BrewDog exploring options for first Australian brewery

Fresh from appointing a managing director for its US arm, craft beer maker BrewDog has named its 'top dog' for Australia as it eyes possible sites for its first brewery Down Under.

Zarah Prior has been tasked with finding possible sites for BrewDog in Australia. Picture: Contributed

Zarah Prior, who previously held the role of “head of people” at the Aberdeenshire-based firm, has been tasked with identifying locations for its new production facility.

• READ MORE: BrewDog appoints managing director for US division

The brewer, which recently opened its 100,000 square foot brewery in Columbus, Ohio, and appointed Tanisha Robinson as managing director of BrewDog USA, is focusing its initial searches around the “fast-developing” areas of Brisbane in Queensland and Newcastle in New South Wales.

• READ MORE: BrewDog eyes Asia brewery as annual sales near £72m

Over the past eight years, the firm’s “Equity for Punks” crowdfunding initiative has attracted investment of more than £40 million from some 55,000 people around the world.

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Prior, an Australian native who holds an MBA from the University of Queensland, said: “Our Australian Equity Punk community has been crying out for BrewDog to set up shop closer to home, so we are excited to finally be making that happen.

“We are open to redeveloping an existing industrial site with a 2,000 to 4,000 square metre built-up facility, or alternatively a plot of land able to comfortably accommodate a new build of that size with expansion capabilities in the future.”

BrewDog, co-founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie in 2007, saw its revenues surge 60.6 per cent to £71.9 million last year.

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