Victoria Bitters, Foster’s, XXXX: Australia is built on a massive drinking culture where sharing a beverage with mates and pouring a cold pint on a hot day is not only normal, but encouraged. Especially in Melbourne, the sports capital of the nation, the image of the drinker is one of a middle-aged man cracking a can open at the local pub, cheering loudly at the Grand Final being aired on television.
But over the past few years Melbourne as a city has developed beyond its footy foundation. As its suburbs become increasingly gentrified, vegan cafes open up on every corner, and its creative sector flourishes, Melbourne has gradually garnered a reputation for being the most hip, trendy, and slightly pretentious city in Australia.
And this has affected the drinking culture too.
Bars and other licensed venues in Melbourne are getting smaller and smaller, and rather than catering for the masses, bar-owners seem to be gravitating towards this niche market which desires an exclusive drinking experience.
In 2002, there are only 26 more venues with 200 maximum capacity than venues that can host 600+ people in the Melbourne CBD. But as the years go by, the gap between the two increases, especially between 2008 and 2011, where venues with less than 200 capacity jump up by 22 new bars, while venues with more than 600 capacity only grow by five.
Overall, the number of Melbourne’s smaller drinking spaces in 2015 has tripled compared to their prevalence in the early 2000s, a marked 232% increase. Unfortunately, large venues have barely moved at all, and have only expanded by 20 bars in the last 13 years, its numbers frozen from 2013 to 2015.
What’s interesting is that the spike in boutique bars from 2008 to 2011 also coincides with the world’s transition from the ’00s to the 2010s, a new age of social media, Gen Z, and the millennial ability to craft online reputations with a single photo.
It’s possible that aesthetic begins to matter more.
While the traditional Melburnian may just want some place to sink back a beer after work, this new generation of Melbourne, the one with the Chelsea boots and the matcha lattes, are demanding: they want a bar with industrial copper piping on the walls, swinging lanterns, cocktails in mason jars, and vertical gardens, all on a rooftop with an incredible view of the Southbank. Is it possible that the desire for Instagram-worthy locations has caused the rise of small venues that invest more money into their image than their size?
There’s also the matter of people wanting more and more exclusive opportunities. In the age of technology and cultural advancement, with everything available at a moment’s grasp, even bar-goers are jumping at the chance to feel special and exclusive again, What better way to do that than scoring a corner booth at a trendy bar, while the rest of your friends are trapped with the bouncer by the door?
In 2015, while venues with 150-200 capacity are the most prevalent, bars with 50-100 capacity (a very small capacity number) overtake those with a 100-150 person limit. It’s a strange dip in numbers, but one that proves customers are wanting tighter spaces and niche experiences.
The bars featured in this range are especially indicative of the increasing popularity of “cool” drinking places: the artsy and intimate Penny Blue, with an 85 person capacity, specialises in microbrewing and craft beer; Sister Bella, at 80 maximum customers, is tucked in a CBD laneway and described by Broadsheet as a place where “it’s not hard to imagine many a ‘next big thing’ or zeitgeisty conspiracy theory being shared”; in another Melbourne alleyway, Murmur Bar caps it off at 50, a “rustic hotspot” labelled as a “secret gem” or “hidden city secret” in most reviews.
However, larger venues won’t die out until the communal, Australian drinking nature dies out. And while boutique bars for the cool and sophisticated may be popping up in dirty laneways, abandoned warehouses, and even underground, it will never be a bad idea to stop by the local pub either.
(Data from https://data.melbourne.vic.gov.au/Economy/Bar-tavern-pub-patron-capacity/mffi-m9yn)
