In 2024 Brew Dog, the fifth BrewDog in Australia, came to Perth and quickly became the go-to venue for Perth’s craft beer lovers.
Brew Dog is a remarkable success story. Brew Dog’s founders James Watt and Martin Dickie, who met at school and then shared student digs at Edinburgh, began making their own craft beers in Fraserburgh, a town in northeast Scotland. They launched their business in 2008 when they were both aged 24.
The pair started small, filling bottles by hand and selling their beers at local markets out of a beaten-up old van.
They became Scotland’s largest independent brewery.
Brew Dog picked Brisbane for the site of their first Australian venture in 2019. BrewDog Perth joins BrewDog Pentridge in Melbourne, BrewDog South Eveleigh in Sydney and two sites in Brisbane, BrewDog Murrarie and Fortitude Valley.
BrewDog Perth took over the former Gordon Street Garage site and transformed the one-time chocolate factory and coffee roastery into a destination brewpub with capacity for 600 patrons.
The site, which for a few years in recent times hosted a coffee roaster, is 550 metres from Perth Arena (RAC Arena) and an eight-minute walk from the Perth city centre and Northbridge.
Brew Dog Perth’s site has an extraordinary connection with an internationally renowned figure. Phil W. Goatcher was an English-born theatre scene painter who had a considerable career in America and Australia. After a long and successful career, Goatcher and his son settled in Perth and for a time he lived in and operated his business on the site.
Goatcher was a remarkable figure. Born in London in 1851, he arrived in Melbourne in 1864, crafting a spectacular career as a theatre set painter. He worked on theatrical tours around the world including in San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Central America and Mexico.
Regarded as one of the finest theatre designers of the late Victorian era, Goatcher was renowned for his trompe -l’oeil (trick of the eye) “drops” which gave the illusion of an exotic setting behind curtains.
The State Library of New South Wales’s Dictionary of Sydney notes Goathcher, who suffered a chronic respiratory complaint, travelled to Perth later in his life in the hope WA’s clement climate would help his recovery.
“Goatcher was a popular man, well read, a good raconteur and a practical joker,” the Dictionary notes. “He also suffered from chronic bronchitis. In 1906 he moved to Western Australia for reasons of health and, with his second wife and surviving son James, set up a successful painting and decorating business in Perth.”
His American-born son James followed in his father’s footsteps in Sydney before they both relocated to Perth where they set up in business as painters and decorators.
In later life James Goatcher was a highly regarded watercolor artist.
The Dictionary notes Phil Goatcher had semi-retired in 1911 after his work for Australian theatre director and impressario J.C. Williamson, but he remained a substantial landholder in the wheat town of Dalwallinu, a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
Goatcher died in West Perth in 1931 aged 79.
Brew Dog Perth has honoured Phil Goatcher by naming a section of the venue “Goatcher’s Lounge”.
Brew Dog Perth in Gordon Street today is home to two bars and an open-air beer garden featuring state-of-the-art screens for every sporting occasion.
The aesthetics throughout the venue reflect the industrial nature of the site and nods to its heritage. This includes the original Blue Seal chocolate factory signage, bright neons, leather seating, industrial lighting and a retail store featuring BrewDog beer and merchandise.
BrewDog brings the exuberance and iconoclasm of the craft beer phenomenon into a modern pub-brewery venue with food, music and style that taps into the desires and pleasure-zones of people everywhere.
BrewDog Perth offers 20 taps of craft beer, including a lineup of Brisbane-brewed BrewDog beers fresh from the solar-powered Murarrie brewery and taproom. Everything from session-strength pale ales and lagers to imperial stouts and sours will be regulars on the bar taps.
The remainder of the beverage menu will include non-alcoholic options, spirits, wines, cocktails and ciders, making it an ideal destination for group catch-ups and social gatherings.
A 50 per cent plant-based food menu will cater to every need and any style with an extensive range of vegan and vegetarian options, alongside BrewDog’s legendary burgers, wings, pizzas, bowls, and salads. All-year-round specials also include 2-4-1 Vegan Mondays and All You Can Eat Wings for $25 on Wing Wednesdays.
Come in soon and say hello.