True-brew success for Brisbane mates behind Revel Brewing Co

While many a friendship group has fantasised about opening a bar together, Revel Brewing owner Jay Neven and his five best mates have made that pipedream a reality.

Jay Neven and Michael Brown, co-owners of Revel Brewing. Picture: Annette Dew

While many a friendship group has fantasised over a few drinks about the possibility of opening a bar together, Revel Brewing Co owner Jay Neven and his five best mates have spent years meticulously working to make that pipedream a reality.

When Mr Neven decided almost three years ago to turn his passion for good beer and good pizza into a business, the easiest decision was the location — Oxford Street, Bulimba.

“Bulimba has a really rich history with brewing going back 135 years,” Mr Neven said.

“A guy named Robert Tooth started The Eagle Brewery in 1882 in Teneriffe which was also known as Bulimba back then.

“That later became The Bulimba Brewery and then Queensland Brewery and today it’s part of Carlton United at Yatala so we were really excited to bring independent and locally owned brewing back to Bulimba.”

Brewed on site, the beer couldn’t be fresher and Mr Neven, a Bulimba local, said a lot of effort went into producing the best quality beer and pizza with top notch fresh and local ingredients.

“We’re doubling down on the things we’re good at and we’re great at making fantastic beer and amazing pizzas,” Mr Neven said.

“We hired the very talented brewer Matthew Cuthbert who worked for Rocks Brewing Company in Sydney and who produced a lot of their award-winning beers.”

The brewery opened its doors almost six months ago and has now begun distributing products across the southeast with about 25 venues offering Revel Brewing Co beers on tap.

“The core range is about to go into cans as well and it will be served in restaurants and boutique bottle shops everywhere from Byron to Noosa and we’re pretty excited about that,” Mr Neven said.

While the project began with just Mr Neven, he was soon joined by friends who all offered helpful skills from engineering to town planning and brewing to hospitality.

“We’ve also been really lucky to have an incredible reception from the community and it’s a place that we get people from all walks of life coming through — mums and dads with little ones, tradies, retirees,” he said.

And while the business is starting to hit its stride, it wasn’t always smooth sailing.

The brewery began its life as Malt Brewing Co but just a week before it opened its doors a legal letter arrived from beverage behemoth Lion Nathan informing them the name conflicted with their limited release Malt Shovel brew.

“We were lucky they were really supportive and helped us through the process of finding a new name which was a big job because we’d already branded everything,” Mr Neven said.

“I’m a glass half full kind of guy and I think it’s a positive thing and we’ve ended up with a much stronger brand.

“Revel means to enjoy yourself in a lively way especially while drinking and dancing and that’s what we’re all about here — making good beer for good people and having a good time doing it.”

Revel Brewing Co is located at 41 Oxford Street Bulimba and is open Wednesday to Friday 3pm-10pm and Saturday and Sunday 12pm to 10pm.