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 opening dates.

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VICTORIA

Frankston Brewhouse has commenced stage one of construction on its site in the Melbourne suburb after receiving the green light from the local council in June. Its brewing equipment has been ordered and is currently being manufactured in China. Frankston’s brewers Travis Sannen and Stephen Murtagh are visiting the country in late November for inspection.

Meanwhile brewing is ongoing to help the team refine their beer, and the founders are also looking into their wine offering, with vintages from the Clare and Yarra Valleys on the list.

Wolf of the Willows is currently in the process of building a new production and on site taproom in the suburb of Mordialloc, in Melbourne.

The new space will feature a 115-seat taproom with 12 rotating beers on tap, with an on-site kitchen and food offering planned in the future. The taproom and brewery are set to open early 2020.

Three Legged Cow Brewing’s building is completed and its Braumeister brewery equipment installed, including a 50L brew tun/kettle, and two 330L fermenters, as well as a 65L SS Brewtech Fermenter, with plans to do 50 and 30L kegs and 330ml and 500ml cans.

The team are waiting for a building permit for change of use and council health department sign off for its food premise, which they are hoping they will receive in the next three weeks.

Both its producers and excise licences have been approved. Three Legged Cow will hopefully be open by December, but it could be early in the new year, said founder Jeramy Blight.

Mordialloc is set to get its latest brewpub with the opening of Braeside Brewing Co, a joint venture between 3 Ravens assistant brewer Charlie Thompson and Dan Murphy’s manager Rame Abdallah.

Adbdallah said it was going to be tight but they are planning on opening this Friday, 8th November, after planning approvals were secured and the brewery installed.

NEW SOUTH WALES

Gage Roads’s Atomic Beer venue in Sydney is waiting on final approval from council.

The City of Sydney Council asked for further information and a public consultation highlighted issues relating to parking which the company has been working through.

Mountain Culture Beer Co officially opened its brewpub in Katoomba, NSW on 24th October. Co-owners DJ and Harriet McCready ordered their brewhouse a year ago with some special modifications. It arrived three months ago, but despite DJ’s experience in installing Premier brewhouses, things didn’t run smoothly.

“For some reason, so many things just kept going wrong that were out of our control, making it the hardest of the lot,” explained Harriet.

The approval process was difficult as the Mountain Culture team were applying for an industrial process in the middle of a town centre, and in a heritage building.

“We had been told repeatedly that it was never going to happen and there were many moments when we thought, ok, this is it, pack up, we’re done,” Harriet said.

With a capacity of 250 people, the beer focus will be on a rotating tap list of lagers and IPAs.

Bucketty’s Brewery plans for its open air venue, which it submitted to the council in May, have been thrown into doubt following a ruling by the local council which prohibited the development of the ‘light industry’ category artisan food and drink business.

Founders Alexi and Nick McDonald said that when they first started investigating the brewery in the rural NSW town, the rules regarding breweries in rural areas were very different.

The McDonalds said that they would not be resting on their laurels and would find a new home for Bucketty’s.

QUEENSLAND

Lion’s latest craft beer venture, Tiny Mountain Brewing has had its development application approved by the Townsville City Council and is waiting on a finalised liquor licence. Construction is underway and the brewery will be open in December.

Tiny Mountain is a sub-brand under Lion’s Malt Shovel, and its brewing operations will be headed up by Dave Mullins, who will be brewing on a DME Process Systems 20-barrel system.

Fick Brewing is set to launch in the North Brisbane suburb of Nundah this month. Beers will be brewed on a 12hL brewkit from Chinese maker Tiantai.

Co-owner Nadresha Costa has said the team now have their liquor licence, the brewery is installed and in the final stages of commissioning. The brewpub plans to open mid November 2019.

Ballistic Beer Co opened its second venue last month in Springfield, a suburb of Ipswich in Queensland. The space is home to an 800-litre brewery that will focus on brewing a wide variety of specialty beers.

It also features a 350-seat venue, function spaces, a beer garden, specialty takeaways, acoustic live music and a full bar.

Straddie Brewing Company has started construction on its North Stradbroke Island brewhouse, after the approval for its development application was received last month.

General manager and head brewer Andrew Sydes will be brewing on a 10hL with 150hL cellar capacity. There will be six beers in the breweries core range, all named after some of the iconic places on Straddie. It is set to open mid to late 2020.

Also set to open is Bobs Beers in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. Located at the site of a former Louis Vuitton store close to the beach, Bobs’ beer offering will be led by Victorian brewer Ryan Fullerton.

It is set to open by December 2019.

Eumundi-based Terella Brewing Co is launching this weekend with a focus on sustainability and reducing water usage.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

North West Brewing Co in Karratha is due to open before the end of the year, and has already received planning and approvals. The brewery has been founded by two locals – Daniel Scott and Jack Heales.

The team will be brewing on a K10 kit from Spark Breweries and Distilleries.

WA brewery Shelter Brewing Co is set to launch next year after a five-year development journey. Construction started on the purpose-built site in August, but brewery installation is a number of months off.

The brewery is on track to open in Spring 2020.

Spinifex Brewing Co launched last weekend with a series of brews infused with native Australian botanicals. Spinifex, named for the native Triodia grass plant, is contact brewing from 3 Rivers Brewery in Mandurah, a city an hour south of Perth.

Along with its mid strength, native ingredient-infused beers from head brewer and former homebrewer John Gibb (which include Bush Honey Pale Ale, a Lemon Myrtle Ginger Beer and light summer ale, a Roasted Wattle Seed Amber Ale and a Geraldton Wax WAPA) it launched its F88 beer last weekend. The brewery says 50 per cent of the proceeds from the beer will go to veterans’ charities and organisations.

Spinifex says it has established a supply chain for native ingredients, a move spearheaded by managing director Noongar man Mick Little.

TASMANIA

Boekamp Bier, a production brewery focused on German-style lager and wheat beer, launched last month in Moonah, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania. Founders Mark French and Jurriaan Boekamp are brewing on a 30hL kit from European manufacturer.

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