Australian beer smell as good as that?!?
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
- Any really good, fresh and balanced West Coast style IPA. Punchy hop aromatics are the most obvious way to capture someone's attention and these IPAs, done well, present the key components in beer (if you're sticking to just water, malt, hops and yeast) in harmony yet with the volume turned up.
- Saison Dupont. Arguably a selfish choice here as I bloody love the broad saison style and dearly hope it will finally take hold in Australia one day. Given a choice, I'd probably crack one enlivened with Brettanomyces like Molly Rose Matilde for myself but, when it comes to turning on someone new, you've got to go with the classic.
- Rodenbach Caractère Rouge. Because if you don't enjoy or can't appreciate this beer, I'll never win you over. And because Filip, the fruit and wood specialist at Rodenbach that designed it, is a beautiful human.
The last beer you enjoyed:
Fixation IPA at The Incubator.
Three things that represent you:
- The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Golden Plains
NB All articles written by James in the first eight years of the site appear as By Crafty Pint. Today, that's used for collaborative efforts by the wider team.
