Alchemy Brewing Co closes its doors: Melbourne-based brewery shuts up shop
- Popular brewery to close its doors
- Owner said it had been a 'rough ride'
- READ MORE: Award-winning brewery enters voluntary administration
A popular brewery has announced it will be closing its doors in the latest of a series of craft brewers to be driven out of business by the soaring costs of beer.
Alchemy Brewing Co announced on Monday that it would be shutting up shop on Lygon Street in Melbourne's East Brunswick on Friday.
'It's with a heavy heart I'm announcing Alchemy Brewing will close at the end of the month,' owner Pim Muter wrote in an Instagram post.
'I am incredibly proud of the venue I built but we've had a rough ride and it's time to call it quits. We are having a big farewell party on June 29 please come down for a final beer or two.'
The brewery was first opened in December 2019 - just months before Melbourne entered the first of six Covid lockdowns.
Alchemy Brewing Co announced on Monday that it would be shutting up shop on Lygon Street in Melbourne's East Brunswick on Friday (the brewery is pictured)
The brewery was first opened five years ago in December 2019 - just months before Melbourne entered one of a six Covid lockdowns
Alchemy Brewing Co sold takeaway beer to locals in order to stay afloat during the pandemic and received grants from the Victorian government.
Mr Muter told Beat in 2022 he was optimistic the venue would recover.
'I have high hopes for the coming summer season, Melbourne has had an arduous few years and I feel this is the first real summer since Covid hit, it's certainly the first summer for Alchemy Brewing without heavy restrictions,' he said.
The venue had a tap room, a micro-brewery, bar and a restaurant.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Alchemy Brewing Co for comment.
It comes just weeks after a popular brewery that played a 'pivotal' role in the craft beer movement announced it will close its doors for good after more than three decades.
Lion, one of the largest beverage companies in the world, will close the Malt Shovel Brewery in Sydney's Camperdown by the end of August.
Lion, one of the largest beverage companies in the world, will close the Malt Shovel Brewery in Sydney's Camperdown by the end of August
The brewery is responsible for crafting a series of popular beers including Eumundi, Little Creatures, New Belgium and James Squire.
The Malt Shovel Brewery was first opened in 1988 by independent brewer Chuck Hahn and was acquired by Lion in 1993.
That closure came just weeks after Asahi, Lion's biggest competitor, closed their Matilda Bay brewpub in Victoria's Yarra Valley on May 19 - citing high costs.
A string of independent breweries have collapsed in recent months following a series of hikes to alcohol taxes and operational costs.
In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, high inflation, rising mortgages and rents, the soaring price of beer and hospitality in general has severely reduced demand.
Small and medium breweries Deeds Brewing, Big Shed, Hawkers and Golden West have all entered administration since the start of the year.
They followed other outfits such as Ballistic, Parched, Wicked Elf and Running With Thieves who collapsed during 2023.
