Radio Brews News

During the recent Good Beer Week in Melbourne, the Cryer Malt trade hub at BeerDeluxe was once again a focus for the brewing industry with a number of important trade discussions taking place. Thanks to Kegstar, Brews News was able to be there to record some of these panels and we are proud to present these discussions. This panel, hosted by Brews News, was a timely discussion about product recall...

This week we catch up with Brooklyn Brewery Co-founder Steve Hindy. We last caught up with Steve in June 2015 after he gave the keynote presentation at the then Craft Beer Industry Association’s Craft Brewers Conference and I caught up with Steve again during a Good Beer Week in Melbourne In that earlier chat Steve talked about such things including the US’s ability to cope with what was then proj...

Pete and Matt are back to chat about the big news stories of the week and take a quick call from OJ from Hop Products Australia as the annual hop crop report is released. Topics discussed: Grimbergen monks are brewing beer again AIBA 2019 winners announced in Melbourne Sample Brewing enters administration Stone and Brewdog updates Hop Crop Report Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt...

Last week saw Good Beer Week celebrated in Melbourne, and the Cryer Malt trade hub at BeerDeluxe was once again a focus for the brewing industry with a number of important trade discussions taking place. Among the panels was an update from the Independent Brewers Association. Apart from being a general update from the IBA to its members, this panel stood out because of some of the key data that wa...

This week Pete, Matt & Zoe get together in Melbourne during Good Beer Week to record this week's new round up. As much as we wanted to avoid naming the Scottish Brewery, they again make it impossible, this week accused of stealing marketing ideas. We discuss with Zoe the challenges of being a creative pitching for work in the beer industry and also BrewDog's response to the allegations. We mention...

This week we feature a conversation with Tom Shellhammer, Nor’Wester Professor of Fermentation Science at Oregon State University and an internationally recognised expert in hops chemistry. Professor Shellhammer was in the country and has been doing the rounds, including speaking at a series of events for the Independent Brewers Association and we caught up with him before his Brisbane presentatio...

This week Matt is joined by Totem Marketing's Zoe Ottoway as Pete is off judging the Australian International Beer Awards. Tops stories this week: Controversy over alcohol-free ads Thor and an IPA: How Craft Beer Caught Marvel’s Attention Brewers Association Releases 2019 Beer Style Guidelines Bridge Road declares world first beer micronation Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt. Wi...

An Easter family driving holiday to Adelaide led to Pete reaching out to a few local friends for some must- see recommendations. Without exception all included Smiling Samoyed. He was warmly welcomed by Kate Henning and brewing partner Simon Dunstone along with Assistant Brewer Maddie who has risen from the ranks of their hospo staff to learn the ropes. If her early efforts are any indication, the...

This week we go a touch over the Cook Limit but it's worth it as we hear from Craig Williams on how Gabs Festival went in Brisbane. And the big news stories of the week are: The one alcoholic drink you should avoid if you're trying to lose weight The shocking beer consumption of 19th century England What’s in a name? Understanding the re-categorisation of bitter CSIRO can’t justify pro-alcohol res...

This week Pete caught up with Craig Basford and Jason Harris from Big Shed Brewing Concern during a family holiday to Adelaide.  From humble beginnings Big Shed has been a community brewery for many other brands as well as brewing their own beers. They have out grown their current shed but is their new shed big enough? We learn just how exciting and daunting a multi-million dollar expansion projec...

This week Matt and Pete raise a glass to our service men and women and discuss the news of the week including: Brewery openings plummet by 98% as UK nears peak craft beer Craft beer takes hold in the suburbs Brewdog cashing in on the haze craze, by no longer filtering Punk IPA How hazies stopped Ballast Point Want to be part of our private Facebook group? Join here and listen to this podcast for t...

This week Matt catches up with Pete while he's at (not a nudist) beach. The big stories of the week are: Ratebeer teams up with GABS Festival Malt Shed drops ‘brewery’ in trademark settlement Carlsberg hopes to turnaround company by admitting its beer sucks Constellation Brands Closing 2 Ballast Point Locations, Abandoning Plans for San Francisco Brewpub Beer Brewing Bias: Study Reveals Preference...

Our 100th episode of Beer is a Conversation!  This week we meet two Kevins - Kevin Smith and Kevin Quinn from Bale Breaker Brewing in Yakima Washington. You might see a few collaboration beers hitting the market from Bale Breaker as they were in the country recently. We caught up with them at Balter where they were brewing with Scott Hargrave using an experimental hop called 'dimples'. We learn al...

