Raven On And On

August 12, 2013, by Crafty Pint

Raven On And On

It was last winter that word began to spread that one of Melbourne’s longest established microbreweries was on its last legs. To paraphrase Monty Python, it was beyond pining for the fjords and set to become a dead raven. Much to the dismay of the brewery’s many fans, 3 Ravens brewery and the building that housed it were advertised for sale and the future was unclear at best.

One winter later and you don’t need to be too eagle-eyed to note that there are still plenty of 3 Ravens beers on bars and in fridges. Heck, there was even a Good Beer Week event that featured a one-off they created with Ballarat’s Dead Salesmen, not to mention the more recent Fly By Night, a three-way avian collaboration with Two Birds Brewing and Kiwis ParrotDog. All of which makes it abundantly clear that this is one bird that’s a long way from pushing up the daisies.

The Thornbury brewery can thank another Aussie brewer for its new lease on life. WA’s Mash Brewing was looking for ways to increase its presence on the East Coast, ideally by finding premises in one of the eastern states to set up a second brewery, when the 3 Ravens sale was advertised.

“Initially we were looking for the right site to set up a brewery in Melbourne to brew Mash beers and supply the East Coast with fresh beer,” says Nathan Liascos, who is overseeing the Melbourne operation. “We saw that 3 Ravens was up for sale and saw it was the perfect opportunity to take on a unique Melbourne craft beer brand with a loyal following – and to give both the brand and the customers out there what they deserved.

“We also saw it as opportunity to start brewing some Mash beer in Melbourne and be able to supply Melbourne and the East Coast. I’d always known the 3 Ravens brand and enjoyed the beers myself. So when there were conversations between the directors as far as the best way to approach the purchase, it was never going to be [a case of] buy the brewery and just brew Mash beers and ditch 3 Ravens.”

Already in the year leading up to the purchase, Mash had started sending a number of its specialty beers to the Melbourne market, such as the Rye The Hop Not ESB, a Belgian Pale and a Scotch Ale. Since taking over the 3 Ravens operation, they have been brewing some of these specialty Mash beers in Melbourne instead. In recent months, both the Grasscutter – a lawnmower beer – and their Challenger English IPA have been brewed at the Thornbury base as part of an “Illustrated Ales” series for which they invite local artists to design the labels. They also created Crematorium, another three-way collaboration, with 3 Ravens and Boneyard Brewing (the brewing spin-off from Josie Bones that has been brewing at the site).

As for 3 Ravens, little has changed. While the number of limited releases from the brewery has been wound down, the core range remains the same, as does the brewer. There are plans for some enhancements, however, as much to the physical setup of the brewery as anything else.

“We’ll maybe modify some recipes slightly and give the packaging a bit of a facelift,” says Nathan. “We’re investing some money into the brewhouse and want to get a real bottling and labelling line into it.”

The purchase represents the latest step in what has been a programme of steady growth for Mash. Since opening their original site – a brewery, bar and restaurant in the heart of WA’s Swan Valley – in 2006, they have added two more WA venues on the Marlston Waterfront and in the Rockingham Shopping Centre. Two years ago, they took on current head brewer Charlie Hodgson, who overhauled their beers, improving them significantly, and began introducing a diverse range of well regarded limited releases.

For the time being, the core Mash range will continue to be brewed on the West Coast for the West Coast, with the Thornbury brewery responsible for the 3 Ravens range and Mash specials, such as the Illustrated Ales. And, as they bring the brewery back up to capacity, plans are afoot to increase the capacity too.

Whether future plans include adding regular bar nights, like the Wednesdays and Fridays at Mountain Goat, remains to be seen, but the chances are good that there will be one-off events at least following the sellout success of the Cask Off (pictured above). The event was one of the 2013 Good Beer Week highlights and saw more than 150 people, a live band and a BBQ stall fill the brewery as brewers from 3 Ravens, Moo Brew, Holgate and Bacchus showcased cask-conditioned real ales. It was also something of a statement of intent – a sign that the rumours of 3 Ravens' demise were unfounded.

“We wanted to let people know what was happening, to open peoples' eyes a little bit,” says Nathan. “We wanted to let people know what we were heading onwards and upwards.”



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