This week we catch up with Chris Herring from Mount Tamborine's Beard & Brau brewery. We chat about the brewery and its origins and then about their new beer that promises to be gluten reduced despite being made with malted barley . The beer is possible due to the use of a brewing enzyme, Brewers Clarex . The enzyme has been used for some time to reduce chill haze in beer and has tended to be used by larger breweries with such enzymes often being seen as the antithesis of 'craft' brewing. We...
Nov 30, 2015•49 min•Ep. 71
This week our planned guest, Aine O'Hora from Ireland's Boyne Brewhouse , was forced to cancel at the last minute so Pete and Matt this week's episode sees Matt and Pete discussing the news of the day: CUB's increasing focus on heritage brands , Rob Ruminski's article arguing craft brewers need to complain less and market better and also whether Lion's beautiful truths campaign glosses over some inconvenient ones...and whether it matters anyway. Spoiler alert : As you would expect, Matt thinks i...
Nov 23, 2015•43 min•Ep. 70
After their unplanned hiatus, Pete and Matt are back, this week chatting with the guys behind beer-powered fundraiser Brewmanity and also the team at Sydney's Batch Brewing. Retired footballer David Neitz and teamed up with Melbourne beer identity Barney Matthews to create Brewmanity and see what would happen if you imagined that a portion of every beer we ever drank contributed to doing some good in the world… We also speak with Andrew Fineran and Chris Sidwa, the boys behind Sydney's Batch Bre...
Nov 06, 2015•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 69
This week we catch up with Ben Kooyman, one of the founders of Endeavour Vintage Beer Co . As usual, it's a wide ranging chat talking about the origins of the brewery and musings about labelling, vintage beer, retailing and plenty of other things going on in the beer world at the moment. We also talk about their beers too. Don't forget to send us your feedback , or leave a voice mail by calling (07) 3040 1508, that we'll play on our next show. Radio Brews News is hosted by Matt Kirkegaard and Pe...
Sep 11, 2015•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 68
This week we catch up once again with influential beer historian Martyn Cornell from the blog Zythophile . We last caught up with Martyn back in 2011 when he had set a cat amongst the pigeons correcting some errors in the Oxford Companion to Beer . Martyn has a new book out, Strange Tales of Ale, which gives the true account of a wide variety of beer stories, such as the Great Porter Explosion at the Meux Brewery and whether the ploughman's lunch was really just the creation of cheese marketers....
Sep 04, 2015•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 67
This week we take a look at the latest crowd-funding campaign, this time to pay for a new venues taps and also speak with brewer Scott Hargrave about his soon-to-open Gold Coast brewery. Adelaide bar-in-development NOLA has taken to crowd-funding site Pozible to raise funds to pay for the taps in their venue. In their words: "We want to give people the opportunity to help us stick it up the big guys. We want the people to help us support the Australian craft beer market by allowing us to provide...
Aug 28, 2015•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 66
This week we catch up with Denita Wawn, Chief Executive Officer of the Brewers Association and also Mazen Hajjar, co-founder of Melbourne's Hawkers Beer . Our chat with Denita is very wide ranging and discusses the role of the Brewers Association , which represents the large breweries of Australia and New Zealand in their legislative and regulatory affairs. We end up looking at the association's role in assisting to fund the recently launched Tasmanian Brewery Trail . We also chat with Mazen Haj...
Aug 15, 2015•45 min•Ep. 65
This week we catch up with Denita Wawn, Chief Executive Officer of the Brewers Association and also Mazen Hajar, co-founder of Melbourne's Hawkers Beer . Our chat with Denita is very wide ranging and discusses the role of the Brewers Association , which represents the large breweries of Australia and New Zealand in their legislative and regulatory affairs. We end up looking at the association's role in assisting to fund the recently launched Tasmanian Brewery Trail . We also chat with Mazen Haja...
Aug 10, 2015•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 64
This week we catch up with Owen 'OJ' Johnston from Hop Products Australia and David Golding from Red Hill Brewery. Owen talks us through the Australian and international hop trends following the release of the annual Barth Report . The report has been published annually, with few exceptions, since 1877 and provides a fascinating insight into the annual hop production and trends. David joins us to talk about ten years of Red Hill Brewery, how they started, their inspiration, trials and tribulatio...
Jul 31, 2015•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 63
Two more great chats again this week for your weekend listening pleasure. This week we chat with Bobby Henry, brewer at contract-brewing-soon-to-be-brewery-owning Quiet Deeds and Doug and Gabi Michael from boutique maltster, Gladfield Malt. Bobby has a very frank chat about the evolution of the Quiet Deeds brand and their plans to open their own brewery, while Doug & Gabi discuss their transition from barley growers to maltsters, while teaching us about good malt on the way. Don't forget to ...
