The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it business park located off Seventeen Mile Rocks Road is home to the likes of an automotive services garage, steel fabricators and termite specialists. On paper, it can seem like an odd spot to find a brewery, but nestled between these businesses is a family-owned and operated booze maker that pairs its left-of-centre location with a charmingly offbeat offering. The business is the brainchild of Damien and Sandie Odger who, alongside their son Rohan and nephew Tyson, have made good on their long-held goal of opening a real-deal tipple temple. Damien and Sandie made the decision to swap their government jobs for the brewing game around 2018, not long after the couple started learning the craft with their own home-brewing set-up. Realising life is too short to not roll the dice on their dream, the family made the leap – securing the Seventeen Mile Rocks site (previously home to a manufacturer of adult-oriented silicone goods) and beginning the approval process back in 2020. Lucha Brewing Co. opened to the public in late-February, arriving just as the infamous rain bomb saturated the city with its heavy downpour. Those that popped their head in for a pint were greeted by a colourful industrial-inspired (and family- and dog-friendly) interior, which houses a tasting room (complete with high and low seating as well as old-school luchadore posters on the walls), cold storage and a brewing set-up at the rear.

Lucha Brewing Co.’s brewing apparatus is comprised of a compact 200-litre stainless steel Braumeister system, equipped with three fermenters geared towards making beer fresh for on-site consumption. Of the bar’s six taps, three are currently pouring three Lucha beers, including a crushable session ale, a weightier IPA and a bold red IPA. The other three taps are currently dispensing a pale ale and a pilsner from Sea Legs Brewing Co. and a hazy XPA from Soapbox Beer, while Aether Brewing’s ginger beer, a sour from Soapbox and wines from Sirromet are also available over the bar. The Lucha team is eager to embody its namesake when it comes to the beers it produces from this point forward, with a free-flowing and unpredictable approach to brewing likely to result in everything from amber ales and New England IPAs to small batches of more experimental drops. A rotating roster of food trucks will also make appearances on Friday nights and weekends, though guests are encouraged to bring their own food or have grub delivered directly via Uber Eats.

Lucha Brewing Co. is now open to the public – click over to the Stumble Guide for operating hours and contact details.