Radio Brews News

On our first conversation for 2019 we catch up with Brooklyn Brewery President Robin Ottaway and Gordon Treanor, General Manager of Craft at Lion to discuss both company’s plans for Brooklyn here in Australia. Readers will recall that Lion secured distribution rights for Brooklyn, taking over from Coopers late last year. The news was no great surprise, as Lion’s parent company Kirin holds a 24.5% stake in the US craft brewery. Does contract brewing over here affect the brand at all? What beers will be brewed here and what are Lion’s plans for the brand down under? As always, it’s a great chat with two very interesting beer personages. Enjoy the conversation. Brews News Week is Proudly presented by Cryer Malt. With over 25 years in the field, Cryer Malt have been bringing you the world’s best local and imported malts. Your premium brewing partner and proud supporters of Brews News. We thank Rallings Labels and Stickers for sponsoring this podcast. Call Rallings on 1300 852 235 to discover a more efficie

Breweries walk the fine line of cultural sensitivity this week with one accused of mocking maori culture and another opting to rename one of its beers to avoid negative connotations.  So where is the line in the sand? Pete and Matt discuss this as well as the rest of the weeks beer news. BrewDog construction now underway following delays Ballistic changes beer name for mental health Brewers encouraged to consider cultural sensitivities Aussie bar accused of 'mocking Māori culture' with use of tā moko in beerfest advert Brews News Week is Proudly presented by Cryer Malt. With over 25 years in the field, Cryer Malt have been bringing you the world’s best local and imported malts. Your premium brewing partner and proud supporters of Brews News. We thank Rallings Labels and Stickers for sponsoring this podcast. Call Rallings on 1300 852 235 to discover a more efficient way to get your small batch canning labels done. If you like what we do at Radio Brews News you can help us out by: Sponsoring the

Matt and Pete are back to discuss the news of the week including: WA bus route revives ailing beer tourism  Moon Dog makes a recall CUB apologises for ring pull caps Also, don't forget to join us as we count down the pointy end of the GABS Hottest 100 Craft Beers this Sunday. You can listen live here and join us in the chat room to discuss the results with our guest brewers. Brews News Week is Proudly presented by Cryer Malt. With over 25 years in the field, Cryer Malt have been bringing you the world’s best local and imported malts. Your premium brewing partner and proud supporters of Brews News. We thank Rallings Labels and Stickers for sponsoring this podcast. Call Rallings on 1300 852 235 to discover a more efficient way to get your small batch canning labels done. If you like what we do at Radio Brews News you can help us out by: Sponsoring the show Reviewing us on iTunes or your favourite podcasting service Emailing us at producer@brewsnews.com.au to share your thoughts. All letter wr

Welcome back to another year of the podcast. This week Pete and Matt look at the beer news of the week, including: Townsville Brewery opposes new Lion venture What's the new craft beer: Cheese or Jerky? Who owns your beer? Tim Ovadia tapped to become Global Brand Director for Stella Artois Flagship beers are failing as consumers get bored quickly Brews News Week is Proudly presented by Cryer Malt. With over 25 years in the field, Cryer Malt have been bringing you the world’s best local and imported malts. Your premium brewing partner and proud supporters of Brews News. We thank Rallings Labels and Stickers for sponsoring this podcast. Call Rallings on 1300 852 235 to discover a more efficient way to get your small batch canning labels done. If you like what we do at Radio Brews News you can help us out by: Sponsoring the show Reviewing us on iTunes or your favourite podcasting service Emailing us at producer@brewsnews.com.au to share your thoughts. All letter writers will receive a brews ne

