The Brewery Radar keeps the brewing industry up to date with the progress of planned breweries and brewpubs in Australia, where they are in their development process, the installation of brewhouses and proposed opening dates.

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WA

Shelter Brewing Co, in the WA tourist town of Busselton is the area’s newest brewery. It is progressing with a roof cover near completion and a fit out of the kitchen and services block underway.

Shelter co-founder Zeb Packard-Hair said that the team were now looking to start filling FOH positions. The brewery is currently aiming for a spring 2020 opening date.

Down on the south coast, Lucky Bay Brewing opened the doors to its new venue on 21st December 2019 in Esperance, WA.

The team say they are the only brewery in WA that sources raw barley direct from local farmers to make beer. Theirs comes from Scaddan and, for special brews, barley and wheat is sourced from farms in the Esperance region an Western Australian wheatbelt.

New South Wales

Mountain Goat has been given the green light by the council for its Sydney brewpub after Brews News revealed plans for the site last year.

The Inner West venue is estimated to be costing $1.1 million according to documents submitted to the local council.

Five submissions were received at the public consultation period, following which the council responded to Mountain Goat saying concerns had been raised about odour emission, waste management and acoustic impacts. The council said these were all addressed and amended and gave the green light to the development.

Another Inner West taproom is set to launch this year, this time from Hopsters, a brewing co-operative of 580 members who have all pitched in to develop the beer and now, a venue.

Final checks are set to be completed by Sydney Water and a few amends from the council, but the Hopsters taproom looks set to open in the first half of this year.

Bucketty Brewing has gone back to the drawing board after a quirk in the planning regulations prohibited them from opening a brewery at their preferred location. Watch this space for updates, as the team has not given up yet.

Newcastle’s brewing scene is hotting up after Sydney brewery Modus Operandi announced it would be opening a venue in the city. It lodged an application for the venue in Merewhether in November, and depending on the planning process, it will look to be opening up later this year.

Meanwhile Gage Roads reported in an update to the ASX that its $4.5 million brewpub in the Sydney suburb of Redfern would be beginning production by the middle of the year, with a view to having the brewpub fully operational by mid 2020.

Further south, Jervis Bay is set for its second new brewery in a matter of months following the opening of Jervis Bay Brewing Co last year. Flamin Galah Brewing Co is set to open its doors in March 2020.

Queensland

BrewDog has begun brewing on-site at their Brisbane production brewery this year, after upsizing their brewery to 50hL. DogTap Brisbane is already one of the Scottish brewer’s top performing bars globally.

Meanwhile Sandgate Brewing is on the hunt for another venue after a deal with Sandgate Bowls Club, which would see them take over the hospitality and running of the venue as well as brewing beers on site, fell through. Founder Bill Gollan told Brews News that they were looking at a number of other options.

Straddie Brewing Co is in the middle of the construction of its North Stradbroke Island brewpub which was given the green light in October 2019. It is still on track to open mid-late 2020, despite falling a few months behind due to delays flowing into the Christmas period.

Head brewer and general manager Andrew Sydes told Brews News the pilot kit is up and running and they are currently refining their beers and trying out new ingredients, including native Australian fruits.

Sydney’s Sauce Brewing Co is in the process of building their 10hL pilot brewery in Cairns CBD.

Sauce founder Mike Clarke said that the brewhouse has been designed and ordered, whilst the fitout and venue layout has been put to paper as well as being computer designed.

Meanwhile investigative work for power, drainage and ventilation is nearing completion, and demolition wok at the site has begun this month.

The venue, located on Lake Street in the CBD, is targeting a May 2020 opening, but “there are of course a hundred and one things that can delay progress and that is always the way…” Clarke said.

Cauldron Brewing is on schedule to open its Hervey Bay brewery early August 2020. Designs and equipment for the brewery have been finalised and the preliminary build is in progress.

Updated: Further south, Bobs Beers, which submitted plans to the council last year, looks set to launch before mid-2020.

Head brewer Ryan Fullerton told Brews News that all structural work at the Surfers Paradise venue should be complete by the end of this week, and installation of Bobs’ brewhouse equipment starts on Monday.

He said he hopes to be brewing there before the month is out, having completed a number of pilot batches at home.

Victoria

CoConspirators Brewing has submitted plans for its first taproom, and move in officially from January 1st where co-founder Tim Martin will oversee construction of the site. The team, which formerly brewed through nomad contracts, are investing in a new roof, solar panels, insulation and a system to turn food waste into greywater.

In another first, Kaiju Beer has submitted plans for a Melbourne suburb taproom. The location is under wraps thus far, but if the local council agrees to its plans, it could be open before the end of the year, marking Kaiju’s debut on the hospitality scene.

At Frankston Brewhouse in Melbourne, work has been completed on the brewery floor and their two brewers Travis Sannen and Steve Murtagh visited Shandong in China and inspected the equipment before Christmas. It was shipped and arrived in January.

Co-founder Michaela Boucher said the brewhouse was in place but not yet connected, and the team would be finalising their power upgrade and plumbing in time for its installation.

The team is on track for a mid-2020 opening after receiving planning permission from the council last June, with a focus on the Front of House in the coming months, including a hunt for a head chef and venue manager.

Hop Nation are looking at expanding their footprint in Footscray, with general manager Sam Hambour telling Brews News that they are waiting to hear back from the council on their planning application.

3 Legged Brewing Co has all permits and registration sorted, although it is holding off on opening its venue due to building approval restrictions at its site in Shepparton.

Founder Jeramy Blight said that the team are aiming to have beer circulating by March 2020.

Another Victorian staple, Wolf of the Willows, announced in September 2019 that they would be moving out of the space they co-own with Bad Shepherd Brewing Co and launching out on their own.

Co-founder Renae McKinnon told Brews News that the team are progressing with the brewery build and hoping to put their first brew down in the next 7-10 days on the new equipment.

According to McKinnon, much of the bar facade is complete and bar taps have been installed.They are planning to open the 115-seater taproom in March 2020.

Meanwhile Killer Sprocket, seven-year nomad brewers, are setting down roots in the Melbourne suburb of Bayswater.

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