West End Brewery to close after 160 years of brewing history in South Australia
Jobs will be lost and history erased as Adelaide’s famed West End Brewery on the banks of the River Torrens closes next year, because of changing tastes and a declining beer market.
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The owners of the West End Brewery said they looked at all options to save the historic Thebarton site, but a combination of declining beer sales, changing tastes, and costs meant that it was no longer viable.
More than half of the 94 workers at the site will lose their jobs when the brewery closes in June next year, with 40 staff to be offered sales and sponsorship roles after that date.
The beer itself – West End and Southwark – will be brewed at eastern states breweries and shipped back to SA.
James Brindley, the managing director of West End’s owner Lion Australia, said the company had not asked the government for assistance, but said a confluence of factors meant the brewery was no longer viable.
“It’s a sad day for our industry, it’s a sad day for West End, it’s a sad day for South Australia,’’ Mr Brindley said.
“Over the last few decades, consumer preferences have changed. The beer market in Australia continues to decline. It’s now at its lowest per capita consumption ever recorded.
“At the same time, there are about 700 new craft brewers, so the competition is intense.’’
Mr Brindley said the company’s costs had also increased, and the Thebarton brewery was operating at only 50 per cent capacity.
The company is offering staff help to find new jobs and has committed to set up a West End Re-Skilling Fund worth up to $1 million, on top of any potential redundancy payments.
“Around a third of our existing team would remain in South Australia under this proposal across sales and sponsorship roles,’’ the company said.
“We acknowledge West End’s 160-year history. We are a proud supporter of sports at all levels – sponsoring many competitions and teams in SA including the SANFL, the Strikers and the Redbacks – and of the pubs and clubs that bring communities together.
“We are committed to doing all we can to see as many of our events and traditions continue and working alongside our customers during this difficult period as they recover from a very challenging year.’’
Lion supply chain and technical director Ian Roberts said there had been no firm decision on what would be done with the brewery site, on the corner of Port Rd adjacent to the Entertainment Centre, but that a sale was likely.
No other brewers had been approached about their interest in the site, but Mr Roberts said the industry Australia-wide had more capacity than it needed already.
Earlier this year, West End Brewery was temporarily shut down as its parent company dealt with the ongoing impact of a ransomware attack on June 8.
The incident caused a system outage, which disrupted manufacturing Australia-wide and led to packaged and keg beer shortages.
Last year the company hired its first female brewery manager for the first time in 160 years.
State Labor Leader Peter Malinauskas tweeted he was “devastated” by the closure.
“This is a massive lost to our state,” he said.
After more than 160 years, West End Brewery is closing and leaving South Australia. pic.twitter.com/kNiRT98Yzz
— Peter Malinauskas (@PMalinauskasMP) October 13, 2020
