This week we jump into the wayback machine to talk a little bit about beer branding. This is a redux version of a conversation we had back in 2015 with consumer psychologist, Gruen Transfer panellist and award wining ad man Adam Ferrier. We've talked a little in recent weeks about the Reschs Appreciation Society and the power of brand and why brands have a deeper appeal than just products. This is a fascinating chat about that power and our ability to lie to ourselves about a product to create a...
Aug 11, 2020•29 min•Ep. 494
It's a big week in beer news as debate overshadows a breakthrough in gluten-free barley and excise rises are paused for the first time in 37 years. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! IBA sheds staff; postpones BrewCon Researcher wins for breakthrough in gluten-free barley Excise hike paused for first time in 37 years BWS launches multi-million dollar local campaign WA launch...
Aug 06, 2020•57 min•Ep. 493
Today’s guest is Phil Dempster from Burra Brewing , named not as a nod to Australia’s iconic avian alarm clock but rather a contraction of its hometown of Korumburra. It has been operating for just over two years and has built a loyal following with locals. Nestled on the hill of the main drag in the small Gippsland town, Burra is the manifestation of a crazy idea hatched by three blokes wanting to live the dream of owning a brewery. The plan ticked the boxes of having each bring a different and...
Aug 04, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 492
This week the team discuss the popularity of Reschs, the right way to recall a beer and how indie beer can boost your venue. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! CUB bites the Silver Bullet with the return of Reschs cans Refermentation issue prompts sour beer recall Amazon signs up to ABAC Bowls club reaps rewards of going indie GABS Can Design Awards Publicans weigh up contra...
Jul 30, 2020•51 min•Ep. 491
This week Pete visits local Sean Ryan from Killer Sprocket . The bearded heavy metal funnyman has been brewing for almost a decade but has only recently set up shop of his own in the outer south east of Melbourne. It’s been a long and interesting journey and we take a bit of time to compare the contract and share-brewing model he employed in the beginning with the economics and price flexibility of brewing his own product on his own kit. An interesting tangent we head off into in a bit of depth ...
Jul 28, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 490
This week the team discuss some hot topics including; pregnancy labels, inclusive advertising and government funding for breweries. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! Industry ‘disappointed’ by pregnancy label decision More Australians cutting back on alcohol WA brewers receive $400k state funding Great Northern launches The Great Return The Men From Up Here - article by Dan...
Jul 23, 2020•57 min•Ep. 489
This week Pete snuck into Hard Road Brewing before the Victorian Government again made it all illegal and pulled up a barstool with co-founders Brad Merritt and Lein Jenkins. The brewery is 25 kms from the Melbourne CBD in the City of Knox which is fast becoming a destination for beer lovers along with neighbours Killer Sprocket, Project Brewing, Beach Hut That Little Brewery and even a couple of distilleries. Set in an industrial estate but blessed with a gorgeous, open, clean-canvas-style spac...
Jul 21, 2020•53 min•Ep. 488
This week the team discuss how breweries are marketing themselves in the climate of Covid-19 and why you shouldn't ask your consumers to just refrigerate their exploding beer cans. COVID-19 marketing in the spotlight at ABAC Indie brewers taking on budget beer Moon Dog launches Pub in a Box Government report into Australian drug and alcohol use Exploding cans need refrigeration BWS is calling for new local favourites to add to stores Our partners Now in its 28th year, the Australian Internationa...
Jul 16, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 487
In this episode Pete catches up with Braden Beggs at Project Brewing . A keen homebrewer with a mechanical and process engineering background, Braden is living two dreams by building and running a small brewbar in a suburban industrial estate while holding down a ‘real’ job to keep his family fed. But, as you will learn, this is no part-time hobby but a well-planned work-life-passion balance involving good time management, plenty of long hard hours and presumably a good deal of patience from the...
Jul 14, 2020•50 min•Ep. 486
This week the team overcome some recording difficulties to bring you the news of the week including the latest on tap contracts and the best and worst of can label designs. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! Tap contracts will be difficult to change say publicans Peter Meddings steps back from Bintani Reposted social media complaints upheld by ABAC GABS launches Craft Beer C...
