The seeds for the most unique new addition to Melbourne’s craft beer scene were first sown 11 years ago on the Gold Coast. Eighteen-year-old Anton Sagan, not long arrived in Australia from Siberia, was keen to get some take out beer for a BBQ. Having grown up in a culture where, like New Zealand, the filling of flagons with draught beer was commonplace, he walked into a bar with his girlfriend and made his request.
“Can I get some takeaway beer? I can go and get a vessel for you to fill or I’m happy for you to use any empty Coke bottle from the bar?” he said.
“He looked at me like I was from the moon,” says Anton today. “He didn’t know why I would want one.”
He’s recounting the tale from behind the counter at Tru Bru, his new growler selling outlet in South Yarra, stood in front of four Pegas growler fillers and below a board telling customers how to order from the list of 16 beers and ciders on offer in three simple steps. It may have taken more than a decade, but after leaving a well paid career in commercial management in the rail and energy industries, he’s decided he’s going to be at the vanguard of bringing take home draught beer to the masses.
“A love of fresh beer is where it stems from,” he says.
It’s led to a custom-designed system that allows him to pour from 16 kegs (stored in a cool room that takes up practically half of the venue’s floor space) through just four Pegas growler fillers. It does this via a simple-looking system of taps alongside each filler and a system on the other side of the wall that purges each line with CO2 after each pour to ensure there is no contamination between beers and ciders. Without going into detail (ask Anton to show you if you really want to see how it works), it’s also set up so there’s next to no wastage after each pour.
“I hate wasting good beer!” he laughs when asked.
Beer is available in three vessel sizes. There’s the well known 1.9 litre Growler (decorated with Boris the bear), the one litre Squealer (complete with a home brewing hare called Fitzherbert Sinclair) and then Australia’s smallest take home, reusable vessel that they’re calling the “Whistler” (“Grab a few and try ‘em all,” says Anton of the runt of the litter).
Each comes with a poem representing a different part of the craft beer world: retailer, home brewer and distributor, as well as a panel where the Tru Bru Beerista (wearing an apron with “Beerista” sewn into it) can fill in the requisite beer info to keep the ATO happy.
As for the ATO and the excise situation regarding growler filling that has frustrated many in the industry, Anton says he has spent much time in conversation with the Tax Office only to conclude that growlers have been “swept under the carpet”. That said, he’s not had trouble sourcing a wide range of local and international beers and ciders in 20 and 30 litre kegs. Or, it seems, in emptying them.
During our two hour catch up on a midweek early afternoon, among the regulars and newcomers replenishing their supplies or sating their curiosity, there are a couple of deliveries and collections. One is from Mornington Peninsula Brewery who tell us that Tru Bru has been through ten of their 30 litre kegs since opening less than a month earlier before assuring Anton that he’s in line for some of their next special.
The impression is that, for a new concept in an area where craft beer itself is an alien concept to most, things have got off to a rather good start. There seem to be plenty of reasons too.
For a start, the shop itself is as unique in the craft beer world as the growler only idea is. It’s distinctly a retail outlet; you could easily take the growlers and branded glassware off the walls and replace them with cool sneakers or take the beers from the back wall and switch in hip dude food and it would still work. It makes it a unique experience and one that, because the beer is good, isn’t merely a gimmick.
Secondly, the look and feel fits its location, a hop and a step from the Toorak Road / Chapel Street intersection (and next to South Yarra train station, which can only help).
Add to that the aforementioned fact that there is bugger all craft beer in that part of town, yet there are people looking for it. And then add in the enthusiasm that its owner brings to the process too. Existing customers are welcomed with a rundown of what’s new (usually accompanied by a chance to sample a little), while new faces are greeted with a lively spiel about Tru Bru’s dedication to “fresh craft beer and cider”. He seems not just enthused by getting his venture up and running but by the fact that, in many cases, he’s the first person to impart knowledge of the wonders of craft beer onto passers-by intrigued by this beer-hawking little retail outlet in a hidden little laneway.
For someone new to the business of craft beer – and who only started working on the concept earlier this year – he’s done his research. He spent time with the owners of The Local Taphouse St Kilda and Slowbeer talking about their experiences with growlers over the past three years. And he’s signed up to the Craft Beer Industry Association and hopes they’ll help inform breweries about this “new channel” for getting their beer into punter’s hands.
Aside from the growler family, he sells a selection of cured meats and cheeses, biltong, nuts and spiced snacks, plus a small selection of craft beer and soft drink cans. And that’s it. At least for now.
As for the future, first up will be an imminent expansion to 20 lines from 16, while Anton is also working towards a license that will allow him to offer tasting paddles for sale onsite. Beyond that, once the South Yarra store is established, the plan is to roll out Tru Bru to other sites across Melbourne and then further afield, with discussions already underway as to whether this is best achieved by an expansion or via franchising.
For now, he seems well set. The regulars that come in stay for long chats and as first time buyers leave, they’re generally sent away with: “Thanks for drinking good craft beer!” wafting in the air behind them.
“The awesome thing is that customers are engaging,” says Anton. “They walk in out of curiosity, have a discussion and are like ‘Wow! This is amazing.’
“I talk to them and they listen.”
And that’s how craft beer is going to go beyond its niche and become just beer: people who care about it talking to people about why it’s so good and hoping that they listen. While pouring tasty beer for them of course. It will take all manner of approaches for the beer world to reach that point, but with Tru Bru it has yet another: one that’s eye-catching and unique and with big plans for the future.
“When we set targets, our initial expectation was that by month six we would get to 100 per cent capacity,” says Anton. “Going by the first month, we’ll probably get there in half that time, which is amazing considering we are in a hidden spot.”
Tru Bru is at 3/9 Yarra Street, South Yarra.
