Matilda Bay Brewing Company


The Matilda Bay Brewing Company was a West Australian brewery. It was the first new brewery opened in Australia since World War II and Australia's first craft brewery. Originating from small batches brewed for the Sail and Anchor Hotel in 1984, their main brewery opened in 1989 in a prominent building on the Stirling Highway occupied by Ford Motor Company. The company was purchased by Carlton & United Breweries in the early 1990s.

History

In 1983 Phil Sexton, together with Garry Gosatti, John Tollis and Ron Groves, formed Brewtech Pty Ltd to brew commercial boutique beers. Due to lack of support from Perth Hotels the company purchased and renovated the Freemasons Hotel on the corner of South Terrace and Henderson Street, Fremantle. The hotel was renovated, a micro brewery installed and renamed the Sail and Anchor, under the banner of Anchor Brewing Company. The first beer, Anchor Ale, "a dark, copper-coloured, traditional ale", was produced in late 1984.
In 1985 Brewtech opened their second venue, The Brewery Alehouse on Stirling Highway in Nedlands. The Company also established a second micro brewery at 31 Carrington Street in Nedlands, which housed the Matilda Bay Brewing Company and began producing beers in 1985. In 1986 the company launched its first wheat beer, Redback, which went on to be one of the company's best commercial successes. In 1987 Brewtech Pty Ltd changed their name to Brewtech Limited, following which they made the decision to consolidate their business under the Matilda Bay Brewing Company banner. The Company purchased another three outlets in Perth.
In 1988 Carlton & United Breweries purchased a 20% shareholding in the Matilda Bay Brewing Company, which led to the company in 1989 purchasing larger premises, the former Ford Motor Company building, on Stirling Highway in North Fremantle to brew their beers. In 1990, Elders IXL renamed the Foster's Group purchased the Matilda Bay Brewing Company, in a deal that valued Matilda Bay at more than A$50m. Carlton & United then sold the Sail and Anchor Hotel to the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group, a subsidiary of Woolworths Limited, who subsequently closed the micro-brewery operations at the hotel.
In 2000 the original brewers of Matilda Bay opened the Little Creatures microbrewery in Fremantle.
In 2005, the Matilda Bay Garage Brewery began operating in South Dandenong, Victoria in an effort to brew small batches of more experimental beers, such as Alpha Pale Ale and Dogbolter, Crema, Barking Duck and Rooftop Red Lager.
In June 2007 Fosters announced the Perth-based brewery would close in September and its beer production would be moved to its other breweries to improve cost and capital efficiency, with most of the larger volume production beers, such as Redback, Beez Neez, Fat Yak and Bohemian Pilsner being moved to the Cascade Brewery in Hobart.
In 2012 the company opened the Matilda Bay Brewery Bar in the former Cadbury factory building in Port Melbourne, relocating the brewery operations from Dandenong.

Beers