This week on Brews News Week Matt flies solo but discusses the news of the week with the people making news. First up, he chats with Anton Szpitalak from Tribe Brewing about Tribe’s announcement this week that it has signed an agreement to brew Pabst Blue Ribbon. Anton and his family formed Brewpack in 2012 when they acquired the assets of collapsed contractor Australian Independent Brewers. Later the business added its proprietary brand Stockade and this year changed its name to Tribe when it t...
Sep 02, 2018•58 min•Ep. 254
This week on Beer is a Conversation, Matt chats to Larry Meagher, Regional Sales Manager for food flavouring business, Amoretti . One of the promises that craft beer hold out is more flavour than the beers Australians have traditionally consumed and brewers have been in an arms race to push the boundaries of what malt, water, hops and yeast can lend to their beers. We have also seen a variety of adjuncts being used to generate even more flavour in beer. Amoretti has entered the market with a ran...
Aug 28, 2018•24 min•Ep. 253
This Good Brews Week Pete and Matt are joined by Pia Poynton, beer writer and Business Development Manager at Nowhereman Brewing Co . They discuss the news of the week, including: Barrow Boys Falls while West City Rises Us versus Them Is Canarchy a Duck...
Aug 26, 2018•56 min•Ep. 252
This week on Beer is a Conversation we meet Bill Savage from Goose Island . Bill came to brewing having taught himself to make mead while studying classical language and literature at college. He went on to make wine and mead professionally, before joining Goose Island in 2013. He is now Lead Brewer in the Goose Island Barrel Aging Program. This conversation coincides with the launch of Goose Island’s Sour Sisters range in Australia and we speak with Bill about Goose Island’s barrel program, the...
Aug 21, 2018•37 min•Ep. 251
This week on Good Brews Week, Matt and Pete chow down on a few Dagwood dogs while discussing the news of the week from the Ekka in Brisbane. This weeks top stories are: Stone and Wood settle trademark dispute case and announce plans for Brisbane venue Mornington Peninsula Brewery joins Tribe Great Northern Brewing raises $1 million for farmers...
Aug 19, 2018•36 min•Ep. 250
This week on Beer is a Conversation Matt is joined by Diarmaid O’Mordha, Quality & Sustainability Manager at Endeavour Drinks Group , the business that runs Dan Murphy’s and BWS. These retailers hold an interesting place in the Australian drinks world. On the one hand they are held up as giants shading out small independent bottleshops and skewing the shape of the drinks landscape. On the other, they are outlets where more Australians buy alcohol than any other, and they are increasingly maj...
Aug 15, 2018•42 min•Ep. 249
This week Matt and Pete are in Brisbane for the Ekka. They discuss what the vibe is like at Queensland's royal show and news of the week including: Gage Roads kicks goal in nib Stadium Newstead Brewing Co partners with Surf Life Saving Qld
Aug 12, 2018•34 min•Ep. 248
This week for Beer is a Conversation, we are joined by Chris Sidwa. Chris is probably best known as co-founder of Sydney’s Batch Brewing . We caught up with Chris and his partner Andrew Fineran late last year during our swing through the breweries of Sydney’s inner west. This time we chat with Chris about his new book, Brew a Batch: A beginner’s guide to home-brewed beer. As a beginners guide to getting into homebrew, Brew a Batch is a recommended read. But where the book really comes into its o...
Aug 07, 2018•31 min•Ep. 247
This week on Good Brews Week Matt and Pete discuss the news of the week, including: AB InBev buys online retailer BoozeBud Lion buys NZ’s Harrington’s What’s the true cost of a keg of beer?...
Aug 05, 2018•46 min•Ep. 246
In the third and final Brews News Live, from BrewCon 2018, our special guest is Jason Perrault, CEO and head breeder at the Select Botanicals Group , part of Yakima Chief Hopunion. This week we do something a little different and turn the microphones over to Balter Brewing's Scott Hargraves and Van Dieman Brewing's Will Tatchell to host the conversation they wanted to listen to. It’s riveting listening as a couple of great brewers chat with a very passionate hop breeder. Enjoy the conversation....
Aug 02, 2018•40 min•Ep. 245
This weeks Beer is a Conversation is with Lachy Crothers, head brewer at Brisbane’s Ballistic Brewing . Regular listeners will know that freshness has been recurring topic on the podcast channel and so when Ballistic released a beer with a ‘Dead by’ date, our interest was immediately piqued. The Sleep When You’re Dead range, is a series of one-off hop-driven limited releases which are launched with a two month best before date that the brewery calls a ‘Dead By’ date because after that date passe...
