Overview
If cost of living pressures have hit you hard, there's little chance you'll be spending your spare change at your local. But instead of relying on a friend's goodwill to get you a drink during these trying times — sadly, it's happening less and less — trust the best mates behind Shout the Bar to serve up a night that goes easy on your wallet. To date, the beer-loving pair have put $1000 on the bar at the Ascot Vale Hotel and the London Tavern Hotel, with all-comers welcome to saunter up and get themselves a free pint.
Sounds too good to be true? Not so. Behind Shout the Bar are Tim O'Sullivan and Liam Gostencnik, who dreamt up the idea years ago but finally pulled the trigger when rising fuel prices added to our ongoing cost-of-living concerns. And with Tim and Liam having worked in hospitality for years, they also wanted to find a way to lend a helping hand to local pubs and breweries doing it tough amid the economic uncertainty.
"I've got a cafe, I've had a restaurant, Liam has managed pubs before, so hospitality means a lot to us. Getting more eyeballs on the venues, giving out some free drinks to local patrons, it's great for everyone," says O'Sullivan. "The venues are happy, the patrons are happy, and we usually team up with a beverage partner as well, so we love the win-win-win scenario, which is what made the whole thing finally come together."
At the same time, Tim and Liam are founders of Bae Juice, a budding hangover prevention brand, so connecting with drinkers in their natural habitat — the pub — makes perfect sense. While the viral marketing potential played into their thoughts, the response at their very first event made them realise that pouring free pints is more than "just a bit of hoo-hah". In fact, the Ascot Vale's old-timers were quick to show their gratitude.
"A couple of elderly gentlemen came up to us once we'd finished and shook our hands, saying: 'Thanks so much, we really appreciate the drink.' Liam and I walked away from that, like 'fuck, this could be something more than we thought.' It was a Thursday night, it was raining, the meat raffle was on. While it is just a free pint, it really meant a lot to people, so it's given us a little extra drive to support not just hospitality, but the patrons as well," says Tim.
The formula behind Shout the Bar is simple. During the night, Tim and Liam play 'Tequila' — you know the one — three times over the speakers, signalling the taps are free and open for business. Next happening at Seddon's Mona Castle Hotel on Thursday, May 28, the duo has partnered with Hop Nation, who've happily supplied the boys with a couple of kegs. Plus, you might score a free Bae Juice sample so you feel fresher at work the following day.
"We're on cloud nine about the whole thing. At the moment, we're doing it on the last Thursday of every month, but we want to step it up to at least every fortnight because there are a lot of pubs in Australia!" laughs Liam. "There's not one person in Seddon who doesn't go to the Mona Castle on a regular basis, so in terms of local impact, I haven't seen another venue like it."
Shout the Bar is only three events deep, but Tim and Liam aren't keeping a lid on aspirations. Not only are they eyeing up the outer 'burbs — The Grand Hotel Warrandyte is another pub they love — they're also searching for an excuse to shout drinks at a regional watering hole, or even one that requires heading to the airport. Says Liam: "If we had it our way, we'd be going international with it! We're keen to travel anywhere to serve people some beers."
Shout the Bar is next happening at the Mona Castle Hotel in Seddon on Thursday, May 28. Head to Instagram for more information.
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Images: Supplied.