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This was published 1 year ago
By Peter de Kruijff
Gage Roads Freo hospitality manager Lee Behan and Good Drinks chief strategy officer Aaron Heary.Credit: Peter de Kruijff
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Fremantle Port and its waters were an inspiration for the Gage Roads beer brand.
So it made sense that when one of the country’s biggest independent brewers decided to put down roots with its first brewpub, the venue would be smack bag in the middle of a working harbour.
Gage Roads Freo is situated right next to the Maritime Museum and a stone’s throw from its namesake out past the port.Credit: Gage Roads
Gage Roads the brand – named after the outer harbour shipping lane and anchorage off the coast of Fremantle – was born from a bunch of mates who would flit in and out of the port fishing, diving and surfing.
Aaron Heary has been with Gage Roads from the get-go in 2005, starting off as a brewer who was the brains behind champion Australian drop Little Dove, but it was an older and wiser head who saw the potential for a historic dockside warehouse.
“I was visiting the Maritime Museum with my two young kids and came across to have a quick look up and down the waterway with them,” Heary said.
“And a huge container ship came in with two tugs, and they were like, ‘phwoah look at that’.
“All these people from the harbour came rushing across, everyone was looking at it, and I was standing there thinking, ‘If you had a beer and a pizza in your hand here, all the boats moving in and out, that would be perfect for Gage Roads’.”
The educational family trip was serendipitous, with the West Australian government opening up expressions of interest to revitalise the Victoria Quay precinct by fitting out a venue in the old A Shed, which will open to the public on January 20.
Fremantle Port has five historic warehouses built from the 1920s consisting of the A, B, C, D and E Sheds.
B Shed is home to Rottnest ferry services and the Leeuwin Ocean Adventure, while the E Shed was moved to create markets several years ago.
Over the course of 2021 old boats being held in storage by the Maritime Museum were removed from the A Shed and anything that was not heritage-listed was stripped from the 2250 square metre-odd building.
Half the shed sits is on land while the half closest to the water is actually above the jetty.
A 16 tank brew-kit, with a 25-hectolitre capacity, was maneuvered onto the land-side of the venue while seating areas run the length of the building dockside which will cater to crowds of 1500.
Mr Heary said the concept behind the venue was to create a “big beach house”.
Street signs are situated throughout the building pointing to the ‘front yard’, ‘living room’, ‘backyard’ and a sprawling ‘deck’.
The brewpub has a capacity of about 1500 patrons and will have a staff of 100.Credit: Gage Roads
In the front yard is one of three outdoor areas and the grain tank, painted by long-time Gage Roads collaborator and label illustrator Andy Murphy, where the key ingredient to the beer brewed on site will be stored.
Before heading out to the backyard is a gaming room and a massive mural by Chris Nixon inspired by the block colours of the containers across the harbour.
A children’s play area, which includes an old four-wheel-drive and a gutted fishing boat, is capped off with a replica of the Blowholes sign north of Carnarvon painted with “King Waves Thrill”.
The interiors have been painted white like a classic oceanside timber shack and WA materials have been used wherever possible, such as the west-bar made from rammed earth and the 17 metre-long east-bar, which uses Donnybrook sandstone and Jarrah timber salvaged from the jetty during the refurbishment.
Glass windows have replaced the voids left by the giant rolling warehouse doors which will now be permanently ‘left open’.
Light floods the venue through the voids and the skylights, but even the view from the expansive windows can be filled by massive cargo ships entering and leaving the port.
“You can’t see anything but the boat moving,” Mr Heary said.
“You could be on a boat yourself, you don’t know which one is moving.”
Beer lines run from the 16 tanks along the roof to taps at the two main bars.
The full line of Gage Roads brews will be flowing as well experimental and seasonal offerings.
The woman in charge of the tanks is venue head brewer Simone Clements.
Gage Roads Freo head brewer Simone Clements stands in front of the venue’s grain silo.Credit: Peter de Kruijff
Clements, who comes from a science and lab work background, has been with Gage Roads for seven years.
Coming across from Gage Roads’ main commercial facility, where brewers work rotating 12-hour shifts day and night, is a change of pace for Clements, who will need to stay on top of the tanks along with one brewing assistant.
