Australian independent craft brewer, Bridge Road Brewers, opened the doors to a pop-up bar in Melbourne on 22 April, which is fitted out entirely from cardboard, most of it recycled.
‘Bridge Road Brewers – A Bar Made of Cardboard’ aims to redefine the pop-up, by creating a zero-impact venue constructed from materials that are either recycled, or can be 100 per cent reused, recycled or composted.
This ambitious project in inner-city Brunswick East has been built in collaboration with creative cardboard designer Boxwars, and industrial packaging specialist Kebet Packaging.
From light fittings, shelving and signage, to every table and chair, the whole fit-out has been made with recycled cardboard "expertly engineered" to withstand the hustle and bustle of a craft brew bar.
Aside from the beer taps, fridges and the dishwasher, the bar’s interior is made from 100 per cent cardboard, which itself is made up of a minimum of 75 per cent recycled content.
Ben Kraus, founder of Bridge Road Brewers, said that the new bar is an opportunity to push the boundaries of innovative pop-up spaces, while also connecting with local community.
“We’re opening our first metro brew pub in Brunswick East later this year, and we can’t wait to be a part of the community, so we decided to give locals a taste of what’s to come with a pop-up,” said Kraus.
“However, not just any old pop-up, but one that celebrates the idea of its temporary nature, while being mindful of our environmental impact.
“A Bar Made of Cardboard will only operate for six months before we open our permanent Melbourne home around the corner, so the space allows us to have a bit of fun and share what we do in Beechworth, all while doing the right thing from a sustainability perspective.”
Ross Koger of Melbourne-based Boxwars designed the bar fit-out with a balance of structural, essential, and quirky features, that nod to the craft beer industry.
“Boxwars is known for cardboard creations of epic proportions, so when Bridge Road Brewers contacted us to build a bar made of cardboard, we jumped at the opportunity – for us, nothing spurs creative ideas like cardboard and good beer,” Koger explained.
“To produce the pop-up, we teamed with local cardboard manufacturer Kebet Packaging, and created a new partnership called The Cardboard Mill, which helps us to achieve an even higher degree of recycling.”
According to Ian Douglas, general manager of Kebet Packaging, cardboard is an underutilised sustainable material for construction.
“Cardboard is usually overlooked for longer-term structural solutions, however, if it’s engineered in the right way, it’s a robust building material,” commented Douglas.
“Plus, importantly from an environmental viewpoint, Kebet Packaging will take lifecycle custodianship of all materials used in making the bar, whether they are reused or recycled. We could even compost the fit-out entirely when the pop-up is finished."
The temporary inner-city offshoot for Bridge Road Brewers can host 60 people inside and outside.
Open Wednesday to Sunday, the drinks menu features Bridge Road Brewers’ full lineup of core and seasonal beers, rotating across six bar taps. A wine list has been curated to showcase predominantly small wine producers from Bridge Road’s neighbours throughout Victoria’s High Country. Small-batch spirits and aperitifs will also be on offer, including Barking Owl Gin and Beechworth Bitters Amaro from Provenance’s Michael Ryan.
Alongside a small snack menu featuring Chappy’s Chips and Mount Zero Olives, food trucks will park up on Friday and Saturday nights. An onsite bottle shop will offer takeaway Bridge Road Brewers beer, along with a selection of Victorian wine and spirits.
The pop-up bar is a special prelude to Bridge Road Brewers’ second brewery and bar due to open on the same site in East Brunswick Village in December. The new 350-capacity venue is being built in partnership with developer Banco, and will be home to a 1000-litre brewkit.
To make way for this new, permanent venue, in six months’ time, A Bar Made of Cardboard will be dismantled, with the materials either recycled or repurposed by Kebet Packaging. The beer taps, fridges, dishwasher and all other hardware will be transferred into the new brewery and bar.
