For those in the know, Unanderra (just south of Wollongong) has long been the home of Bulli Brewing. Michael Peloquin set up the brewery in 2017 and has been pumping out a range of tasty craft beers for the locals and thirsty travelers passing through ever since. Mick who describes himself as a “part mad scientist”, a bald version of Doc from Back To The Future, had a mid-life crisis with a bit of spare time on his hands and set up the brewery.
Somewhere in a parallel universe (Bondi) in 2018 Jeff Argent from Grassy Knoll was brewing his first contract brew at Frenchies Bistro and Brewery in Sydney. After a move to Wollongong in late 2019, Jeff saw the need to brew somewhere locally in Wollongong. As luck would have it, Jeff was introduced to Mick at Bulli Brewing. Both had studied commercial brewing at TAFE and they struck up a working relationship over a couple of gypsy brews. After a short time, Jeff was brewing 100% of Grassy Knoll out of the Unanderra brewery, and they have been co-existing in the same venue ever since.
As often happens, priorities start to change in life, while Jeff was eager to grow his business, Mick was wanting to step back a bit and spend time traveling and visiting family overseas. So after a few discussions (and no doubt a dozen beers) the two brewers came to an agreement, with Jeff taking over production and running the venue. Mick retains ownership of the building and the Bulli Brewing brand, but now Mick will become the gypsy brewer in the venue.
But the changes don’t stop there, because whilst Jeff had been brewing under his original brand name Grassy Knoll, this was actually linked to his roots back in Bondi. The Grassy Knoll is a hill overlooking Bondi Beach where musicians (like Jeff – yeah he is in a band too) meet to do impromptu jam sessions and while that suited the story of the brand in Sydney, it doesn’t really fit with the new location in Unanderra.
So alongside the brewery changes there will also be a rebranding of the brewery under the name of SEEKER Brewing! Jeff said “This came after much deliberation as we felt that a rebranding was in order to better align with the local scene and our core values. Grassy knoll will still be brewing it’s core range out of the same brewery but there will be a focus on the new brand Seeker. “
The venue is now undergoing some major renovations and has reopened but they are still working on brewing the new range of beers. At this stage the plan is to launch the new range of Seeker beers in late March and by then they will have 12 taps pouring including some popular ones from Grassy Knoll. Other changes will include the addition of wood fired pizza truck, initially on Fridays and Saturdays, and then extending that to Thursday to Sunday.
So what will the next chapter bring? Well you will have to stay tuned for more details or head over to Seeker Brewing on the socials to stay in touch with updates.
We can’t wait to visit the “new” venue in March and taste all the new beers and we wish Mick all the best with his new endeavours.
