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Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring

Pints at the ready – BrewDog’s new three-level craft-beer bar is now pouring

Since first making landfall in Australia in 2019 with its state-of-the-art, solar-powered brewery and DogTap taproom in Murarrie, the BrewDog team has always planned on making more forays into Australia's thriving craft-beer scene. This Friday November 11, the first of the brewery's anticipated expansion sites will open to the public – right here in our own Fortitude Valley! Boasting three storeys, 60 taps, room for almost 400 guests and countless schooners, BrewDog Fortitude Valley is shaping up to be a landmark arrival for the entertainment precinct. We were lucky to score a sneak peek inside – here's what we saw ...


No two BrewDog venues are the same. Even with a massive global portfolio boasting more than 100 bars, pubs and taprooms (and hotels!) across the UK, USA, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, India, Italy, Estonia and Japan, the craft-beer giant seeks to imbue a unique spirit into every newly minted site. Location seems to be key. Rarely will you see a BrewDog bar take on a new build space – most, if not all BrewDog bars inhabit places with a bit of history and character. Take the team’s brand-new Fortitude Valley location for example, which officially opens to the public on Friday November 11. BrewDog Fortitude Valley inhabits the Tranberg House building, a heritage-listed fixture of Brunswick Street positioned across the road from the Valley Metro. Sprawling across three levels (which at various points in the building’s life have housed a dentist, an accounting firm and an automotive garage out back facing Esther Street), the bar takes the heritage charm of the structure and gently imbues it with traces of BrewDog’s informal industrial leanings. To further exemplify this approach, this month BrewDog will also open a multi-level bar inside Melbourne’s Pentridge Prison and another huge location in Sydney – this time overhauling a former locomotive workshop in South Eveleigh. This fascination with inhabiting storied locations can be chalked up to a simple directive. “We want to have venues that people remember,” says Calvin McDonald, BrewDog’s head of Australian operations.

With a prime location secured, the team has spent many months ensuring the venue’s interior is the right kind of memorable. Craft beer is coursing through The Valley at a higher volume than ever before thanks to a strong contingent of local suds slingers, so careful thought has been put towards making BrewDog the kind of place that not only lures in pint-loving punters, but keeps them around. “Between us, Netherworld, Valley Hops, Soapbox, Stone & Wood and Bloodhound, it’s worth going out for a beer in The Valley now,” says Calvin. “Here it’s a slightly more transient crowd, stopping through at four of five places in a night. We’re more than happy to be part of a pub crawl, but what makes them stay and have one extra drink here? We want to give them a reason to stay.” One major alluring trait is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to space. BrewDog offers a diverse choice of seating options across its three storeys. On the ground floor sits a public bar, equipped with pinball machines, a cushy lounge nook, two spacious booths, a merch station and alfresco area. From here, a glass-encased staircase gives guests the option of ascending upstairs or down. The upper level is airy and bright, with two banks of green banquettes (matching the green subway-tiled bar), a strip of brown-leather booths, a slender balcony with city views and abundance of communal seating featuring alongside two polished six-metre-long Shufl shuffleboards. Downstairs is where you’ll find BrewDog’s kitchen and beer hall-style space (which can also be accessed via an entrance on Esther Street), which is similarly equipped with ample seating options and its own bar fashioned out of a shipping container. Tranberg House’s heritage aspects have not only been retained, but celebrated – original concrete walls, steel supports, timber beams and joists are eye-catching aesthetic draw cards, with the overall grungy nature of the building accented by BrewDog’s branding touch points like prints and neons, while greenery and couches soften some of the hard edges. BrewDog Fortitude Valley’s capacity pushes 400, all told, with flexible seating plans helping to accommodate a variety of functions and private events.

Beer is, naturally, the major commodity available at BrewDog Fortitude Valley. A cold room on the bottom level is jam-packed with kegs, with a triple manifold system capable of piping brew from one keg to all three levels. Each level has its own bar and each bar boasts 20 taps. BrewDog’s own beers – from its signature Punk XPA, Elvis Juice IPA and Metroplex mid to the Brown Snake ginger beer, lemony Shandy Shack shandy and Passionfruit Blitz session sour – are dispensed from 14 of those, while the remaining six are given over to collaborative brews (including team-up tipples made with Parched and Revel Brewing) and beers from other local breweries. Those that love a non-beer alternative can enjoy a selection of cocktails, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic drinks. Over in the kitchen, BrewDog’s culinary team are whipping up the bar’s greatest hits from its self-described farm-to-table junk food menu, which uses produce from suppliers like Five Founders beefWarilba organic lamb and Urban Valley mushrooms. Graze on Korean loaded fries and calamari, or go your own way with buffalo-chicken burgers, Greek-inspired lamb rump salad bowls, eight kinds of pizza and several serves of wings. Half of the menu is vegan or vegetarian friendly, with BrewDog linking up with Sunshine Coast-based plant-based food producer vEEF to craft a host of tasty alternatives. BrewDog’s all-year-round specials, including its two-for-one vegan Mondays and all-you-can-eat-wings Wednesdays, will no doubt become weekly staples for many.

BrewDog Fortitude Valley will officially open to the public at midday on Friday November 11. The first 200 customers through the door will score the chance to win free beer for a year – the lucky winner will be announced on opening day. Head to the Stumble Guide for other important details.

The Stumble Guide is our comprehensive Brisbane dining guide with more than 2400 places to eat, drink, shop and play.



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