Over a hundred years in the making, the Breheny Brothers, Australia’s most influential brewing family are reinvigorating the brews that cemented their place in brewing history – and they’ve bringing back a 100-year-old WA Pale Ale to prove it.
With a legacy of brewers dating back to the 1850s, the Breheny name is one of the most influential in Australian brewing history, but until recently, it may have stayed that way.
In 2020, cousins James and Justin Breheny cooked up the idea of bringing Breheny Brothers Brewing back after discovering the original recipe notebooks that had been used by their ancestors to brew beer, dating back to the early1900s
“Having our ancestor’s notebooks show up on our doorstep was a really pivotal moment for us and ultimately the catalyst for us beginning the journey of re-establishing the Breheny family within the brewing industry,” says Justin.
Fast forward to today, and the Breheny Brothers have doubled down on their brewing heritage, re-introducing the historic beers in our modern drinking culture, and giving new life to the family legacy.
Having worked in marketing for Carlton & United Breweries for 25 years, James thought he had a good understanding of the families brewing history - his uncle was the managing director of CUB and his grandfather had been the head brewer at Melbourne Co-Operative Brewing Company.
However, after recruiting beer history and beverage communicating expert, Michael (Banners) Bannenberg, James soon realised he had only really just scratched the surface of the Breheny family story.
“When we first brought Banners in to research the family history, he said he would put a small document together, outlining the beer brands and the story behind the breweries. We ended up receiving a 40-page document!”
The family was surprised to learn that from 1854 Breheny brewers had owned and operated breweries nationwide. Additionally, they were able to trace over 20 accounts of the Breheny name being involved with breweries across Australia, with their Redcastle stout being the product of a family recipe originally brewed in 1940 at Redcastle Brewery in Perth by Thomas Carroll Breheny.
“I’ve worked in the industry all my life,” says James. “But it surprised us all to learn how much influence the family had around Australia.”
Along with the discovery of the breweries and brands, Banners was also able to uncover century old photographs, advertisements and iconic beer labels that have now been re-used for the Breheny Brothers product range.
Since then, Breheny Bros has been growing at a fast rate with an impressive collection of state-specific brews under their belt, distributing products to their region-specific areas. Easy to drink and historically authentic, the range focuses on lager, draught, bitter and stout.
The line-up is always growing, with the Castlemaine Penguin Pale Ale being added to the range of WA-specific brews. The Pale Ale will be joining the existing line-up of historical WA beers such as theirAvon Brewing Lager, Redcastle Brewery Bitter and Redcastle Extra Stout.
“A hundred years ago, there were Breheny’s in breweries all across WA, and wherever they went they took the same recipe books we are using today,” says James.
The Castlemaine Penguin Pale Ale was originally brewed at Castlemaine Brewery in Fremantle by Morris Breheny and will be packaged with the distinctive and original label used at the time.
Golden in colour with a smooth, full-bodied finish – the WA Pale Ale bridges the gap between the stouts and lagers within the range. Taking inspiration from the more traditional recipes from the Breheny Brothers repertoire, the Ale leans on its heavy dose of caramel malt for a full-bodied, yet easy drinking finish.
Castlemaine Penguin Pale Ale has now officially launched in Perth pouring on tap at the Tradewinds Hotel which was formerly known as Plympton hotel and was owned by the Breheny family.
Castlemaine Penguin Pale Ale will also be available at leading independent bottle shops and liquor stores in Perth
