Tap That Brewery and Keghouse opens in Burleigh Heads
A leading figure involved with a former embattled Gold Coast brewery has shared how he went from a ‘dire’ situation to running a venue of his own. Read his story
Gold Coast
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The head brewer of a former embattled Gold Coast brewery, has shared how he went from a “dire” situation to running a venue of his own.
Chris Smith recently opened Tap That Brewery and Keghouse in Burleigh Heads alongside business partner Justin Mistry in October.
The opening came almost a year after Mr Smith’s former workplace, Burleigh Barrels abruptly shut as claims emerged that employees, including himself, were owed thousands.
Mr Smith said he was “devastated” when he was only given four days notice that they would be shutting down on August 29 last year.
“We (the employees) all knew that the situation was getting dire a couple of months out from closing,” he said.
“I was pretty devastated that it was ending.
“I loved working there with the amazing staff and patrons. We had a really good community. It almost felt like family.”
Mr Smith claimed he was owed “a fair amount of money” in unpaid wages, leave and superannuation after the brewery had closed.
He was advised to apply for Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) assistance to get his money back and was reimbursed almost a year later.
“It was a very stressful time trying to support the family and live while still being owed (the money).”
To sustain an income after the closure Mr Smith went on to help decommission Grafton Brewing Co, helped set up and build Six Tricks Distillery in Mermaid Waters and also worked at 4 Pines venues across the Gold Coast.
“It’s been a crazy year and lots has happened since Burleigh Barrels,” he said.
“I’ve learnt a lot.”
On October, Mr Smith was pleased to get back to doing what he loved at his new Burleigh Heads venue, Tap That Brewery and Keghouse.
“I’m excited to be brewing again,” he said.
Mr Mistry said he was “relieved” to see the success of the venue which has seen up to 100 people come through their doors every day since opening.
“We were absolutely blown away with the feedback on the venue and the quality of beverages Chris has produced,” he said.
Mr Mistry – who had worked as a physio since 2008 – said he had dreamt of Tap That Brewery “for years”.
He said if it wasn’t for the news coverage on the Burleigh Barrels closure, he may have never met Mr Smith.
“We met a few times (after the closure). I explained the business model to him, our families met and we decided to have a crack on our own,” Mr Mistry said.
The venue features a production brewery, a coolroom and a 10-tap bar with a range of ‘near beers’ including alcoholic ginger beer, seltzers and spirits.
It also has a 22-foot shuffleboard table and a mezzanine seating area overlooking the brewery.
Mr Mistry described their beer to be “sessionable” and “very easy to drink”.
“We believe that beers enjoyed with mates is part of our social fabric and with the rising price of alcohol, we’re here to save it,” he said.
Mr Mistry said while his wife had shown some “push back” on choosing the name Tap That, he believed it was “highly relevant”.
“The name is a tad inappropriate and a little cheeky, and so are we... Cheeky that is,” he said.
“With our business model around selling 20 litre kegs, we want our customers to ask themselves ‘would you tap that?’.
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