Whitfords beer venue lifts craft brewing bar

Finding a spot to get served a venue-made beer won’t be an issue at the soon-to-be-opened Whitfords Brewing Company.

The main bar at the Beerland premises is as long as cricket pitch. At 22 metres from end to end and with 36 taps on offer, having access to a WA-produced craft brew might not be easier anywhere in the State.

The Kambalda Hotel in the Goldfields has claimed it once had the longest bar in the southern hemisphere. The U-shaped counter was believed to have been about 60m in length.

But the Kambalda doesn’t serve Ken Arrowsmith’s beers. Straight from the tanks in which they were produced. Punters will even be able to see Arrowsmith making them.

The Sip was given the privilege of a sneak peak of the Whitfords Brewing Company, a major piece of the area’s major shopping centre $80 million food and entertainment upgrade. And we took the tour with Arrowsmith as he worked on setting up his new brewery.

The WBC is similar to its cousin, the Northbridge Brewing Company, which has enjoyed considerable success as a brewpub operation over the past three years.

As the venues share the Marlin Group as owners there is a similarity with the WBC premises but it also differs from the NBC in many ways.

One contrast is a major boost for Arrowsmith. At the narrow NBC building he is forced to brew vertically over three floors. But at the WBC he can perform his tasks, under the view of patrons through a glass wall, on one level.

“My knees will welcome the change,” Arrowsmith says.

The WBC footprint is about 25 per cent larger than the NBC.

Arrowsmith expects up to nine Beerland products from the two venues could be on sale at any time at the WBC with two breweries in operation.

The dual venues means more experimentation for Arrowsmith and co-brewer Andrew Dean. A 1200-litre special batch of beer won’t be so risky in terms of clearance because it can be split between Whitfords and Northbridge.

The stainless steel doesn’t get installed into WBC until next week and there is a mad rush to get the venue up to speed in readiness for the opening in two weeks.

However, the Beerland team would like to know what beers the likely patrons from the area want to drink at the WBC.

Let us know through The Sip’s Facebook page.