Radio Brews News

This week on Brews News Week, Pete and Matt discuss the beers news of the week. Under the  microscope this week is: The US Brewers Association is again revisiting the definition of ‘craft’, with a view to changing the definition of independence. Some people say that “Craft beer” means anything Boston Beer wants it to. But non-beer products are becoming an increasing part of brewer’s portfolios. Stone & Wood co-founder Brad Rogers has started brewing under his own brand, Forest for the Trees, launching with a Saison. Endeavour Brewing launches crowdfunding campaign Pete also pays tribute to Dr Ian Davis, founder of FightMND who died this week after being a campaigner for MND research and a huge inspiration for many. Brewmanity and Cavalier both have beers raising money for this disease. Seek them out this week and have one in Ian’s memory.

The third and the final part of our conversation with Steve Jeffares and Guy Greenstone, founder of The Local Taphouse, GABS and the Hottest 100, amongst other things. We start this part finishing off finding out about the growth of GABS from the Local Taphouse to the Royal Exhibition Building. We then learn about the decision to open the Stomping Ground brewery and their key staff Ashur Hall and Matt Marinich. With their business relationship being so long and involved, I also ask these two different personalities how they work together successfully and what they have learned in their time together and what’s next. It’s a great finish to this conversation series with Guy and Steve.

In part 2 we look at what beers Steve and Guy consider the most influential over the last 10 years, we look at the origins and the evolutions of the Hottest 100, what it means on the beer landscape, the early days of the Great Australian Beer Spectapular and how it morphed into the GABS festival, how that has morphed and grown and what they have learned along the way.

Ten years ago the Local Taphouse opened and quickly became a benchmark for what a great beer bar should be. Over the last 10 years founders Steve Jeffares and Guy Greenstone have continued to evolve and innovate and, in Hottest 100 and GABS, have created some of the biggest things on the craft beer calendar. They have also had a few misses and over the next 90 minutes you will hear them discuss their successes and failures with great insight and honesty. We have split the interview up into three parts that break nicely into half hour segments looking at The Local Taphouse, GABS and more recently Stomping Ground. In this first episode we look at how they discovered beer and what inspired their interest, how they met, the inspiration for the Local Taphouse and what they have learned - and continue to learn - along the way. Enjoy the conversation.

This week on Brews News Week, Pete and Matt keep it under the Cook limit as they discuss: The volume of jobs open to brewers at the moment How gas shortages are a potentially causing issues for brewers A creative way brewers are keeping track of their cool Twists, turns and triumphs for Nail brewing We also hear from brewer Brendan O'Sullivan in defence of NEIPAs and you can hear the podcast he refers to here.

This week Pete and Matt catch up with US beer writer, John Holl. John is a an award-winning journalist and currently the senior editor of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine and the co-host of the award-winning Steal This Beer podcast. John has also served as editor of All About Beer Magazine, which folded this week. John has a new book out called Drink Beer, Think Beer: Getting to the Bottom of Every Pint, which is a thoughtful discussion of just about everything going on in the beer world at the moment. We spoke with John way back in 2014 in what was another fascinating discussion and we’ve reposted this conversation so you can find it at the top of your podcast feed. Enjoy the conversation.

Welcome to Radio Brews News revisited. Regular listeners will know that up until a year ago Brews News Week and Beer is a Conversation were one show, and if you wanted to listen to an old interview you'd have to wade through the news of that week. So now we're republishing the best of those interviews as their own podcast. This week you'll hear from a 2014 conversation with John Holl who also features as the Beer is a Conversation guest this week. We chatted with John at Beervana and beforehand Matt had posed this question to him: "What would beer look like if it was invented for the first time today?"  The thought really intrigued John and by the time we met he had already discussed it with such luminaries as Stan Hieronymus...and it must have stuck with him because he devotes a few pages to a discussion of it in his book, Think Beer, Drink Beer. Enjoy your ride in the way back machine as we revisit John Holl.

This Brews News Week, Pete and Matt discuss what happened in the beer world including: The Independent Brewers Association has launched guidelines to assist brewers with labelling.  A Twitter exchange between a State Government backbencher and Opposition Leader has prompted a new campaign to showcase local beer across WA. While last year’s launch of Heineken 3 promised beer drinkers they could “Have it all“, Heineken’s latest release forces drinkers to make some big choices...but they don’t want to talk about them. Also, we’ll be on the road in two weeks and you can join us at Sydney Beer Week for a live chat asking the question, “Have beer weeks had their day?” Admission is free but you can book here.

This week on Beer is a Conversation, Pete and Matt catch up with Feral Brewing founder, Brendan Varis. It’s been 12 months since Brendan announced that he had sold his brewery to Coca Cola, and 10 years since he first brewed Hop Hog and so we have plenty to talk about. We discuss what has changed since the sale, how much the beer scene has changed since he unleashed Hop Hog on the market and it turns out we can add him to the long list of brewers that don’t get NEIPAs, though it seems he does quite like the emerging Brut IPA. As always with Brendan, it’s a great chat that offers plenty of insight into the evolving world of beer. Enjoy the conversation.

