Odd Culture, the one-stop shop for Sydneysiders seeking funky booze and fermented food, is building a bar in Melbourne’s Fitzroy. But it’s less of an expansion and more of a homecoming, at least in spirit.

In Newtown, in Sydney’s inner-west, the venue is split into a bottle shop and, three doors away, a bar and restaurant, without the option to try what you buy with a little plate of something. That was the original vision of founder James Thorpe, and in Melbourne his wish will come true.

“In a way, Melbourne is a natural home for a place like this,” he says, pointing to Victoria’s less restrictive liquor licensing.

On Brunswick Street, he and partners Nick Zavadszky and Gerry Nass (ex-Robbie Burns Hotel) have 200 square metres to display an eclectic line-up of wild and sour beers, natural wines, craft spirits, sake and more – as well as serve them to 46 punters inside and about twice that outside.

Well-informed staff will be able to offer tastings, make suggestions, or steer you towards less common drops.

For the opening list, Thorpe has been stockpiling rare beer kegs, including from Barcelona brewer Cyclic Beer Farm, Jester King of Texas, and Belgium’s Brasserie Fantome.

He and the team have 14 taps to play with, in addition to 11 fridges of wine and four large shelves holding more bottles, plus condiments and snacks to take home.

On the table might be some charcuterie, nuts, cheese or the ever-popular Newtown bar snack of chicken liver parfait with fish sauce caramel and crisps. Meatsmithbutcher has been enlisted locally to create the parfait and other charcuterie.

The same palette of green, black and white, offset by distressed murals, will be used in Melbourne, although we’re guessing the artwork might have a local flavour if Newtown’s murals honouring NSW beer Reschs and local restaurant Happy Chef are anything to go by.

Odd Culture Fitzroy opens in May at shop 1, 296 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, oddculture.group