Radio Brews News

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

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 and also expanding into production for the Asian market. Anton is always an interesting interview subject, and this is a very broad ranging chat about Tribe Breweries and the business of beer. Enjoy the conversation.

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 negative effect in some circumstances Kim Jordan's keynote at BrewCon You can find Zoe at Totem Marketing. Thanks to Cryer Malt, the grain of truth in every podcast. If you like the show, please help others discover the podcast by giving us a shout out on Twitter (@ozbrewnews) or Facebook.

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 malt house in their network to malt that parcel of barley with the aim of giving brewers a malt and the technical information about it they will need for great brewhouse performance.   In addition to learning about how Joe White is working to bring the sexy back to malt, Belgin is also Belgian and speaks eloquently about the simple beauty of beer and the romance of Belgian beer culture, something that seems very relevant in our discussion about malt. Enjoy the conversation.

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

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 national craft beer movement. Ben is also a director of the Independent Brewers Association and is still outspoken on issues of craft, tap contracts, provenance and much, much more… all of which we canvass in this wide ranging discussion. Enjoy the conversation.

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 

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 inspires many a homebrewer to say, I want to do that, and in many ways Kris typifies the journey that many of them are on in following their passion. A programmer and app developer by profession, Kris has immersed himself in the beer world as a long-time member of the Brisbane Amateur Beer Brewers club, where he also served as Brewmaster, not to mention won awards for his brews. He has stewarded at the Qld Amateur Brewing Championship and the AIBAs, and done work experience at breweries in Qld and his new hometown of

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 individual executives making international decisions. He was the right guest in the right week as this week we look at: A first-of-its-kind coastal shipping service for craft brewers Andre's own article: Despite our growing taste for craft brews, smaller beer makers face a huge disadvantage $15-million brewing collaboration centre announced for Brisbane

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 brewers was quite surprising, with many expressing a range of concerns about the negative effects the change will have and whether smaller formats would be used at all. This week on Beer is a Conversation Matt Kirkegaard chats with Nick Boots, General Manager Kegstar Australia and New Zealand. With the changes 12 months away, Kegstar will be paying very close attention to whether there is already demand for smaller kegs and what uptake might be. Nick speaks about whether he thinks we will see a flood of one-way kegs f

This Good Brews Week, Pete and Matt discuss the beer news of the week, including: Stone & Wood adds Packaged On dates to its beers... and why that is news. Beer Cartel have created a list of Top 50 beers to add to all of the other 'best' lists...but does it help? The growing discussion around mental health in the beer industry, and how it's reported. 

This week on Beer is a Conversation, Hop Products Australia released their 2018 Hop Harvest Report. Matt delves into the report with Sales and Marketing Manager Owen Johnson. The 2018 harvest saw a 10.4% increase in yield over 2017, but even that was 10% below expectations. Owen explains why that was, what hops are in demand and what they forecast for the future.  Stay tuned at the end for a bonus chat with Jeremy Moynier, Stone Brewing's Senior Manager of Innovation and Supply Chain. James caught up with him to discuss how American brewers are using Australian hops. Enjoy the conversations. 

This week we are joined by guest host Nicolette Gillman. Nicolette has spent almost a decade working in the beer industry, as a Craft Beer Ambassador for Lion and more recently as Victorian Sales manager for Pirate Life.    She joins us to discuss the news of the week, post Good Beer Week. Your Mates enter the Shark Tank Brewers should be creating experiences, not just beers Chris McNamara departs IBA

This week on Beer is a Conversation, James speaks with Tony Magee, who founded Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California in 1993.  Spearheaded by its top selling IPA, Lagunitas underwent two decades of phenomenal growth, becoming one of the biggest names in American craft beer. Magee sold a part share of the business to Heineken International in 2015 and the remainder not long after that.  In this interview, he reflects on the sale as well as Lagunitas’ impending rollout in Australia, amongst many other topics. Enjoy the conversation.

This Good Brews Week Matt and Pete sit down to discuss the winners and all the gossip from the 2018 Australian International Beer Awards. 

In this episode of Beer is a Conversation, James catches up with Mike Neilson, co-founder of New Zealand brewery Panhead Custom Ales.   Originally a home brewer, Mike did his first commercial brewing stint at Tuatara Brewing Company, prior to launching Panhead in 2013.   Panhead grew rapidly off the back of a distinctive and acclaimed line-up of beers, bringing it to the attention of New Zealand’s largest brewer, Lion, which acquired the company in 2016.   Mike discusses the decision to sell and subsequent developments at Panhead, which is now brewing some of its beers at Lion’s Malt Shovel Brewery in Australia.   Enjoy the conversation.

This week on Good Brews Week Pete and Matt are joined by Marie Claire Jarratt to dissect a very big week of beer news. In a week that has seen excise concessions to brewers in the budget, medals won at the World Beer Cup and the launch of the Independent Brewers Association’s Independence Seal we look at the news, the reaction and discuss what it all means. Marie Claire, or MC as she is better known, is a full-time craft beer enthusiast whose side hobbies include writing about beer, including her blog New South Ales and The Crafty Pint and completing her PhD in experimental quantum physics. For her writing MC won the very first Champion NSW Beer Writer Award in 2016. If you like what we do at Radio Brews News you can help us out in a number of ways. You can sponsor the show, either by a small monthly contribution or through a one-off donation. You can also review us on iTunes or your favourite podcasting service.  Tell us what you think about what’s going on in the beer industry by emailing us at produc

This week on Beer is a Conversation, James chats with with Matt Warner and Paul ‘Wattie’ Watson of ParrotDog Brewery in Wellington, New Zealand. They discuss their crowdfunding experience as well as the ParrotDog back story, and a preview of what the guys have coming up in 2018.

This Good Brews Week, Pete and Matt discuss some of this week’s top stories including: the opening of Albury Brewhouse, Gage Roads ‘remarkable’ third quarter sales, and a really insightful letter of the week.

In this episode of Beer is a Conversation, James chats with Jos Ruffell, co-founder of New Zealand brewery Garage Project. They discuss the opening of their new cellar door, their diversification into winemaking, and their move to contract brew beers at a new facility in Napier.