A popular pub has fallen into administration after less than a decade of operation.
Queenscliff Brewhouse, in Queenscliff, southeast of Geelong, appointed administrators on September 23.
The venue has a wide range of craft beer, gin and whisky, as well as offering a ‘microbrewery’, a distillery, a winery and a family bistro.
Scott Andersen and Nathan Deppeler, of insolvency firm Worrells, have been appointed administrators and creditors will meet for a second time on Tuesday.
The brewery continues to operate as normal and there are no signs to customers that the business is struggling.
Queenscliff Brewhouse has been posting regularly on its social media accounts about its food and drinks menu in the weeks since it went into voluntary administration.
The company first welcomed customers in July 2016.
It has a 4.2-star rating on Google from more than 800 reviews, many of which praise the food, beers, and beachfront location.
The Queenscliff Brewery, in Queenscliff, south-east of Geelong, appointed administrators on September 23.
A spokesperson for Queenscliff Brewhouse told Daily Mail Australia: “We are operating as normal during this period and anticipate the business will continue to do so.”
“We have no further comments.”
Worrells has been contacted for further comment.
It comes as Young Henrys founder Richard Adamson accused Anthony Albanese of abandoning the craft brewing industry, which contributes $1.93 billion to the national economy each year and employs around 10,000 people.
“When he was in opposition he supported and helped pass the remissions (for excisable alcohol) scheme (in 2021),” Adamson, who is also president of the Inner West Breweries Association, previously told Daily Mail Australia .
“But I guess he has more important things to do right now (than help us).”
Independent Brewers Association chief executive Kylie Lethbridge said Albanese was refusing to listen to the industry’s dire fears, particularly around the need to ease the exorbitant tax on beer, which accounts for about a third of sales. beer sales (third highest in the world after Norway and Finland).
Asked if it was time to ask the Prime Minister to personally intervene to help ease the pressure on the beleaguered industry, he said: ‘We have done it, several times, as recently as last Friday.
“You continue to ignore our request without even the courtesy of a response.”
The venue has a wide range of craft beer, gin and whisky, as well as offering a ‘microbrewery’, a distillery, a winery and a family bistro.
It goes against a pledge made by the member for Grayndler while in opposition in June 2017 to support his local craft breweries, which include Hawke’s Brewing, co-founded by his late mentor and former prime minister Bob Hawke.
“Among brewers’ concerns is the fact that Commonwealth excise duty is higher on small kegs than on large kegs, which puts brewers at a competitive disadvantage compared to the big ones,” Mr. .Albanese.
“I am disappointed that this anomaly was not addressed in the 2017 budget, but I will continue to support the industry in its push for sensible reform as well as regulatory change at the state and local government level.”
Lethbridge warned the industry may not exist in 12 months without urgent government support as production costs rise by up to 40 per cent, causing two dozen microbreweries to close nationally over the past year.
‘Unless consumers have some relief in the cost of living, our summer, when warmer weather typically leads to higher sales, will not prevent others from closing their doors, leading to further job losses.
“And the quintessential pint in the pub will remain out of reach for many Australians.”
The average price of a pint of beer in Sydney is now over $15, making a night out at the pub with friends unbeatable.
Adamson said it was now “a question of us hanging on until the economy really improves”.
Anthony Albanese has the highest concentration of craft breweries of any federal electorate, but he has turned his back on a once-booming industry grappling with the latest brews.
He said there was no level playing field between independent brewers and the ‘big two’, Lion and CUB, which together own 85 per cent of the market and the majority of beer taps in Australia’s pubs.
‘We had submitted communications to the government on this issue. “The bureaucracy just keeps coming, whether it’s labeling or other compliance measures,” he said.
“The barriers we have to running a small family business are only getting worse.”
Both Lion, which produces XXXX, Tooheys, Stone & Wood, and CUB, maker of popular beers Great Northern, Carlton Draft and VB, are owned by Japanese companies.
“Many beer drinkers would think that these iconic brands would remain Australian owned and hard-earned, they would stay in Australia,” Mr Adamson said.
