- Felons is celebrating its new Manly Wharf brewery by shouting a round of schooners this Friday.
- We caught up with Brewery Director Tom Champion to chat about the new brewery and what’s next for Felons at Manly Wharf.
- Here’s everything you need to know about the brewery’s opening celebrations.
The forecast in Manly this Friday? Sunshine, smiles and free schooners. That’s because Felons Brewing Co. is celebrating the completion of its state-of-the-art brewery on Manly Wharf.
Felons opened its first venue at Manly Wharf just over two years ago and has since expanded its offering with the addition of the hatted restaurant Felons Seafood and the all-round funky cultural hub, Felons Barrel Room.
This Friday, Felons takes another huge step forward in its journey to total Wharf domination, with the completion of its new brewery, which will allow the company to serve Manly locals and visitors fresh beer, straight from tank to tap. Guests can get a taste of the Felons award-winning Crisp Lager on the house at their inaugural “first pour” event.
To bring this vision to life, Felons has installed a custom steam-powered 18.5-hectolitre brewhouse and 3,600-litre serving tanks.
With connection at the heart of the experience, they’ve also added a viewing corridor that will allow visitors to watch the brewing process, with daily brewery tours and tastings set to kick off this summer.
We chatted with Felons Brewery Director Tom Champion about the opening of the brewery, the challenges in bringing it to life and why Manly Wharf is one of the best places in Sydney to enjoy a cold beer.
“Fresh is always best”
Champion has been with Felons since the start, appointed as Head Brewer when the company opened its first brewery in Brisbane in 2018.
Eight years on, the craft brewery and hospitality group has expanded to multiple locations, with Champion now approaching six years as Brewery Director.
When Felons expanded to Manly, Champion tells us it was always important for them to brew their beer on-site. “With beer, fresh is always best. That is the rule,” he tells us.
“We get to fill up a 3500 litre tank in Manly with Crisp Lager as fresh as it can get. And we hook that onto a single line and then the taps are pouring that beer. It’s very satisfying to see.”
It wasn’t easy to get to this point, though. While the waterfront lookout at Manly Wharf seems like the dream spot for a brewery, bringing the project to life was anything but straightforward.
Champion first visited the site around two years ago, and the team quickly discovered that transforming a century-old wharf into a working brewery would come with its fair share of challenges.
One of the biggest worries was getting the huge tanks through the front door.
“Getting the tanks in the front door was really challenging. When you see the size of those tanks in the brewery, you bring them in on their side, on a forklift with a crane, and it’s like you’re going millimetres at a time, in the middle of the night so there’s no pedestrians around,” Champion says.
“I’m the guy responsible for all the measurements, so that was quite stressful”
Fortunately, Champion’s calculations were correct; the tanks made it safely inside and are now up and running, ready for their first pour.
A huge community party
What better way to celebrate the new brewery than with a huge party at Felons, where the first round is on the house?
From 3pm to 7pm on Friday, November 6, Felons will be serving up free schooners of their Crisp Lager, the first of its kind brewed directly on Manly Wharf.
Joining the first pour ceremony will be MP James Griffin, Northern Beaches mayor Sue Heins and world surfing champion Layne Beachley AO, who will each take turns on the tap.
It’s a pretty generous offering, but one that isn’t new to Felons.
In two years on the wharf, Felons has raised more than $250,000 for local groups, including Lifeline Northern Beaches, Manly Life Saving Club, Surfrider, LocalKind and local schools.
“I’ve worked for this business for eight years, and one thing I love is how generous the owners are with their time and resources, and how well they look after people. They always have been. It’s been refreshing to work for a business like that,” Champion says.
“I guess this is an extension of that generosity to everyone who supports us. The local community is who we need; they keep the lights on and keep things running. We’re so happy and excited by the support and enthusiasm we’ve had so far.”
“This is a way of giving back and saying thank you for that support, and for all the positive comments over the bar. They make us feel good about taking a chance and doing what we’re doing.”
What’s next for Felons at Manly Wharf?
This is just the beginning of Felons’ brewing journey at Manly Wharf, with Champion hinting at plenty of creativity to come.
“We’d love to brew everything that gets consumed at Manly Wharf,” he says.
“We also want to let [lead brewer] Gareth Cooper loose and do some innovative stuff, do some new styles of beer, some big hazy IPAs, those things that people like.”
Champion can’t sing Cooper’s praises highly enough, calling him “one of the best brewers in the country”. With Cooper at the helm, Manly Wharf’s brewing future is certainly in safe hands.
So why should you come down to Felons at Manly Wharf for a schooner? It’s simple, according to Champion.
“We pick these locations because they are an absolutely sensational place to have a beer, and just feel good for a hot minute”.
And let’s be honest, with the sun set to shine all day Friday, there’s no excuse not to hop on the ferry and head to Manly.
