Beer Adelaide

West End Brewery

T he West End brewery was constructed in 1859 by William Henry Clark. Mr. Clark had started several breweries in the past that had failed. Mr Clark was declared insolvent on February 3rd 1860 and left Adelaide for Melbourne. A previous business partner William Knox Simms purchased the brewery. The brewery was made the most technically advanced in South Australia using a 5 horse power steam engine and steam was used to boil the liqour instead of the use of open coal burners.

In 1866 Edger Chapman became Simms business partner, and the company name changed again to ‘Simms & Chapman’. Ales were the breweries specialty producing a XX Ale, XXX Ale, and a Pale Ale and a porter was brewed during the winter months. The Pale Ale was mostly bottled whilst the XX and XXX ales were only available on draught. From 1862 Simms was using some of the buildings at the old Hindmarsh brewery as a malt house, and in 1871 to 1873 the Anchor brewery on Morphett street was used as a bottling plant.

In 1875 Mr. E. Chapman left Adelaide to start a brewery in Waverley NSW and named the new brewery ‘Simms, Chapman & Gleeson’s Adelaide Brewery’. It had Charles Mallen as head brewer, but after a year Mallen left to start a brewery on West Terrace, Adelaide, called the ‘Waverly Brewery’. Simms purchased the Waverley Brewery on west terrace in 1876. An agreement was made with the owner Charles Mallen, not to open another brewery within 50 Miles of Adelaide for at least 10 years, was however shortened to 2 years.

Mr William Simms son Alfred and Mr. W. B. Rounswell purchased the brewery in 1888. Later that year Simms & Rounswell formed a partnership with Robert A Stock, the owner of the Kent Town Brewery. The new business was called the ‘South Australian Brewing, Malting & Wine & Spirit Company Ltd’. The brewery on Hindley street was used for the new company up until 1980 when the main buildings were demolished. Today the main office building still stands and is used as a TAFE.