Beer & Brewer 51 Summer 2019 Teaser

HOW DOES GYPSY/CONTRACT BREWING WORK? Find out on page 46 INCLUDING

ISSUE 51 SUMMER 2019 PRICE $9.95 (NZ $11.95)

SUMMER SUNSHINE:

Lagers CRAFT BREWING’S MISUNDERSTOOD MASTERPIECE

WHY CRAFT BEER LOVERS SHOULD HEAD TO THE SUNSHINE COAST

l l i W a s ’ e r e h t e r e h W VAN DIEMAN BREWING’S WILL TATCHELL SCOOPS OUR BEST BREWER AWARD

BEERS & CIDERS

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CONTENTS

76

inside...

Summer 2019

FEATURES 22 Lager: Luke Robertson turns to lagers, an ancient style that is hard to master but easy to love

28 The Beer & Brewer Awards: The 2020 Beer & Brewer Awards are here, featuring in-depth interviews with our 14 winners

38 Day in the Life: We walk a mile in the shoes of a craft beer sales rep

40 Cask Ale: Britain is one of the homelands of brewing and there is no style more uniquely British than cask ale

46 Contract and Gypsy Brewing: Beer & Brewer examines how contract and gypsy brewers are helping each other to thrive and survive in a competitive craft beer marketplace

56 Regional Brewery Series: It’s summer, so what better time to head to the Sunshine Coast to check out a bustling brewing scene

76 The Business of Brewing: Making beer is one thing, but you’ve got to make money too. Beer & Brewer investigates what it takes to run a sustainable brewing business

4 www.beerandbrewer.com

HOMEBREWER 60 Welcome 61 Letters 62 Q&A: John Palmer answers the burning question about how to avoid brewing a bad beer

64 Jake’s Brew Log: Jake Brandish gets into lagers

66 Coopers Masters of the Brewniverse: Chris Thomas sat in on Coopers’ new quest to find Australia’s best DIY brewer

68 Hops Again!

After Homebrewer chatted to hop producers in the last issue, Chris Thomas now talks to brewers about how they use those hops

72 Recipes: Andrew Childs brings us up to speed with the recipe for Behemoth Brewing Company’s Giraffe and a Half IPL

74 Level Up: Software: Homebrewer gets technical as it uncovers apps and platforms to help you record your creations

“If you can run great beer in parallel to good business practice, you’ve got a better chance of sustainable success than many others.”

– Ben Kooyman, Endeavour Brewing

22

28

REGULARS 6 The Brew: The best beer events of the coming summer

8 News: A round-up of what’s been happening in craft brewing

14 World News 16 Bits and Bobs 18 New Venues 82 Entertaining Food: The Whole Fish Book

86 Tasting Panel: Our ‘formally informal’ tasting panel is back to taste 72 beers, with a focus on IPAs

96 Directory 98 A Pint With… Pete Brown

“There’s simply no other industry that’s as welcoming, hospitable and nurturing than ours.”

– Will Tatchell, Van Dieman Brewing

56

52

Summer 2019 5

LAGERS

Lager:

POPULAR BUT NOT EASY LUKE ROBERTSON INVESTIGATES THIS A BEER STYLE THAT HAS PERHAPS SUFFERED IN THE CRAFT WORLD DUE TO ITS ENORMOUS MAINSTREAM APPEAL, BUT THAT DESERVES OUTRIGHT ADMIRATION AND LOVE.

22  www.beerandbrewer.com

LAGERS

L

ager is by far the most

Vienna-style but the label just says “Lager”

consumed beer style in the

on the front. Vienna Lager has a red-to-

country. According to research

amber colour from the darker kilned malt

company IRi, 13 of the top

traditionally used.

15 beer brands in Australia, from a profit perspective, are

“We didn’t want to scare people off.” says head brewer Michael Stanzel. “Vienna lager

all lagers, (one of the exceptions is Furphy,

is completely different to what most people

which is often marketed as “The Ale that

expect. In the brewpub we can communicate

drinks like a Lager”).

what it is and why it is, and why this might be

That doesn’t mean lager is easy to sell, and

different to your Heineken or whatever.”

when it’s made with expensive ingredients, it gets even harder.

