This week we catch up with brewer John Stallwood from Nail Brewing . This conversation is equal parts conversation and oral history about the craft beer movement, as John is one of the original figures in the current craft brewing scene, getting started in the late 1990s. As you’ll hear, it’s not been an easy road for John - not least trying to get started before a market for his beer really existed - but an assault in 2004 set him back personally and professionally and required an extended peri...
Mar 16, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 554
This week the team discuss concerns over inaccuracies in ABV and share how they'll celebrate National Local Day. 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! Concerns raised by ABV testing results Qld artisan legislation misses mark, say craft brewers Lion declares March 23 Australia’s National Local Day Gluten-free takeover a surprise success Consolidations continue as Ballistic buys...
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 553
This week we go to Bowral to chat with Cameron James from Southern Highlands Brewery . Southern Highlands hadn’t really featured on our radar apart from being a thriving little brewery in a regional centre. What put it on the map for us was an email from Cameron, the co-owner and brewer sharing his experiences going from working is hydrography to IT to brewing via homebrewng and going pro when someone who enjoyed his beers stumped up the money to get started. Cameron and Ben support brain cancer...
Mar 09, 2021•53 min•Ep. 552
This week the team discuss the real challenge of recruitment post Covid and more losses as Broo extends ALM deal. 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! Sydney pilsner wins "Australia's best beer" at RQFWS Product Recall: Bright Brewing Pineapple Dream Nitro Milkshake Ale Blasta Brewing founder in 40 under 40 The real challenge of recruitment post COVID More losses as Broo exten...
Mar 04, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 551
This week we have a postcard from Canada as we catch up with brewer Matt Hennessy who’s currently brewing with Collective Arts Brewing in Hamilton, Ontario. Matt is a podcast listener and sometimes correspondent, and so I was keen to catch up with him to find out how he came to be in Canada, but also to learn a little more about Canada’s brewing and drinking culture, which is a little hard to divine from a distance. Our partners Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt , who we are th...
Mar 02, 2021•43 min•Ep. 550
This week the team discuss the latest results for Mighty Craft and Good Drinks and a product recall for cider. 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! Revenue up, losses continue at acquisitive Mighty Craft Sales growth slows at Endeavour Drinks and Coles Liquor Record earnings for Gage Roads owner Good Drinks Performance ‘stabilises’ at can supplier Orora Product recall for appl...
Feb 25, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 549
This week we meet Peter Howes who, for want of a better description, is the Patriarch of the Howes family that owns Brisbane’s Newstead Brewing . Newstead was one of the very early arrivals in the Brisbane good beer scene, and it was the first of those to really do the food and hospitality side of the business well in the city. While Peter's son Mark Howes was the face of the brewery and hugely active in the craft beer scene as a prolific collaborator with other breweries, the business has alway...
Feb 23, 2021•41 min•Ep. 548
This week the team discuss BrewDog's equity crowd fund and the latest news in zero alcohol beer. 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! BrewDog extends equity campaign after sluggish start BrewDog plans NZ bar with crowdfunding extension Divided views on COVID-19 alcohol sales Asahi Group bullish as it focuses on lower alcohol Mighty Craft renegotiates Sparkke deal Investment an...
Feb 18, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 547
This conversation has been 15 years in the making, as we chat with Brennan and Peta Fielding, founders of Burleigh Brewing Company . Burleigh is a fascinating study into consistency in the ever changing brewing landscape. It was a pioneering brewery of the Queensland craft scene when it set up, but also much larger than some of the early start ups of its day. In many ways it was ahead of its time. Brennan was already an experienced brewer and together they were experienced brewery owners when th...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 546
This week the team can't keep their chill as the discussion turns to exploding beer cans. 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! Tasmanian brewery Boekamp closes, relaunches as The Albert Kegstar merged with US logistics giant Rocky Ridge diversifies and expands Government funding for Cheeky Monkey expansion Micro-scale mash brewing could lead to new beer styles Lion parent comp...
