Three years ago, a local social community group in Hawthorn, Victoria brewed and drank together. Now some of the group members have decided to go pro with the creation of Ramblers Ale Works brewery and taproom.
The goal was to expand the community connection the club offered – plus, they were making some pretty good beer, says co-owner Ben Leslie.
“We decided in 2019 we’d have a real crack at it, and in early 2020 we found a site – in a former mechanics garage – so we got a permit and opened the venue last year.”
Leslie had hospitality and venue management experience, and co-owner Ben Cumming is a research physicist-turned brewer.
Rambler now has a 500L brewery and all of the beer that’s sold in the venue is made on site. To brew their beer, Rambler chose BrewStack technology from Spark Breweries & Distilleries.
“We were very intent on going for something local to support Australian designed technology, and one of the options was Spark,” Leslie says. “We wanted to keep the footprint as small possible and Spark’s BrewStack was designed to be retrofitted into pubs.
“It’s a really good design – instead of several vessels in daisy chain, BrewStack uses pumps to move from bottom to top which is more efficient on space.” The Ramblers dining offering, meanwhile, takes the form of a food trailer which sells a variety of street food inspired by the founders’ travels.
“The members of our group have all loved traveling and have brought back beer and food ideas from trips over the years,” Leslie says. “A lot of these have also inspired our brewing, so the name Ramblers reflects our carefree leisurely travel pace.”
According to Leslie, having the brewery on display is a bonus, and the brews are also proving popular.
Want to keep reading? Read the rest of the article below in the June issue of Australian Hotelier.