Pirate Life

After almost a year of delays, the first phase of Pirate Life Brewing’s ambitious inner-city brewpub arrived in October 2021. And it was entirely worth the wait.

The Adelaide brewery giant partnered with local hospitality group Sneaker and Jeans for its West Coast expansion, resulting in a unique look and feel compared to that of its Perth brewpub peers.

There’s artwork galore, from subtle accents care of street art collective Blank Walls, to a colourful peacock triptych painted by Mike Maka: a nod to the sprawling mural he painted at Pirate Life’s Adelaide headquarters. Neon signs are dotted throughout. The women’s bathrooms feature a brightly lit make-up station, complete with stools.

But the show-stopping centrepiece is the brewery itself. There are three raised tanks with walkways that allows guests to observe – and talk to – head brewer Jackson Purser as he goes about his work. Then there are the private dining rooms – one in the basement with views of the brew tanks and another on the mezzanine floor overlooking the bar.

To drink, the venue’s 16 beer taps include a selection of core Pirate Life beers alongside limited-edition beers brewed in Adelaide as well as on-site. Guests can also hook into well-made cocktails and a 120-bottle wine list.

There are two different food offerings, overseen by chef Charlie Vargas (formerly of The Flour Factory). The first is an all-day bar menu that includes sandwiches (lobster, chicken club, cheese kranksy) and upmarket pub fare.

The second is a steakhouse-style menu at Toma, the brewery’s polished 50-seat dining room. A wood-burning, parilla-style grill is fuelled with banksia and jarrah timber and used to cook veg and proteins including various cuts of Australian beef. Beef tartare, grilled lobster tails and wood-roasted veg round off the concise menu.