standing on principle

THIS YEAR’S OPENING OF PRINCIPLE BREWING IN FAIRY MEADOW REFLECTS AN ETHOS IN NAME AND NATURE THAT TAKES BREWING BEER BEYOND TASTE ALONE

Words Penny Keogh @oursliceofpie Images Ashley O'Neill

What do they say about pressure? It can make diamonds. Wollongong’s history has proven that’s exactly when we’re at our best. The past two years are a great example. As our community galvanised around each other during a global pandemic, we’ve seen diamonds revealed.

Many in the industry hit among the hardest, those in hospitality, have weathered an unprecedented storm and emerged stronger. As the shackles of QR codes and lockdown are discarded, a host of dormant and new small breweries have quietly opened their doors to be met with an understandable thirst for more.

Principle Brewing, whose new Fairy Meadow industrial warehouse venue fronts an impressive menu of eight house beers and family-friendly hospitality, has already proven itself as one of those Wollongong diamonds.

Not one to get ahead of himself though, coowner, David Mason, humbly says the warm welcome he’s received from Wollongong is an honour, given the standard of brewers here.

“We’re very spoilt.There is a lot of great brewers in Wollongong and it’s a lot to live up to,” says David.“We're just honoured they’ve welcomed us.” It’s not just the quality of the craft beer scene here that David and fellow co-owners Ian Logue and Steve Lozenkovski are proud to contribute to, it’s also the spirit of the community – quite possibly the secret ingredient which has fostered Wollongong’s entrepreneurial brewing success.

“Brewing here is a community.We don’t see each other as competitors,” says David. “We all help each other out when we need stuff like equipment, ingredients for brewing, or band together to get better trade rates.”

With David’s obvious passion for the quality of the product, and his affable mix of relaxed and articulate, it’s easy to see why Principle Brewing has fit right in.

“Our brewer’s heart lies in the traditional beers,” says David. “A clean, clear, faultless pilsener is difficult to do.We steer clear of the more exotic beers.They’re fun but there is a lot of flavour to hide behind.You don’t necessarily have to make an exceptional beer to make it taste delicious – that being said, there is a sour beer on the horizon which will be a fruity little number. Our range covers a wide spectrum.We have a porter – it’s a good dry, Australian session porter. At the other end we have our pilsener – clean, crisp and refreshing – and in the middle are our fruitforward beers. A big hoppy IPA and subtle yet complex XPA and the crowd favourite, hazy pale. We’ve spent a lot of time refining our beers. Ian is meticulous in his methods of brewing – it is an art and a science.We might test a new brew 30 times before we’re happy with it, sometimes more.”

It doesn’t always go to plan either, with tough times and expensive mistakes challenging Principle Brewing’s resolve.“We’ve had to tip two bad brews down the drain.That’s 4000L we couldn’t bring ourselves to use.We’re charging good money for the product, so if we're not happy with it we’re not going to sell it,” David adds.

The aligned values of the three owners seem to be a big part of why Principle Brewing has gotten this far. These values are at the heart of the brand and, in its name, quite literally worn on its sleeve.

After a decade of mateship, David, Ian and Steve spoke of creating something different that could give back to the community they love. “We all have strong family beliefs and work ethic.That’s bound us together.There’s no question about who does what in the business. We have set roles but we’re also always there for each other,” David says.“When you’re building something like this, you need everyone to work tirelessly, and at the start it’s often with little reward.We’re all committed to trying to create something we can take pride in for a long time.” Walking into Principle Brewing any evening from Wednesday to Sunday, the pride in community and traditional values pervade, alongside a modern ruggedness about the venue. “Fairy Meadow is a pretty ‘country town’. People can bring their dogs and kids and have a relaxed drink without too much fuss,” says David. “Everyone we work and collaborate with are locals.We’ve teamed up with Papi's from Thirroul and created Hank’s Fried Chicken, which is now a permanent fixture.We have local artists exhibiting and will hopefully be putting on some live music in the near future.Then there’s our wine list, from our close friends at DRNKS, whose natural and organic wines support local growers and producers.”

With a philosophy of quality and community, Principle Brewing has tapped a thirst which no doubt Wollongong locals will continue to indulge with pleasure.