Tue 6th Feb 2018 - BrewDog unveils location for Australian brewery BrewDog unveils location for Australian brewery: Scottish brewery and retailer BrewDog has announced Brisbane will be the home for its new Australian brewery, according to Brews News. Brisbane beat Newcastle after a six month search to become the site of the Australian brewery, with support from the Queensland State Government and Brisbane Marketing. BrewDog’s local chief Zarah Prior told Brews News the perceived enthusiasm from the city’s beer community had proven a decisive factor. “We’ve been so humbled by the support from local businesses as well as the local community who have shown a real passion for BrewDog to call Brissie home,” she said. “It’s a city that’s on the brink of some incredible growth, and we can’t wait to be a part of that. There are tonnes of amazing local breweries we’re looking forward to working alongside and collaborating with. From local brewing pioneers Green Beacon and Newstead, through to up and coming breweries like our mates at Range Brewing. We are hugely appreciative of the support we received from Brisbane Marketing, Austrade, and the Queensland Government, all of whom played a role in sealing the deal for Brisbane.” BrewDog said the riverfront brewery fits into Brisbane’s plans to become a new world city. The company is partnering with local developers NPD Property Group to build its state-of-the-art brewing facility in Brisbane’s Metroplex complex in Murarrie, 8km east of the CBD. BrewDog reports the total investment in Australia may reach $30 million, including the construction of the 50-hectolitre brewing and canning facility. The 3,000 sqm site will also feature a restaurant, taproom and visitor centre. The initial $10 million brewery development will be built and owned by the developers and leased to the Scottish brewery. The brewer said it has then earmarked a further $20 million for its laboratory, taproom and growing bar division, which will be spent “over time”, dependent on growth. The project is projected to create 150 jobs over five years. A head of production position will be amongst the first to be created and advertised soon. The site, an industrial park at Murrarie on the south side of the river, is an unusual location for a brewery that aims to have a substantial taproom presence. Prior, who has been scouting Brisbane and Newcastle, told Brews News that the location was attractive for a number of reasons.“We absolutely love that it’s riverfront. It is going to be a little bit of a trek, probably a driving destination, but we’re going to have so much car parking available,” she said.“We love it already there in the Metroplex industrial estate that seems to be a bit of a community. There’s a lovely little park [and] further inside that a little lagoon. That being right on the river we get a lovely view across the golf course, we’re right underneath the [Gateway] bridge. And for us it was more about, ‘how we can draw people out there and make it somewhere people want to come to visit?’.It’s [also] great for distribution in terms of being right on the motorway to get south to service the other markets like Melbourne and Sydney,” she said. BrewDog co-founder Martin Dickie told Brews News the 50-hectolitre brewery was the culmination of a long term goal. “Since we started the brewery, there were three things that we really wanted to do. One was a start our own bar. Another was to have a distillery, which was Lone Wolf, which started last year, and the other was to have a brewery operation in Australia. It’s kind of close to my heart because my brother lives here, he moved to Australia ten years ago. He’s now a citizen of Perth.” The brewer hopes to have the brewery fully operational and locally brewed beers on the market by early 2019. BrewDog hopes to brew two million litres in its first year of operation, brewing its full line-up of headliner beers such as Punk IPA, Dead Pony Club and Jet Black Heart, as well as small-batch brews specifically for the regional market.