BrewDog's expansion into Brisbane in 2019 marked a strategic move to capitalise on growth opportunities and push the boundaries of craft beer accessibility and sustainability.

“We've expanded the Brisbane brewery no less than three different times,” explains Calvin McDonald, BrewDog’s Head of Australian Operations. 

Rapid growth and adaptation was vital to meet increasing demand in the region, with BrewDog quadrupling its output since opening in Brisbane. He says the city also serves as a springboard into the wider Asia-Pacific market, demonstrating Brisbane's logistical advantages along the eastern seaboard.

“We've seen a real demand from the consumer in Brisbane. We’ve felt really lucky that in the five years since we made the choice to open the brewery in Brisbane that the proof's been in the pudding in regards to the amount we've been able to expand here,” he says. 

“Brew Dog in Australia brews 100% of its beer here in Brisbane. It's a great location to send beer all across Australia. We'll always be using Brisbane as our hub and our brewery [in Australia], and we're very proud of that.”

Tapping into a legacy of innovation

Established in 2007 in Aberdeen, Scotland, BrewDog has grown into the world’s largest independent craft brewery. 

“We're the world's biggest craft brewery and the world's biggest independent brewery,” McDonald says.

Operating breweries in strategic locations including Scotland, Germany, the USA, and here in Brisbane, Australia, BrewDog has cultivated a unique identity that merges innovative brewing with eye-catching marketing strategies.

Part of that is how BrewDog pioneers initiatives that resonate across the industry. “We're actually a carbon-negative brewery … we take more carbon out of the atmosphere than we put into it,” McDonald says.

“We have a forest in the highlands of Scotland where we are planting loads of trees and doing peatland regeneration as well, which essentially sucks much more carbon out of the atmosphere than we generate. To be carbon negative is something that's an amazing focus for us.”

BrewDog’s innovative streak extends to their hospitality ventures, having established over a hundred venues globally, with five in Australia. 

“Our ability to run both the brewery side and the hospitality side, while both being really successful and [of high] quality, is something we're really proud of,” he says.

“Our bar in Fortitude Valley is a great symbol of what we look to do as a business, which is making craft beer accessible for everyone.”

What makes Brisbane a strong strategic brew?

Brisbane was chosen for its connected and vibrant economy, burgeoning infrastructure, and its strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region. 

“When Brisbane Economic Development Agency [BEDA] started working with us and came to us with some suggestions, it made our lives so much easier,” McDonald says. 

“Especially when you're trying to coordinate the expansion of our business from all the way back in Scotland. So having those options on the table, having the introductions made to us by BEDA, it was super conducive to us being able to make decisions from afar and make decisions with confidence.”

McDonald says one of Brisbane’s best competitive advantages is the substantial support from local government and business networks. 

“The level of support that we felt from within industry was absolutely world-class,” he says. 

“It was really important to us to have beer brewed in the local markets that we want to excel in, and Brisbane was a real standout candidate for us. Looking at the size of space you need to build a brewery, it's quite substantial and not easy to find spaces like that anywhere, let alone in the developed cities of Australia.”

BrewDog through the looking glass

With a clear mission to enhance the accessibility of quality craft beer, BrewDog continues to focus on making a significant impact on the local and international beer markets. “We want to take market share away from the big guys,” says McDonald, pointing towards BrewDog’s ambition to democratise the craft beer industry. 

But their eyes are firmly on the growth Brisbane has to offer as 2032 and the potential growth beyond the Olympics approaches.

“One of the great things about Brisbane is that it's such a fast growing market,” he says. 

“Brisbane is incomparable to what it was five years ago. You can't even read the newspapers without reading about 10 different amazing restaurants opening, or new craft breweries opening, or just the amount of infrastructure development that we've seen in the last five years.

“As we head towards 2032, that's looking to continue and even ramp up. So us being based here in Brisbane just gives us an amazing opportunity to continue upscaling in line with the growth of the city.”

BrewDog’s rapid growth and ambitious plans mirror the progress of Brisbane itself, with significant cultural and economic expansion under way. 

That’s an environment McDonald says aligns perfectly with BrewDog’s mission.

“My vision for BrewDog is to be the preeminent global craft beer leader,” he says. “We’re in a very strong position to do that, and we’re very proud that our head office here in Brisbane will remain as we grow around the world and introduce more people to the craft beer revolution.”