Former champion independent brewpub All Hands Brewing House is being transformed into a sports bar following a collaboration between The Sporting Globe and 4 Pines.

The partnership will see 4 Pines brews being served alongside All Hands beers, which will continue to be brewed on site according to James Sinclair, CEO and founder of The Sporting Globe.

All Hands Brewing House, voted best independent brewpub in NSW in 2019, was acquired by The Sporting Globe’s owner Signature Hospitality Group in February this year, having changed hands and names numerous times since it was launched in 2004. It has also been a James Squire brewpub.

Sinclair said that one of their priorities, which the team realised quickly after taking over, was delivering more beer to customers to keep up with demand.

“We were producing as much as we possibly could at the time and it was all getting consumed on site, so it became clear that the demand for beer out of that location is greater than the brewery can produce,” he explained.

“There’s some really popular All Hands beers that are really well received by our regulars and will continue to be brewed there. We’ll also have a focus on smaller batches only available at the site under 4 Pines.”

Sinclair said that while the All Hands beers and venue were acclaimed, the brand itself isn’t as strong as 4 Pines.

“One of the challenges when we took on that venue is that while they were producing great quality beer, the All Hands brand was nowhere near as strong as we wanted and when dealing with a space like that, brand is really important.”

The Sporting Globe has venues across the country, and Sinclair explained that part of his willingness to enter into a partnership with CUB-owned 4 Pines was their successful previous collaborations.

“We were exploring what would be the right brand and fit in that particular location and we knew 4 Pines had been really successful doing collaborations in a range of venue styles so it started with informal discussion and became pretty evident that the 4 Pines culture was a really good fit.”

The growing popularity of craft beer also helped the decision along.

“Craft beer is certainly growing and more and more people are exploring and open to it, which is terrific. People are moving towards premiumisation and willing to pay more to try something that’s small-batch produced.

“When I started the business, back in the day younger people, particularly women, wouldn’t be interested in the concept of a sports bar in Australia – it used to be in a corner of a big pub with greyhounds running in the background.

“That is so far removed from what we set out to achieve with The Sporting Globe. We opened our first site and people told me I didn’t need more than four beers, but I put in 10 and everyone thought I was crazy. But in America they’ve had 20-30 beers on tap for years, now they can have as many as 160+.

“If it’s successful I think it has a lot of potential. Craft beer is definitely something that will grow and will pair really well with our business model,” Sinclair explained.

He said that if the venture is successful it would be something they may pursue on a greater scale in future.

“Our focus at the minute is delivering this one here. It’s a particularly unique and iconic location, it has a lot going for it and if it’s successful I think it has potential. Craft beer is definitely something that will grow and will pair really well with our business model.”

The Sporting Globe x 4 Pines bar at Sydney’s King Street Wharf is due to open in December.