KAIJU! Krush Tropical Pale Ale is distributed nationwide and regularly features in the Top 10 or Top 20 Australian beer lists. KAIJU! is one of Australia’s most recognisable craft breweries and with the support of Fermecraft, we can now say it’s also one of the most intelligent.
From a humble start in 2013, brothers Callum and Nat Reeves have taken KAIJU! on a steady climb to the top of craft brewing.
KAIJU!’s plans for world domination, Callum said with a cheeky grin and twinkle in his eye, are guided by the intelligence of their brewing systems which have been customised and curated by Fermecraft.
In 2015, KAIJU! commissioned Fermecraft to automate sections of their brewery and upgrade their intelligent industry 4.0 systems.
Today, Fermecraft is at the core of what they do across the entire brewery, giving the brew team the capability to push the style and flavour precision further forward in their beers.
“The Fermecraft system has become the most sophisticated and intelligent brewing process solution available to brewers of our size,” Callum said.
“We have added a much greater level of automation to our brewing process and this is constantly being built on.”
KAIJU! now produces more than 1.5 million litres in their brew house, which now includes three 50 hectolitre vessels.
The size of their brewery means there is greater need to ensure consistency and quality in the brews the team produces.
“Fermecraft automatically takes care of many of the time-consuming processes so our awesome brewers have more time available to consider the effects of different approaches in the beer production process.
“We want to continue to grow our sales and brand position, as long as we can maintain or improve on the quality of our beer as we do so,” Callum said.
Before the most recent upgrade, the KAIJU! brewhouse was made up of only two 25 hectolitre vessels.
Callum said it was becoming physically exhausting for the brew team to produce the necessary volume, and the brewery system they started out with and what they now have is like chalk and cheese.
“The data collection and control of brewing parameters on that volume of beer was also becoming unwieldy.
“The team benefits from having much more time available for the craft, R&D and creative elements of brewing.
“They’re much happier when they’re being creative!”
Callum went on to say: “Fermecraft really helps us stay profitable while delivering on our core business values of quality and staff wellbeing.”
Fermecraft Founder and Director, Warren Bradford said the six years the Fermecraft team has worked with KAIJU! has been rewarding and foundational for both teams.
“We’ve been able to completely revolutionise the way KAIJU! brews its many and various brews to deliver beer of consistency and flavour, while also giving the brew team a great deal of flexibility to express their creativity,” said Warren.
“Working with Callum and Nat has given us direct insight into the brewing system they need to take KAIJU! into the future with precision, intelligent technology and high production values.”
The ability for the KAIJU! brewery to continually grow and expand its facility in a way they can still control their processes, data management and beer quality as they build in size and capacity.
Both Warren and Callum agree the future of KAIJU! is both robust and assured with Fermecraft.
