This week on Beer is a conversation we hear about what happens when your dream of owning a brewery doesn't go to plan. Passionate homebrewer Adam Gibb opened White Brick Brewing in North Lakes north of Brisbane in November 2017 and closed it in July this year at the height of the COVID lockdowns. While COVID was the nail in the coffin, as Adam learned, things don’t always go to plan and running a brewery is fraught with challenges. It’s always a hard conversation to speak to someone who’s dream ...
Nov 17, 2020•52 min•Ep. 524
This week the team discuss refermentation issues with big and small brewers, a new hop launch and much more. 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! New board members at IBA as Philip returns as chair Coffee Milk Stout recalled over refermentation fears HPA innovates hop launch with mixed pack Quarterly sales up Endeavour Drinks ‘Sad day’ as US importers Shelton Bros close Cooper...
Nov 12, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 523
This week we meet The Australian’s chief cricket writer Peter Lalor . Peter has been a reporter for more than 30 years and is an award winning journalist and author and he has covered Test cricket in all parts of the world for the newspaper. He also writes about beer. With a platform in Australia's national broadsheet, he has a broader platform than just about any specialist beer writer in the country. We catch up with Peter to discuss his approach to beer writing and instead get a lesson in the...
Nov 10, 2020•54 min•Ep. 522
This week the team discuss the results of the Beer Cartel survey, the worldwide growth of zero alcohol beer and much more. 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! Beer Cartel survey Endeavour Brewing founders replaced in board overhaul Urban Alley loses trademark appeal “Near beer” brands face ABAC Nostalgia drives new retro beer New brand and consumer director at Lion Trade Mark...
Nov 05, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 521
This week we head across the ditch to visit Deep Creek Brewing in Auckland. Deep Creek recently launched a series of collaborations with Australian brewers called the Lockdown Local Series. For a brewery that took out the small international brewery at the 2017 Australian International Beer Awards, we knew very little about its background or its approach, so Beer is a Conversation arranged `to catch up with Paul Brown, one half of the founding team, to learn more about how the pair of home brewe...
Nov 03, 2020•57 min•Ep. 520
This week, the biggest brands in brewing are making waves. 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! Founders First signs national cold store distribution deal Heineken to acquire Asahi Beverages brands Liquor sales up at Coles even as lockdowns ease BrewDog and Ricky Gervais raise profile of Queensland animal charity CCA in takeover bid by European counterpart Last week to renew P...
Oct 29, 2020•57 min•Ep. 519
This week we head to the Great North and chat with Great Northern’s brand ambassador Antonia Ciorciari. October marks 10 years since the launch of CUB’s breakaway beer brand, Great Northern, and we take a deep dive to learn about the things that have made the brand such a success, including how a brand brewed in Brisbane still resonates with those in the great north of the state. Antonia has worked on some of the CUB brands that Brews News has been most fixated with over the years and so we have...
Oct 27, 2020•56 min•Ep. 518
This week the team discuss where the gains in the U.S. seltzer market are coming from and who wins in BWS local listing 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! Black Hops buys Semi Pro Brewing The rise and fall of Brut IPA, as told by its creator Two-thirds of US seltzer switching gains come from beer Breweries win BWS local listing campaign Busy quarter for ABAC Retail...
Oct 22, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 517
This week we Drink Beer and Think Beer, as we chat with US beer writer and podcaster John Holl. Regular listeners will know that the Brews News team are avid listeners of John’s podcasts, followers of his writings. It’s always great to just talk beer with him. This conversation was loosely prompted by a recent chat John had with Kim Sturdavent, who is credited as being the creator of the Brut IPA, a beer style that appeared, exploded and virtually disappeared, all in the space of 18 months. Kim ...
Oct 20, 2020•59 min•Ep. 516
This week the team discuss the latest in hop news and a big craft brewery takes a stand on a controversial social issue. 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! Lion plans to close SA’s West End Brewery GABS events deferred to 2021 IBA slams Victoria brewers grant block Check. Check. Check. gets big tick Record hop harvest but COVID warning: BarthHaas Hop quality up, four varieti...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 515
This week we chat with Luke Scott who has just announced that, after 13 years, he is leaving the Prickly Moses brewery in Victoria’s Otways. Luke leaves his current role to join start-up Sou’ West Brewing in the old Quicksilver building on Victoria’s Surf Coast. Luke is one of those brewers who has seen a lot of his change over his 13 years at the brewery, one that you may not even have heard of if you’re not from Victoria, and that’s because the business has changed focus as the industry has gr...
