Good Drinks Australia has recently opened the much-anticipated Matso’s Sunshine Coast location, a flagship venue for the Western Australia-based brand.
Located in Eumundi on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, the new venue has taken over the classic Queensland pub, Joe’s Waterhole, in a renovation that combines the venue’s heritage with the Matso’s brand. The opening will increase brand awareness in Queensland for Matso’s, a key brand in the Good Drinks portfolio, according to Matso’s Sales and Marketing Manager Mick McKeown.
“Our success using hospitality venues such as Gage Roads Fremantle to drive brand awareness, product sales and revenue, lead us to purchasing the sprawling and iconic Joe’s Waterhole in September 2021 with the intention of creating a state-of-the-art Matso’s home on the East Coast,” he said.
McKeown says Matso’s alcoholic ginger beer was originally brewed to beat the heat and humidity of Broome, where it was born, and he expects the brand to pair well with the Eumundi lifestyle.
“Matso’s is a slightly left of centre brand, which is largely driven by our roots in tropical Broome, so the opening of our second home in an equally quirky location such as Eumundi is fitting and will help us grow brand equity and encourage new uptake as we deliver an amazing brand and consumer experience.
“Ginger beer is projected to become the biggest segment in craft beer in Australia and opportunities for growth are clearly on Australia’s East Coast, particularly Queensland, which is the nation’s biggest alcoholic ginger beer market, covering the same size as New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory combined,” he said.
A new brew kit has been installed in the venue, and the entire range of Matso’s beers is being brewed fresh on-site, as well as limited-release and seasonal brews. Additionally, the brewery plans to expand into distilling, with James Penny, Hospitality Project Manager for Good Drinks, saying that Matso’s will use the venue to trial new flavour innovations.
“Our goal is expanding into a spirit-based, sparkling range, and we’re introducing a still in the experimentation, led by our enthusiastic head brewer Nick Ivey. The brewery currently produces around 200,000 litres per year, and we have ambitious plans to supply our range of ginger beers direct from Matso’s Sunshine Coast across the eastern seaboard states,” he said.
The family-friendly venue boasts a capacity of 700 guests across the front bar, main bar, restaurant, beer garden and pool room. The restaurant boasts a seafood-driven menu of fresh, local ingredients, featuring dishes like pacific oysters with mango and yuzu mignonette, barramundi burgers, and poke bowls, alongside classic pub favourites.
“We have a strong commitment to incorporating local ingredients into everything we do including our menus, on tap and in the kitchen. Our kitchen is actively using as many ingredients from the surrounding area as possible and as the Sunshine Coast is a very proud ginger-growing region, there’s a natural synergy so you can expect to find ginger prominently featured throughout our menus,” Penny said.