Dandenong South brewery EXIT Brewing wins gold with milk stout
Ditching their day jobs to brew beer in Dandenong South has proved a top move for two former tech colleagues, who have just won two national awards for their brews.
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One of the first beers released by EXIT Brewing has been named best stout at national brewing awards.
The memorably-named Milk Stout scored gold at the recent Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA).
The Dandenong South brewery also claimed gold for its newly-released Session XPA (extra pale ale) in the mid-strength category.
Frankston’s Grum Knight, who started the business with former workmate Frase Rettie in 2014, said the pair were “really proud of our Milk Stout”.
“It was our third-release beer and quickly made its way into the core range,” he said.
“It has most recently been joined by its big brother Double Milk Stout, which we brewed in 2017 and is due to be on the shelves in the next few weeks.”
The men met while both were working in IT in 2000 and began home brewing together years later while living in the UK and Europe.
“Bored with our day jobs, we decided when we moved back to Melbourne we would attempt to start a brewery,” Mr Knight said.
Their business name reflected that decision, with Mr Knight coming up with the idea after realising both men were ex-IT workers using beer to exit the industry.
Their business has now collected multiple AIBA awards including gold for Best Amber in 2017, gold for the Double Milk Stout in 2018 and multiple medals for their Saison in Belgian and French style Ale.
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The AIBA was hosted by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV).
RASV chief executive Paul Guerra said the competition was the largest in the world, giving exhibitors the chance to benchmark their beer against industry standards.
“With almost 2,600 entries from more than 400 breweries across 26 countries, 2019 marks the biggest year in the awards’ history and we look forward to seeing this growth continue,” Mr Guerra said.
Exit Brewing is at 10 Superior Drive, Dandenong South.
The boys also have their own watering hole — Uitgang Bar, 406 Bridge Rd, Richmond — with 12 EXIT beers on tap.