Westside Ale Works

Festina tarde is an Italian saying – often associated with the Renaissance but also used by Roman rulers – that translates as "make haste slowly". By all means, hurry, but don't rush things, and take care too.

Westside Ale Works' story is one of “hurrying slowly”. It started in 2016, when Casey Wagner took over a small space in South Melbourne and installed what was effectively a highly-developed homebrew setup. Working with his 500 litre Braumeister, Casey focused on brewing the beers he loved from his home on America's West Coast, with those big, hoppy beers giving Westside its name.

As a venue, Westside has always been about as relaxed as they come: a cozy, globe-lit taproom, filled with beer hall tables and games for people of all ages. It's a place where, after taking your seat, you get handed a bowl of popcorn as a game of basketball plays on the TV.

However, at the original location, there was no room for a kitchen to make their delicious pizzas, not much space for brewing, and nowhere to install a canning line, meaning Westside needed a little more room to breathe. However, while most small breweries tend to look for a far larger site when they expand, that wasn't the plan here. Casey and the Westside team didn’t want to forfeit the feel of their laidback SoCal-style warehouse brewery, and luckily they didn’t have to move too far to find the perfect new space.

Their new location presented itself only a couples of doors down from their original location on Alfred Street, and it was then they realised moving the brewery didn't actually have to involve all that much moving. And so it was that, on Anzac Day 2019 – and presumably with little more than a forklift and a few pairs of hands, Westside Ale Works opened in a new home.

Fans of the old site will find much of what they loved about the original space translates to the new digs: it's still as relaxed a space as they come – production has just been “cranked up” a little. The new venue includes more room for people to enjoy Westside beers, a massive projection screen that plays big games from both here and the States, a private function space upstairs, as well as 30 beers on tap.

While 20 of these beers are brewed in-house by the Westside team, there are ten guest taps dedicated to other local breweries or rare releases and imports. The decision to pour other beers stemmed from their bottleshop. After realising how few venues in this part of the city are dedicated to independent, craft beer, Westside Ale Works was ready to shine in this area too.

Their bottleshop – dubbed the “Research and Development” fridge – is just as much a part of the new brewery as well. It’s filled with beers from across the globe as well as Westside's 355ml cans – all brewed and canned in-house. Before 2019 was out, they introduced a 500ml can takeaway option too, meaning you can pick any of their beers on tap and get it canned right in front of you.

While hop-forward releases remain a focus, Casey and the Westside team now have plenty of room to experiment across their 20 taps. Experimental brewing takes place on the 50-litre pilot system, where new recipes or unusual adjuncts can be tested out in the taproom. The eagle-eyed at the bar will also spot barrels lining the back row of the brewhouse; it's a collection that is steadily being filled with saisons, lambic-style beers, fruited sours, and stouts that will be seasonally released on tap and in can. 

The move also allowed Westside to offer another American staple: pizza. Sure, they may be Italian in origin, but the South Melbourne brewery's pizzas are inspired by those from the West Coast of the States: the toppings plentiful, the sauce made in-house and the dough made with their Everybody Loves Pale Ale. 

As the Westside story continues to develop, they have also been experimenting with distilling – hoppy gins added to the brewery's repertoire of drinks and other spirits in planning and ageing in oak. All in good time, of course, as the Westside Ale Works crew continue to hurry slowly along. 

Will Ziebell

Name
Westside Ale Works
Address

36 Alfred Street
South Melbourne
VIC 3205

Phone
0448 644 977
Open Hours

Thurs to Sat: midday to 11pm
Sunday: midday to 9pm


This is a directory listing. To find out more, head here

Westside Ale Works Regulars

Westside Ale Works Ava's Amber Ale

Ava’s Amber Ale has been part of Westside’s core lineup since day one – a longevity that may or may not have something to do with being named after head brewer Casey Wagner’s daughter. Just as likely, the beer’s balance between a classic English style and American hops is what helps it maintin an enduring popularity on the brewery’s taps. The malt provides a rich mix of toffee, caramel and raisins that are overlaid by citrusy, piney and slightly earthy hop flavours. Will Ziebell… Read more
Style
Amber Ale
ABV
5.6%