Feb 11, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 545
This week on Beer is a Conversation we talk hops. But not hops in Tasmania, Victoria or Yakima...Hops in Brisbane as we speak with Andrew Carson from Hilltop Hops . The conventional narrative is that hops can’t grow in places like Brisbane and as you’ll hear from Andrew they can’t really be grown commercially, but they can be grown. The question is why and that’s what we delve into in this conversation as we hear Andrew’s story of finding a way to get involved in an industry that you love doing ...
Feb 09, 2021•40 min•Ep. 544
This week the team discuss Mighty Craft's new customer rewards model as well as the latest on Broo and the other big stories of the 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! Broo announces Oz focus as losses continue Mighty Craft’s alternative reward model Good Drinks extends Optus Stadium contract Mornington Peninsula founder supports NSW startup New owners for gluten-reduce...
Feb 04, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 543
This week on Beer is a Conversation we cross the Tasman to talk beer - and the brewing industry - with Sabrina Kunz, the executive director of the Brewers Guild of New Zealand . There are so many similarities between the Australian and New Zealand industries, but many differences exist as well, not least of which is the approach that the respective brewers associations have taken to membership. Sabrina talks about this and a whole lot more in this interesting conversation about the role of indus...
Feb 02, 2021•47 min•Ep. 542
This week the team debrief from the Hottest 100 and discuss the issue of labelling local. 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! BentSpoke rides to top of Hottest 100 Craft Beers Local love reignites labelling issue Good Drinks “overdelivers” in half year results Our Partners Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt . Cryer Malt is proud to team up with Yakima Chief H...
Jan 28, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 541
This week's special edition is the podcast version of our GABS Hottest 100 Craft Beers live countdown episode, recorded on 23 January 2021 at Brisbane's Easy Times Brewery . Guests featured include Richard Watkins, from winning brewery BentSpoke, Stone & Wood's Nick Boots and Brick Lane's Paul Bowker, and Easy Time's Curran McCarthy. This special edition was made possible with the support of Cryer Malt , Yakima Chief Hops and Barrett Burston . Our partners Radio Brews News is proudly present...
Jan 27, 2021•2 hr 56 min•Ep. 540
This week we meet BrewDogs new Australian General Manager Ed Bott. When BrewDog recently announced its Australian equity crowd fund we were surprised to see a new name in the media release - Eds. We then learned such a senior hire for the Scottish brewery was an Australian who had previously been General Manager of BrewDog Germany. With BrewDog being an endlessly fascinating case study on the evolution and state of the beer market we wanted to find out more about this mystery man. It's a great c...
Jan 26, 2021•48 min•Ep. 539
This week the team try out a new format for the show. Let us know what you think by emailing producer@brewsnews.com.au . 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! Mountain Culture invests in new production facility Zero-alcohol beer adverts up against ABAC Alcohol packaging and hand sanitiser measures rescinded by ATO Our partners Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt...
Jan 21, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 538
This week we feature Charlie Hodgson, head brewer at Brisbane’s Helios Brewing . Apart from having a long and varied career to discuss, Charlie also has some thought provoking insights about the role of beer’s four key ingredients and how they play in the rapidly emerging style pantheon of modern craft brewing. It’s a fascinating conversation that probes at where is the substance amidst rapid change and the consumer hype that drives much that we’re seeing in the industry at the moment. No doubt ...
Jan 19, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 537
We're back for 2021 with a big news week as Fermentum snaps up Two Birds and Broo's China deal collapses. 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! Fermentum snaps up Two Birds Brewing Broo’s China deal collapses Brisbane Brew Partners closes ABAC considers VB Volleys complaint NZ Hops assessing hail impact on crop Our partners Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt . ...
Jan 14, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 536
We start 2021 looking at brewery buy outs, in this case the purchase of Two Birds Brewery by Fermentum, the group of companies best known through its ownership of Stone & Wood . In this episode, we chat with Two Birds Co-founder Jayne Lewis and Stone & Wood co-founder Jamie Cook to hear about the background to the purchase, a little about the challenges breweries face in the current climate and also Stone & Woods plans to build a new brewery...potentially funded by an IPO. Enjoy the ...
