Richard Watkins and Tracy Margrain first met at the Wig and Pen close to 30 years ago. Watkins was working as an assistant brewer, Margrain was the chef. They soon bonded over their love of beer and cycling.
Around 2013, there was some doubt about the future of the iconic city pub and one night, over a beer, the couple decided to go out on their own. They'd done some travelling and had seen the success of small brewpubs in the United States. At that time, there were only a handful of similar operations in Australia.
"We looked at each other and thought we could do something better and so we gave it a crack," says Watkins.
Margrain remembers how they came up with the name.
"I said to Rich, you like making bent beers, we like cycling, why not BentSpoke?" she says.
On June 6, 2014, they opened the doors to the Braddon Brewpub, not quite knowing what to expect.
"It was the Friday of the long weekend, it was freezing cold, we hadn't told anyone, and there was this queue down the street," says Margrain.
"But we took it as a sign of hope that perhaps this is what Canberra wanted, even if there was this 'oh shit' moment where we looked at each other and wondered if we were ready."
BentSpoke was indeed what Canberra wanted, perhaps even what the Australian brewing scene wanted, a team of dedicated and passionate brewers who've always been willing to push the boundaries, but always had the customer at the core of everything they do.
They've gone on to win countless international awards, have reached the podium of the fan voting GABS Top 100 for several years, mentored young brewers, collaborated on beers, supported other local businesses and community events.
But they're still always thinking about what people like to drink.
"The industry has changed dramatically over the past 10 years," says Watkins.
"Consumers all got the taste for flavour and wanted something different and if they didn't want that, they wanted to drink something where they knew the story behind it, who brewed it, where it was from.
"We've always been conscious of that."
When they first opened, there were only five beers on tap: Barley Griffin, Crankshaft, Dick Tracy, Mort's Gold and Braddon Bitter. All five are still on tap today.
Over the years Watkins reckons they've made more than 400 different beers. One of the most unusual was the Mercurio's Horny Goat, a strong ale which was a collaboration with celebrity Paul Mercurio which allegedly had aphrodisiacal qualities.
While they had plans to can beer in Braddon, they soon realised they'd need a bigger site and the Mitchell cannery opened in 2016. Now more than 45,000 litres are poured every week, into 84,000 cans and 270 kegs.
When they first moved to Braddon, they were still surrounded by car yards, Debacle and the Civic Pub were just around the corner, so too Italian and Sons.
"We had a good feeling about Braddon and we wanted somewhere where customers could come to feel at home," says Watkins.
They've built a loyal following - regulars are lovingly called "Bentsoaks" - and built a real sense of community.
"That's one of the things I love about this place," says Margrain. "That over the 10 years we've made long-lasting connections with customers and staff, people will come in for a beer if they're in town. It's like family."
- On June 6 from 5pm, BentSpoke will kick off the long weekend with a birthday celebration on Elouera Street, Braddon. There'll be beer, of course, food via the Big Box Barbecue food truck and live music into the night from a variety of local bands, singer-songwriters and a DJ.
