Modus Operandi finally arrives in Merewether through well crafted beer dreams

Co-founder Grant Wearin has always held an affinity for the city due to his Novocastrian maternal grandparents, and he strongly considered Newcastle when he and his wife Jaz were looking to kick-start their brewery.

"The original one was gonna be in Newcastle, but we couldn't get our heads around some of the DA stuff," Grant says.

Instead, the couple opened in Mona Vale on Sydney's Northern Beaches. The rest is history. Modus Operandi has since become one of Australia's most celebrated craft breweries.

However, the dream of bringing Modus Operandi to Newcastle never faded. Less than two weeks ago it finally became a reality when Modus Operandi's new Merewether brewery opened for takeaways.

The site opposite the Lingard Hospital in Merewether Street, which formerly housed Bowers Smash Repairs, has been completely transformed into a 300-person brewpub, capable of producing 10 million litres of beer per year.

It's a stone's throw away from where Grant's grandparents once ran a corner store in Patrick and Robey Streets.

The venue is tipped to open to patrons on October 11 when COVID lockdown restrictions are expected to be eased by the NSW Government for fully-vaccinated people.

"When we found out we were gonna be in lockdown we thought there's no way we can wait until we're out of lockdown, we've got to open up and let everyone come and see it," Jaz says.

"I think it's actually worked well in lockdown because we have 36 taps of beer, people can come and have a growler and they can have fresh beer at home.

"That's a thing people have been really missing, pouring a growler into a glass like a pub experience.

"It was amazing to see people in last week, we had tears in our eyes. It's been such a mammoth effort and this is what we did it for."

There's a degree of wow factor with Modus Operandi. The design is coastal meets industrial with drinkers and diners seating right next to the 115,000-litre tanks.

The most ardent beer snob will be satisfied with 36 taps pouring Modus Operandi beers, which include IPAs, hazy IPAs, a Vienna lager, porters, stouts, non-alcoholic styles and more. There's also an extensive cocktail and wine list.

A children's playground is under construction and there's an upstairs function room for corporate events.

Even the obligatory trip to the toilets at Modus Operandi has a degree of wow factor. The bathroom tiles are made of recycled shampoo bottles.

It's part of Modus Operandi's commitment to sustainability. Grant says the brewpub uses 50 per cent solar power and 100 per cent green energy.

"You often walk into breweries and it's garage style," Jaz says. "You roll up the roller door and have some crates to sit on and that really appeals to people. We always tried to innovate.

"It was the same with this venue, we were like, 'no, we're not going to go and build another brewery in a shed, we wanna offer something that people go, 'wow I haven't seen this before.'

"The feedback last week was people [takeaway customers] didn't imagine this is what a brewery could be."

The Modus Operandi story began in 2012 when Grant and Jaz decided to quit their corporate jobs and travel around the US for six months in a motorhome.

Jaz grew up on a 11,000-acre sheep and wheat farm near Griffith and was an early beer lover. Similarly, Grant was a self-confessed bad home brewer, but the American holiday opened their eyes.

The couple estimate they visited 200 breweries in the US, sometimes two a day.

"The US is at the forefront of craft beer," Jaz says. "We learnt so much about freshness and hops and how the most important thing in brewing is cleaning."

After returning home they sold their apartment and in July 2014 Modus Operandi opened in Mona Vale with $7 in the bank.

"We were 'shit, this better work' because it was a huge risk," Jaz says.

Grant still fondly remembers that opening winter's day.

"The first guy who bought a beer off us, he had a $50 note and I owed him $22 change," he says. "I hit the till, my first ever sale, and the till drawer opened and I hadn't seen that before and it didn't have any money in it.

"I was like, 'man do you wanna buy another $22 worth of stuff or an IOU or wait here while I go over to Coles to get some change?'

"He was like, 'sure, I'll get another growler'. That's where we came from."

Within three months they were crowned Champion Small Brewery at The Indies (formerly the Craft Beer Awards). Since then Modus Operandi has grown exponentially in popularity through a constant stream of awards and innovations, including their NORT non-alcoholic range.

So much so they've struggled to meet demand. The Merewether facility is expected to slate that thirst.

"The immediate focus is to meet the demand we've never met," Grant says.

"Our focus is on continuing those quality-driven awards we've won. We've been crowned champion brewery four out of six years. We're pretty proud about that. This facility will continue that."

Modus Operandi is open for takeaways Friday from 3pm and Saturday and Sunday from 11am.

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