Jan 13, 2021•41 min•Ep. 535
This is the recording of our live Christmas Eve eve show. We have some a great chat with Neil 'Pops' Whittorn who has just retired from Stone & Wood and we also hear from some of the brewers he has worked with and mentored over the years....and the usual beer chat you would expect. It's live so please take the audio and the cross-talk as you find it. Thanks to the team at Stone & Wood Brisbane for hosting us and for Pops for joining us.
Dec 27, 2020•2 hr•Ep. 534
This week we catch up with Ben Kraus, currently in quarantine in Adelaide after recently returning with his family from Austria, much later than he'd hoped. We hear about the challenges he faced getting back to Australia as well as his experiences of Covid in Austria. Ben also spent the last 3 months fairly productively, commissioning and starting a new brewery in Austria and we take a look at the craft beer trends that he saw there as well as what he has noticed of the changing beer landscape h...
Dec 22, 2020•49 min•Ep. 533
This week the team discuss BrewDogs equity fundraising, lockdown drinking habits and corporate taxes. 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! BrewDog launches $10m Australian equity raise Asahi sells BoozeBud back to founders Study shows decrease in lockdown beer drinking Corporate tax paid by major brewers unveiled by ATO Matilda Bay revamps Redback and Dogbolter Next week catch...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 532
This week, we revisit this important chat Pete and Matt had with Michael Bannenberg. Banners, as he’s better known, spent 28 years working with advertising agency George Patterson developing campaigns for many well known Carlton United Brewery brands during that time. He’s also a bit of a collector of brewery memorabilia and has compiled over 160 unique beer posters in his new book Australia’s Beer Posters . In today’s chat Banners discusses how advertising has changed over the years, what’s gre...
Dec 15, 2020•32 min•Ep. 531
This week the team discuss the new Lord Howe Island Brewery, Corona shortages and are joined by a very special guest. 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 to build Lord Howe Island brewery Timely labelling reminder after low-alc slip Broo receives first CUB order Corona beer shortages in Australia confirmed Luke Houlihan Brewery Pro Podcast Champion brewpub Moffat Beach l...
Dec 10, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 530
This week we speak with James Brindley, Managing Director of Lion Beer Australia . James started with Lion way back in 1994, just two years after the launch of XXXX Gold, which gives you some idea of the massive changes in the brewing scene which James has witnessed during his career. We wanted to look at how a large multi-national brewing business changes its business to adapt to the changing times, and especially how it adapts to the increasingly local focus of modern day beer drinkers. In ano...
Dec 08, 2020•40 min•Ep. 529
This week the team discuss all the big news about Capital Brewing and some big industry appointments. 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! Treasury Brisbane teams up with RQFWS for brewery prizes Capital and BentSpoke bag cricket ground beer rights ‘Iconic’ Foster’s makes a comeback Radio and TV ABAC complaints dismissed Capital Brewing’s airport taproom now open Asahi Austral...
Dec 03, 2020•59 min•Ep. 528
This week, what happens when your brewery is bought out as we catch up with Balter’s Scott Hargrave and Stirling Howland. This week marks the first anniversary since Balter’s sale to CUB. For some the announcement wasn’t a surprise. The prominence of the personalities behind the business seemed to create an expectation that an eventual sale was the obvious outcome. At the same time, with all of its advantages, Balter could have chosen a much easier path to that end. Instead Scott & Stirling ...
Dec 01, 2020•57 min•Ep. 527
This week the team delve deep into tap contracts and anti-competitive behaviour, as well as VB's partnership with Volley and an update from New Zealand. 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 targets 'big' Stone & Wood with contracts Victoria Bitter partners with sneaker brand Volley Kegstar launches IoT keg tracking Konvoy launches ‘world-first’ tracking technology 3 R...
Nov 26, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 526
The week the team discuss the latest big moves for Mighty Craft and Moo Brew celebrates 15 years in the business. 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! Big moves for Mighty Craft Moo Brew: Still learning at 15 GABS launches Summer Craft Beer Festival Call out for breweries to host 2021 Brew Days DB to end Monteith’s production at Greymouth home Our partners Radio Brews News is ...
Nov 19, 2020•58 min•Ep. 525