Brendan O’Sullivan, production director

PALE LAGER IS KING The standard “pale lager” is the easiest

at Melbourne’s 3 Ravens, finds the market

sell. It’s what most mainstream beers call

finicky when it comes to lager. In 2018,

themselves, and while it has its roots in

3 Ravens rebranded its Thornbury Lager

pilsner, which was the first successful pale

to Thornbury Pilsner in an attempt to

lager style, these days it’s a thing unto its

communicate the difference between that

own. It’s what most people think of when

and the standard mainstream lager. Recently,

they think lager.

it also released a beer called Party Lager.

Brendan explains the name: “I wanted to find a way to sell what

Balter Brewing on the Gold Coast recently retired its Pilsner from the core range, replacing it with a beer simply called “Lager”.

essentially was a Festbier, and find a way to

Head brewer Scott Hargrave calls it basically a

market it,” he says. “I’ve seen historically

“mini-Helles” style. Helles is a pale, slightly

calling something an Octoberfest, or a

sweet lager, identifiable as a lager to most

Munich lager, or something along those lines

punters who aren’t up with the intricacies of

has been a curse for a lot of breweries.”

beer. The beer wasn’t dreamed up to be a big

A Festbier is basically a malty lager designed to be drunk at Octoberfest. They have a bit more character than most Australian commercial

seller to replace the Pilsner, which was holding its own in the market, Hargrave says.

However, once it was made, it was

lagers, and O’Sullivan wanted to make sure he

immediately obvious that it would be a

was doing the style justice. The problem? To do

success. The first batch was a small run

it justice means using expensive ingredients.

for the taproom last summer designed for

It uses a specialty German malt, alongside two

holiday makers and revelers that don’t want

other premium malts from Australia and New

hazy IPAs or strong pale ales.

Zealand. It was hopped generously and has

“They are just looking for a straightforward

a large dose of a Pilsner yeast strain ordered

beer, and Pilsner has confused a lot of

specifically. Sales, Brendan says, haven’t quite

people. They may not identify Pilsner as a

gone as smoothly as he wanted.

lager,” he says. “It just went fucking crazy. It

“I thought the price point was pretty attractive, but it’s still really hard to communicate value to most Australian

became the second biggest selling beer in the taproom really quickly.”

From there, the lager was taken to

drinkers in a premium lager. It’s really sad. I

Victorian crowds, GABS and the Great

was hoping to make this a regular thing. I was

Australian Beer Fest, and the continued

hoping it would work really well [but] paying

demand was too great to ignore.

craft beer prices for a lager is challenging for some people.”

Also in Melbourne is Burnley Brewing.

What is lager?

The word ‘lager’ is German and can be used to describe a place for sleeping, a camp, or a storage or cellar space.

What that means in the beer world is conditioning a beer in a cool place for a long period – typically three to six weeks.

Lager styles also use bottom fermenting yeast at cooler temperatures, while ale styles use top fermenting. However, in Germany top fermenting styles, such as kölsch, are fermented cool and lagered for a long period. These beers are ales in our part of the world, but in Germany they may be referred to as lagers.

“Once I saw the numbers, and I love pilsner, but the evidence was compelling and you kind of ignore that at your peril. It wasn’t

Its brewer trained in Germany and loves

about making a dumbed down beer with sugar

brewing lagers. Their core range lager is a

adjuncts or anything like that. For me it was

3 Ravens released Party Lager

Summer 2019 23

CONTRACT AND GYPSY BREWING

A pause for a beer at Edge Brewing

Brewing with friends

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BREWERIES WITHOUT ENOUGH BREWING CAPACITY OR EQUIPMENT TO BREW AND THOSE WITH MORE CAPACITY THAN DEMAND HAS MADE FOR A LARGELY UNDISCUSSED SYMBIOTIC ECOSYSTEM THAT CHARLIE WHITTING EXPLORES.

