Woolloongabba brewery Easy Time Brewing Co appoints administrators

Administrators have been appointed to a popular boutique brewery in Woolloongabba after the business took a hit from Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

Administrators have been appointed to a popular boutique brewery in Woolloongabba after the business took a hit from Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

Easy Time Brewing Co, which opened at the height of the pandemic in 20020, is continuing to operate under SV Partners’ David Stimpson and Adam Kersey who are exploring options to restructure the business.

The administrators told Brew News that like all hospitality businesses, breweries carried high overheads and were susceptible to trading restraints during the pandemic.

“We are still in the initial stages of gathering the company’s books and records to commence our assessment of the reasons for failure,” they said. “Our intention is to undertake a process to restructure and bring the company out of administration.”

The upcoming cricket season and other events at the adjacent Gabba stadium is expected to provide significant revenue drivers for the business.

The venue was used by Deputy Premier Steven Miles last year to launch a new campaign to encourage Queenslanders to get vaccinated.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles (right) has a beer in 2021 with Greg Kimmings from Easy Time Brewing.

According to a report lodged by the administrators with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the company owes creditors including suppliers approximately $269,000. The company in turn is owed about $62,000.

Easy Times is not the first pub brewery to hit hard times. In July, Sunshine Coast-based Stalwart Brewing appointed liquidator after Covid-19 restrictions drove it to the wall.

“I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Stalwart Brewing founder and brewer Adam Tomlinson said at the time.

Liquidator Jarvis Archer, of Revive Financial, said Stalwart owed about $180,000 to creditors including its landlord, trade creditors and the Australian Taxation Office.

Adam Tomlinson from Stalwart Brewing. Picture: John McCutcheon

He said the brewery became “unsustainable” from staff issues, closures and Covid-19 restrictions. Stalwart, which was popular for its craft beer, food and live music, opened at a new entertainment precinct in Nambour in July 2020.

“That was part of the grand plan,” Mr Tomlinson said. But he said his business soon hit a rocky road during lockdowns and restrictions, especially when a vaccine mandate was introduced from December 17, 2021.

Originally published as Woolloongabba brewery Easy Time Brewing Co appoints administrators