Westside Ale Works The Cali Commoner

Westside founder Casey Wagner might have fallen for West Coast IPAs when he was living in Southern California but it’s not the only style from the Sunshine State he decided to recreate in Melbourne’s south. This lager-meets-ale style, with its light body and soft fruited notes, is the kind of beer that works in Australia thanks to its built in sessionability. Rather than feature American hops, however, it’s a mix of Australian varieties that provide a slightly tropical edge to a beer with easy-drinking… Read more
Style
California Common
ABV
5.4%

Westside Ale Works Alfred Street Session Ale

Being a narrow side street in a relatively quiet pocket of South Melbourne, Alfred Street looks a little like somewhere you might drop your car off to be serviced or call in for renovation supplies. It’s for that reason that, if you walk past Alfred Street and Westside Ale Works is open, you’ll find a very helpful sign telling you take a turn in the knowledge beer and pizza await you. The beer that pays tribute to that simple street is the Alfred Street Session Ale. Softly spoken and understated,… Read more
Style
Session Ale
ABV
4.5%

Westside Ale Works Specials

Pint of Origin Frequent Frother

Published May 6, 2023
What do you get when you make a pale ale featuring ingredients representing most of the planet? A "global" pale ale pretty much unlike any other you'll come across. That was the brief when we decided to give Pint of Origin its own beer: design a recipe that touched down in every one of the festival's regions. It led us to a recipe list including Moutere hops from New Zealand alongside a couple of US varieties, dark crystal malt from the UK, biscuit rye from Canada, Aussie wheat, Weyermann… Read more
Style
Global Pale Ale
ABV
5.0%

Pint of Origin PoO-totype Global Pale

Published August 5, 2022
Back when we decided to go ahead with Pint of Origin after Good Beer Week 2022 was shelved, an idea was conceived to create the first ever PoO beer. In the end, it proved too much to pull off on top of the rebranding, building a new website, creating digital passports and so on, but having come up with the idea for the beer we decided to go ahead with it once the festival itself was done and dusted. The idea was to brew a beer that represented every Pint of Origin region in one way or another, while… Read more
Style
Global Pale Ale
ABV
5.0%
Stockists

Westside Ale Works

More to be added as they're delivered

Ida Pruul Wild Mango Sour & Westside Pineapple Bob & Lambic Ale

Published July 2, 2022
The power of suggestion can play tricks on one's mind. When I cracked a can of Ida Pruul's Wild Mango Sour and watched the thick, freshly squeezed juice-like liquid pour into the glass and settle with a white foam, I couldn't help but think: "Bucks Fizz" (or Mimosa, depending on your origins). Initially, it seems to present that way too thanks to the mixture of pulpy fruit, souring tingle, and vibrant carbonation. But despite that juicy appearance it’s the wild sour that’s the boss… Read more
Style
Fruited Wild Ale, Kettle Sour & Lambic Style Ale
ABV
4.5% & 5.2% & 5.4%

Westside Ale Works & Ida Pruul's Dark Quartet '22

Published June 7, 2022
If there's one accusation you'd never get to stick with Westside Ale Works, it's that they don't brew enough different beers. I mean, this is a brewery where they typically have 20 taps pouring their own beers. That's not all, however, as one of their brewers, Ben Sewell, also brews and releases beers under the Ida Pruul banner from their South Melbourne home. And if you want some insight into what the two operations get up to when the mercury is sliding, well... Let's start with two from the host… Read more
Style
Various Styles As Indicated
ABV
6.5% & 9.0% & 5.1% & 10.0%

Westside Ale Works Wet Hop American Summer & Ryes N'Shine

Published April 14, 2021
Summer may feel like a fleeting memory in Melbourne but for 2021’s hop harvest, Westside Ale Works have brewed the IPA, Wet Hop American Summer. Inspired by West Coast American IPAs as much as American movies, the beer uses fresh Centennial and Chinook hops from AC Hops, which is a small family-run farm located a short distance from Ballarat. The 7.9 percent ABV imperial IPA pours with a dull haze and an incredibly aromatic and mix of pine, spruce and fresh-cut grass. Those distinct notes are joined… Read more
Style
Wet Hop Imperial IPA & Oatmeal Rye Stout
ABV
6.5% & 7.9%