Jul 31, 2018•36 min•Ep. 244
This week on Good Brews Week we welcome Pete back from the US and get his take on what's happening in the home of craft beer. We also discuss the news of the week including: Beer features big at Regional Flavours Trade mark squatters could cost brewers Coopers Pale Ale in cans Lagunitas drops ABV of IPA in UK...
Jul 29, 2018•55 min•Ep. 243
In the second episode of Brews News Live, from BrewCon 2018, Matt speaks with Dick Cantwell. Dick co-founded Elysian Brewing Company in 1996, where he served as head brewer until its sale to Anheuser-Busch in 2015. During his tenure, Elysian was named Large Brewpub of the Year three times at the Great American Beer Festival® (1999, 2003 and 2004), and in 2004, he received the BA's Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing. Dick was at the conference to present about the history and techni...
Jul 26, 2018•37 min•Ep. 242
This week on Beer is a Conversation, Matt catches up with Grant Wearin, who together with his wife Jaz, launched Modus Operandi almost exactly 4 years ago. From the very start, Modus has had a major effect on the beer market with the brewery winning a swag of trophies, including being named Champion Small Brewery at the then Craft Beer Industry Association awards, within months of opening. They were at it again this year, being named the champion large brewery at the newly renamed Independent Be...
Jul 24, 2018•39 min•Ep. 241
In this special Brews News Live, recorded at BrewCon 2018, Matt Kirkegaard chats with New Belgium co-founder Kim Jordan Since it’s beginnings 1991, Kim has been instrumental in developing a business and a culture that has driven one of the most respected craft breweries in America. This chat covers New Belgium’s early days, whether a business could start the same way today and still grow to the scale that New Belgium has achieved, notions of craft and also her views on the move to brand independ...
Jul 19, 2018•35 min•Ep. 240
This week on Beer is a Conversation Matt Kirkegaard has a long over due chat with brewer Michael Capaldo. In a career spanning more than a decade Michael has gone from working as a packaging assistant with Little Creatures to a production brewing role with Gage Roads while completing a Graduate Diploma of Brewing through Edith Cowan University. He then took the reins as head brewer for Sydney Brewery and Lovedale Brewery where he led the team to winning trophies at the Australian International B...
Jul 17, 2018•27 min•Ep. 239
This week on Good Brews Week Matt is playing the role of Pete Mitcham who is overseas. He is joined by Zoe Ottaway from Totem Marketing and Steve 'Hendo' Henderson from Rockstar Brewer to discuss the beer news of the week. This week sees us discuss: ABAC and the fine line brewers walk between fun marketing and marketng to children London has called Lion and it has bought Fourpure Lion returns Swans to Perth with Bevy Beer labels and augmented reality Get more Brews News ....
Jul 15, 2018•54 min•Ep. 238
Part 3 of this weeks chat with Teri Fahrendorf is all about her latest passion, malt. She believes malt will be next big trend and shares her thoughts on where Australia is headed in terms of flavour. Matt was lucky enough to have the chance to chat with Pink Boots founder, Teri Fahrendorf recently at BrewCon. Teri’s background as a brewer is of considerable experience and the beginnings of the Pink Boots Society is a must hear story. The conversation was so engaging and interesting that Matt an...
Jul 10, 2018•38 min•Ep. 237
Part 2 of this weeks chat with Teri Fahrendorf covers the story of Pink Boots and how its creation was somewhat of an accident. Matt was lucky enough to have the chance to chat with Pink Boots founder, Teri Fahrendorf recently at BrewCon. Teri’s background as a brewer is of considerable experience and the beginnings of the Pink Boots Society is a must hear story. The conversation was so engaging and interesting that Matt and Teri ended up chatting for almost two hours. We’ve broken up the podcas...
Jul 10, 2018•43 min•Ep. 236
Strap yourselves in for Beer is a Conversation this week, you’re in for a ride. Matt was lucky enough to chat with Pink Boots founder, Teri Fahrendorf recently at BrewCon. Teri’s background as a brewer is of considerable experience and the beginnings of the Pink Boots Society is a must hear story. The conversation was so engaging and interesting that Matt and Teri ended up chatting for almost two hours. We’ve broken up the podcast into 3 sections, all available now, so you can listen at your lei...
