Case Studies
Issue No. 39 - February/March 2008
Barossa brew has sting in the tale
by Pamela Brombal
Boutique outfit Barossa Valley Brewing is making a big ‘sting’ in a tough market.
Leaving his high-flying investment banking career with Merrill Lynch behind to pursue his passion for quality beer, Denham D’Silva started BVB in 2004.
“I had been overseas and tried a lot of full-flavoured beers but it was not a passion I could indulge in when I came back to Australia,” Denham explains.
The company’s first product – Bee Sting beer – hit the market in 2006 after years of research and development. A fortunate premise and distribution partnership with winery icon, McGuigan Simeon Wines helped significantly.
“It makes sense for wineries and breweries to co-exist, as you can leverage your distribution and additional products without increasing cost,” says Denham.
The two companies have since amicably parted company but Denham says the McGuigan partnership “gave us excellent entry into the market”. BVG has been going at it alone in their Barossa premises since late 2006.
“The Barossa was exactly where I wanted to be, as I always wanted to elevate beer to the same status as wine,” he says.
“It is equally palatable and can have all the depth and complexity of the finest wines.”
Bee Sting is stocked in more than 600 retail outlets Australia-wide, making the company only the second micro brewery to achieve national distribution.
Brewing production has also increased to about 20,000 cases a year.
Tapping success hasn’t been easy in a capital intensive industry where cashed-up major breweries like Fosters, Coopers and Lion Nathan dominate.
“The SA market is particularly difficult. In the rest of the country the market is dominated by Fosters and Lion Nathan, but you have small segments of the market where you can develop a regional craft brewery,” says Denham.
“But in SA, Coopers has effectively entered that space – you have domination at a high l...