J

ust as drinking beer is an activity

up a gear from one-off limited releases to

BREWING SOMEONE ELSE’S BEER

best enjoyed communally, so too

functioning, long-term business models

In order for gypsy brewers to brew their beer,

is brewing beer. The craft scene

for both parties. As we have discussed in

there need to be breweries with the capacity

has seen plenty of collaboration

previous issues, the cost and logistics of

to accommodate them. Handily, there

between brewers regardless of

setting up or growing one’s brewery can be

are plenty of brewers out there that have

size and location.

out of reach for many aspiring craft brewers.

specifically enlarged their own businesses

What does one do when one’s ambitions

with contracting in mind and plenty of others

cannot be realised in cold steel fermenters

that have expanded beyond their immediate

is one of the most open industries out there,

in a warehouse with newly concreted floors?

demand. Growing a brewery is an expensive

with all participants keen to work and learn

One asks to use someone else’s equipment.

enterprise, so while you wait for demand for

together. We couldn’t come close to counting

For a price of course.

your own beer to grow, there’s no need for

It can be easy to forget (although

it is important not to) that craft brewing

the number of beers that have been brewed

This is the core concept behind contract

the equipment to stand idle if you could be

collaboratively between breweries – as they

and gypsy brewing, the main difference

share expertise, ingredients and equipment to

between the two simply being that contract

create something unique and special.

brewing tends to be a long-term agreement

Geelong for 30 years and has always dedicated

between two breweries, while gypsy brewers

part of its capacity to contract.

In the world of contract and gypsy brewing, however, this process is shifted

46 www.beerandbrewer.com

move nomadically from brewery to brewery.

brewing someone else’s beer instead.

Southern Bay Brewery has been brewing in

“We are a relatively large brewery so one of

CoConspirators are defined by their gypsy approach

Hairyman Brewery relies on contract brewing

the key advantages about contract brewing

but we are always present for any brewing

is maintaining volume through the business

to ensure maximum efficiencies and

and it is very rewarding delivering a product

quality control.”

that exceeds customers’ expectations,” says

That nicely brings up the question of

Peter Clark, sales manager at Southern Bay

control – as a contract brewer, are you

Brewery. “The only challenge can be around

happy to let someone have the run of your

forward planning to ensure we do not exceed

brewery? Conversely, as a gypsy brewer,

capacity, especially in peak periods. We have

would you be happy to entrust the brewing

a very experienced brew team and once we

of your recipes into the hands of someone

receive a recipe, we can brew nearly any type

else? It is important for both parties to try

of product to meet the set specifications.

out the recipes a few times before beginning

Furthermore we can work with clients to

in earnest, since every brewhouse has its

help establish a recipe and encourage them

own quirks and foibles that can affect the

to be part of the brewing process.”

finished product. Cordial relationships

There are certainly plenty of questions

between brewers are essential in these

that need to be asked before one decides to

matters, but the seriousness of what’s at

get into contract brewing. From a logistical

stake must also not be forgotten.

perspective, a contract brewery will

“Every brewer is proud and protective

now need to be balancing the demands,

of their recipe, so the biggest challenge

priorities and brewing timetables or more

is earning the trust of the brewer that

than one brewer, meaning that your set-up

we can brew their beer to meet their

needs to be incredibly accurate.

expectations,” explains Jason Lees, head

“Managing expectation is especially

of sales at Tribe Breweries in Goulburn.

poignant for the initial period of

“Once we have earned the trust of the

transitioning to a commercial scale,”

brewer, there are often some subtle

explains Andy Orrell, head brewer and owner

differences between one brewhouse to the

of Hairyman, which aims for approximately

next. Regular and open dialogue between

50% of the beer it brews to be under contract.

our brewers and our partner brewer

“The transition needs to be commercially

ensures any necessary tweaks to recipe or

viable for both parties to ensure a beer or

process are agreed. We are happy to have

beverage is delivered to market that has

discussions and partner with any brewer

quality and flavoursome characteristics. We

who can meet some basic requirements

encourage active participation throughout a

including minimum volume run sizes,

contract brew day, some contractors/gyspies

format and packaging specifications, and

are more hands-on or involved than others,

alignment around required timelines.”

Summer 2019 47

REGIONAL BREWERIES

Let the Sunshine in!

