Scottish craft brewer BrewDog has announced plans to expand in Australia. The craft beer company said in a statement it will open a state-of-the-art Australian brewery and headquarters right on the river in Brisbane’s Murarrie area.
AAP also reported they will start the construction of the brewery, restaurant and visitor centre starting later this year and production in 2019.
BrewDog said they will invest $30 million in the new 50hl, 3,000 sqm brewing and canning facility. They will also include a canning facility, taproom, restaurant and visitor centre.
It will be the company’s third brewery after they opened sites in Scotland and the US, and will serve the Australian market with the potential to export to Asia. About 150 jobs will be created over the next five years.
“Australians are some of the most passionate and informed beer drinkers on the planet. The encouragement I received from the craft beer movement during my last visit in the country blew me away. I’m glad our Australian fans at home and in the diaspora were relentless in pushing for a brewery, and I look forward to sharing my first can of Aussie-brewed Punk IPA with them,” BrewDog co-founder James Watt said.
The craft beer company said they will be 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.
“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. 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,” Zarah Prior, director of BrewDog Australia said.
“We couldn’t have received a warmer welcome from the government, people and craft beer community in Newcastle. The passion the community has shown for creating incredible beer is inspiring, and we look forward to a close relationship with Newcastle and other cities in New South Wales as we grow our beer distribution and BrewDog bar network.”
“BrewDog’s choice of Brisbane over other interstate locations to open its first brewery outside of the UK and the US is a vote of confidence in our state from one of the world’s most successful independent breweries,” Queensland development minister Cameron Dick said.
BrewDog said they have long been impressed by the passion and knowledge of the Australian craft beer community. By setting up in the Sunshine State, they are looking forward to becoming a part of the vibrant beer scene that already exists in Queensland’s capital city.
“Brisbane is a place where market-leading and innovative businesses can thrive, and I’m certain BrewDog will feel at home in our welcoming and progressive city,” Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk said.
BrewDog’s said their remarkable growth was powered by its Equity for Punks crowdfunding initiative, which has seen the Scottish brewery raise over £52 million since 2009 from more than 70,000 passionate craft beer fans across Europe and America. The craft brewery, founded in Aberdeenshire a decade ago, has grown from two employees to about 800 and has opened around 30 bars across the UK and 15 more across the world.
