Final drinks poured as Tiny Mountain Brewery goes out with the bang

Last drinks have been called at a popular Townsville brewery, with locals flocking to its final Sunday session to pay their respects. Hear what they said.

Townsville locals were united in their sadness about Tiny Mountain Brewery closing on Sunday. Picture: Leighton Smith.

Devastated North Queensland craft beer fans have flocked to pay their last respects to the popular Tiny Mountain Brewery which called “last drinks” for the final time on Sunday.

After launching the South Townsville microbrewery and venue in November 2019, owners Lion Queensland made the difficult decision to close the establishment in March, citing a lack of sales.

Downcast locals, including the Riley family, turned out in force to blow the froth off a cold one during the brewery’s final Sunday session.

Tina Riley described the closure as “very disappointing”, saying she recently celebrated her 40th birthday at the venue, and her family visited several times a month.

“I was never a beer drinker and then we came here to try it out one day and that was it, I’ve been hooked on Tiny Mountain,” Ms Riley said.

“I love this place because it got me to try something new. My favourite brews are definitely with W.A.Y. HAZY, the Mt Middy that they’ve got now, and the Pacific Ale.”

The Riley family - Faith, Harmony, Tina, Curtis - regularly visited Tiny Mountain Brewery. Picture: Leighton Smith.

Tiny Mountain Brewery staffin the lead up to OKT-TINY-FEST 2022. Picture: Tiny Mountain.

“It’s been a good few years that they’ve been here, it’s sad to see such a good place is going to be getting closed down.”

A monthly visitor since Tiny Mountain threw open their doors, Brody Lawton said he was a “little bit sad” to hear about the closure of the venue, which he described as being “a little bit different for Townsville”.

“It’s a very easy spot to do what we’re doing now like Sunday afternoon, to come down, have a drink, and just mellow out,” Mr Lawton said.

“There’s not enough places like this … hopefully, it’s a bit of a kick for people in Townsville to get out and support people trying to do something different here.”

Tara Thomas, Brody Lawton, and Emily Thompson, were sad to see Tiny Mountain Brewery close. Picture: Leighton Smith.

Jessica Gautherot and Carl Harbor climbed Castle Hill before coming to Tiny Mountain Brewery for last beers. Picture: Leighton Smith.

Rewarding themselves with a cool brew after scaling Castle Hill, Jessica Gautherot and Carl Harbor said it was a pity to have their last drinks at what had become an “institution” over the last couple of years.

They were attracted to the good vibes, a good variety of patrons, its open layout, and the “decent beers”.

Pacific Ale and The Ascender, were nominated as their favourites.

“This is Townsville, we don’t have that much here, so it’s always sad when something actually goes,” Mr Harbor said.

Zoe Curtis and Dale Williams loved having a brewery close to where they lived. Picture: Leighton Smith.

Tiny Mountain’s popular craft beers will be consigned to the history books. Picture: Tiny Mountain.

“If you look at the facility, we might get lucky and someone else might take it over.”

Lion’s QLD Sales Director, Pat Donohue said while the venue and its amazing local team had been embraced by locals, “unfortunately sales of Tiny Mountain have not grown as strongly as initially hoped beyond the venue”.

“With the lease on the Townsville property up for renewal, we considered our options and made the difficult decision to close the venue and focus our investment in other areas,” he said.

Lion will work to find staff alternative employment and continue to support the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, North Queensland Cowboys and Mt Isa Rodeo, and the region’s pubs and clubs.

Originally published as Final drinks poured as Tiny Mountain Brewery goes out with the bang