Jul 24, 2015•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 62
This week is a study in contrasts as we catch up with Michael, Jack and Red from South Australia's Pirate Life Brewing, makers of unashamedly hoppy beers. We also catch up with Anthony Clem, Quality Brewer at Brisbane's XXXX Brewery to find out all about the new Pale Ale being released today under the XXXX Gold label. Don't forget to send us your feedback, or leave a voicemail by calling (07) 3040 1508, that we'll play on our next show. Radio Brews News is hosted by Matt Kirkegaard and Pete Mitc...
Jul 16, 2015•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 61
This week we catch up with Ben Kraus from Beechworth's Bridge Road Brewers, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Ben is always passionate and forthright, especially on the subject of provenance, and shares his thoughts on the changes he has seen in the small brewing industry over the decade since he started brewing is his dad's shed until the present, where he now employs 25 staff. This week we also introduce some new. With the great feedback we get via email, Twitter, Facebook and the com...
Jul 06, 2015•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 60
In a bumper, but Prof-less, episode Matt catches up with Toohey's Brewery Director Mark Toomey to learn all about the new Toohey's Darling Pale Ale. Sections of social media have delighted in sneering at the media release describing the beer as 'unchallenging' but we learn from Mark that the beer is all malt, uses a blend of Galaxy, Willamette and Amarillo hops and the Tooheys ale yeast. It may be subtle - restrained even - but with Little Creatures' broadened distribution for Furphy and other l...
Jun 26, 2015•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 59
This week Matt and Pete actually catch up over a beer - well actually a morning cup of coffee - and chat with publican Josh Collins from Black Bunny Kitchen on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Black Bunny Kitchen has established itself as a beacon for beer adventurers in a part of Australia that has proved a hard nut to crack for craft beer. We find out what Josh has been doing and get some insights into how he's made beer work in his venue. But first we catch up with Peter Collins from Hawthorn Bre...
Jun 24, 2015•55 min•Ep. 58
This week we meet BentSpoke's Richard Watkins to celebrate his brewery's first birthday and hear his thoughts on the small brewing industry gained over twenty years. We then catch up with brewing educator and consultant Vincent Costanzo from Costanzo Brewing Consultants to learn about some of the issues affecting beer quality that anyone thinking of becoming a brewer should be considering.If you want to know more about Vince's courses, you can find a listing here . Finally we catch up with James...
Jun 14, 2015•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 57
A cracking show this week in which we caught up with Brooklyn Brewery co-founder, Steve Hindy, and talk about the strength of craft and the challenges it faces. The interview follows some of the themes Steve discussed in his opening keynote at the recent CBIA Craft Brewers Conference. We also meet consumer psychologist and regular panellist on the Gruen Series, Adam Ferrier. Amongst many thank, Adam says that if you tell yourself that all that matters about the beer that you drink is the flavour...
Jun 05, 2015•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 56
We're in the throes of Good Beer Week in Melbourne, but in the interests of keeping it regular we managed to catch up with Australian International Beer Awards chief judge Warren Pawsey, who ends the discussion about what Session IPAs really are. We chat to newly crowned Beer Writer of the Year, Luke Robertson , and we hear from Co-chief GABS man Steve Jeffares how the first session of GABS went and whether you've left your run to late if you don't have tickets already. Radio Brews News is hoste...
May 22, 2015•48 min•Ep. 55
This week, a year on from the ACCC’s Byron Bay intervention, we speak with the Chair of the ACCC, Rod Simms, about the ACCC’s role and function and the steps they are taking to ensure that what you see on the label is a true reflection of what’s behind the beer. Apologies for the audio quality with this interview. It was a great chat down a terrible phone line. But first, we speak with Tim Wills from Premier Stainless. As the craft beer industry in Australia expands so too does the demand for qu...
May 15, 2015•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 54
This week we chat with Jamie Cook who, while these days better known as a founder of Stone & Wood Brewery, has many years of experience working for Australia's two largest brewing companies as well as as a marketing consultant. Jamie is one of our favourite industry watchers and while the conversation inevitably comes back to Stone & Wood's approach to business, the conversation looks at issues of craft, provenance, beer bubbles and the future of beer. (We had teed up this interview some...
May 08, 2015•52 min•Ep. 53
This week Radio Brews News interviews Micah Rees from Core Brewing Concepts. Two weeks ago website The Crafty Pint published a story titled Brewer Beware , outlining issues that a number of brewers have had with a brewing equipment supplier, Core Brewing. This followed a warning posted on social media by one of the brewers affected. We initially intended to run this podcast featuring interviews with a number of the affected brewers, together with this interview with Micah Rees. However, as we sp...
