Malt Shovel Brewery closes: Lion shuts down Camperdown site after 36 years

A popular brewery that played a “pivotal” role in the craft beer movement will close its doors for good after more than 30 years.

Lion, one of the world’s largest drinks companies, will close the Malt Shovel brewery in Sydney’s Camperdown at the end of August.

The brewery is responsible for crafting a range of popular beers including Eumundi, Little Creatures, New Belgium and James Squire.

Employees have been informed of the impending closure with products to be brewed at plants in northern NSW and Geelong in Victoria.

Lion’s director James Brindley cited increased production costs, cost of living pressures and government excise taxes as reasons for the closure.

The brewery is responsible for crafting a range of popular beers including Eumundi, Little Creatures, New Belgium and James Squire

“This week we informed our valued team members at Malt Shovel Brewery of the difficult decision we have made – namely that we are proposing to close the site at the end of August 2024,” Mr Brindley said in a statement.

“It has been a difficult time for all players in the Australian beer industry – with total volumes down by 100 million liters since 2019, continuing the long-term decline in beer consumption.

‘There has also been continued pressure on the cost of living, which has reduced discretionary spending, and there have been continued increases in energy, labor and ingredient costs, as well as government excise duties, which are now the third highest in the world. world.’

The Malt Shovel Brewery was first opened in 1988 by independent brewer Chuck Hahn and was acquired by Lion in 1993.

The brewery quickly became the heart of Lion’s craft beer business and played a ‘pivotal role’ in the Australian craft beer movement.

It comes just three weeks after Asahi, Lion’s biggest competitor, closed their Matilda Bay brewpub in Victoria’s Yarra Valley on May 19 due to high costs.

A string of independent breweries have gone bankrupt in recent months following a series of increases in alcohol duties and operating costs.

The Malt Shovel Brewery was first opened in 1988 by independent brewer Chuck Hahn

Small and medium-sized breweries Deeds Brewing, Big Shed, Hawkers and Golden West have all entered administration since the start of this year.

They followed other outfits such as Ballistic, Parched, Wicked Elf and Running With Thieves which collapsed in 2023.

The Carringbush Hotel, in Melbourne’s northwest, was forced to close its doors after 135 years in business.

Owner Liam Matthews, 47, claimed he would have to charge $20 a beer to stay afloat amid the ‘horrendous’ costs.

“We’re putting more in the till than ever, but what’s left is less than ever,” Matthews told the Australian Financial Review.

‘The customer is not ready for that yet, so we take the hit. The brewers and delivery people are facing similar pressures and are charging us, but we are the end of the line.”

Last month, financial services and software company CreditorWatch predicted in a report that one in thirteen hospitality companies would go bankrupt in the next twelve months.

The report claimed that businesses were dependent on spending customers – a demographic that had ‘dried up as pressure on the cost of living increases’.