Sauce Brewing Co. has announced the sale of the unused brewing equipment from its planned Cairns brewpub. 

Listed for $220,000 excluding GST, the 10hL system, which is NDL branded but supplied by Brewtique, is a turn-key set up ready for commissioning. 

The system includes four 10hL fermenters, two 20hL fermenters, 10hL and 20hL bright tanks. 

Plans for Sauce’s Cairns brewpub were first announced in 2019, as a joint venture between the brewery and craft accelerator Mighty Craft. 

While it was set to open in early 2020, COVID-19 delayed the opening until October later that year. At that time, Sauce founder Mike Clarke said the 10hL system would be ready to go in 2021. 

However, one year after launching the venue, Clarke opened up about the struggles the venue had experienced due to lingering effects from the pandemic. 

“Not gonna lie, it’s been tough, as it has been for most of the beer and hospitality industry, and pretty much everyone in Cairns,” Clarke told Brews News at the time. 

“We’ve had a warm welcome by the people of Far North Queensland (FNQ), and the bar and bottle shop has developed a small, but loyal local following.

“But we were relying on travel being open again by now, as without tourism, the town is struggling. This of course impacts patronage and so we’re not really where we want to be yet.”

He also explained how it had dampened local production, leaving the brewery to be installed but not commissioned.  

“There is a 10hL brewery onsite but it’s as yet not in use – with COVID smashing our volumes it doesn’t make sense to run and staff two breweries when everything can be produced in one,” he said. 

“When travel opens up and the people come back to Cairns, then it makes sense to brew more locally.” 

Mighty Craft currently holds a 25 per cent share of Sauce Cairns and a 15 per cent share in its Marrickville production brewery. 

Last year, the accelerator said it had planned to divest “non-core assets” and noted its 100 per cent-owned Jetty Road and Mismatch Breweries were “focus brands”. 

Foghorn Brewery, Mighty Hunter Valley Pty Ltd and Mighty Moonee Ponds Pty Ltd however were listed as assets held for sale.

In its update for Q2, while the company did not announce which businesses it would dispose of, it stated that two planned divestments are expected to close prior to Q3 in this financial year.

For more information on the 10hL brewhouse, contact Mike Sauce at mike@sauce.beer or on 0416 015 166.