When we catch up with Antoinette Pollock the week of Brewski’s closure, she’s a little bit dusty. It’s perfectly understandable – since Ant and Matt Emmerson announced the closure of their Caxton Street staple (which officially shuttered on Friday August 30), froth fiends have been coming out of the woodwork to raise a glass and bid the trailblazing tipple spot farewell.

“It’s been a busy couple of weeks, just catching up with people and events,” says Ant. “Not to mention, you know, packing down a venue. I’m going to need a couple of days off after this.”

Though a break will be well-earned, Ant and Matt won’t have too much time on their hands to relax now that they’ve switched the lights off at Brewski. They’re already getting to work on their new venture, Alfred Street Bar & Bottlo, which is expected to open in mid-to-late October.

Since Ant and Matt made the decision to shut Brewski, the duo has been actively on the hunt for a new home – one that would allow them to continue operations at their My Beer Dealer locations in Morningside and Clayfield. The ideal spot presented itself on Alfred Street in The Valley in the form of a two-level space most recently home to long-running gin and cocktail bar Dutch Courage.

“Matt saw it was advertised to sell and knowing that it had a hotel licence was a big attraction for us,” says Ant of the move. “It was the main reason we investigated it in the first place – it’s within the 10-km radius of our bottle shops. It appears to be pretty perfect, to be honest, because it’s directly outside the train station and the model of the retail shop with the bar just seems to be perfect for that location.”

At Alfred Street Bar & Bottlo, Ant and Matt are looking to merge elements of Brewski with My Beer Dealer, the drink-in bottle shop that first opened underneath Brewski’s Caxton Street abode in 2018. While still eager to create a home for craft-beer lovers to gather, the team has elected to modify the business model in order to make it more versatile and sustainable – both for the operators and customers.

“It was just about giving people even more choice,” says Ant of the decision. “What we loved about the My Beer Dealer concept downstairs was that people could come in and go nuts over all the different choices that they have in the fridge and drink at a more economical price point, as well. As soon as we opened that shop we realised it was really the way we wanted to go, as opposed to a pure bar environment.“

Soon, the team will begin some minor works getting the space in order, with the largest tasks involving moving the cold room further towards the rear of the space and reducing the size of the bar in order to make room for more seating and shelving space. The front of the venue will be dedicated to seating (activating the footpath for more tables is also on the agenda), with the curtains being stripped to allow more light to infiltrate the space. A bank of fridges will line the left-hand side of the venue, while the mezzanine will remain as is, offering room for overflow and private functions (we hear that Brewski’s trivia nights might also be relocated here).

As for the offering, the bar at Alfred Street Bar & Bottlo will be equipped with six taps pouring an ever-changing assortment of beers (including one dedicated gluten-free tap) and a rotating selection of wines. With a whole bottle shop at their disposal, guests will also be able to enjoy the vast range of craft beers (one of the largest collections going in Brisbane) and wines, the latter being a key area of growth for the My Beer Dealer brand in recent years.

“Our wine offering has just gotten stronger and stronger as people have realised that we care as much about our wine offering as our beer,” says Ant, who also mentions that more spirits will be available, too. “This space will give us so much scope to make more wine available for people, which is really exciting for us. We really want to go in there with people realising that we understand good booze full stop.

“We’re not going to have as many taps – we’ll only stick with six taps at this site – but people are going to have way more choice than they’ve had at Brewski.”

The site’s existing kitchen equipment will also be put to good use, with Ant and Matt still toying around with ideas for Alfred Street Bar & Bottlo’s food offering. All they can confirm is that the menu will be different to Brewski.

“We’re definitely changing it up,” says Ant. “We’re not going to be a burger joint –  we’re contemplating maybe keeping literally just the Brewski burger, but tricking it up a little bit. We just want to keep going down the track of the sustainability and a lot of alternative food options.” 

In a period that could be described as wobbly times for the craft-beer industry at large, it’s heartening to see a beery icon successfully navigate choppy waters. Ant hopes that blurring the boundaries between bar and bottle shop will help future-proof the business for the long run.

“To be able to tick both boxes in one space, it just makes us a lot more versatile for people,” says Ant. “There’s a couple of reasons to visit us.”

Alfred Street Bar & Bottlo will open in mid-to-late October – keep your eyes peeled for more info soon.