Western Australian brewery, Gage Roads Brew Co, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the launch of a new beer – Huey Coastal Lager. The brew will debut at a launch event on Sunday 1 June, during the Western Australia Day public holiday long weekend.
Source: Gage Roads
Twenty years ago, brothers Bill and John Hoedemaker turned an old margarine factory near Freo into a leading independent brewery alongside a couple of mates. Fast forward a couple of decades and Gage Roads Brew Co has become one of Western Australia’s top breweries.
The milestone celebration will kick off at Gage Roads Freo on the Sunday WA Day long weekend, which will see Huey Coastal Lager tapped and pouring fresh for the first time alongside the full range of Gage regulars and limited releases.
The new brew is named after the company’s seagull mascot, described as a clear bottle lager brewed with 100 per cent natural ingredients, brewed at 3.8% using local barley and lagered longer for that little bit extra.
Gage Roads executive director, Aaron Heary, who has been with the company since it started out, said it’s been a crazy journey since starting the brewery.
“I don’t think we ever thought we’d make it this far, but we’ve always had a lot of fun doing it,” said Heary.
“When it came to our 20th birthday bash, we wanted to do something that really felt like a Gage Roads party, something iconically West Australian, and so it was either going to be a massive boat party or WA’s biggest Sunday session – and we couldn’t find a big enough boat!”
From modest beginnings, Gage Roads Brew Co has become one of Australia’s biggest independent craft breweries. Over 3.6 million pints of its Single Fin Summer Ale were washed down in Aussie pubs this year, and more than 3.7 million cartons of Gage Roads beers have filled fridges nationwide over the past decade.
Gage Roads founder, John Hoedemaker, said it was a privilege to throw a party to mark the wins and celebrate the people who helped make everything happen.
“We’re proud to be able to create and build a brewery that’s part of Western Australia’s history,” said Hoedemaker.
“We’ve had a hell of a lot of fun doing it, too, but we certainly couldn’t have done it without the West Aussies who love the same things we do – a good local beer and good times on the coast. So, to everyone that’s enjoyed a Single Fin or Side Track at a backyard barbie, down the beach, or off the wood at Gage Roads Freo, cheers to you!”