May 01, 2015•46 min•Ep. 52
This week the Prime Minister celebrates our 50th Episode by skolling a beer to a chanting rugby crowd. Our guest this week is Derek O’Donnell, the general manger of the Australian Beer Company, the partnership between Coca Cola Amatil and Casella. In a wide ranging interview we look at whether Coke can make craft beer - or whether it's Coke's business at all - and what the Yenda range says about where beer is headed. Radio Brews News is hosted by Matt Kirkegaard and Pete Mitcham and is produced ...
Apr 27, 2015•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 51
With the Great Australian Beer Spectacular nearly upon us, we catch up with Steve Jefferies, the mastermind behind what’s now been called one of the top beer festivals in the world. We talk about changes to this years festival, if the tap rotation craze has had it’s day , and plug our own GABS 2015 event 'Brewin Transfer' . Also joining the program Tim Collin the co-owner and Jeff Wright the head brewer at Vale Brewing Company . We have a wide ranging chat about the business' origins and history...
Apr 17, 2015•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 50
This week Matt flies solo from his holiday location to post an interview with Brad Rogers from Stone & Wood. Brad talks about the new brewhouse for the Murwillumbah brewery, how they are managing the Galaxy hops shortage, the next incarnation of their annual stone beer and he also takes us through the six beers in their Beer of the World release. Radio Brews News is hosted by Matt Kirkegaard and Pete Mitcham and is produced by Lachie Mackintosh. Radio Brews News is proudly supported by and a...
Apr 12, 2015•41 min•Ep. 49
In this very non-Easter but extremely good Radio Brews News we catch up with Mark Woolcott from beerbud.com.au who explains his company's latest beer crowd funding venture - and what’s really in it for the consumer. BeerBud's crowd funding page: beerbud.com.au/crowdfunding We then speak with writer Pete Brown who gives you the lay of the land for craft beer in the UK, explains why his attitude to the J D Wetherspoon’s chain is softening, if not becoming his favourite craft beer bar . Pete also g...
Apr 02, 2015•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 48
This week you’ll find out why Stella Artois wants you to buy a lady from the developing world a drink . Altruism or cynicism from Stella Artois? You’ll meet Brendan Varis who sits on the board of the Craft Beer Industry Association. He’ll talk you through the changes to this year ’ s conference . And last, but certainly not least, Cam Pearce from Coopers joins the show. If you’ve ever wanted to know the philosophy behind Coopers and how a family business maintains its hold in an expanding market...
Mar 27, 2015•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 47
This week we welcome a new microphone for Pete, a new producer for the show and, most importantly, our guest influential Canadian beer writer Stephen Beaumont. Stephen has been writing about beer since the early 1990s and has written, co-written or contributed to a dozen books, including The Pocket Beer Guide ( Pocket Beer Book 2014 in the U.K.) and The World Atlas of Beer , both co-written with Tim Webb . A true beer insider, Stephen retains an outsider's eye and a quick wit as is demonstrated ...
Mar 23, 2015•59 min•Ep. 46
This week we catch up with Tim Lord from Hop Products Australia about the 2015 hop harvest and what t means for the Australian beer industry. As often happens when beer is a conversation, some of the best discussion happened at the end of the interview. As we were saying goodbyes, Tim amplified some of the things we had discussed during the interview including how the Australian hop industry may not have survived but for the current craft beer resurgence. Tim has kindly let us keep this informal...
Mar 17, 2015•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 45
This week Matt & Pete quickly dissect the washup from the Hottest 100 countdown and then chat about the recent media interest in tp contracts. You can hear an older episode about tap contracts here You can read about tap contracts here We then play an interview Matt recorded with Anton Szpitalak from Brewpack last year. It's an interesting chat about the beer business and Anton's take on the craft beer cycle and contract brewing. Follow Australian Brews News and Radio Brews News on Facebook ...
Feb 17, 2015•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 44
The podcast of our first ever live broadcast, of the 2014 Hottest 100 Countdown. Broadcast from Queensland's Fortitude Brewing, Matt is joined by brewer Ian Watson with crosses to Pete Mitcham at the Local Taphouse St Kilda and guests Steve Jeffares from The Local Taphouse, publican Corey Crooks from Newcastle's Grainstore, brewer Dave Padden, Steve Finney from Feral and a surprise call from Feral brewer, Brendan Varis, calling in from LA. It's rough, it's ready, but it captures the excitement o...
Jan 26, 2015•2 hr 50 min•Ep. 43
This week we play part two of Matt's interview with CUB about the revitalisation attempts for the Crown brand and Tim Ovadia is joined by CUB's Chief Brewer Jaideep Chandrasekharan about the 2014 Crown Ambassador Reserve, the brewing process and Matt & Jaideep have the first public sampling of the vintage. Later they are joined by Crown's Marketing Manager, Scott Tindall. In the intro Matt & Pete muse about KFC's application to sell beer, which leads into a chat our attitudes to drinking...
Jan 23, 2015•55 min•Ep. 42
