Northern Beaches-based brewery, Freshwater Brewing Co., says it’s using its equity crowdfunding campaign on Birchal to sound the alarm on hardship in the industry.
Freshwater Brewing founder, Jonny Bucknall, said the last week had been “brutal”, with Molly Rose and Currumbin Valley breweries either shutting down or entering liquidation.
“These closures are not isolated incidents, they are the latest casualties in the silent strangling of the indie beer sector by Australia’s dual beer and retail duopolies: CUB (Asahi), Lion (Kirin), and the supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths,” Bucknall said.
(Source: Independent Brewers Association)
According to the Independent Brewers Association, at least 51 independent brewing businesses entered voluntary administration or closed in the past two years. Bucknall said that was just the beginning unless industry and consumers “wake up”.
He said Coles was using “craft-washing” tactics, stocking its own-brand beers that are designed to look independent.
Coles told Food & Drink Business private label beers account for 4.2 per cent of Coles Liquor’s total beer range and it currently stocks more than 640 different independent craft brews.
“Over 70 per cent of our craft beer offering is made up of independent breweries and to make it easier for our customers to support independent craft beer, we have added the Independent Brewers Association seal to all Craft beers sold on our online sites,” Coles said.
“Beer drinkers are being duped,” Bucknall said. “And brewers who scaled to supply these chains are now being delisted with zero warning while faux craft brands stay put. It’s devastating.
“Recent SKU cuts by Coles Liquor have left dozens of indie breweries stranded with dead stock, packaging losses and shattered forecasts,” he said.
But Coles said Coles Liquor was undergoing the biggest transformation in its history as three banners are brought into a unified brand, Liquorland.
“As part of the changes, we are simplifying our customer offer so we can provide a more consistent range of products across the country,” Coles said.
Bucknall said the only way forward for craft breweries is to develop hyper-local diversified sales and a “genuine community connection”.
For Freshwater Brewing, 95 per cent of its sales are direct-to-local or via Northern Beaches pubs, bars and independent bottle shops.
“We don’t rely on majors. If more breweries want to survive, they need to stop feeding the duopoly and start doubling down on local,” Bucknall said.
“This raise isn’t just about Freshwater,” said Bucknall. “It’s about proving that local, community-supported brewing works – and it’s our best weapon against the slow death of craft beer in this country.”