Oct 13, 2020•44 min•Ep. 514
In this special edition, we catch up with GABS Beer Festival and Spectacular Enterprises General Manager, Mike Bray, and Festival Director, Craig Williams. It’s no secret that 2020 has been a brutal year for events. We wanted to catch up with Mike and Craig for a while to find out how they were travelling and what the plans were for 2021, and to get Mike’s thoughts on acquiring the business just months before the pandemic. However, during the course of the chat they drop a few announcements and ...
Oct 09, 2020•51 min•Ep. 513
How will the 2020 federal budget affect brewers? The team discuss this in detail along with the rest of the weeks news. 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! What does the 2020 Budget mean for brewers? Vic Brewers Excluded From Hospo Support Grants Hotels group that struck secret beer tap deals with major breweries goes into liquidation Sports Brewing Co Zero+ marketed as “comp...
Oct 08, 2020•59 min•Ep. 512
This week we chat with Danielle Allen - co-founder of Two Birds Brewing . We have spoken to Danielle’s business partner Jayne Lewis a number of times, but not Danielle. In preparation for their 10 year anniversary next year, Two Birds has launched a survey to get consumer feedback on the brand, the beers, the business and a whole lot of other things that Danielle hopes will inform the business as it passes that milestone. Danielle talks about that and more as we walk through almost 10 years of T...
Oct 07, 2020•44 min•Ep. 511
This week the team discuss the latest in low alcohol beers and some cool ideas to come out of the Covid-19 crisis. 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! Beer club resurgence helps brewers grow communities New president for Pink Boots Australia Stone & Wood launch low alcohol beer East Point One Year On…Moon Dog World New dates for virtual IBD Asia Pacific convention Our par...
Oct 01, 2020•51 min•Ep. 510
This week Stone & Wood launched a new beer under its main brand, the first since Cloud Catcher in 2014, and we catch up with head brewer Caolan Vaughan to find out all about the beer. As you'll learn, there's a lot more to this beer than you'll read in the media release. Apart from the chat about the new beer, we learn about Caolan's career and inspirations and also take a look at the beer market and where we’re at. Our partners Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt . With over...
Sep 29, 2020•54 min•Ep. 509
This week the team discuss a big brewer falling foul of ABAC and a government PR fail. 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! Brewpubs’ duty of care in spotlight after keg explosion settlement 4 Pines moves into All Hands Brewing House Gage Roads opens Sydney venue this week VB faces ABAC over social media reposts Beer repackaging exemptions extended by ATO Our partners Radio Br...
Sep 24, 2020•58 min•Ep. 508
This week we talk Fat Yaks, Big Helga’s and Barking Ducks as we speak with Jamie Fox who was CUB’s Marketing Manager for craft a decade ago as Australia’s dominant brewer struggled to make sense of the emerging craft scene. It was fun to record some of his reflections on these times, and we hope you’ll enjoy the origin stories of some of the big - and defunct - beers from Matilda Bay. Our partners Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt . With over 25 years in the field, Cryer Malt a...
Sep 22, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 507
This week the team ask; is it too early for beer advent calendars? And where will BrewDog pop up next? 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! 2020 Beer Advent Calendar Nort launched by Modus BrewDog hunts for Australian bar locations Thirst. A scent by VB confirmed as fastest-selling Australian fragrance ever Our partners Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt . Wit...
Sep 17, 2020•53 min•Ep. 506
Last week Akasha announced a major rebrand with all the social media noise you would expect from such a move. In this conversation we catch up with co-founder Dave Padden to cut through the noise and discuss the background to the rebrand, what Akasha was were looking to achieve, as well as the reaction to the redesign. Being a conversation we also catch up with how Dave and Akasha has gone during lockdown and how their beers sales mix has shifted and where Dave sees it going as pubs reopen. We a...
