A new, majority Aboriginal-owned brewery in Western Australia has launched its first beers, which are made using indigenous ingredients.
Spinifex Brewing Co has been two years in the planning by its founders – master brewer John Gibbs, managing director Mick Little and communications manager Steve Jansen. Little is an indigenous man of the Noongar people.
The brewery has been set up with three principles in mind – first to support indigenous people and producers across Western Australia, second to support Australian veterans, and third to make beer using native produce from the Western Australian bush.
“It’s all part of trying to make a significant social difference as opposed to just making great beer,” Gibbs tells Beer & Brewer.
The brewery is currently working with Aboriginal suppliers including Morich Farm and Woolkabunning Kiaka. The Spinifex Aboriginal producers supply chain has been established in the South West, Great Southern and Goldfields, with discussions underway with producers in the Kimberley and Mid West.
“The products that we have in our range have a unique story and the fact that we are donating 50% of our profits from the F88 Session Ale to a veterans charity – as a veteran that is special to me,” Adam Barnard, shareholders and Spinifex’s director of sales, told Beer & Brewer. “Being a veteran myself I have seen first-hand some of the hardships that veterans have experienced, particularly in mental health, so some of the charities we’re supporting will have the opportunities to have a significant impact on veterans’ lives.”
Spinifex’s beers include a Lemon Myrtle light summer ale, Bush Honey pale ale, Lemon Myrtle ginger beer, Geraldton Wax pale ale, F88 session ale and Roasted Wattle Seeds amber ale made with roasted wattle seeds cured by a nearby Indigenous group in the Bunbury area. The aim is create non-seasonal beers using plants and ingredients that are available all year round – like myrtle and wax flowers.