There was plenty of competition for the job and Ms Clements is relishing the role as she describes the two limited beers to feature on tap when the venue rolls open its doors.
“One is a New Zealand hazy, so all New Zealand hops and nice hazy super juicy and tropical fruit in there,” she said.
“And then I’ve got a double-red IPA – so that’s 8 per cent [alcohol by volume] – a really big chewy one with US hops and just nice amount of bitterness.”
A mango and pineapple sour is also on the way.
There will be plenty of interaction with the public now for the brewers, who will run tours and ‘beer school’ courses.
Meanwhile, the food offering is equal parts people pleasers and the refinement of a trendy wine bar with a focus on fresh ingredients and seafood.
The executive chef is Danny Sanchez who will be opening his 11th venue, with Gage Roads Freo boasting a woodfire oven that can cook 16 pizzas at a time in three minutes.
Sanchez comes across from the restaurant group that includes the CBD’s Hadiqa – another venue he opened – and has a resume including Attica in Melbourne.
Seafood, tacos and pizza are at the heart of the menu at Gage Roads Freo.Credit: Gage Roads
He only came on board in December to the chagrin of his friends in the industry, who thought he was made to take on such a large venue in a short amount of time, and when there were not many staff around in hospitality.
But for Sanchez, it was a new adventure with a brand he loved.
After hitting the phones, he secured a galley of kitchen staff and asked head chef from Petition Josh Chen to join the merry crew.
Together they have crafted a menu that builds off connections with small suppliers.
“You have octopus from the Abrolhos Islands and everything has provenance and that’s because if you get really good produce you don’t have to do a lot to it,” Sanchez said.
“Flavour, vibrant, fresh local, this venue is a way for us to say ‘thank you, Freo, for having us this many years’, and to give back a little bit to them.”
The menu will be seasonal with about 28 items with as many WA ingredients as possible. All of the wine list is also from West Australian producers.
Gage Roads Freo executive chef Danny Sanchez.Credit: Peter de Kruijff
There are several taco options and a Rottnest Island swordfish schnitzel.
There aren’t any burgers, but the lobster roll is shaping up to become the meal the A Shed will be renown for.
“One of my best times in life was when I didn’t have a lot of responsibilities and I could travel and I was in Mexico and was just drinking cheap beer and eating kingfish tacos so I’m bringing that memory to this menu,” Sanchez said.
Pizza is still expected to be the big mover though, with the kitchen anticipating making 1500 a week and 600 on a Saturday alone.
“We’re hoping if this is connected we can be part of that fabric and a rising tide will float all boats.”
The urban planning for Fremantle has not been conducive to the Victoria Quay precinct in recent years.
The train line almost acts like a wall, with passengers having to walk a way up the track to get across to the port instead of just being able to go from the carriage to the platform to the dock.
A free CAT bus that previously ran to the Maritime Museum was also axed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
But with a future film studio in the works near the D Shed and a state government which wants to build up the precinct, Heary hopes Gage Roads Freo, which has a 40-year lease, is a new dawn for the area.
“For them [government] we’re the perfect people to be the catalyst to spur on further development,” he said.
“We want to be recognised as a piece of the furniture in WA and in 40 years time we’ll be close to 60 years old.
“So hopefully by that stage, we’ll be a bit of an institution and we’ll be recognised as a true West Australian brewery.”
Trucks loading up at the A Shed in the 1930s. Credit: Fremantle Ports
Other developments could be on the way in the other historic sheds, with plans to refurbish C Shed later this year.
Heary said there was a lot of potential for assets which could be better utilised for the public and Fremantle residents.
He also said the opening of Gage Roads Freo could cement the port city as the beer capital of WA.
“If you look at somewhere like Portland in the US it’s become famous for breweries, people go there now for beer tourism,” Mr Heary said.
“I think Fremantle can become that.”
Matilda Bay, which kicked off the craft brewing revival, started in the Fremantle area, while Little Creatures has been of the state’s other big beer success stories.
New brewpub Running With Thieves opened recently in South Fremantle while Otherside has been slinging its beers from the redeveloped drill hall now known as Freo Social.
“They’re close enough you can walk between each of them,” Heary said.
“We’re hoping if this is connected we can be part of that fabric and a rising tide will float all boats.”
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