Mountain Culture has announced details of its deal to acquire Fox Friday Brewing and its plans for each asset in the portfolio. 

These include rebranding the Fox Friday Richmond Brewpub as Mountain Culture Melbourne, rebranding the Fox Friday Hobart Taproom as Mountain Culture Hobart, continuing to operate the Moonah Hotel & Cellars Hobart as is, on-selling Carwyn Cellars to the Carwyn family and on-selling the Fox Friday Perth Brewpub to an independent brewery in Western Australia.

Mountain Culture said it will be aiming to retain the majority of staff in Melbourne and Hobart and will also take over brewing operations for both sites. Its goal is to service existing and growing Mountain Culture demand in both states, local customer collaborations and unique limited releases. 

Mountain Culture CEO and Co-Founder DJ McCready said: “This was a big move for Mountain Culture. We started as a humble brewpub in Katoomba and it’s never lost on us that the fans we first met there are what built this brand into what it is today.

“Buying Fox Friday’s assets gives us a chance to create new fans and most importantly, new local communities. Connecting with them in the most authentic way possible… in person, at our pub.”

The company said the subsequent deals to on-sell the Perth Brewpub and Carwyn Cellars were positive moves for both independent businesses and the craft industry as a whole. 

“Right from the start, it was important to us that we did what’s right for the craft beer community in each location,” McCready said.

“Ultimately that meant on-selling two of the assets to independent businesses we greatly admire. There is no one better to usher in the next era of Carwyn Cellars than the people with their name on the door, and while we can’t confirm the news for Perth just yet, we know this will be a great move for fans of craft beer out west.”

In Tasmania and Victoria, both already strong areas for Mountain Culture, the brand sees significant opportunity to go it alone. 

“Melbourne is quickly catching up to Sydney as our biggest city,” McCready said. “We already have a big team down there and capitalising on that with an incredible venue in Richmond just made sense. We now have the chance to build a really special authentic community around this pub and create personal relationships with our drinkers there. Of course we can’t wait to get everyone in there, open the roof and throw a big ol’ Mountain Culture party.

“Harriet and I both love Tassie. In some ways it has similarities to the Blue Mountains and I can’t wait to take my bike down there and get to know the locals. Everyone has been so welcoming since the announcement and again we’ll be looking to work with all the locals to build something special that they can be proud of. Look out for lots of exciting local collaborations and events to come, including our first year as the official beer of Red Bull Hardline.”

The company confirmed both venues will be rebranded, with dates for works and launch to be confirmed as “sometime in July” – with the Fox Friday brand to be sunset in the coming weeks. 

Both venues will continue to operate as Fox Friday branded venues until then, with Mountain Culture brews starting to transition onto the taps and into the fridges.