Wig and Pen on the block

Beer, People

It’s been a Canberra institution since 1993, but the for-sale ad read simply, “Serious expressions of interest are sought for the purchase of the Wig and Pen Tavern and Brewery, Canberra. Retirement looms”.

Owner Lachie McOmish recalls starting the Wig with a barely-used second hand brewery from Sydney – offering five real ales on tap. “It was cutting edge stuff”, he says, offering beers that may have seemed peculiar at first taste.

But over time the sheer quality brewed by Richard Pass, then Richard Watkins for the last fifteen years, introduced clientele to an extraordinary range of unique styles – the latest being the sensational barrel-aged Belgian ales covered in last week’s column.

McOmish sees the Wig as unique – a place that connects people because they can just sit and talk without the intrusion of pokies, television, pool or bright lights.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan

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