BREWING
Takingon ‘Big Beer’ A short history of brewing in Western Australia
further his brewing education. What he learned provided the basis for arguably the biggest upheaval in WA beer since settler Henry Bull brewed the State’s rst ale in 1831, two years after Captain Charles Fremantle declared the Swan River Colony for Britain. On his return downunder Sexton found beer boring. The staple bland lagers weren’t talking to a new gener- ation that was increasingly favouring wine and spirits. He was adamant the conversation breweries were having with drinkers had to change. “It really was a barren landscape back then,” Sexton said. “There were generic beers marketed around tribal- ism – “the beer we drink around here”. And we endured a chauvinistic lifestyle. I remember the Palace Hotel in 1974 when some female friends from univer- sity were arrested for refusing to leave the front bar. “There were trade barriers erected across the country that effectively main- tained a monopoly or duopoly in each State. To make it worse, tap behaviour by the major brewers which involved marketing and nancial contributions to retailers in exchange for loyalty – practices that if used in the US would have resulted in jail sentences – meant brewing stagnated.” So Sexton decided to take on Big Beer. Easier said than done. Because of Swan Brewery’s huge presence it could foil the young punks of the WA alcohol beverage game. And while Sexton and concept partners, Gary Gosatti and John Tollis, had a wonder- fully romantic idea to create their own beer company, building the infrastruc- ture would be a nightmare. Getting hands on equipment was nigh on impossible. So other mate- rials were fashioned into a brewkit. Fortunately, wealthy businessman Peter Briggs believed in the dream. He pro- vided capital. And Matilda Bay Brewing Company, named in honour of the waterway in which the directors water skied, was born. “When we started, information and equipment was carefully controlled by the industry,” Sexton said. “I was fortunate in that I knew the industry and knew where to go, whereas today,
ByRoss Lewis
If beer is a conversation, then it was saying a lot of wrong things in Western Australia (WA) at the end of the 1970s. Phil Sexton had heard too many bad messages during his tenure with the State’s monolithic Swan Brewery. And he decided the way Sandgropers* (an inhabit- ant or native of Western Australia) discussed their favourite lagers needed to change. So he started a revolution. And within a few years he changed Australia’s beer market. I n 1983 WA had one brewery. But Swan was more than just a producer of beer. It was an iconic part of the State’s history. The company had been operating since 1857 and had systematically swallowed all rivals. No local sporting event was held without a reference to Swan Lager or Emu Export. And its century-old production site at the base of Perth’s much-visited Kings Park was one of the city’s most recognised and historic landmarks. When then owner, controversial businessman Alan Bond, funded Australia’s historic victory in the 1983 America’s Cup, the Swan Brewery’s logos ew on the Australia II spinnakers during practice and around the team’s dock. The link between beer and State was tight. Think WA, see Swan Brewery. By 1982, as Perth celebrated its one millionth citizen, the company was producing well over 200 million litres of beer. Taking on ‘Big Beer’ Phil Sexton started at Swan as a trainee brewer in the mid-1970s and after four years went to the United Kingdom to
40 ● BREWER AND DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL I november 2019
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