Making Mountain Culture Beer Co.

During one of my evening walks I happened to pass the old Civic Video building in Katoomba and saw the lights on inside. It had closed a few months prior and I knew it had been cleared out completely, so out of curiosity I stuck my head in to see what was happening. The first thing I saw was a fridge in the corner with a tube sticking out of it, running down to a keg of beer on the floor.

“Hi, what’s happening here? I was just passing and saw the lights on.”

“We’re building a brewery.”

“…Ha…wait, a what?”

“Yeah, a brewery!” said the man in an American accent who introduced himself as DJ. He and his partner Hariett both nodded at my surprised expression which quickly turned to a selfish grin.

At this stage their development application hadn’t been approved by council. Spread out on the picnic table in front of us was a pile of laptops, phones and paperwork which indicated to me they weren’t pulling my leg. Straight away I introduced myself as as local photographer and asked if I could document the build. To my delight, they agreed.

What you see on these pages covers much of this dramatic redevelopment, but what it doesn’t show is the perseverance of two people who were determined to overcome a myriad of obstacles to repurpose this old building and get their business off the ground.

Their attention to detail - along with the craft beer they now sell - has been just as extraordinary.