Sydney Beer Co has joined the list of Australian breweries to be put into voluntary administration, just months after expanding into the United States.
The brewery, co-owned by former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee and acclaimed writer and actor Matt Nable, had recently raised over $6m to fund its expansion into the US.
RSM Australian partners Richard Stone and Brett Lord have been appointed administrators of the company, with the creditors meeting held last night.
RSM said that it plans to investigate what went wrong with Sydney Beer Co, and while that investigation is underway the administrators said it was in the very early stages.
Sydney Beer Co launched in 2016, with the intention of brewing “Sydney’s premium lager – a beer Sydneysiders would be proud to call their own”.
As many breweries across the country have found over the last few years, trading is extremely difficult at the moment, with the rising cost of living and continual beer excise hikes taking their toll on beer consumption.
In its documents filed to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the brewery said it was going into administration because of the difficult trading environment.
As well as expanding into the US, Sydney Beer Co has been exporting to Malaysia, while locally it is stocked at both independent retailers and Endeavour Group stores and is available in over 350 venues across the country.
Beer & Brewer has contacted RSM Australia for comment.