Westside Ale Works Weekend Juice & Major Revision & Ryes N' Shine

Published July 20, 2020
When you constantly pour 20 different beers of your own creation at your brewpub, it’s safe to say you’ll become accustomed to brewing a pretty diverse mix of styles. That’s certainly the case with these three cans from Westside Ale Works, a trio which sees them transition from hazy to hazelnut to (h)oatmeal as smoothly as this sentence. Weekend Juice is a NEIPA that looks like the juice you’d enjoy with your Saturday brunch, with its colour closest to the kind of tropical drop you might… Read more
Style
NEIPA & Hazelnut Brown Ale & Oatmeal Rye Stout
ABV
5.8% & 6.4% & 6.5%

Westside Ale Works Belgian Brunette & Dan's Self Doubt Stout & Apricot Rye Sour

Published July 18, 2020
If you’ve made it to Westside Ale Work’s South Melbourne home, you’d have likely noticed the barrels that line the back of the brewpub. Owner Casey Wagner has been busy experimenting with them in recent beers, as evidenced by the three tins we received this week. There’s Belgian Brunette, a Belgian dark ale that’s been ageing in shiraz barrels, where it’s managed to pick up an impressive amount of wine character. Even texturally, it’s quite vinous, while there's a dark plum flavour… Read more
Style
Belgian Dark, Russian Imperial Stout & Apricot Sour
ABV
8.1% & 9.3% & 5.0%

Westside Ale Works Anniversary IPA

Published December 20, 2019
When your career in beer and the name of your brewery are both inspired by the brewing scene on America’s West Coast, there's no prizes for guessing the sort of beer you'll brew for your anniversary. Westside Ale Works brew their Anniversary IPA each year and, though it changes each year, the beer always features a meaty mix of hops. In the 2019 offering, there's seven different varieties, most of them hailing from America but with the addition of some Germans too. It’s a combination the creates… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.8%

Westside Ale Works Imperial Saison Aged In Rye Whiskey Barrels

Published December 20, 2019
When Westside Ale Works made the move from one end of Alfred Street, in South Melbourne ,to the other, that change was driven by a need for more space. Other than being able to fit in more beer, taps and a canning line, Casey Wagner was also keen to find room to start barrel-ageing beers. Walk into the brewery today and you’ll see those barrels lining one of the walls, with each release in the series a beer aged in just one barrel to showcase the effect single casks can have on a beer. The first… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Saison
ABV
11.9%

Westside Ale Works Thai Spiced Pale Ale & Evergreen King DDH Double IPA

Published December 20, 2019
Walk into Westside Ale Works and you’ll find twenty taps pouring the brewery’s beers (plus another ten for guests). With that many taps, it’s no surprise head brewer Casey Wagner is constantly exploring new twists on classic styles, with these two beers doing just that. Thai Spiced Pale Ale was brewed with Farang Thai Island BBQ, a food truck that regularly pops up across Melbourne. Rather than arriving packed full of birds eye chillies like I first assumed, it’s a beer designed to pair with… Read more
Style
Various
ABV
5.0% & 7.8%

Westside Ale Works Astro Dog & Best Coast IPA

Published December 19, 2019
Living up to the brewery’s name, Westside Ale Works’ Casey Wagner has recently been exploring some big and bold IPAs. Best Coast IPA is an ever-changing beer: each time it’s brewed, he picks a different mix of hops from Australia, New Zealand and America. The can we got our hands on had a big upfront hit of citrus, stonefruit and pine that was followed by a big, bitter whack at the finish. Astro Dog is an IPA brewed with Comet hops, a variety that’s been around since the 1960s but hasn't… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
6.6% & 6.7%

Westside Ale Works Art Dog Mosaic Pale

Westside Ale Work’s South Melbourne home doesn’t just play host to beer drinkers; the brewery is also regularly filled with their pups too. And Art Dog is another four-legged friend you’ll find from time to time at Westside, with the single-hopped pale a showcase of Mosaic hops. Pouring orange, Art Dog takes the shape of a classic American style pale ale, where a slight biscuit malt flavour matches up against those Mosaic hops, from which they tease a citrus and marmalade mix. Will Ziebell… Read more
Style
Mosaic Pale Ale
ABV
5.4%