BrewDog opens doors to the public at riverside brewery

Scottish craft beer giant BrewDog will opens its $30 million Brisbane riverside brewery tomorrow, but operations manager Calvin McDonald says it is just the start for the company in Australia.

Brewdog Operations manager Australia Calvin McDonald toasts the opening of Brewdog Murrarie. Picture: AAP/Jono Searle

SCOTTISH craft brewery BrewDog opens its Australian headquarters at Murarrie tomorrow, creating a new riverside destination in the process at the Metroplex Avenue industrial estate.

In BrewDog terms the $30 million brewery site will start small with a view to expand as it catches on in Australia with the Murarrie brewery featuring one of the company’s four DogTap venues worldwide, its own brand of tap bar and restaurant attached to the brewery.

BrewDog Murarrie employs 65 staff and it is hoped to build production to support 250 employees within five years.

It has eight fermentation vessels and a 25HL brewing system allowing the brewery to produce more than half a million litres in its first year.

Operations Manager, 28-year-old Calvin McDonald, who hails from Aberdeen, Scotland, where the first BrewDog bar was set up, said he was the envy of his workmates in the UK at being given the task of setting up the company’s Australian brewery.

“Having worked for BrewDog for more than seven and a half years in the UK I’ll be making sure the tap room is a hit with the local community and that it does feel like a BrewDog bar,” Mr McDonald said.

“In the bigger picture we’re looking at growing the company over the next few years to the level we want to be at. We always have been an ambitious company and it is exciting for me to oversee that next stage of growth.”

The BrewDog brewery and tap bar at Murarrie.

The tap room features 28 taps with eight guest taps for other craft beers.

“It is a really exciting time to come into the craft beer scene in Australia,” Mr McDonald said.

“Twelve years ago when we started in the UK, there were a few craft beer brands, but none of it managed to push into the mainstream.

“We were starting from a point further back than we are here in Australia. There are 12-14 breweries within a 20 minute drive of Brisbane city centre. To come in and be a part of that community that already exists, it is a really exciting time for us.”

BrewDog’s popular beers such as Punk IPA will be brewed at the Murarrie facility.

As previous operations manager of BrewDog in London, overseeing 14 sites, Mr McDonald said he jumped at the chance to take up the job in Brisbane and the brewery was built to be in the game for the long haul.

“With this venture, when you take a walk around the brewery you will see there is a lot of space for expansion. Within time we will have all BrewDog beer through Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia brewed here in Murarrie,” he said.

He said the location was stunning and hoped the operation would be a catalyst to more innovative ventures in Murarrie.

“None of our tap bars have a location like this. The patio here is our piece de resistance where you can have some good food, good beer and take in an amazing view,” he said.

“It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen building a craft brewery helps regenerate and inspire areas to more exciting things, so hopefully we can have a positive impact here.”

Calvin McDonald shows off the tap room DogTap. Picture: AAP/Jono Searle