Page 39 - Food&Drink August 2022 magazine

Expanding to craft a smaller footprint
Melbourne’s oldest independent craft brewery 3 Ravens is planning brew pubs in every state, equipped with sustainable technologies, with a Birchal crowd funding campaign underway. Kim Berry writes.
LEFT: 3 Ravens pioneered craft beer styles and sustainable brewing.
Brendan O’Sullivan who comes from Perth.
“Perth is home to some of Australia’s best and most creative brewers, including a lot of members of our own team. It’s also where I grew up, so for a lotofusitwillbeakindof homecoming” O'Sullivan says.
“It’s a really exciting prospect to bring our beer to Perth and our expertise and sustainability focus to the region and showcase how other breweries can also reduce their carbon footprint,” he adds.
Liascos said 3 Ravens has remained fiercely independent over the years and been awarded Champion Australian Small Brewery three times.
“Despite lockdowns in Melbourne extending further than anywhere else in the world, 3 Ravens still brought in $3.3 million in revenue in 2021.
“With lockdown restrictions ending and international export markets reopening, we are expecting even bigger revenue growth as we expand our brewing capacity and hospitality footprint across the nation.
“The added benefit will be brewing our beers closer to customer, reducing our reliance on the supply chain and our
3 RAVENS began in the warehouse of an engineering business 18 years ago. It now produces a permanent portfolio of six beers and more than
25 seasonal releases every year. The brewery has built a
reputation for experimental brews and for being at the forefront of pioneering craft beer styles now commonplace, such as hazy IPAs, sours, wild fermented ales, barrel aged and fortified beers.
But the brewery has also built serious credentials when it comes to adopting and advocating the use of green technology in the brewing industry.
With this experience behind it, 3 Ravens has launched a Birchal crowd funding campaign, and is already well underway to surpass its $500,000 goal.
In the first two days of private funding, the brewer raised $377,000 with more than 1300 expressions of interests from independent investors.
3 Ravens general manager Nathan Liascos says the team had been long time advocates for sustainable brewing.
Its home base in Thornbury will be fitted with a new CO2 chiller heat pump coupled with Industry 4.0 technology that captures waste heat from the brewing process. The state-of- the-art pumps will allow 3 Ravens to reduce their energy consumption by over 70 per cent, reducing their carbon emissions whilst also reducing manufacturing costs.
“The heart of our business is the award-winning beer we brew, however reducing our environmental impact in any
way we can has always been a priority for us.
“We’re incredibly proud
of the work that has been done to develop this new technology, and look forward
SUSTAINABILITY
“ The state-of-the-art pumps will allow 3 Ravens to reduce their energy consumption by over
70 per cent, reducing their carbon emissions whilst also reducing manufacturing costs.”
to sharing our techniques, insights and experience with other brewers, independent or not,” Liascos says.
The first step in expansion outside of Melbourne will be in Perth, with a planned opening later this year.
The plan has special meaning for 3 Ravens head brewer
carbon footprint,” Liascos says. The brewery has plans to
expand its Thornbury operations as well as establish the Perth site, with the team also eyeing locations in Sydney and Brisbane.
3 Ravens’ crowdfunding campaign on Birchal is now open to the public now. ✷
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | August 2022 | Food&Drink business | 39