A big week in brews news with some of Matt's favourite breweries heavily featured.  BrewDog buys Stone Berlin The Hubris Of Stone Brewing BrewDog scales back Brisbane plans watch the AGM live stream Cold chain or ambient? NZTE weighs in on beer-nerd debate Last Call: Deschutes’ Unlikely to Build Virginia Brewery in 2021; Trillium Spends $13 Million to Acquire Canton Real Estate Tassie Brewers nail...

This week’s conversation is a memo to all to check out the breweries that make less noise. I had been hearing about Sunshine Coast’s Ten Toes Brewery since it opened in 2016, and with all of the excitement going on in that region I had never stopped by to check them out. Thankfully Josh Donohoe from Sunshine Coast Craft Beer Tours included Ten Toes on his itinerary when Pete and I visited the area...

Pete and Matt are back for a full on week of brews news. The big stories include: Applications now open for CUB grad programs ABAC eyes social media and pre-vetting Sydney’s Bucket Boys plans $1m equity campaign Heineken USA to Pay Record $2.5 Million Fine to Settle Trade Practice Violations Brewers association releases annual growth report Lion acquires UK’s Magic Rock Brewing Recommended reading...

This week we have an interesting chat with Bucket Boy Johanthan Hepner. This conversation arose from an article on the beer blog SydneyBeer titled Buyer Beware: The Real Cost of Buying Beer From Overseas. In it, Johanathan raised the apparently growing trend of consumers looking to directly purchase beers from overseas and the impact that it was having on businesses such as Bucket Boys. The Bucket...

Two become four today as Matt and Pete are joined Zoe Ottaway from Totem Marketing and Megan Sahli, Writer at Australian Brews News, live from Burnley Brewing. The team take an in depth look at why New Belgium Brewing has opened its Colorado brewing facility to an upstart lager brand. Other top stories include:  Gage Roads partners with Western Force Lion acquires stake in Four Pillars Radio Brews...

We finish our sweep through Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and visit Your Mates Brewery to meet one of the mates, Christian McGarry. In an increasingly common story, Christian and his mate Matt Hepburn quit their jobs five years ago with the dream to open a brewery. In the intervening years through a mix of contract and gypsy brewing, running their own taproom and a lot of clever self marketing that...

Zoe Ottaway from Totem Marketing joins Matt and Pete as a special guest, with perfect timing as discussions take place around women in beer advertising. This weeks stories include: Townsville Brewery and Bintani launch The Big Wet Beer In Cider festival Lion banishes blokes and banter in Hahn Ultra Crisp beer campaign The growing prominence of mid-strengths, fruit sours and even low bitterness jui...

We continue our sweep through Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and visit the recently opened Glasshouse Brewery. It was a four year ordeal for Simon Michelangeli but late last year he opened his brewery and Italian-inspired eatery in the shadow of the region’s famous Glasshouse Mountains and we find out from Simon what he learned through the fraught process, and why he chose his regional location. We a...

Matt and Pete are in Queensland for the Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show Beer Awards. They also discuss the weeks top stories in a big week for beer news.  CUB bans plastic six-pack rings IBA secures support pledge in NSW election Bud Light Lemon Tea seeks cash in on Bud Light losses Great Northern to feature women on it’s billboards Radio Brews News is proudly presented by Cryer Malt. With ove...

This week we visit soon-to-open Boiling Pot Brewery and get to meet owner John Scott Madill and his brewer Pedro De Luca. Scott’s family are well known for their car dealerships across the Sunshine Coast, but this is his first foray into beer. He has been contract brewing and building his brand across the region for a little over a year and his brewery and taproom are on the verge of opening in be...

Pete and Matt are pushing the Cook limit this week and they pack plenty in. The big stories of the week are:  AB InBev say 8% of beer volumes come from no and low alcohol beer Bird state finalist in business awards comes as Brews News prepares to celebrate International Women’s Day  Breweries represented in Australian Tourism Awards 2018 results The Portman Group is trying to destroy Britain’s pro...

This week we continue our tour of the Sunshine Coast with a visit to the region’s latest brewery - Heads of Noosa.  We catch up with Craig and Lance Masterton, who gave up stock trading to open their brewery in Noosa. And it’s no bootstrap operation either, they have made a significant investment in what they are doing.  Unlike many craft breweries, they have opened with a Japanese lager, that’s l...