The New South Wales town of Dubbo will welcome its first craft brewery this year with Devil’s Elbow Brewery beginning construction this month.

Two years in the making, Devil’s Elbow executive team members include Brendon O’Sullivan, Paul and Melissa Knaggs and David Rich. School friends since kindergarten, the four founders are excited for a career change.

Joining the executive team is Leanne O’Sullivan, Alison Attenborough including Adam & Lara Russo, Ceridwyn Usback and silent partner shareholders.

Of the diverse team of shareholders, only the brewery’s silent partners have backgrounds in the craft brewing industry.

O’Sullivan told Brews News that until now, craft beer hadn’t been developed much in Dubbo.

“There are maybe three venues that focus on selling craft beer and we, for the first time last year, had a craft beer festival,” O’Sullivan said.

“We were stunned that no one had actually built a craft brewery given that Orange has two or three and even Mudgee has one and Mudgee is tiny,” he said.

Orange has a population of just under 40,000 and Mudgee just under 11,000.

“The city of Dubbo has a population of about 50,000 but we have a catchment of about 200,000.

“So we can actually sell craft beer to a quarter of a million people,” O’Sullivan explained.

Dubbo is also famous for its Taronga Western Plains Zoo, which he said attracts one million tourists to the area each year.

Left to Right: Paul Knaggs, Melissa Knaggs, David Rich, Brendon O’Sullivan

Having spoken with several industry experts, O’Sullivan said one of the most important pieces of advice he received was to ensure that the brewery involve the community and the city.

With that in mind the team decided to name the brewery after a section of the Macquarie River that runs through Dubbo.

“Along the river we have the Devil’s Hole,” he explained.

Not the most aesthetically attractive name for a brewery, O’Sullivan said that they decided to go with Devil’s Elbow instead, and name the brewery after a local campground that wraps around the river.

“We thought it was a good play on words, it’s an aspect of the city, it’s a part of the river and it’s a drinking motion.”

O’Sullivan told Brews News that the beers will also be named after aspects of the local area.

The Devil’s Elbow brewery and taproom will be built from scratch on a 2,500-square-metre paddock block. The building will take up 800-square-metres and will include space for a mezzanine, a bar, cafe and kitchen, as well as an outdoor area. The 12hL brewhouse is provided by manufacturer Bespoke Brewing Solutions under the guidance of it’s owner John Gonzales, who has many years of experience in the craft beer industry.

Located just off the highway at 4 Asset Way, Blueridge Business Park, Dubbo NSW 2380, Devil’s Elbow will be the first building visitors see driving into town.

Although his name cannot yet be revealed, Brews News can confirm that a brewer from Newcastle will be heading up Dubbo’s first craft brewery.

Brewery openings are presented bySpark Breweries and Distilleries.

Read more:How to start a brewing company: Part One.