One of the driving forces behind building a small, boutique brewery is not just to make great beer, but also to provide a place that can nurture a sense of community.  Like the local pubs used to be before they were taken over by big business and the introduction of pokies.

After a long period of searching, we finally found our blank canvas in Salisbury.  It’s an old industrial shed, which needs A LOT of work, but it feels right. We are fortunate that the space is quite large and will provide us with many opportunities to slowly grow our “Base Camp”. We have grand plans for the space, but grand plans require significant funding – which we do not currently have. But we are only one winning lotto ticket away!

So, it will be a journey, a hike so to speak, where we focus on getting the brewery and taproom open. Then gradually we’ll build on a strong base, when we can afford to do it. The first part of the hike is to cut through all the red tape, get the brewing equipment installed and to actually be able to brew and sell beer.  It really is a massive undertaking with lots of little (and big) things to work through. No one really understands the magnitude of such a project until they have done it themselves.

The Keys are ours – but there is lots of work to do.

Hiker does have grand visions, but it’s not about selling beer all over Australia. We want to keep it (and sell it) local. We have a vision to be a truly artisanal business. One where you get to know the brewers, the bar staff,  and the neighbours. Most importantly we want our drinkers to know where the ingredients that goes into their favourite beer comes from. We want to enrich the understanding of those have an interest in the beer -aking processes 

Anyway, we will blog away on a regular basis to give all our supporters an update on how the hike is going…. In the words of my brother Cam (a Kokoda Track Tour Leader), when asked how hard today’s hike will be, his response is, “Today’s hike will be undulating.” 

That is what this journey will be. We will have some highs along with some lows, but we will get to the finish line, and reflect that it wasn’t that hard – fingers crossed!