Jul 09, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 485
This week we chat with Peter Meddings who is stepping back from his job at Bintani - a company that he founded 25 years ago to supply brewing ingredients to the nascent craft brewing industry. We learn some fun facts from the early days of brewing such as when home brewing was legalised in the early 70s, home brewers sourced their malt extracts from chemists. We also unearth some of the challenges and learnings that came with founding a business in the early days of the craft beer movement. Enjo...
Jul 07, 2020•56 min•Ep. 484
This week, the team discuss the latest on pregnancy labelling and when independence matters to the average consumer. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! Perth Royal Beer Awards 2020 open New 2020 AIBA dates announced Queensland TAFE brewing training set to launch “No measurable benefit” to mandatory pregnancy labels Byron Bay Brewery venue closes, brewing to continue Founders...
Jul 02, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 483
Newcomer to the beer scene, Bojak Brewing in Melbourne’s outer south east, is making its mark and showing that an honest beer and food offering paired with a welcoming indoor and outdoor space will grow an appreciative local following. Run by a young couple with a young family, from whom the brewery derives its name, Bojak Brewing shows that with the right kit, the right setup and the right amount of hard work, a small suburban brewpub can be a sustainable model. Pete caught up with Dale and Sue...
Jun 30, 2020•49 min•Ep. 482
This week the team discuss how Covid-19 shutdowns have affected the casual hospitality industry and share their thoughts on the new Sunly Seltzer. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! Changing landscape for casual workers in hospitality Being local keeping New Zealand brewers alive Dollar Bill signs up to Black is Beautiful global initiative Stone & Wood launch Sunly Seltz...
Jun 25, 2020•48 min•Ep. 481
There are a wide range of topics that we love to discuss with brewers on Radio Brews News. One of those is the point at which classic styles and innovation and novelty clash. Regular listeners would have heard Matt's recent conversation with Bentspoke Brewing’s Richard Watkins when he released his Flanders Red Ale, Flemm. There was a time - and not that long ago - when this style of beer was the epitome of sour beers. With the recent trend of kettle souring and the flavour innovations that have ...
Jun 24, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 480
This week Pete tracks down Bobby Henry the Beverage Manager for Australian Venue Co . Aus Venue Co, which oversees a portfolio of more than 150 venues across the country and another dozen in New Zealand, has been hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 restrictions. Bobby goes into detail about the plans and practices that have seen them survive the lockdown and the lessons they’ve learned as a result. We also talk about Bobby’s journey into the beer business and then stumble into an interesting c...
Jun 23, 2020•54 min•Ep. 479
This week sees controversy over the name "Colonial", keg shortages in WA, and finally some good news for NSW venues. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! Colonial praised for crisis response NTIA welcomes NSW Government Liquor Act NSW Government backs IBA Keg shortages despite ‘unprecedented logistical exercise’ NZ brewers emerge from lockdown with valuable lessons Our partner...
Jun 18, 2020•51 min•Ep. 478
This we catch up with Alli Macdonald, Lead Brewer with Malt Shovel Brewers and also Australian President of the Pink Boots Society . Like many craft brewers who found their inspiration to do what they do in the early 2000s, Alli had her beer epiphany when she travelled through Europe and discovered beer that was different to what she knew at home in Australia. Through a role with the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales she not only become the Chief Steward for its NSW beer awards, she ...
Jun 16, 2020•51 min•Ep. 477
This week we see Lion become the victim of a cyber attack and new laws for online alcohol delivery could change the status quo. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! Cyber attack hits Lion Broo asked to explain share price spike Large brewers call for excise freeze not ‘distortionary handouts’ GABS announces new dates Amazon Australia launches alcohol platform New online booze ...
Jun 11, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 476
This week we meet new Independent Brewers Association General Manager Kylie Lethbridge. Kylie has recently stepped into her new role with the IBA, starting just as the hospitality shutdowns commenced. We talk about the challenges of starting a new job with an industry organisation in a time of crisis for that industry, and also what she sees the key issues facing the association are post covid-19. In addition to her background in government policy and regional tourism management, Kylie has also ...
