May Progress Report

We are only just over halfway through May, and it has already been an extremely busy month on our journey towards opening our Brewery.  Below is a summary of what’s been happening:

Electrical Upgrade

Sean from NNC Electrical has installed the majority of the cabling that we require to run the brewery and now working with Energex to allow work to happen on the main switch board upgrade so we can get the required AMPs to the site.  Hopefully this will happen in the next few weeks.

Plumbing

Jason (and the team) from Plumbing Force has been a superstar in getting all the drains installed, and signed off by Council, and ready for the concrete pouring.  Thankfully Jason loves craft beer and has moved heaven and earth to ensure we stay on track, as he is very keen to try our beers!

Concreting

The Paul and Mohammad from Ridge Fire (along with Callum, Phil’s Eldest Daughters Boyfriend) poured the concrete this week and it feels like the brewery now is coming to life with the bunded area for the production area coming up a treat.  They also concreted in the services for the bar area, the ramp for the cold room, along with the pad for the services and bin area at the back of the building and a mighty big strip inside the brewery to remove a trip hazard.  It definitely was a couple of very busy days.

Toilet Block

Keeping it in the family, Will (Phil’s Youngest Daughters Boyfriend) has been bevering away on the framework for our new toilet block, and he will hopefully have all the framing done in the next week or so, so we can start putting gyprock walls up. Will has been working for beer credit, which we are immensely grateful for to help keep with our current budget pressures.

Brewery Equipment     

Our brewery equipment is now ready for shipping from China, and will hit the high seas at the end of the month.  It should take 4 to 6 weeks to arrive at our doorstep, and hopefully by that time we will have everything in place to seamlessly install into the brewery.

Development Application Feedback

We have now received formal feedback from Brisbane City Council on our Development Application, and we are working through the items with our Town Planner (Ken Ryan and Associates) and our various consultants (way too many to name!) to provide responses and additional information to respond to their queries. We do feel we are on top of most of the issues raised, and will get our response back as quickly as possible so that we can get our DA approved in a timely manner.  It is the one thing that will definitely hold us up from opening if we have further issues to address.

Online Store is now live

Our online store is now up and running, and we have our first T Shirt available for purchase and have now integrated shipping with Sendle.  Our first orders have now been sent, and we have been overwhelmed with how many people have purchased them so far (we are very grateful!).  We do only have limited stock, so if you are keen to purchase one, you better get clicking and purchase one.  We also have the option to pick up from the brewery if you are around the Salisbury area (to save on shipping), and we will be in contact to arrange a mutually suitable time.

Working Bee Dates Set – 25^th & 26^th of June

We have been working through our project plan and all the little (and some bigger) jobs we need to get done, and figure it is time to lean on our family, friends and supporters to lend us a hand.  As everyone is aware, everything has gone up in price, and our budget is really really stretched, and we really need some help to get some things done.

We are compiling a list of jobs that we would love your help on, from painting the toilet block (in Lexicon Half of course – and thanks Hendo for donating 13 litres of paint to the cause), to building our enclosed and refuse area with roof (thanks Council!), to putting together shelving in our cold room to store our hops and yeast.

If you spare us a few hours or a day, we would love for you to come along and help.  We promise to keep you well-watered and fed.   Part of our ethos at Hiker is to build a community and we see this as a great way to start the building process.

So, lock in the dates in your diary, and reach out to us if you would like to help!  

Again, thanks for your support.

Until next time…

Cheers to the journey

Phil & Daniel