DUNETOWN
We’re excited to finally announce Dunetown, a project we have been working towards since before we launched nearly 5 years ago!
We’re in the early stages of planning the relocation and expansion of Sailors Grave Brewing to a greenfield site, located midway between Marlo & Cape Conran
The project has been supported by a $2.35 million grant under the Victorian and Federal Government's Local Economic Recovery program which supports bushfire-affected areas of Victoria.
The site will be an innovation, tourism and hospitality hub where sustainability, connection to community and place are at the core of everything we do.
Home to a “Farmhouse style” brewery destination inspired by our American heroes @Jesterking @fontaflora @scrarch and in Japan @Rise&Win, this hub will incorporate circular economy elements such as biomass waste reuse, water treatment and reuse, heat capture and reuse, with the potential for a local energy micro-grid to feed back into local supply. The Precinct will feature a “bloody big shed’ as Chris likes to say, which will house an upgraded brewing facility and a pilot social enterprise malting plant. Surrounding this will be a Beer Hall - its form inspired by the the unique local barn vernacular and the establishment of a ‘Drunken Botanical Garden’ that will play host to a calendar of events year round.
While the last few years has been incredibly challenging at times, with bushfires coming within 4km of both our home and Brewery, the sunsetting of the timber industry, prolonged drought (thankfully now broken) and of course COVID which has affected everyone. These events have only made us more determined to be agents of change for our region. We are committed to change the language of Far East Gippsland being the ‘end of the line’ to it being the centre! We are uniquely positioned half way between Melbourne and Sydney in a pristine wilderness environment that has so much to offer.
There is a long-term vision for this new precinct, with stage two plans to include expanding the pilot malting facility into a commercial Social Enterprise where locally grown grain will be processed to service the Victorian brewing and food sector demands, along with a corn whisky distillery and a number of other agribusiness economic development opportunities. The mission of the Social Enterprise is to support a transition within local land use towards regenerative farming practices.
We’re proud of what has been achieved so far, and are passionate about what is possible when industry, community, government, and research work together on common goals and this is a direct result of years of meetings, phone calls and just talking this dream into reality.
The planning process is in its early stages, with the Sailors Grave Brewing team looking forward to engaging with the local community as the project progresses.