On our 200th Episode of Brews News Week we record live from Wilfred's Room at The Local Taphouse. Some of our most popular podcast guests - including Zoe Ottaway from Totem Marketing, James 'Crafty Pint' Smith, Luke 'Ale of a Time' Robertson, Intellectual Property lawyer James Omond and Scott McKinnon from Wolf of the Willows join in to discuss the hot topics from 2018 and their predictions for the new year. Brews News Week is Proudly presented by Cryer Malt. With over 25 years in the field, Cryer Malt have been bringing you the world’s best local and imported malts. Your premium brewing partner and proud supporters of Brews News. We thank Rallings Labels and Stickers for sponsoring this podcast. Call Rallings on 1300 852 235 to discover a more efficient way to get your small batch canning labels done. If you like what we do at Radio Brews News you can help us out by: Sponsoring the show Reviewing us on iTunes or your favourite podcasting service Emailing us at producer@brewsnews.com.au to share your t

On our weekly Brews News Week podcast host Pete Mitcham and Brews News founder Matt Kirkegaard discuss the attention-grabbing beer stories of the week. This week they look at: Endeavour Brewing's equity crowd-funding campaign The announcement that Cryer Malt has partnered with Yakima Chief Hops in the wake of the Bintani / Yakima Chief court case. We also tease next week's 200th Episode, which was recorded last week in Melbourne.  Brews News Week is Proudly presented by Cryer Malt. With over 25 years in the field, Cryer Malt have been bringing you the world’s best local and imported malts. Your premium brewing partner and proud supporters of Brews News. We thank Rallings Labels and Stickers for sponsoring this podcast. Call Rallings on 1300 852 235 to discover a more efficient way to get your small batch canning labels done.   If you like what we do at Radio Brews News you can help us out by: Sponsoring the show Reviewing us on iTunes or your favourite podcasting service Emailing us

On a special Breaking News edition of Beer is a Conversation, we chat with Cryer Malt's David Cryer and Ryan Hopkins, Vice President of Sales for North and South America for Yakima Chief Hops about the announcement that Cryer Malt is the new distribution partner for the US hop supplier.   Listeners will know from our many conversations with Jason Perrault and other representatives of Yakima Chief Hops that Bintani has been the company's Australian partner. The sale of a major interest in Bintani to US-based Rahr Corporation led to a contract dispute between the two partners. While now settled, Yakima Chief Hops has now partnered with Cryer Malt in Australia.   Matt Kirkegaard discusses the background to the change with David Cryer and Ryan Hopkins and finds out what the partnership means to both company's and also to Australian brewers.   We thank Rallings Labels and Stickers for sponsoring this podcast. Call Rallings on 1300 852 235 to discover a more efficient way to get your small batch canning labels

This week on Beer is a Conversation, Matt Kirkegaard catches up with Endeavour Beer Founder Ben Kooyman. Today they kick off an equity crowd funding campaign which will enable beer lovers to invest directly in the business. It's the first time this is happening in Australia but this type of capital raising is set to become increasingly popular among small brewers so Matt investigates what it all means and why Endeavour chose this path.  If you'd like to invest visit here. We thank Rallings Labels and Stickers for sponsoring this podcast. Call Rallings on 1300 852 235 to discover a more efficient way to get your small batch canning labels done. If you like what we do at Radio Brews News you can help us out by: Sponsoring the show Reviewing us on iTunes or your favourite podcasting service Emailing us at producer@brewsnews.com.au to share your thoughts All letter writers will receive a brews news bottle opener and go into the draw to win a mixed six-pack thanks to our good friends at Beer Cartel who

On Brews News Week host Pete Mitcham and Brews News founder Matt Kirkegaard discuss the attention-grabbing beer stories of the week. This week they look at: IBA welcomes new board members Queensland's new craft beer strategy Will Australian brewers embrace the US move to making alcoholic fizzy water? Bulimba Gold Top 6 pack ad Brews News Week is Proudly presented by Cryer Malt. With over 25 years in the field, Cryer Malt have been bringing you the world’s best local and imported malts. Your premium brewing partner and proud supporters of Brews News.   We thank Rallings Labels and Stickers for sponsoring this podcast. Call Rallings on 1300 852 235 to discover a more efficient way to get your small batch canning labels done. If you like what we do at Radio Brews News you can help us out by: Sponsoring the show Reviewing us on iTunes or your favourite podcasting service Emailing us at producer@brewsnews.com.au to share your thoughts All letter writers will receive a brews news bottle open

