On Friday the 24th November, I visited Kaiju Brewery in Dandenong, Victoria. This brewery has been in operation for two years, however, for the two previous years they were gypsy brewing.
The brewery consists of a 2500 litre brewhouse that is then fermented in fermentation tanks with a total capacity of 100000 litres. Of this 15000 litres are used for cider, with the remaining 85000 litres being used for beer. They are then transferred into the bright tanks which consist of one 5000 litre tank and two 8000 litre tanks.
They also use a 600 litre pilot brew system for small batches and for experimental brews. These are fermented in four 300 litre tanks or two 600 litre tanks, with one 600 litre bright tank.
The brewery was running a bottling line capable of handling 180 bottles an hour, but now most of the packaged beer goes into cans. They have a canning line capable of handling 3300 cans an hour. Their Krush beer takes up 60% to 70% of their present production.
They have a growing export market with 15% to 20% of their current production going mainly to China and the UK, with Singapore and Taiwan also taking some.
All of this demand has created the need to expand and as such, they have acquired the factory area next door and are in the process of setting it up ready for a major expansion.
The brewery was originally called Monster Mash, but a certain energy drink manufacturer had problems with the name, so it was changed to Kaiju. No problem with that name.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Krush, 4.7% abv, this has a golden colour and a tropical fruit aroma. It has a lovely sweet fruitiness on a nice mild bitter finish.
2. Cthulhu, 6.5% abv, this is a black IPA with a fruit and malt aroma. It has a wonderful malt initial flavour of coffee before a good fruity, mild bitterness on the finish.
3. Betelgeuse, 10.0% abv, this is a Double Red Ale or a Barley Wine. It has an amber colour and a strong, fruity, rich aroma. It has a fantastic taste of raisins and fruit. It is rich and strong and delicious.
This is a great brewery that is going from strength to strength. They were recently awarded the Best Small Business Award for the Greater Dandenong region.
Keep an eye out for Kaiju Beers they are definitely worth trying.
I would like to thank Callum and Monika for their hospitality when I visited.