THOMAS Delgatto has been brewing beer for close to 40 years.
It's been one helluva wait to realise his brewpub dream. The wait has been made even longer by a drawn-out City Of Newcastle development approval process for Delgatto's Broadmeadow venue, situated on Lambton Road in the former KTM Newcastle site.
The first DA for Thirsty Messiah was lodged in January 2021.
Delgatto has also been relying on his decades of experience as a qualified carpenter and builder, fitting out the majority of the venue himself, with help from home brewing mates.
However, finally the end is in sight.
When Weekender spoke to Delgatto this week he confirmed the brewery tanks were "on the water" from China and scheduled to arrive in Sydney on November 12.
"I think we'll be brewing this year and just catching our breath to see when we're gonna open," Delgatto says.
"We thought we were gonna open without the brewery. But we'll hold off until it's all organised and we catch our breath before we open the doors."
Independent craft breweries have been springing up all over Newcastle. Modus Operandi opened in Merewether last year and Method and Shout, both at Islington, tapped their kegs in recent months, joining FogHorn, Styx and Rogue Scholar in a rapidly growing scene.
Lambton's Grainfed and Newcastle Brewing Co at Wickham are also expected to open brewbars in 2023.
In order to stand out from the crowd awash with hoppy IPAs and hazys, Delgatto plans to focus on his love of German malt-driven beers.
"Some people don't like the super hoppy beers," he says. "I like them every now and again, but I also like to go out and have a few beers and some of them kick you in the teeth too much.
"You've got a beer that's a little bit more sessionable and easier on your system, that to me, is German beers."
Thirsty Messiah will have 40 rotating taps where Delgatto plans to have a range of his creations, including barrel-aged brews and kombucha, plus ales from other independent brewers.
"You don't get as much margin on someone else's beer, but it all keeps us incredibly honest," he says.
"If our beers are rubbish and we're serving [Lachlan] MacBean's [Grainfed] beer or Method beer or Dusty Miner and we're selling everyone else's and not our own, that's a pretty good message that we're brewing the wrong beer or the beer is not up to the standard it should be.
"That sets the hurdle pretty high for ourselves, but that's what we'll be doing."
Another way Thirsty Messiah plans to differentiate itself from other craft breweries is its immersion in the home brewing scene.
Delgatto was one of the earliest members of the Hunter United Brewers and they have began hosting their meetings at Thirsty Messiah.
When open Delgatto plans to use his venue not just for hospitality, but to also educate home brewing enthusiasts.
People will be able to brew their beers on site and have it served from one of the 40 taps.
"You'll be able to come in do a brew, have it on tap, bring your mates in and obviously I'm gonna charge you for it and keep all the profits off the beer," he says.
"We'll be doing collaborations with the beer club and we'll have a brewing library here. So you can come in, have a couple of sherbets, read through the books, we'll have a TV screen with YouTube clips.
"I'm happy to talk beer with anybody. We'll see how it pans out, but that's the link with the home brew club.
"A lot of those guys will be happy to give people some time to show them how to brew a decent beer."
The location is another major part of Delgatto's plans for Thirsty Messiah.
The venue is 600 metres from McDonald Jones Stadium and is expected to attract thirsty Knights and Jets fans before and after games.
"We'll have a two-speed venue really," Delgatto says.
"When the footy's on it'll be bang them in and out - two beers and a schnitzel, get to the footy and come have a couple after if you want - and then when there's no sport or a game on it'll just be local punters.
"A lot of local punters are very interested. The amount of people who stick their head in and say, 'I live just around the corner, can't wait until you open.'
"I've never seen so many dog walkers. Everyone walks their dogs past us to see if we're open or not."
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