Moon Dog Brewery has been working on some big things while you've been sleeping. Well, not big, huge. Eight thousand square meters huge, to be exact (for a size comparison, think a Bunnings warehouse, but bigger). Moon Dog has been quietly outgrowing its ability to produce enough beer for consumption over the eight-year period they've called Abbotsford home, and have been on the hunt for a new space. They found a site in Preston that seemed way too big for their needs, but co-owners Josh Uljans, Jake Uljans and Karl van Buuren thought, "Why not", placed the right applications, and got council approval for a venue with a 725 person capacity. Told you it was huge.
So how will Moon Dog be using all that space? They're going to be putting a waterfall in the middle of the venue. Karl van Buuren says, "...it will flow into a river and a lagoon and there will be a bridge you have to walk over to get around." He envisions people dipping their feet in the 25cm deep water feature which they'll be cutting straight into the slab. People can even lay about on inflatable swans. If you manage to not get distracted, you may make it to their island bar with a full kitchen, from which they plan to serve lunch and dinner, seven days a week.
There will also be four shipping containers, stacked to form a very lush tiki bar. A 220 square metre beer garden will be filled with palm trees and indoor-outdoor zones so you can sit in the shade or catch some rays, but don't worry about roasting in the sun, there will also be a retractable roof. On top of all of that, there will also be a hidden tropical disco bar, a secret barrel ageing room and events space for all your wild, wonderful parties. While the owners are careful not to bill themselves as a new live music venue, the new Moon Dog will have the capability to put in a temporary stage. There will also be a mandatory new production brewery visible behind a glass wall which can produce five times more beer than their current brewery.
And guess what? There's finally a name for Moon Dog's new headquarters; the Preston mega space will be known as Moon Dog World. From all accounts, it's still on track to open by early October. Van Buuren says that their biggest party is usually their Grand Final Party, and they're hoping to hold it in their brand spanking new digs where they've calculated their new brewing capacity to be 10 million litres, annually. Sounds like it could be quite the kick-off. Fingers crossed.
Moon Dog World will be opening at 32-46 Chifley Drive, Preston 3072 in early October.