The only Singapore owned microbrewery established in 2007 has now advanced its business by opening a brewing plant in Melbourne.

Spanning 20,000sq ft with 14 brew tanks (10 brew tanks at 6,000 litres each plus 4 tanks of 3,000 litres for research and limited edition brews), and a 12,000 bottles capacity bottling line, the new brewery in Melbourne was opened in March 2016. For the past 8 years, the brewery had researched the market for its current expansion. Crystalla Huang, Brewer and Manager of RedDot BrewHouse is presently travelling back and forth between the two cities, brewing and growing the business with her dad Ernest Ng, who is the founder and Brew Master of RedDot BrewHouse.

On why expanding to Australia instead of within the region, Huang says that many restrictions are set by the governments in the neighbouring countries. “To be honest, Singapore is the most liberal when it comes to building a brewing business in Asia. And Melbourne has a vibrant food and drinks culture and craft beer is in high demand there. Australians drink 5 times more than Singaporeans so naturally, housing a bigger brewery there puts us in a good stead.”

How is managing and brewing in two cities like for you?
It is an eye opener and an adventure. Everyday new challenges arise and I am constantly put to the test. I also get the privilege of working in different cultures and with different styles of beer. Australians are very creative and there is a constant need for change, therefore fuelling the need for researching and crafting new beers.

How is it different in terms of running a brewing business in Singapore compared to Australia?
As the saying goes, wine is for farmers and beer for engineers. The 4 basic ingredients in beer are same throughout the world and you don’t need to be a maltster or hop grower to be a brewer. So brewing in 2 cities are the same in terms of technique.

As for the dynamics, each business has its own peculiarities. RedDot is in the form of a microbrewery in Singapore and people come to our brewpub for freshly brewed beer from the taps; whereas in Melbourne, the brewery is a factory that also houses a packaging arm so we have to seek out distributors who would sell our products. We are currently looking for distributors in the Asia region.

What would craft beer lovers be expecting from RedDot (overall) from here onward?
RedDot believes in the attitude of excellence. RedDot will still brew our core range well and consistent with an increasing range of variety and styles. Currently, we brew a different seasonal beer each month and have a 200 litres batch of special brew too. I cannot let out all my secrets and tell you what I am up to but rest assured that I have something up my sleeves.

RedDot will be maintaining their flagship Czech Pilsner, Summer Ale, and Weizen in the Melbourne plant but will also be producing seasonal beers such as Saison and Belgian Ale in the hipster city. The Sauvignon Ale especially will be back on the production line by popular demand. With availability in stock, these beers will be shipped back to Singapore.