Wandering to Oz leads barman to set up brewery

WHILE many young people take time out to travel and work in Australia, for one man from South Wales, it was the beginning of a new life and business down under.

Matt O’Neill, who grew up in Sully and attended Stanwell Comprehensive in Penarth, left for Australia in 2009.

He didn’t go intending to stay but while Matt didn’t enjoy it straight away he then “weaseled my way in to a group of Irish mates”.

This led to a bar job, while he also worked as an audio-visual technician with KPMG – a job he still has along with his entrepreneurial efforrts.

Bartending is in Matt’s blood. He spent two years in Chicago working for his uncle behind the bar.

“He’s somewhat of a mentor to me,” says Matt. “A ridiculously loud, funny and gregarious bartender who could simultaneously charm and offend the pants off anyone, but always in a way that would bring the tips in. They were predominantly up-scale Irish bars with a strong focus on customer service, think ‘Cheers’ but with more Guinness and better banter.”

Matt has been working in bars since he was 14 – “luckily I had an early growth spurt, unluckily that was the only one I had” – but it was his stint in America that changed the way he saw bar work.

“Wages were low and you had to work for your tips. It made sure that you put 100% effort into making the customer have a great experience; a brilliant learning curve for bartenders. I found I wasn’t the best cocktailer but it didn’t really matter if you could make them laugh and have a good time.”

After rekindling this appetite for bar work Matt approached some mates about opening a venue, “mainly as a hobby more than anything else”.

“Persuading guys, particularly Irish ones, to open a bar is unsurprisingly easy,” says Matt. “Making them follow through...not so much.”

He went into partnership with an Irish friend Eoghan and an American Jeff. They found an old Spanish restaurant that had been successful and had to move on for expansion purposes and named it The Wanderer.

“We didn’t really do any thorough market research and dived head first into it but again it was a fantastic learning curve,” explains Matt.

The bar is now expanding and they are adding a tasting room upstairs. It was some other expats Matt started the Wanderer brewery with.

He said: “We started gypsy brewing out of a local brewery around the corner from the bar, small batches of 12 kegs to start with. That expanded to 60 keg batches for each beer we do – we’ve had to move to a different brewery in Adelaide now.”

The brewery’s first beer, and its flagsip, is the Tristan Jones Atlantic Pale Ale.

“I wanted to name it and have it inspired by a Welsh legend,” explains Matt. “My dad had mentioned this Welsh sailor Tristan Jones that he was obsessed with. He was a pretty extraordinary guy – a superb sailor, writer, whisky smuggler and world record-setter – he set the altitude record by sailing both the Dead Sea and Lake Titicaca.

“His writing was partly fictional and he could weave a yarn with the best of them, so a typical Welshman through and through!

“He was deemed perfect for the first beer. We all loved the uniqueness of British malt and thought it would combine well with American hops hence the name Atlantic Ale. It outsells any other draft beer 3 to 1.”

Matt has no plans to return to Wales although he does miss the old country, particularly during the Six Nations. And the Cardiff nightlife.

“The Cardiff nightlife scene, in particular on match days, is second to none. I mean that literally, I’m yet to experience anything better,” he says.

The Wanderer Brewery is planning on adding cans to its range soon, which will make it easier for them to export their product.