Subiaco’s Golden West Brewing Co: Another craft brewery appoints administrator

It’s been a grim year for Australian craft beer lovers as yet another popular brand goes into administration.

Award-winning Aussie beer brand Golden West Brewing Co has collapsed and gone into voluntary administration.

The brewer’s entire workforce was let go mid-shift last Wednesday, with administrators only keeping on the brew team to finish processing beer already in tanks to be packaged and sold.

Golden West was originally established in 2021 as Modular Brewing in the Perth suburb of Leederville by a group of five schoolmates.

A source close to the company told Perthnow the cost-of-living crisis and the spate of brewery closures in Sydney and Adelaide contributed to the decision.

It’s been a bleak year for Aussie beer lovers, with major players in the craft scene including Sydney’s Wayward Brewing Company and Melbourne’s Hawkers both going under.

More than a dozen independent breweries across the country have been pushed towards the brink of insolvency in the past 12 months.

Another award-winning Aussie beer brand has been put into administration as Golden West Brewing Co confirms it is in administration. Picture: Facebook

Mathieu Tribut, the administrator and director of GTS Advisory, said Golden West had undergone a minor restructuring in 2023 to clear its debts and continue trading.

However, turnover dramatically dropped in January and February after strong trading in the final quarter of 2023.

The drop reportedly prompted Mr Tribut to suspend trading to consider options.

“The company had insufficient capital to continue trading,” he told Perthnow.

“It’s a sad story. No one is to blame, and the boys did their best.”

Mr Tribut confirmed the brand could potentially be restructured, which may involve selling and rebranding it, but it would not necessarily close for good.

The administrator expects the business to reopen in the next two months.

Golden West started as a local soft drink company in the late 1800s. In the 1960s, it turned into Gest before Coca-Cola bought the recipes but not the brand and logo.
The Perth brewer reportedly snapped up the lapsed trademark for Golden West for $1.

Golden West, under head brewer Tim Wren, won a trophy at the 2023 Perth Royal Beer Awards for its Smooth Bourbon Vanilla Porter.

Hawkers Beer entered into voluntary administration last month. Picture: Supplied

… as did Wayward Brewery in Camperdown.

Brutal year for craft beer in Australia
Sydney’s hugely popular Wayward Brewing went into administration with $2 million of debt in January, with its founder warning that it’s unlikely to be the last craft brewer to hit financial trouble.

Melbourne’s Hawkers brand entered voluntary administration in February.

Both independent heavyweights cited the cost of living pressure and rising excise tax on alcohol as catalysts.

The federal government’s excise on alcohol automatically rises twice a year in February and August, and is determined by changes in the annual inflation rate.

Under February’s changes, one litre of pure alcohol will now be subject to $101.85 cents of excise — up from $100.05 — a rise of 1.8 per cent.

The most recent increase saw tax on a pint increase to 90c, while tax on a slab rose to $20.

Budget papers forecasted the alcohol excise is set to rake in almost $7.9bn into government coffers this financial year.

– With Perthnow