Malt Shed in the Victorian High Country is closing its doors for good this weekend.

The brewery’s owners Mathew Sanders, Grant Jones and Andrew Bett put the brewpub up for sale last year, but they announced in a Facebook post this morning that Malt Shed would be closing for good.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of the Malt Shed,” the team said in the post.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to be able to share our love and passion of all things Malt with you.

“We would like to thank our wonderful staff, suppliers and the endless number of people, friends and family who supported and helped make it all happen.

“To our community and home town of Wangaratta, we thank you for the support and love you have shown us.”

An outpouring of support followed the announcement of the Wangaratta venue with more than 120 Facebook comments following in the hours after the announcement.

“So sad to see you guys go. It was good for the town and we loved going there for a few quiet ones. Good luck for the future and we all hope to see you back one day,” one Facebook commenter said.

The Beer is a Conversation podcast recently caught up with Grant Jones to discuss the brewery, and its proposed sale. Listen below.

Discussing the sale of the brewery last year, the team said the project had become too large, but not large enough for them to move over into brewing full time.

The team all have full time jobs as a vet surgery owner, a geoscientist and a commercial kitchen equipment supplier respectively, as well as young families, making the demands of running a brewery overwhelming.

The brewery brand was established in 2014 before the team opened a venue in July 2017.

Malt Shed is a member of the High Country Brewery Trail, and at the last AIBAs received four medals for its beers, and another three at the 2019 Indies Awards, including a gold.

The brewery is an area which has been impacted heavily by bushfires in recent months, and nowthat the effects of the COVID-19 is affecting the viability of hospitality businesses across the world, industry experts have suggested we may see more closures.

Malt Shed’s last opening day will be this Sunday, 22nd March.

Expressions of interest for the brewery can be sent to kegs@maltshed.com.au.