We Didn't Start Out As A Brewery: 10 Years At South Beach
Ten years is a long time to keep a business running in Singapore’s food and beverage scene — long enough to survive a pandemic, a few industry shifts, and, in our case, a complete reinvention. This month, our South Beach outlet quietly marks a decade in operation. Here’s the story of how it got here, because it isn’t the one you’d expect.
Where It Began: Changi Village, 2015
Little Island Brewing Co. started life in 2015 at Changi Village — home to our craft brewery in Singapore, and where all our beers are still brewed today. It’s the original home of the brand, and the place most people picture when they think of Little Island.
The Experiment: Alchemist Beer Lab, September 2016
A year later, we opened a very different second concept at South Beach: Alchemist Beer Lab, Asia’s first infusion beer lab. The idea centred on a set of infusion towers built by a young inventor fresh out of school — more ambition than track record, though we didn’t know that at the time. We just saw a wonderful idea, and decided to take a chance on him.
For a little over two years, it worked — genuinely unlike anything Singapore had seen at the time. Infusion beer was a novelty, South Beach became a talking point, and Alchemist Beer Lab built its own small following.
(Opening night at Alchemist Beer Lab, circa 2016–2018 — guests were informed their photos could be used for publicity.)
When It Broke
Then, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning, the infusion towers broke down — and the inventor was unable to come fix them. It left us with a working outlet and a system that no longer worked.
The Rebrand
By then, Changi Village had built real traction, and the Little Island Brewing Co. name and branding were becoming known across Singapore. So we made a call: we let Alchemist Beer Lab go, and folded South Beach fully into the Little Island Brewing Co. name and branding. It wasn’t a hard decision so much as an obvious one — we already had a brand people recognised and trusted. It made more sense to build on that than to keep repairing a one-off experiment.
Ten Years On
What came after wasn’t easy either — a pandemic, and no shortage of other challenges since. But ten years on, we’re still here: one of the first tenants at South Beach, and the only one from that original lineup still in operation. We don’t take that lightly. If we’re honest, we think it’s only by the grace of God, and we’re humbled by it.
Today, South Beach has settled into a role that suits it well: a private event space in Singapore with a skyline backdrop, built for client dinners, year-end parties and product launches — and just as much a fixture for the weekday after-work crowd stopping by for a pint. This month, we’ve refreshed the lunch and dinner menu, and we’re running a 10th-anniversary promotion — 2 pints for $20, Monday to Saturday (excluding event days) — through September.
(South Beach today — a world away from where it started.)
It’s also been a good month in general: our Changi Village outlet was recently named a Gold Winner for Best Dog-Friendly Hangouts in HoneyKids Asia’s Best in SG Awards 2026, voted for by readers across Singapore. Small footnote to this story, but one we’re genuinely proud of.
Planning A Corporate Event?
Little Island Brewing Co. hosts corporate events across all three outlets, each with its own strength: Changi Village for scale and versatility (up to 450 pax), Gillman Barracks for an intimate, fully air-conditioned setting, and South Beach — where this story is set — for a polished, skyline-backed space with a decade of experience hosting client events.
