Premium Australian beer and cider from the crafters of KAIJU! and Golden Axe
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Premium Australian beer and cider from the crafters of KAIJU! and Golden Axe

With a fun, bold and distinctly comic-book style, KAIJU! beers certainly stand out on the shelf of your local bottle shop.

The KAIJU! story has been going for some time now, but it originally began with a frustrated homebrewer and his brother. Nat, the homebrewer was known amongst family and friends for his deliciously hoppy ales, so much so that he was encouraged to start making beer to sell. With the commercial help of brother Callum, the first KAIJU! beer was released. To make sure they were true to themselves and only made beer they loved to drink, the brothers’ first release was what is now known as Aftermath Double IPA. The brew was such a hit, an entire carload was sold at KAIJU!’s first bottle shop tasting. Also known as the hoppiest beer in Australia, Aftermath received a silver medal at the Sydney Royal Beer Show the first year it was released and has since gone on to win gold at the Australian International Beer Awards. Since the Aftermath’s release, the KAIJU! family has grown to include Hopped Out Red Ale, Metamorphosis IPA, Robohop Golden IPA, Cthulu Black IPA, Behemoth Double India Black Ale, Betelgeuse Double Red Ale and most recently the KAIJU KRUSH! Tropical Pale.

In addition to great beers, the brothers also make Golden Axe Cider. Since its inception in 2012, Callum and Nat have been sourcing juice locally from a mate’s orchard. The cider is handcrafted using only freshly-crushed Victorian apples and the result is refreshing and delicious.

The KAIJU! team, which also includes Callum’s wife Clara, describe themselves as “giant nerds” who care deeply about their craft. That nerdy flair is lovingly incorporated across their range of brews, each featuring it’s own unique kaiju monster. The term “kaiju” itself is a Japanese word that means “strange creature”, and is the general term for characters such as Godzilla and Mothman.

What is most eye-catching about the products from South East Brewing Company is their use of vibrant colours and unique label designs. The Reeves brothers attribute much of their marketing success to graphic designer Mikey Burton. Mikey is an internationally acclaimed designer and illustrator and his work has been featured in publications such as GQ, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. The unique, video game-esque style of the labels make KAIJU! and Golden Axe Cider stand out from the crowd.

South East Brewing Company opened their own brewery last year and very recently they were able to import an isobaric canning system from the US, the first of its kind in Australia. As such, KAIJU! are making a strong push into packaging in cans with three of the beers currently available in that format and more on the way, including the cider.

Golden Axe Cider and KAIJU! are environmentally conscious brands, using ingredients that are vegan-friendly “in the best interests of our avian and sea faunal friends”. The perfect guilt-free option for a cheeky mid-week beer at the end of a long day. That’s right, it’s beer o’clock.

Find and adopt your KAIJU! of choice at your local bottle shop or head to www.kaijubeer.com.au for stockists.

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