Jun 09, 2020•56 min•Ep. 475
This week the team discuss questions raised over competition after the Asahi acquisition, and the latest Alcohol and Drug Foundation campaign. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! Lockdown easing but brewers remain cautious Anti-alcohol lobby adopts DrinkWise campaign concept Asahi/CUB sees loss of ‘significant competitor’: ACCC Asahi completes CUB acquisition One Mile Brewing...
Jun 04, 2020•52 min•Ep. 474
This week’s conversation could have covered almost any topic in beer, and could easily have been a series in itself. Dermot O’Donnell has been brewing for more than 50 years, since starting at the Courage Brewery in 1967. He has worked in the UK for Bass Charrington, as well as locally at Lion, CUB, CCA and more recently at St Andrews Beach Brewery in a consultancy role. He was involved in developing a wide range of beers over the years including Tooheys Blue, Tooheys Dry, Carlton Mid and Pure B...
Jun 02, 2020•51 min•Ep. 473
The news discussed this week includes: The ABC corrects a story on alcohol consumption , but you might have missed it What are the impacts on the alcohol industry...we discuss the duelling reports . Are we drinking more or less? Winners revealed for AIBA 2020 Isolation Edition Lion partners with US seltzer brand White Claw Night Time Industry urges flexibility Rolled-up, not stirred : bankers pitch mega-move drinks industry play (paywall) Our partners Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cry...
May 28, 2020•53 min•Ep. 472
This week is our first on location conversation since isolation began. We head to Moffat Beach on Queensland's Sunshine Coast to chat with Matt and Sharynne Wilson. In this conversation we learn how a Sydney couple working in the money markets decided to move their family to the Sunshine Coast after chancing upon an ad for a failing beachside coffee shop while reading the paper in bed one Saturday morning. They took it on with little hospitality experience, no background in beer or brewing and a...
May 26, 2020•58 min•Ep. 471
This week on the podcast the team discuss the lockdown winners and losers as well as how breweries in tourism hot spots will return to normal. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! Breweries in tourist hotspots face slow return to ‘normal’ Pirate Life “probiotic” complaint dismissed by ABAC Jacaranda yeast served up in Newstead’s latest brew BrewCon 2020 rescheduled and rehomed...
May 21, 2020•59 min•Ep. 470
This week a chat on a crackly phone line with Allan Tilden from Eumundi Brewing on Brisbane’s Sunshine Coast. It’s always fascinating to learn the pathways that lead people into brewing and what it is that fires their enthusiasm for the job and Allan’s path was fascinating, including nine years making rock candy that saw him become a master confectioner before discovering his passion for making beer. Enjoy the conversation. Our partners Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt . With ...
May 19, 2020•42 min•Ep. 469
A big week in the brewing industry as the team look at 4 Pines small business grant, trademark battles and new research from FARE. Full stories linked below. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! Surprise as 4 Pines scores small business grant Positioning hard seltzers as brewery ranges evolve Craft beer retailer in trademark battle with Coles COVID increases interest in cannin...
May 14, 2020•52 min•Ep. 468
This week, a cracker of a chat with one of the great characters of Australian craft beer, Willie the Boatman's Pat McInerney. This conversation covers how Pat forwent his dreams of documentary filmmaking for the lure of the money of reality television before realising his dream of opening his own brewery. We also learn the importance of local and community to a craft brewery and some of the surprising upsides of the Covid-19 crisis. Our partners Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Mal...
May 12, 2020•42 min•Ep. 467
This week we see the release of the 2020 HPA hop report and the IBA faces it's own challenges during lockdown. Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcasting app. It costs nothing and helps other beer lovers discover the podcast! CUB launches vodka seltzer Galaxy booms as HPA releases 2020 hop harvest report Owen Johnston - HPA's 2020 Hop Report Endeavour and Coles sales up after March surge IBA faces own challenges during lockdowns Pub owners to pay $380,0...
May 07, 2020•47 min•Ep. 466
This week we hear from Bentspoke 's Richard Watkins and it's all about delicious barrel aged Flanders Reds. Beer is in a really interesting place right now. If you look at the early generation of craft brewers, many were inspired by travels through Europe, especially Belgium. Later, it was hop forward beers that inspired brewers and beer drinkers alike. Hop forward gradually morphed into hop driven beers and we saw an IBU arms race. More recently hops have meant haze and we have seen a race to b...
May 05, 2020•37 min•Ep. 465
