Straddie Brewing Co. opened on the island of Minjerribah in Queensland last month after a lengthy development process to get the brewery and supplies onto the island.

“It still feels a little surreal,” said Straddie co-owner Kylie Taylor.

“We have been working so hard on the build and brewery install for the past 12 months that to see people enjoying themselves at our venue has been both amazing and a relief. We know we’ve created something unique.”

Like Maggie Island Brewing, or the Lord Howe Island venture, the challenges of setting up a brewery on an island with no road access were many.

The build for Straddie started in October 2021 after an involved application process. Taylor said that given their experiences, there was a lot they could recommend to other breweries-in-planning.

“It will take longer than you planned and cost more than you budgeted. The weather this year has been challenging with almost three months added to the build timeline due to rain,” she said.

“And whilst we didn’t have too many construction delays due to COVID, we have been affected by the trade shortages and cost of materials increase. Mind you, building a three-storey brewery on an island poses a fair few challenges without the global economic influences!”

There are also added costs to consider when setting up in such a location.

“[There is a] markup on trades because they wrongly believe Straddie is so difficult to get to. But it’s a leisurely 25-minute water taxi ride and a 5-minute stroll to our site.”

But despite the challenges, Taylor said that the response from locals had been ‘amazing’.

“Many locals have personally thanked us for creating such a beautiful atmosphere inside our venue, that faithfully pays homage to the island and the views over Moreton Bay. And they’re loving somewhere to go for sunset drinks.”

While locals are a key demographic for the brewery, they will also consider their offering for tourists.

“Straddie is such an iconic holiday destination- we like to think our brewery is another great reason to visit. Especially as a day trip for people living in Brisbane, [so] we will work with Brisbane Marketing and Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) and ferry operators plus tv and radio.”

The Straddie team is brewing on a 10hL brewhouse with 200hL of fermentation tanks, in addition to a small canning line.

“[The canning line] will be working hard to keep up with the increasing demand for Straddie beers both on the island and the mainland,” Taylor explained.

While it is early days as the doors open, Straddie has a bright future, Taylor said.

“Because we’ve been brewing for two years with Ballistic Beer as our brewing partners, we have strong demand both off and on-premise.

“Having the doors now open to the home of Straddie Brewing Co. adds value to everyone. Next year is going to be very busy for our little brewery.”

Straddie Brewing Co. is now open at 5 Junner St, Dunwich QLD 4183.

Brewery openings are presented bySpark Breweries and Distilleries, the finest in-venue and production brewing systems available, with local design and support.