Pete catches up with Matt live from Townsville to discuss the beer news of the week such as: The ten years of Hop Hog and how much the industry has changed over that time Confusion over a proposed $5-million assistance initiative for independent brewers Can you get nothing without adding something? The mystery of brewing Heineken 0.0 and where does the extra sugar come from? We also follow up from last week's discussion about whether craft beer is to blame for Lion's job losses. And the usual waffle, disappearances down rabbit holes and the popularity of the Cook Limit.

This week, due to a combination of a horrific donut related tongue biting incident and and errant mail server, we did not have a Beer is a Conversation guest but we did have an abundance of listener emails, so this week our conversation is with you, the listener. Matt & Pete go through some great letters and discuss the topics that are raised and go down a few rabbit holes along the way. Enjoy the conversation.

This week on Brews News Week we welcome Pete back after a break and talk about the news of the week, including: Bintani announces a partial sale to US supplier Rahr. Lion announces job cuts, blames craft beer. Broo loses another $4-million, but confident. We also wish Kerry Claydon well as she treks to Everest basecamp to raise funds for MND & Me. You can donate here.   And also our Letter of the Week this week goes to Chris Howell who shared this ABC podcast with us.

This week on Brews News Week Matt is joined by marketing expert Zoe Ottaway from Totem Marketing to discuss the beer news and events of the week.   This week we discuss Brisbane's Beeries Awards and especially Kerry Claydon and Chicks With Ales winning the Gold Beerie for Community Contribution, but we also discuss what industry's responsibility is when it comes to projecting a positive image for beer and whether a sense of fun and promotion of responsible drinking are mutually exclusive. We refer to this great article to highlight the benefits that come from a positive view of craft beer.   Zoe also discusses the importance of breweries and businesses having a crisis management plan in place for when the unexpected happens. 

This week on Beer is a Conversation we have a chat with one of the great characters of the Australian brewing industry, Tom Delmont. We have had Tom on the show before about how he became brand ambassador for Mountain Goat, introduced the man who would become The Crafty Pint to Australian beer and founded Fixation Brewing. We recorded this episode the day before Fixation’s Melbourne home, The Incubator, opened it’s doors and we speak to Tom this time about why his brewery needed a home, how they will manage the relationship with their client pubs and whether they are competitors and also the evolution of IPA in all its forms. Enjoy the conversation.

This week's Beer is a Conversation is with Hargreaves Hill’s Simon Walkenhorst. We last chatted with Simon when Pete caught up with him to discuss the new look for the brewery, and this time we chat about a whole new branding line they have released, Beatnik Beer. Today, Matt was interested to try and understand why a successful and respected brewery would look to create a whole new brand for the release of its new beer. The discussion covers how much the industry has changed since 2004 when he and his wife Beth launched their brewery and about the pressures breweries are currently facing, as well as who the new branding is designed to appeal to. Enjoy the conversation with Simon.

There was really only one story to discuss in a rough week for Australian craft beer and we were very fortunate to be joined by marketing consultant and Pink Boots Australia Vice President, Zoe Ottaway, for her very thoughtful analysis on the Black Hops beer issue, the brewery's response, Pink Boots Society's reaction and what it means for the beer community. The last few days have been rapidly evolving and this episode was recorded Friday morning (14 September) before Black Hops' second statement on the issue.  

This breaking news episode features a chat with Richard Kelsey from Beer Cartel in which we take a deeper dive into the 2018 Australian Craft Beer Survey that was released today. In an industry that is starved of information about itself and it’s consumers, the Beer Cartel survey has become one of the most highly referenced information sources amongst the industry and in the media. Given its relevance, we wanted to dive deeper into some of the results, how they were obtained and what they mean.  Enjoy the conversation.

This week on Beer is a Conversation we discuss beer tourism. Tap rooms have become an important part of small brewery business plans as tourism increasingly becomes a major draw card. The first part of the conversation is with Chris Holen, Head Chef at Baked Alaska restaurant in Astoria Oregon. Chris tells the story of how food and beer have been instrumental in changing the fortunes of the small town that is now home to 5 breweries, a distillery, a cidery and a host of good restaurants. Then Matt chats with Trever Bass, Head Brewer at Migration Brewing in Portland Oregon about how to stand out in the city known as ‘Beervana'. Enjoy the conversation.

This week on Brews News Week, Matt & Pete discuss the beer stories of the week including: Cryer Malt launches Border Malt Sydney Beer Week 2018 program announced Fixation opens Melbourne taproom The discussion on our Facebook page about this article. Hawker's takes out international honours, again.

This week on Beer is a Conversation, Pete and Matt are joined by 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 great about the current climate and some of his favourite beer posters. Enjoy the conversation.