The Sparkke Change Beverage Company* (Sparkke) is about to transform one small corner in the City of Churches.
Sparkke, the nation’s most socially active alcohol company, is set to open one of Adelaide’s first CBD-based brew pubs at the iconic Whitmore Hotel.
With the help of a small group of professional investors and supporters, Sparkke has purchased the Whitmore Hotel, on Whitmore Square in the south-western corner of the Adelaide CBD.
The historic pub – opened 180 years ago (in 1838) as the Queen’s Arm Tavern – will undergo a $1.8 million transformation to become ‘Sparkke At The Whitmore’, with the remarkable heritage of the hotel preserved, but the theme of the venue brought into line with Sparkke’s twin business mantras – sustainability and social responsibility.
Major environmental enhancements will be made to all areas – water, light, power and access for all people. The renovation includes plans for a rooftop bar, a restaurant celebrating local produce, an upstairs function area and a downstairs beer garden.
The soul of the makeover however, will be a custom-designed nanobrewery, in the centre of the hotel and fully visible from all corners.
It’s from here that Sparkke’s award winning Head Brewer, Agi Gajic will deliver small runs of unique, limited edition craft brews.
“The real theatre of the pub is the brewhouse,” says Agi. “We’ll be making small batch, weird and wonderful brews – most will never be repeated again. It’s a real laboratory for experimentation and pushing the boundaries around craft brewing.
“We’ll be aiming to produce a number of speciality brews each month. There will always be something new, fresh and local to try.”
Agi says their boutique craft bottle shop will stock growlers, which allows people to take home a litre of specialised brew.
“They’re a refillable vessel – you bring them back, they get cleaned on site, and you take a fresh one home with you.
“Growlers are quite big in other parts of the world but haven’t fully caught on in Australia yet. They fit Sparkke perfectly.
“We see the brewery as a really important part of our business model, because you can get specialty brews into homes in an environmentally sustainable way.”
Of course, Sparkke will share the love – Sparkke At The Whitmore will also feature other amazing craft talent from Australia – and around the world – in wines, spirits and other brews.
Director of Sparkke, Rose Kentish – Australia’s first Female Winemaker of the Year – says the company is excited to be working with an iconic Australian firm on the transformation.
“Our design partners are Troppo Architects – one of the nation’s most highly awarded architectural firms,” Rose says.
“They’re celebrated for their sustainable, authentic, design approach, which fits really nicely with our approach to business.
“Sparkke At The Whitmore keeps all that in mind, taking its visual cues from the heritage of the building and the historical significance of the location.
“Sparkke’s a social enterprise, and locating our first brew pub on Whitmore Square, in a grand old Pub with a chequered past, gives us an opportunity to physically express our brand and our values of inclusivity, raw truth, individuality and social equity,” adds Rose.
The venue will be ‘pokie-free’ and is designed to increase the safety of all our patrons, with a number of features such as illuminated walls that gently light up the laneway behind the pub.
The renovations are hoped to be completed over the coming months, with a soft opening before Christmas not out of the question.
Sparkke was founded by a group of women from Adelaide less than two years ago, and has grown to become arguably the nation’s most recognised ‘social alcohol brand’, with products like ‘Consent Can’t Come After You Do’ (a national award-winning Apple Cider); ‘What’s Planet B?’ (a multi bronze medal winning New England Pale Ale in support of action on climate change); ‘Say I Do’ (a White Wine Bubbles in support of marriage equality); Change The Date (a Pilsner pushing for a new national day of celebration); Nipples Are Nipples (a Hard Lemonade supporting gender equality); and ‘Boundless Plains To Share’ (a Ginger Beer in favour of humane asylum seeking policies and practices).
10 percent of direct sales of each of Sparkke’s 6 products go towards charities associated with the causes each product promotes.
About Sparkke
The Sparkke Change Beverage Company is a progressive social enterprise challenging the stereotypes driving Australia’s $15 billion pa+ male dominated industry. Their award winning bevvies also raise awareness and funds in support of organisations working on social issues linked to their values of social equity, inclusion, individuality and raw truth.
Think seriously great booze with a social conscience – the refreshing taste of a better future.
For more information on Sparkke, its products, stockists and for online orders, head to www.sparkke.com. You can follow Sparkke on Insta here; on Facebook here; and on Twitter here.
* New Matilda editor and publisher Chris Graham has a small shareholding in Sparkke.
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