Epic $10 million transformation coming to beloved WA brewery
Iconic WA brewer Little Creatures will celebrate its 25th birthday with a $10 million transformation of its Fremantle home.
Due to welcome beer lovers in November, the new Little Creatures Fremantle will be located in the former Harbourside nightclub site at 42 Mews Road, next door to the current Great Hall and Brewhouse.
Nestled between the existing venue at 40 Mews Road, which opened in 2000, and the derelict Joe's Fish Shack, the revamped space will span two levels and offer uninterrupted panoramic views of Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour.
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The new-look Little Creatures will have capacity for more than 1000 patrons and feature The Den, a new family-friendly zone with an outdoor play area to keep the kids busy while parents enjoy drinks and watch sport.
The Brewhouse will serve as the new tasting room, offering tours, merchandise and a beer school. Lion field sales director for WA, Danny Connolly at Little Creatures in Fremantle. Credit: Supplied
Little Creatures' kitchen will also get a renovation to offer a refreshed menu and streamlined service, according to the brewer's parent company, Lion.
Lion's WA field sales director Danny Connolly said the company was excited to bring something new to the people of Fremantle as well as the many tourists that visit the venue.
'Little Creatures has been a part of the fabric of Fremantle for the past 25 years and this significant investment marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the brand,' he said.
Mr Connolly added that the refurbished brewery would inject 'new energy' into the Fremantle dining and entertainment precinct.
Fremantle mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge welcomed the new venue on the Fremantle waterfront.
'We're thrilled Little Creatures can remain at their original site,' she said.
'The new space for Little Creatures will provide locals and tourists with an inviting place to enjoy some of the best views, beers and hospitality in WA.'
The Great Hall will stay open until the end of October, before the launch of the new venue.
Indigenous-owned builder Dundee Rock will oversee design and construction.
Both 40 and 42 Mews are owned by the Department of Transport, which leases the land to Lion.
The Great Hall building at 40 Mews Road originally housed the Kookaburra yachts competing in the 1987 America's Cup and then a crocodile farm before opening as an independent brewery in late 2000.
Little Creatures was established by the original brewers of the Matilda Bay Brewing Company, marketing specialist Howard Cearns, restaurateur Nic Trimboli and master brewer Phil Sexton. Little Creatures has been a brewing institution since opening in Fremantle in November, 2025. Credit: Supplied
The partners named the venture after Talking Heads' 1985 album Little Creatures, which also refers to the live yeast cells that turn sugars into alcohol.
Little Creatures launched its first beer, a pale ale modelled on hop-driven American pale ales, in 2000.
Lion bought Little Creatures' parent company Little World Beverages in 2012 for a reported $380 million before opening a bigger production brewery in Geelong the following year.
A Little Creatures branded venue, operated by Three Pound Group, is due to open at Elizabeth Quay later this year.
In September 2021, Lion announced plans for a purpose-built $30 million venue on the site previously occupied by Joe's Fish Shack.
Those plans were scrapped in December 2022 when Lion, which is part of Japanese giant Kirin, purchased the ground lease for its existing hospitality venue and adjacent production facility.
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