Sep 15, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 505
This week the team discuss Queensland's long awaited 'artisan licence' and how Victoria's pubs are faring through Covid lockdowns. 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! Long-awaited Qld ‘artisan licence’ Bill introduced Indie beer on the up but big brewer craft rising fast NZ beer sales data shows $200m COVID loss to pubs AHA says Victoria’s pubs ‘bleeding with debt’ XXXX Dry e...
Sep 10, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 504
This week on the Beer is a Conversation podcast we chat with designer Matt O’Connor. Matt’s design for Little Bang Brewing’s Face Inverter Citrus Super Sour recently won the inaugural GABS Festival can design awards . As can design generates increasing interest and awareness, we were interested in learning more about how Matt came to design for Little Bang and how he approaches the challenges of starting with a shiny silver cylinder and making it something that captures the personality of the br...
Sep 08, 2020•29 min•Ep. 503
This week the team have some strong views on zero alcohol beer and the contrasting fortunes of Founders First and Broo. 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! Great Northern hero goes zero Byron Bay lager complaint dismissed Do consumers care about ‘being local’? Endeavour Drinks local initiatives pay off Contrasting fortunes at Founders First and Broo Little Bang wins inaugural...
Sep 03, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 502
This week we speak with Andy Scade and Mike Morgan, the President and Secretary of the West Australian Brewing Association. WABA as it is known, was the first association representing the interests of Australia’s nascent craft brewing scene of microbrewers as they were then known. They are also the last, as the various state bodies have elected to join the IBA as state chapters, something that WABA has declined to do . With more than 50 members, it has developed into a vibrant state association ...
Sep 01, 2020•40 min•Ep. 501
It's a big week in the beer world as the team tackle a triple bunger. ABAC, Broo and BrewDog - all making headlines this week. 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! Behemoth urging Yes vote in Reeferendum Pirate Life and Juice face ABAC complaints again Broo raises another $1.25m through share issue ‘This is growing into a beautiful friendship’ – Aldi says it’ll stock BrewDog’s...
Aug 27, 2020•54 min•Ep. 500
This week we discuss brettanomyces with restaurant critic and wine writer Tony Harper. That might be a surprising topic for brewers with barrel-aging and working with Brett increasingly seen as part of the high art of brewing. But Tony sees brettanomyces as a fault, killing the sense of place of a beer. Tony Harper has been a restauranteur is a wine and food writer, co-owner of Craft at Red Hill and also Cooparoo, one of Brisbane’s leading bottleshops and also a passionate lover of IPA. Enjoy th...
Aug 25, 2020•46 min•Ep. 499
This week the team discuss the latest ruling from ABAC, the importance of local and what's next for hazy beers. 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! Juicebox IPA complaint upheld Coles Liquor invests in local as revenues rise No taking Liberty with hazy trend Indie beer disadvantaged by targeting ‘purists’ say analysts Brewers pressure Qld government over promised licence Ende...
Aug 20, 2020•57 min•Ep. 498
This week we catch up with brewer Ruth Barry to learn about her enthusiam for yeast. After getting into home brewing in her early twenties and discovering the joy of yeast driven German beers while Brisbane's famous German club, Ruth decided to make a career in Beer. She's an award-winning home brewer has worked for Boat Rocker and now White Rabbit in its barrel room. This is a fun chat about how a passion for science and micro-organisms has led to a career. You can track Ruth's adventures in mi...
Aug 18, 2020•43 min•Ep. 497
This week the team get together to discuss the big news on Broo and whether bitter beers are facing their demise. 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! Broo signs contract brewing agreement Lion signals US plans with MD move Brewer forecasts death of bitter beers after IPA competition Close calls as ABAC beer complaints dismissed Gage Roads to open WA venue Asahi Premium Bevera...
Aug 13, 2020•57 min•Ep. 496
This week Matt chats with Mark Haysman, CEO of craft business accelerator Founders First . We first spoke with Mark in February last year when Founders first was in its relatively early days and had taken a stake in Victoria’s Jetty Road Brewing and Newcastle’s Foghorn Brewhouse. It was an interesting conversation about the business’ plans for craft and where they saw their future and the future of craft. You can hear that conversation here . Since then, it has invested in four further craft bre...
Aug 12, 2020•36 min•Ep. 495
