News
21 Nov 2023
Brewery Radar • October 2023
Brewery Radar serves the brewing industry by keeping it up to date with the progress of planned breweries, expansions, and tap rooms in Australia. We aim to track where they are in their development process from concept to opening.
Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia have dominated the activity over the last month. We have updates from 29 breweries or brands with:
- 3 brewery openings;
- 3 breweries that have announced their upcoming opening dates;
- 3 development applications approved;
- 1 completed venue renovation; and
- another 19 in various stages of planning and development.
Keep us updated on your brewery in planning or brewery upgrade plans so we can include you in Brewery Radar at radar@dev.brewsnews.com.au
QLD
The Crimson Finch opened at Shop 5/32 Anzac Parade in Yeppoon on October 20. According to its blog post, the brewery was to have seven beers on tap, with snacks available at the bar and meals available from Vue Wine Bar & Restaurant. The brewery is now seeking a brewer’s assistant and front of house staff.
In a September Facebook update, Mackay’s Goanna Brewing shared that its “new Victoria St premises [is] coming along,” with the “installation of [its] brewing coolroom complete.”
Charleys Creek, which shared earlier in 2023 that it was expecting to open this month, shared via Facebook in early October that “there have been many delays” that have “been out of [its] hands.” The owners said that “the most frustrating thing is that [they] have… the kit in [their] farm sheds” which has been “waiting to be commissioned… for 12 months now.”
Sobah Beverages held the official opening of its Burleigh Heads brewery on September 30.
In a late September Facebook post, Rockhampton’s Big Rocks Brewery shared that its building fitout has commenced.
10 Toes Brewery provided an update on its progress via Facebook. It shared photos of its decked-out venue and said that it will “be making an announcement on [an] opening date soon.” This follows recent media reports that the new, $2 million venue was “on track to open early October at the former North Buderim IGA site.” Owner, Rupert Hall, said Gympie restaurant Bunker Smokehouse had leased the kitchen and would offer dine-in and takeaway at the 250-seat venue.
White Lies Brewing shared via Facebook that it will be opening its second venue, White Lies II, in Seventeen Mile Rocks on October 27.
NSW
Swordfish Brewing shared via Facebook in mid September that it had “fire[d] up the tanks” and was celebrating its “operational brewery.” The brewery also gave patrons the opportunity “to go in the draw to name [its] first beer and choose its style.”
Black Wattle Brewery Pty Ltd’s development application for a change of use to a mixed use development property in Alexandria, NSW, was approved on September 22nd. According to the application description, it will include “an artisan food and drink industry (brewery) and food and drink premises (pub) with associated alterations and internal fit out.”
Pickled Monkey Brewing, which launched in 2018, is set to open a brewery in Marrickville in early 2024. According to a head brewer job advertisement, the “brewery will be attached to a 300-capacity venue that will be set in the style of an American Sports Bar.” The brewery “has ordered a… fully automated 20hL 3 Vessel brewhouse that is being commissioned in December 2023.”
Mogul Brewing shared via Instagram in late September that its equipment had arrived and was being moved into place. The brewery’s signage has also been installed.
Kiama Council approved Neil Menzies and Sam Haldane’s brewpub development application in September. The brewpub, to be named Black Beach Brewhouse, will be situated at a vacant former Holden dealership, which Menzies and Haldane purchased two and half years ago. According to Regional Illawarra, the transformation is expected to generate approximately 20 jobs and be finished by next winter, with a restaurant, function area, beer garden and 20-tap bar among the premises’ planned features. Haldane told Regional Illawarra that they are “calling it a ‘brewpub’ because of the zoning” as they “can’t wholesale any beer, but there is going to be a brewery on site.”
Six String Brewing’s Marketing Coordinator, Sharon Benson, provided an update via email. She said the brewery secured a lease for a building just up the road from its current location in early 2023 and is “building up to a big move.”
“The site itself is not much bigger than where we are currently in sq[are] metres; however, the complex has warehouses behind that we have been able to secure for coolroom and raw material storage in addition to the brewery and tap room site at the front of the development,” she said.
“While we have had the site locked in since early 2023 and work started by the developers in April, we have been sitting on our hands since June waiting for a construction certificate for the fit out.
“Paying rent on 4 walls, a roof and a dirt floor isn’t fun but we have just this week had the construction certificate come through so [we’re] currently locking in trades. We had hoped to be open before the end of the year but [we’re] currently looking at a March opening.
“The site is approved for 150 people capacity with a mezzanine space for functions and live music and an outdoor space. We also have a coolroom big enough to cold store all [our] product and the brewery capacity will increase from 500,000 which we struggle to meet in our current space because of space restrictions, to 1, 000 000 litres.
