The horror year for small Australian beer producers has claimed another two scalps, with Victoria’s Grand Ridge Brewing and Gold Coast’s Black Hops Brewing both going into administration this week.
ASIC records show Grand Ridge appointed Richard Lawrence and Mitchell Ball from Mackay Goodwin as administrators on Monday, with a meeting of creditors scheduled for April 8.
Similarly, Black Hops yesterday appointed David Mansfield and Timothy Heenan from Deloitte as administrators.
Unlike many of Australia’s craft breweries, which sprung up in the 2010s amid a surge in popularity for the product, Grand Ridge has a long history.
The family-owned business was established in the late 1980s and is currently based in an old butter factory in Mirboo North, in the Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria’s Gippsland region.
The brewery produces a range of different beers, which it says have won well over 200 awards, as well as the Twisted Sister line of ciders.
In addition to the brewery, it also has an on-site restaurant and public bar and a guest house for accommodation.
Black Hops is a far newer brewery, producing its first beer in 2014.
It now operates three venues – two on the Gold Coast and one in Brisbane.
The two companies’ moves into administration are just the latest in a long line of similar developments across Australia’s independent beer industry.
This year alone has seen the likes of Wayward, Golden West, Hawkers and Big Shed call in administrators as factors such as the rising alcohol tax, competition from major multinational brewers and retailers, rising costs, and deferred tax debts from the pandemic combine to put significant financial pressure on the independent businesses.
9news.com.au has contacted the administrators of both Grand Ridge and Black Hops for comment.
