Ostra Distillers purchase West End brewhouse

Ostra Distillers has purchased West End's brewhouse from Lion Nathan in Adelaide with owner, Dawid Ostrowski announcing plans to produce at least 10 million litres of pure alcohol a year.

The 41 year old's acquisition of the brewhouse for market price is the next step in his and his wife’s 18 year old vision: to create Australian whisky and sell it to the world.

After studying a Masters in Brewing & Distilling at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Mr Ostrowski returned to Melbourne where he says there was no craft brewing scene but with a crystal clear vision of his own: that Australian whisky will be the next big export to the world.

"The one thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is this vision," he says. "I predict that Australia will not be able to make enough whisky. There will be an insatiable desire and curiosity about it globally. Australia is a highly respected brand globally, from a beverage perspective.”

He believes that Australian whisky will grow by six to nine per cent compounded year on year. 

Mr Ostrowski acquired the McWilliams Sherry distillery in Robinvale 15 years ago, "lassoed two tanks together, bought two silos from up the road and an auger on ebay" and has been producing contract alcoholic spirits there ever since.

In that time the business has grown organically which has allowed him “to pay the mortgage and to operate without investors”.

"We are 100 per cent independent," says Mr Ostrowski, "which means we can stay true to our vision and the brand that we want to create."

There brand is yet to be revealed and there is no fixed release date yet, but the acquisition of West End's machinery is the next step in a grand plan.

"We were in the right place at the right time and Lion really liked us," he says.

Mr Ostrowski had been hunting around for a larger production facility for three years. At one stage he had considered a site in Europe but found himself landlocked once the pandemic hit.

He says the West End acquisition is a game changer for Australian whisky as the facility “at its maximum capacity, the brewing kit can produce 120 million litres per annum and includes a 500hL Steinecker Brewhouse”.

Mr Ostrowski will continue to run contract manufacturing utilising the West End brewery in Robinvale to drive more capital. Of the 3m litres of pure alcohol he intends to produce in this first year of production at Robinvale with West End brewery, he hopes to lay down 20K barrels of whisky.

In the second year of running West End equipment, Mr Ostrowski hopes to have the brewhouse producing 10m litres of whisky a year.

By this stage, the upgrade to the old McWilliams' site will be able to commence. UK based Briggs of Burton are currently developing a masterplan and are halfway through the engineering plan.

With an FTA looking likely to be signed between Australia and India, the country that according to IWSR consumes more whisky than any other in the world, it sounds like Mr Ostrowski's vision could be right on the money.