This week Matt ventures to tropical north Queensland in search of the beer from up there.    Cairns is an interesting city. 1730 kilometers north of Brisbane, it is a tropical city with a population of 160,000. This conversation was recorded in early November at a time when the rest of the country is welcoming summer and brews are expecting their busiest time.    In Cairns however, that’s the end of 'the season'. While Hemingway's draws the tourists, it's also something very Cairns for the locals to enjoy.   During the visit Matt got to chat with co-founder Tony Fyfe, head brewer Anthony Clem and assistant brewer and sales rep Andrew Gowdie to learn about the background to Hemingway’s, their philosophy and the challenges of taking beers with flavour to a town seeking refreshment first.    We thank Rallings Labels and Stickers for sponsoring this podcast. Call Rallings on 1300 852 235 to discover a more efficient way to get your small batch canning labels done.  

On Brews News Week host Pete Mitcham and Brews News Founder Matt Kirkegaard, discuss the attention-grabbing beer stories of the week.   This week we  are again joined by Zoe Ottway from Totem Marketing, we are also joined for the first time by Fiona Sproles from Adelaide's Dusty Cowgirl Designs.    Fiona is a former in-house designer for Little Creatures and her Dusty Cowgirl Designs continues to do graphic design and copy writing across the Little Creatures, White Rabbit and other craft brands for Lion.  In the week that Coopers announced a nearly 10 per per cent decline in sales, we get our crack marketers to discuss Coopers woes.   In pushing the Cook Limit this week we also discuss: CUB's history of getting history wrong and whether the true history of a brand is more valuable than a marketing version DME goes into receivership Queensland's craft beer strategy Melbourne listeners, we will be recording our 200th Episode live at The Local Taphouse at 3pm on Sunday 9 December. We will be join

Thanks to Kegstar, this is a special live edition of Radio Brews News. During the recent Sydney Beer Week the Independent Brewers Association hosted a discussion panel looking at labelling guidelines to assist brewers with negotiating the mandatory requirements and also what they need to be aware of regarding the ABAC code and also retailer requirements. In addition to Independent Brewers Association chief executive officer, Alexis Roitman, the session featured a great panel of Radio Brews News regulars including Diarmaid O'Mordha Group Quality & Sustainability Manager at Endeavour Drinks Group, Zoe Ottaway from Totem Marketing and Steve Henderson from Rockstar Brewer. It’s was a valuable session for anyone involved in the brewing industry and we are proud to have been asked to share it.

This week Pete Mitcham shares two separate chats he had with Scott McKinnon from Wolf of the Willows and Dereck Hales from Bad Shepherd Brewing. Scott and Dereck share a brewing facility in Melbourne’s south which is becoming more popular by the week and both brands are growing their audience with solid core ranges and innovative seasonals, as well as limited release brews. Both have just launched beers that lay claim to being Australian firsts. Pete spoke with Scott about a collaboration with the internationally recognised Lark Distillery in Tasmania then to Dereck about the brewery’s first all Victorian beer and discuss the possibility that it may trump another well-known local beer with similar claims. Stay tuned at the end for a chat with recently inducted Advanced Cicerone Matt Marinich from Stomping Ground. He's the first Australian to achieve the title and discussed what lured him to the east coast and his philosophy behind staff training. Enjoy this weeks beer conversations.