Jul 10, 2018•33 min•Ep. 235
This week on Good Brews Week we temporarily farewell Pete who will be overseas for a few weeks, and discuss: BrewCon 2018 and the Indies Joe White puts signature on craft malt Experienceit drops Beaverton...
Jul 08, 2018•34 min•Ep. 234
This week on Beer is a Conversation Matt Kirkegaard is joined by Anton Szpitalak from Tribe Breweries. Anton was talked into taking over the former Australian Independent Breweries business which he rebranded as Brewpack and turned around its fortunes. From contract brewing he has expanded into his own branded product in the shape of Stockade, and recently opened a brewery / barrel room in Marrickville. The rebranded Tribe Breweries is expanding with a $35-million production brewery in Goulburn ...
Jul 03, 2018•44 min•Ep. 233
This week's episode was recorded at BrewCon 2018 and we were lucky to catch up in person with, now regular guest, Zoe Ottaway. We chat about the evolution of BrewCon from its early days at the Melbourne Lithuanian Club to the expansive event in Sydney this year. We discuss Brut IPAs and Matt's suggestion that it represents a blurring of ideas of 'craft' and 'industrial' Consumer feedback and perception post brewery buyout The perceptions of beer in cans versus bottles and whether can can have a ...
Jul 02, 2018•42 min•Ep. 232
This week’s Beer is a Conversation guest is Belgin Kose, Regional General Manager, Asia Pacific for Cargill, owners of Joe White Maltings. Belgin has held this role for 18 months and over that time she has been driving a project that is being launched this week at BrewCon: Signature Malt. This initiative will see Joe White maltings assess malt coming in from every region after harvest and with the help of Bintani choose the best barley of the year, and then match it with the most appropriate mal...
Jun 25, 2018•35 min•Ep. 231
This week on Good Brews Week Pete and Matt discuss: Brut IPA is the new NEIPA, but does it break the rules ? Bottles are getting canned as cans replace bottles Gage Roads gets the nod from the shiny suits at the Stock Exchange BrewCon is go...
Jun 24, 2018•31 min•Ep. 230
This week’s guest is no stranger to listeners of the Radio Brews News Channel, Ben Kraus. Back in 2005 Ben convinced his partner Maria to move from the Tirol region of Austria to Beechworth and open was was then called a microbrewery. Ben now says it was a pretty bold and naïve move for a couple of 24 year olds with $15000 as starting capital. However, 13 years later Bridge Road Brewers is going strong and is a community hub in its hometown of Beechworth, not to mention a mainstay of the nationa...
Jun 19, 2018•41 min•Ep. 229
This Good Brews Week Zoe Ottoway from Totem Marketing is back by popular demand and joins Matt and Pete to discuss the news of the week including: Gage Roads takes over Matso’s Brewing IBA Independence seal has been well received Lion opens Little Creatures brewpub in Singapore...
Jun 17, 2018•54 min•Ep. 228
A lot of great stories come out of the Australian International Beer Awards each year and none more so than this week’s guest. Pete Mitcham recently caught up with Kris Domagala, who brews with our good friend Steve ‘Hendo’ Henderson at little known Melbourne Brewery, Brownstone Microbrewery . Brownstone surprised many - including Kris - when it was awarded the Gary Sheppard Trophy for best new exhibitor and a Gold medal for Kris’ pale ale at the recent awards. Craft brewing is an industry that ...
Jun 12, 2018•30 min•Ep. 227
This Good Brews Week Pete and Matt are joined by Dr. André Sammartino to discuss the beer news of the week. André is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management & Marketing at the University of Melbourne and his main research interests are at the intersection of international business and strategic management. His recent projects have looked at the geographical reach of multinationals, reconfiguration of international competitive advantages, and the cognitive processes of individu...
Jun 10, 2018•52 min•Ep. 226
A little over a month ago the Federal Government announced changes to the excise system that will see the excise brewers pay on smaller keg formats fall to match that of the traditional 50 litre kegs. This had been lobbied for by small brewers for several years, and was touted to have a range of benefits across things such as workplace health and safety, beer freshness and the range of venues stocking keg beer. Given how long brewers had been lobbying for the change, the response from some brewe...
Jun 05, 2018•25 min•Ep. 225
