Scottish craft beer giant to set up brewery in Brisbane

The craft beer company's first Australian site will include a 50 hectolitre brewhouse and canning facility, tap room and restaurant on an 11,000-square-metre greenfield site on Metroplex Avenue.

It was expected to employ more than 150 people in the next five years, with 235 jobs created over the next 10 years.

There were already about 20 breweries in Brisbane, including the XXXX brewery at Milton, Newstead Brewing Co, Green Beacon Brewing, Brisbane Brewing Co, James Squire, Malt Brewing Co and Catchment Brewing Co.

Asked whether Brisbane had a good craft beer culture, or whether it was more of a XXXX town, BrewDog Australia director Zarah Prior said a lot of breweries opened in Brisbane in 2017.

"It's definitely under-indexed compared to Melbourne or Sydney, but the people who are emerging in Brisbane have produced some really high-quality, top-notch brews," she said.

"We think there's a way to go, but we're looking forward to working with the breweries that are here, and some of the ones that are up-and-coming, to really make sure Brisbane is on that map for great craft beer."

BrewDog, which operates breweries in Scotland and the US, works with independent craft brewers to support the industry.

Ms Prior said the riverfront site would be family and dog-friendly.

"We'll have a tasting room where we'll be doing brewery tours," she said.

Last year, BrewDog announced it was coming to Australia and was eyeing off two east coast cities - Newcastle and Brisbane.

The brewer was successfully lured to Brisbane following a state government and Brisbane Marketing pitch.

But State Development Minister Cameron Dick would not reveal what financial incentives were offered through the $65 million Advance Queensland Industry Attraction Fund.

"That will be commercial in confidence," he said.

"We provide a range of incentives including things like payroll tax deductions, direct investment in certain cases, but that's what all governments do to attract companies.

"So far as a government we've generated more than $200 million in capital expenditure in our state, working with a range of companies and generated more than 200 jobs out of the Advance Queensland Industry Attraction Fund."

Mr Dick said craft brewing was only about 11 per cent of the market in Queensland.

"Which is lower than in other states, so we want to support the growth of that industry in our state," he said.

BrewDog, which has breweries in Scotland and the US, offers its staff "paw-ternity" leave, giving them a working week's leave to make sure their four-legged friend settles in at home.

When Fairfax Media asked if the state government might also consider paw-ternity leave, Mr Dick laughed, and then cheekily replied: "That's a really good question."

"For those of us, who are dog lovers, we love the support that the company provides to dog-owners and I think that's just a really unique aspect to the company and I'll be lobbying strongly the Minister for Industrial Relations [Grace Grace] to ensure paw-ternity is rolled out more broadly in our community," he joked.

"No, it's a great thing for dog-lovers and it's a great insight, as Zarah said, the culture of the company, a welcoming family company that has an open orientation to its workplace and how people can enjoy their work."

Construction is due to start in the second half of 2018 and the first Australian-brewed BrewDog beers were expected in early 2019.

The Brisbane site will serve the Australian market, with the potential to expand to Asia.

It will brew its full line-up, including Punk IPA, Dead Pony Club and Jet Black Heart, as well as small-batch brews, specifically for the Australian market.