“Our current battles now that we have the construction certificate are the increased costs in building and conversion rates for the [Australian dollar] in bringing in brewery equipment, – both seem to have gone up since planning 12 months ago. [We’re] hoping to have work starting in the next week or so.”
VIC
Brevet Brewing Co, based in the city of Sale in Victoria’s Gippsland region, recently joined the Independent Brewers Association as a member in planning.
Hop Nation Brewing Co unveiled its revamped Footscray taproom space on September 28th after a month of being shut while the project was underway. The renovated brewhouse space is open-planned, with a purpose-built kitchen and 17 taps. Hop Nation will continue to produce some brews at the taproom.
In a September media release, Bridge Road Brewers announced the opening of its new Melbourne venue, Bridge Road Brewers Brunswick. The 350-seat brewery and dining hall includes “a working brewery where in-venue brewed beers fill a 30-tap bar.”
Valhalla Brewing announced in mid-October via Instagram that it will hold an opening weekend for its Geelong brewery and brewhall from October 26 to October 28. It will be offering brewery tours, pizza and 16 local beers on tap.
WA
Eclipse Brewing Co shared via Facebook in August that “after running into some trademarking issues” it had “come up with a new name for [its] packaged beer”: Brewhaven Beer Company. It announced that it had “secured [its] first commercial brewing kit from one of the original West Australian craft breweries.” Further, it “recently received development approval for Eclipse Brewery in… Northam,” which “will be the home of Brewhaven Beer Company.” The original Eclipse Brewing opened in the Wheatbelt town in 1897, and the founders behind this new venture are keen to revive the historic name.
In an early October Facebook reel, Margaret River Brewhouse provided an update on its expansion. It is “oh so close to opening [its] new brewing facility,” which is situated in the heart of Margaret River “just down the road” from its current location.
Beerfarm submitted a development application to Western Australia’s Central Coast Council on August 16, 2023, for a brewery and restaurant at 45 Cooks Street, Calga. According to the DA, patrons would be “able to undertake brewery tours and tastings of beer produced at the brewery in addition to other agricultural produce… grown on the surrounding rural property.” The DA states that “approximately 3.5ha” of the 18.96ha lot “will be used as the construction site for the building, car parking and service areas.” Coast Community News reported that the expansion is a $4.7 million project, with the brewery expected to “produce two million litres of beer annually.” Central Coast Council is still assessing Beerfarm’s DA for 92 Mountain Road, Halloran, which the brewery submitted in April 2021.
In late August, Otherside Brewing Co. owner Triple-1-Three Limited announced a share deal through which it will, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, acquire Nowhereman Brewing Co.’s assets. Triple-1-Three Managing Director James Legge told Brews News that the arrangement was a swap of Nowehereman’s assets for shares in Triple-1-Three. Nowhereman’s brew kit and canning line are for sale, but the brewery expects to continue in a scaled down form.
Spinifex announced via a Facebook video that it has started full production at its Food Innovation Precinct brewery in Nambeelup, where it recently held an open day. Spinifex also shared that Spinifex Cable Beach received approval for its tavern restricted licence in late September.
Wedgetail Brewing in Falcon shared on Facebook in mid-October that it now has a bar. Its scheduled opening date is November 6, 2023.
Rocky Ridge Brewing received council approval for its planned Duncraig taphouse in September. In a September 29 blog post on its website, the brewery shared that it received “an outpouring of support,” with “952 positive submissions from the public.” Rocky Ridge is now “in the final stages” of securing its liquor licence and “should be up and running late this Summer.”
SA
Silver Bark Brewery’s owners shared via their website that they “have recently made the move to follow [their] dreams of a small farm-based brewery, taproom and hop farm.” The new space, located in Petwood on a 25-acre farm, “is now in the planning stages” and the owners hope to start constructions and renovations in early 2024. The brewery originally launched in Mount Barker in 2018.
The founder of 101 Brewery, Dale McNeill, shared his brewery plans via email.
“We are setting up a tap house/brewery at Woodville [in] north SA,” he said.
“It has taken 18 months to get approval from council so now I am getting things moving [and] hope to be open over the next coming months.”
Ill-Intentions Brewery said in an early October Facebook post that its brewery has been installed and testing has started, with the team now “beginning to brew and distil some spirit ready for producing gin.” The brewery’s equipment arrived in September “after 3 years of planning and 3 months of… waiting.”
The owners of Little Blessings Brewery said via Facebook in mid-October that they are “working hard to open as soon as [they] can” and are “hoping to announce an opening date in the next few weeks.”
TAS
According to a recent job advertisement, The Farm Shed East Coast Wine Centre is looking for a “brewer ready to take the reins of [its] new micro-brewery.” The brewery “is a start-up in an existing hospitality business” and the brewing equipment was “put together by Bespoke Brewing Solutions.” The Farm Shed’s website suggests that the new venture will be called “Bicheno Brewing.”
