Three months after a successful $1.7 million equity crowdfunding campaign, Sydney’s Akasha Brewing Company will open Barrelroom by Akasha, a bar and kitchen in Leichhardt.
Akasha founder Dave Padden told Drinks Adventures the Five Dock-based company moved quickly to snap up the property at 54 Norton Street, previously occupied by Creek & Cella.
“We were looking at doing a venue with a similar look and feel in that general area, and we lucked upon that site,” he said.
Advertisement
“We certainly didn’t want to put a venue somewhere like Marrickville, where a bunch of other hospitality offerings were already.
“A lot of our customers are already in the Leichhardt area, and there isn’t anything like this nearby.
“We believe that the Norton Street precinct really is due for a resurgence. It’s gone through a slow period on the food and drink front.”
Padden said Akasha has been working on its barrel program for the last 18 months, and the company wanted somewhere special and unique to showcase those beers.
- Brewer turned distiller Ben Stevens, of Bondi Liquor Co: S13E4
- The Beer Bible author, Jeff Alworth: S11E1
To date Akasha has focused almost exclusively on hop-driven beers, particularly IPAs showcasing American hops.
But Padden said he doesn’t see the barrel-ageing venture as a major diversion from its core business.
“The one thing we always said here at Akasha was that if we were going to do anything else, we all had to be just as passionate about it,” he said.
“Our entire team is just as passionate about our barrel program as we are about brewing great IPAs.”
The barrel room is launching with four different beers in bottle that will be served alongside some of its mainstay beers on tap.
Three of those beers are ‘clean’, but the fourth is a sour blonde ale; its first mixed fermentation offering.
Barrelroom by Akasha will offer 100 per cent Australian beer, wine and spirits alongside pizzas and share plates of charcuterie and cheese.
It’s scheduled to open by the end of September 2022.
More:
A Woman’s Place Is In The Brewhouse: S11E6
Chuck Hahn’s 50-year global brewing odyssey: S11E2
Beer style trends, with Zytho Brewing and Kirrily Waldhorn: S13E13
