The old newspaper hacks who worked for the Blue Mountains Echo in days gone by would undoubtedly relish the thought of a brewery in their old workplace.
And if all goes to plan for DJ and Harriet McCready, that is exactly what will become of the paper’s old heritage building on Parke St at Katoomba.
The couple have applied to install a craft brewpub in the historic building next to the fire station.
It most recently housed Civic Video but for more than 50 years was the home of various Mountains newspapers (The Mountaineer, the Echo, the Star, Katoomba Daily and the Advertiser between 1895 and 1948).
It is heritage listed as a good example of an inter-war free classical building, however, it is in need of much work.
Fortunately the McCreadys have successfully applied for a grant to help restore the old building. The $100,000 from the state government “heritage near me” grants will go some way to bringing the building back to its former glory.
Harriet McCready said news of the grant was “wonderful”.
“We thought it was such a long shot so you can imagine when we heard … to say we were over the moon is an understatement.
“This building is particularly attractive to me because is has such character that you don’t often find. Although it’s tired and run down, its bones are incredible.”
She said the couple will take great pride in restoring it and bringing it back to life, rather than “have it crumble”.
Mr McCready is an award-winning brewer. He moved from his native USA to help set up Modus Operandi Brewing Co on the Northern Beaches several years ago.
At the first annual Australian craft beer awards in 2014, Modus brews won eight awards, including Champion Small Brewery and the grand prize for its Former Tenant Red IPA.
Fast forward a couple of years – DJ meets Harriet, the couple marry and begin to spend a lot of time in the Mountains, visiting Harriet’s mum at Leura.
“We kept coming back and kept falling in love with the area more and more,” Mr McCready said.
As well as bushwalking and rock climbing, they were also on the lookout for somewhere to set up the Mountain Culture Beer Company.
They were regular clients of Civic Video and loved the building.
“We were always coming in here renting DVDs and were wondering how long a video store would stay in business,” Mr McCready said.
As it transpired, it closed last October and when Harriet’s mother called them to say it was available, they jumped immediately.
“It was just green light after green light,” Mr McCready said. “All the pieces just kept lining up – the zoning, working through with council who seemed so supportive, the landlord and all the neighbours.”
The neighbours include the Family Hotel next door and the Carrington, which has its own micro-brewery supplying the hotel’s bars.
Mrs McCready is keen to point out that despite the word “pub” in the venture’s name, their project will be a very different creature from a standard hotel.
“It will be family-friendly and dog friendly and for people who want to taste top beers,” she said. It will not have poker machines, a TAB outlet, accommodation or other features of a regular pub.
The beers will also have a Mountains flavour, with Mr McCready planning to harvest local yeast from canyon floors and other wilderness areas for his brews. Yeast collecting is not invasive. It simply involves setting up a sterilised jar of sugary solution covered with cheesecloth. If there is yeast about, it is attracted to the sugar.
Mr McCready was a brewing instructor in the US and is keen to set up a 1,200 litre brew house in the old building. They will also have a bar and, down the track, a mezzanine level when they restore upstairs.
Mrs McCready, who has a background in magazines, said she was “really excited” to be bringing a new venture to Katoomba.
“I can’t wait to have friends and locals and tourists in here enjoying themselves,” she said.