Media Release

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Local Newcastle Craft Brewery investing to grow the business to the next level

After building a very successful Brewhouse in the heart of Newcastle, Head Brewer and Foghorn Co-Founder, Shawn Sherlock has agreed to co-invest with craft business accelerator, Founders First, to propel the business into the next stage of growth.

Foghorn Brewhouse was founded in 2014 with Shawn Sherlock partnering with prominent local businessman James Garvey to launch what is now Newcastle’s leading Craft Brewery. The local brand has been voted in the top 5 brewpubs in Australia every year since it opened and is Australia’s highest ranked regional brewpub.

Shawn has been delighted with the success the business has experienced since opening, however, Shawn sees much potential for further growth.

“Along with my original co-founder James and the entire team at Foghorn, we have built a successful Brewhouse focused on serving both locals and visitors to the Newcastle region, and have been overwhelmed by the level of support we have received. We are forever being asked by our patrons where they can buy and drink our beers outside of the venue – so with our new partnership we will certainly seek to make our beers more widely available, initially throughout the Newcastle region, to continue to grow the Foghorn brand”

Shawn is well placed to take the business to the next level having won various high profile awards within the brewing industry, notably being named Australian Brewer of the Year in 2012 whilst he was Head Brewer at Murrays Craft Brewing Co.

Since starting FogHorn Brewhouse, Shawn’s beers have consistently won trophies and medals at leading National and International brewing competitions, cementing his reputation as one of Australia’s most talented brewers.

Founders First is a craft accelerator that is firmly grounded in the philosophy of backing founders to realise their dreams whilst enabling them to remain proudly independent. They actively work with founders by striving to solve two of the biggest challenges they have – access to capital, and support to grow sales, distribution, and marketing of their brands.

Founders First Chief Executive Mark Haysman is looking forward to supporting Foghorns next stage of growth.

“We are ecstatic to have the opportunity to help support and back such a talented local brewer like Shawn. We will be focused on supporting Shawn and the team realise their dream to further reinforce Newcastle’s position as a craft and hospitality epi-centre whilst creating more local jobs in the process”.

Shawn responds: “As a proud Newcastle local, I’m so excited to be taking a homegrown brand to the next stage of growth and sharing our great local Foghorn beers within the broader Newcastle and Hunter region. With the support of the Founders First team, we will continue to grow a beer business Newcastle can be proud of!”.