One of Australia’s leading craft brewers, White Rabbit, is pleased to announce that plans areunderway to build a new White Rabbit Brewery in Geelong. Construction is expected to commencein April 2015 and complete by the end of the year.

In November Lion, the owners of the White Rabbit brand, announced that it was relocating its WhiteRabbit Brewery in Healesville to the Little Creatures Brewery site in Geelong to meet growingdemand for the White Rabbit brand. Plans for the new brewery have now been approved byGeelong City Council and professional services firm, BECA, will lead the construction with Victoriancontractors appointed where possible.

Plans are also being finalised for a White Rabbit Cellar Door and the team expects to submit aplanning application to Geelong City Council in the coming weeks. The intention is for the new CellarDoor to offer a unique beer and food tasting and education environment for adult visitors, alongwith a ‘general store’ showcasing Victoria’s best craft produce.

“Whilst we will greatly miss the charm of Healesville, we are very much looking forward to callingWhite Rabbit Brewery and Cellar Door, Geelong our new home. It will allow us to grow the WhiteRabbit brand, increase production and further explore our ethos of “Fermentation withImagination”, said Lion Craft Director, Gordon Treanor.

“What is particularly exciting about our new White Rabbit Brewery’s design is a barrel hall which willenable us to develop a range of beers using old world brewing techniques blended with new worldthinking. We will be barrel fermenting, souring and developing beer styles, using a range of new andold wine and spirit barrels – something we have not yet seen on a large commercial scale inAustralia,” Mr Treanor added.

Without wanting to give too much away, Mr Treanor said adult craft beer lovers may see some newales join the White Rabbit family in the near future.

“With the additional space at our new brewery, we will be able to innovate more, and explore andexperiment freely which means we will have the capacity to introduce some interesting new recipes,nothing is off limits.”

To be located on the same Geelong site as the Little Creatures Brewery, the new White RabbitBrewery and Cellar Door will add to the brewery village experience. Visitors can grab a meal withfamily and friends at the Little Creatures hospitality space, and enjoy regular brewery tours,entertainment and an artisan market on the second Sunday of every month.

“We think our new White Rabbit Brewery and Cellar Door will provide another great platform tocelebrate the craft beer category, whilst driving additional tourism to Geelong and creatingopportunities for other venues and the local community more broadly,” Mr Treanor said.

It is expected that the White Rabbit Brewery and Cellar Door, Geelong will be open to visitors bysummer 2015. White Rabbit Brewery, Healesville will remain open to the public until Friday 29 May2015.