By James Atkinson
Rocks Brewing Co will build its own brewery in Alexandria at the end of the year and has also appointed ex-Little Creatures sales director Tim Fishwick as head of sales.
Rocks Brewing managing director Mark Fethers said the state-of-the-art brewery to be located in Alexandria has been five years in planning and will be able to produce close to one million litres in its first year of operation.
"The brewery will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week and will cater for families as well as the discerning beer nuts," he said.
Fethers said Tim Fishwick starts work today as the company's head of sales, bringing with him 15 years of experience in the beer industry, the last five of which were spent running sales for the east coast of Australia for Little Creatures.
Fethers told TheShout Fishwick's immediate priority will be expanding Rocks Brewing's tap presence in New South Wales pubs, before developing a strategy for packaged beer once the brewery opens up.
"This is a massive investment in the future of Rocks Brewing Co and I am sure it will show a lot of people in the industry that we are very serious about the future of the company and are making sure we are putting the right people in the right positions," Fethers said in a statement.
"I am very excited to have Tim on board as he will not only be running our sales team but will also sit on the board and give valuable input into the future of the company's sales strategies."
Fethers also told TheShout that once the new brewery is operational, Rocks will be doing at least four or five seasonals a year in its 'Conviction' range, in addition to its core 'Character' range of year-round brews.
The Rocks Brewing 'Character' range
Fishwick said he is excited about becoming part of the Rocks team and the plans they have in the coming years.
"After coming from such a great company as Little Creatures it's great to be involved with Mark and the team selling a local Sydney brand that's helping spread the word of drinking great beer every day," he said.
"I'm here because I know that in six to eight months' time I'll be having a beer straight from the source of the new brewery in Alexandria and able to bring Rocks customers in to experience what Rocks Brewing is all about."
Rocks Brewing Co has also appointed a new director in Simon Osborn, who has held previous roles including sales director for People Magazine (ACP) before joining the McDonalds team running and owning restaurants for the past 20 years.
"Simon is going to be great for not only myself as a sounding board and someone to bring me back to reality every now and again, but also his knowledge of processes and margins that have come from 20 years of working with McDonalds," Fethers said.
"The craft beer game is so reliant on margins and maximising profits that I need someone like this to keep us on the right path going forward."