On Brews News Week host Pete Mitcham and Brews News Founder, Matt Kirkegaard, discuss the attention-grabbing stories of the week.  This week they take a look at: Matt is pretty excited at what the Howard Smith Wharves development and the newly-opened Felons Brewery mean for the city's landscape.   Megan Sahli's article looking at how real estate experts believe suburban craft breweries are increasing the attractiveness and value of their home suburbs. We also welcome new sponsors, Rallings Labels and Stickers, to the podcast. Speak to Rallings about a more efficient way to get your small batch canning labels done. If you like what we do at Radio Brews News you can help us out by: Sponsoring the show Reviewing us on iTunes or your favourite podcasting service Emailing us at producer@brewsnews.com.au to share your thoughts All letter writers will receive a brews news bottle opener and go into the draw to win a mixed six-pack thanks to our good friends at Beer Cartel who sponsor our letter for the

This week Pete Mitcham takes on not one, not two but three streams of beer consciousness as he catches up with the spiritual heads of Hawkers Beer and Liberty Brewing. Hawkers and Liberty have joined to brew Liberty beers here in Australia as well as hatching plots to brew more collaborative brews. Joe Wood from Liberty Brewing in Helensville, NZ was at Hawkers to launch the initiative and Pete caught up with him, Hawkers co-founder Mazen Hajjar and National Sales manager Mik Halse. It’s a wide ranging chat which shows how brewers across wide divides can work together and also shows that sometimes the best friendships begin in the most surprising of ways. Enjoy the conversation.

In this week's news and discussion, Pete and Matt have a look at : The update to the Bintani court case The pending sale of Foghorn Brewhouse in Newcastle Little Creatures big influence on the beer scene and as a training ground for new brewers Pondered over how our invitation to catch up with good friend Greg Koch got lost in the mail

This week Matt speaks with Paul Baggio, managing director of a network of companies with interests in the craft brewing movement, including Craft & Co, Gypsy Brewing Company and equipment supplier FB*PROPAK. With his Italian heritage, background in wine-making and qualifications in business, Paul is very articulate about how the growth of craft brewing isn’t just about changes in beer and our tastes, but also about our relationship with those who make it. In our conversation we look at whether Paul’s Italian heritage and Melbourne’s immigrant culture have made his business possible or shaped his approach, and whether a business like Craft & Co would work in a city such as Brisbane. Enjoy the conversation.

This week in a busy week of beer news, Pete and Matt discuss: The Independent Brewers Association today announced a merger with Melbourne’s Good Beer Week. Lion adds, Coopers loses Brooklyn GABS spreads its wings further adding Brisbane to its schedule for 2019 Bintani and YCH in lawsuit Newstead shows how to manage a product recall

During the recent Sydney Beer Week we were fortunate to work with Kegstar to present this discussion panel looking at the future of beer festivals and beer events such as the very beer week we were attending. Events such as these were a great route to market for brewers in the early days of craft beer and also provided beer drinkers with a place to try all of the new and novel beers that were coming onto the market. But in the current market of the ever present tap takeover, with keg rotation a staple of craft beer bars and with every state having a craft beer week, and with every postcode seemingly wanting its own festival, has event fatigue set in? Our panel of Danielle Allen and Kerry McBride from Two Birds Brewing, Dave Phillips from Dave’s Brewery Tours and Sydney Beer Week and Marty Keetels from Beer InCider take a look at the issue from both sides of the fence. What do brewers look for in a beer festival and what brings them back, and also what beer festivals do for the brewers and the beer drin

Word about a cashed-up brewery-in-planning featuring some celebrities and big sporting names started to drift around the industry a little over 18 months ago. This was followed up with news of some big drinks industry names and a 50-hectolitre BrauKon brewhouse. And as beer started to find its way into the market, contract brewed as many emphasised, and major sporting sponsorships, deals and partnerships started to be signed, people just kept talking. Now Brick Lane Brewery in Melbourne has a new look to the brand and its own beer hitting the markets so Pete and I have a long-awaited chat with Founder and Director Paul Bowker and head brewer Jon Seltin. We talk about the origins of the business, the backers, the brewer and the beers. We discuss whether there is a demand in the market for elegant but ‘unexciting’ craft beers, the challenge of branding and also learn there will be a Brick Lane barrel program, amongst many other things. Enjoy the conversation.