How We Are Choosing A Brewhouse for Shack Bay Brewing

One of the biggest decisions we've had to make while planning our brewery has been choosing the size and type of our brewhouse.

At first glance, it seems simple. The bigger the system, the more beer you can make. But for a small independent brewery, it's not that straightforward. A larger brewhouse also means a bigger upfront investment, more beer sitting in tanks and more pressure to sell every litre.

For us, that's not what Shack Bay Brewing is about.

After plenty of planning and a lot of conversations with other brewers, we've settled on something around the 12 hectolitre (hL) brewhouse size. We believe it's the right fit for where we are now and where we want to be in the future.

A system this size gives us enough capacity to keep our taproom stocked, supply our growing wholesale customers and still brew the seasonal and limited-release beers we love making. It also means we're brewing more regularly, so our beer reaches customers fresher... especially our hop-forward styles like Pale Ale, Hazy IPA and IPA.

Just as importantly, we're not spending money on brewing capacity we don't need yet.

One thing we've learnt throughout this journey is that it's often better to invest in fermentation capacity than simply buying a bigger brewhouse. As demand grows, adding more tanks is usually a smarter and more affordable way to increase production without replacing the heart of the brewery.

Keeping the brewhouse in the 10–12hL range also gives us flexibility. We can respond to seasonal demand, trial new recipes and collaborate with other breweries without needing to commit to huge batches.

That's important to us because Shack Bay Brewing has always been about more than producing volume. We want to keep brewing interesting beers, supporting local venues and giving people a reason to visit Inverloch.

In many ways, choosing this brewhouse reflects the way we've built the business from day one. We started as a nomad brewery, proved there was demand for our beer, built strong wholesale relationships and earned national recognition before investing in our own home. We're taking exactly the same approach with our brewery, grow steadily, invest wisely and never lose sight of quality.

A 10–12hL brewhouse might not be the biggest option available, but for Shack Bay Brewing, we think it's the right one. It gives us room to grow without over-capitalising, lets us keep beer fresh and allows us to continue doing what we enjoy most: brewing great beer for our local community and beyond.