South-west breweries and distilleries ride alcohol production boom wave

According to latest Census data, Australia experienced an alcohol manufacturing boom with spirits up 240 per cent and beer up 50 per cent from 2016 to 2021.

Noodledoof co-owner Sam Rudolph said his decision to enter the industry back in 2019 came from the thought there was "something missing in south-west".

But he said he's definitely noticed a boom in local craft beer and spirit production in the past few years.

"There does seem to be a bit of a boom going on. It feels like there's a brewery or distillery popping up every week," he said.

"Even now, during COVID and post-COVID, there are breweries being planned."

Mr Rudolph said it had been "exciting and special" to be part of the brewing and distilling "movement", particularly in the south-west, which he attributed to a growing appreciation of finer alcohol.

"People want to drink less, but they want to drink better. They want to drink something interesting," he said.

"As Australians, we also like to explore, we like to try new things."

He said he thought the increased demand for Australian brews and spirits also came from consumers' desire to discover and support local products.

"There is a going back to tasting a region - what's locally produced - and trying out the wares of a local area," he said.

"It's not just in beers or distilling ... it's in market gardens, or bakeries, potters ...all those crafts are really making a resurgence because people want to know where their products are made, how it's made, what local ingredients (are used)."

However, Mr Rudolph said he had some concerns about the potential saturation of the alcohol manufacturing market.

"There are more breweries opening up all the time. There's obviously a peak that will be reached," he said.

"There will be businesses, and our business could be that, (who are) victim to that saturation point.

"While we're all supporters of each other, we're also competitors at the same time."

IN OTHER NEWS

Timboon Railway Shed Distillery owner Josh Walker took over his business in 2014 when he estimated there were "only about 30 or 40 distilleries at the time".

"Now I think there's around 350 to 400," he said.

"10 or 15 years ago, you wouldn't see craft beer on tap in any pub in western Victoria, whereas now you'd be disappointed if there was not craft beer on tap.

"I think that's the way spirits are going."

He said while locally-produced beer and spirits boom could be credited to greater consumer demand for Australian products, it also reflected an American trend.

"We kind of followed the United States in a way," he said.

"I was over in Kentucky learning how to distill, and could see that we always seemed to follow the American guys like the brewers did."

Mr Walker said he also thought more people wanted to start alcohol production businesses to make the most of the large amount of local produce available.

"Australia's such a food bowl of resources," he said.

"We grow our own barley. If you're making gin, there are lots of botanicals you can forage yourself.

"There are local wine barrels and an abundance of those."

He said it was an "exciting" time for the industry and was less worried about market saturation.

"While we have a lot of people starting up, we're very small and we don't have the scale here so I think there's still heaps of demand," he said.

"Even though people might think we've got a lot of distilleries, and it might flood the market, we're actually not producing that much yet.

"We see a very strong and vibrant industry going forward."

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard:

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.