So, Why Pinchgut?

Well…it depends on which syllabus your high school history teacher followed, but Pinchgut refers to the iconic island landmark in Sydney Harbour, known as Fort Denison.

Technically, it is an old nautical reference for the point where a channel narrows.
When the First Fleet arrived in 1788, Pinchgut was a steep, rocky island popular amongst local tribes of Aboriginal people as a good fishing place. Admiral John Hunter, who later became the Governor of NSW, named the island “Pinchgut” due to its location at the narrowest point in the harbour.

In an 18th century form of irony, it soon became the place to send convicts who had committed secondary crimes. They would be confined in leg irons on the island, with rations of bread and water, released a week later showing signs of a “pinched gut”.
Back then, the place was little more than a desolate rocky outcrop in the Harbour and hardly renowned as a gourmet lunch destination…

Today it’s an iconic Sydney reference to Sydney’s newest brewery.