Mackay’s New Brews

Opening a brewery is everybody’s dream at some point.

Mackay-born Jamie Woods, affectionately known as Woodsy, has achieved the dream.

Woodsy opened Red Dog Brewery, alongside mates and business partners Jason Egan and Matt Lawton, last Friday to a rousing response from locals.

“It’s been great, mate,” Woodsy said on opening day.

“As soon as I opened the doors, we had 30 people in here.”

The bustling brewhouse is spread over two levels in an industrial space on the corner of Chain and Victoria Streets at the edge of the city.

The wide variety of beers on tap offers flavours seldom seen in Mackay pubs.

Opening day saw plenty of amber ales, pale ales, pilsners, Kolsch’s, and coffee porters poured, with an IPA and more exotic seasonal styles to come.

The menu also offers locally sourced spirits, colourful cocktails, and ice-cold slushies so there’s something for everyone.

Get Crafty With It

Jamie “Woodsy” Woods and Jason Egan were in Brisbane a couple of years ago and ended up in a craft brewery in Teneriffe.

Jason turned to Jamie with an idea that would change their lives.

“It was his idea, he just said, ‘maybe we should open one in Mackay,’” Woodsy said.

“We went to a few different breweries down there and said ‘yeah, we can do this in Mackay, but first we need to learn how to brew.’”

With no background in brewing beer, the pair learnt that it’s an ever-evolving process.

“I don’t think you ever stop; you just keep learning more and more.”

After their first beer in Jason’s shed, which took 18 hours to brew, they continued to evolve, experiment, and refine, finding their calling in the process.

“I got a bit of a passion for it over that time, trying to perfect it and get it better.”

A couple of years later, the boys opened Mackay’s newest craft brewery and taproom, but Woodsy says a lot more people were involved.

“It was a collaborative effort from a lot of people in town,” he said.

“It took a lot of people to get us to this point and without those people we wouldn’t be opening the doors today.”

The brewery provides a relaxed and social atmosphere in an industrial setting, with plenty of space to sit inside and out, live music, and food trucks out the front.

The variety of beers is the widest you’ll find in Mackay, with the amber ale being Woodsy’s pick of the bunch.

“We add hops to our amber ale, and it gives it a fruity aroma as opposed to a traditional amber that you’d get in the UK where it’s just a malty beer,” he said.

All beer is brewed onsite and sold exclusively through the brewery, with growlers and refills available if you want the Red Dog experience on your own back patio.

Woody says his vision is to provide a tastier alternative to the beer drinkers of Mackay.

“We understood that the Mackay market is a very traditional lager market for beer, but we want to be able to change that mentality – there’s other beer flavours out there,” he said.

“You can get a lot more flavour out of a craft beer than what you can out of the commercial stuff.

“Our vision is that more people drink craft beer.”

Red Dog Brewery Brewer and Co-Owner Jamie “Woodsy” Woods was stoked with the opening day turnout. Photo: Sam Gillespie

Locals were out in force to support the opening of Red Dog Brewery and sample their delicious beers. Photos: Sam Gillespie

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