Building the engine room of an iconic beer company

Carlton United Breweries’ (CUB) Abbotsford Brewhouse in Melbourne – our first ever Australian project, serves the needs of this beer loving nation on a grand scale.

The CUB Abbotsford Brewhouse was constructed over a 15 month period between 1969–1971 costing just AU$873,000 (or AU$10.1 million in 2018 dollars), and is now approaching its 50th year of operation. Using two brew streams, it provides the ability to produce more than two million litres of beer a day for thirsty customers across the country.

In 1968, Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner (as we were known at the time) successfully solved a vessel collapse issue at DB Breweries. This sparked CUB to hire us to fix a similar problem at Abbotsford, after which CUB requested that we set up a local office.

We provided the architectural, civil, mechanical and structural engineering services for this imposing building, overcoming a number of challenges in the process. This included working with tough basalt rock, due to its riverside location beside the Yarra River, and the heavy energy requirements of sophisticated brewing equipment – which were cutting edge at the time.

More than 50 years later, our relationship with CUB remains solid and extends to ongoing work at their Yatala and Cascade Breweries in Queensland and Tasmania respectively.