Melbourne-based craft brewery, Deeds Brewing, will close after it failed to find an investor to bail it out of voluntary administration. Deeds entered VA on 13 March.
On Instagram, Founders Pat Alé and Dean Milstein said their hearts were broken.
“We have a very sad announcement for you all. We have made the difficult decision to wind up our business. Over the last 12 years, we’ve poured our hearts into every brew, every interaction, and every moment shared with you.”
In March, the brewery appointed Deloitte Financial Advisory as administrator, with Alé telling The Crafty Pint the decision to go into VA was largely due to an ATO debt accrued during Covid.
Deeds also had a major incident due to contaminated malt that meant a sizeable number of beers had to be pulled from sale. Alé said they had been working with their insurer to recover the loss, but it rejected the claim on 12 March.
“We’ve got a massive cash flow hole as a result of that issue that we’ve been carrying and, coupled with the ATO, it’s made it really challenging in an already difficult market,” Alé said.
It has been a particularly tough time for craft breweries, with more than 12 going into VA in the past year.
Wayward Brewing went into…