THE SUNSHINE COAST HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF QUEENSLAND’S CRAFT BEER BOOM, WITH 14 BREWERIES APPEARING IN THE AREA WHERE ONCE THERE WERE NONE. IN OUR FINAL REGIONAL BREWERIES SERIES OF 2019, BEER & BREWER FINDS OUT WHAT LIFE IS LIKE ON THE SUNSHINE COAST.

T

he past few years have seen

Our final Regional Brewery Series of 2019

Glass House Brewery with Paul Sanders nine

Queensland accelerate its

visits the Sunshine Coast and its fantastic

months ago. “The growth in breweries across

craft beer obsession as

collection of brewpubs and breweries. Craft

SE Queensland has meant major suppliers

it seeks to catch up with

beer might not have taken over here as early

have set up local distribution, which has

its fellows further south

as in Melbourne or Sydney, but the Sunshine

made access to raw materials, packaging and

and west. Consequently,

Coast has nevertheless been a longstanding

other supplies quite straightforward.”

Queensland has seen greater growth in new

supporter of independent brewing and is now

breweries than other states and its brewers

reaping the benefits.

have fought for and are now receiving

“On a per capita basis we probably

LIFE’S A BEACH Australia’s global reputation is largely

support from the state government. While

have more breweries on the coast than in

focused around its beaches and it’s no

Brisbane has, as state capital, clearly been

Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney – which is

surprise to anyone that the Sunshine Coast

one of the principal drivers of craft beer in

a challenge but also an opportunity to really

has a strong beach culture. As such, one

Queensland, a trip further up the coast also

drive education and market growth around

might expect that the tastes in beer here

provides the regional brewery enthusiast with

the benefits of local, independent beer,”

would err towards the lighter – both in colour

a cornucopia of great brews to try.

says Simon Michelangeli, who founded

and in ABV. Heads of Noosa Brewery, for

56 www.beerandbrewer.com

REGIONAL BREWERIES

The view from Moffat Brewing Glass House brewer Simon Michelangeli

Brewing in the sun As you would expect, the Sunshine Coast gets a fair amount of solar rays and breweries like Your Mates Brewing intend to make the most of this as they attempt to reduce their carbon footprint and look after their home on the beach.

“We would love to see Your Mates grow with the Sunshine Coast in a sustainable way,” says Christen McGarry, production manager and director of Your Mates Brewing. “We want to make sure our impact on the environment is as low as possible; we are about to throw some solar panels on our roof and have plans for a community garden out the front of the brewery. We are also actively engaged in going out and cleaning our local beaches so they can be enjoyed in pristine condition for years to come.”

Your Mates Brewing are keen to reduce their carbon footprint

Summer 2019 57

FEATURE

68  Home Brewer

More Hops!

LAST ISSUE, WE LOOKED AT HOPS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TWO OF AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST HOP DISTRIBUTORS. NOW IT IS TIME TO CONSIDER HOPS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TWO OF AUSTRALIA’S FINEST PROPONENTS OF THE GREAT PRODUCT.

A

ll brewers use hops differently.

Creatures in WA. I first worked on the bar there but

Some use noble hops for a subtle

spent my spare time hanging out in the brewery with

character in traditional English

the guys and helping out on my days off. One day, one

ales, European pilseners and

of the boys burnt his foot quite severely and had to take

saisons. Others create new world

eight weeks off. There were only two brewers there at

inspired pales, IPAs and beyond.

that stage and they didn’t have time to train anyone up

Generally, these new world hops hail from Australia,

New Zealand and of course America.

or get anyone in. So, they called me up and asked me to help out.

Amongst the best and most accessible users of new

is the brewery known as Behemoth (NZ), which you will

LET’S TALK HOPS - HOW DO YOU DECIDE ON THE HOP PROFILE FOR YOUR HOPDRIVEN BEERS LIKE XPA AND IPA?

find as Chur in Australia.

SF: Most of my beers are about hop flavour and

world hops in Australia are Balter and Philter. In New Zealand, as many of us homebrewers are already aware,

Let us first meet Sam Fuss from Philter and the Scott

aromas rather than bitterness. The bittering

Hargrave from Balter, before looking at a Behemoth

component is there but the alpha acids are usually

(NZ)/Chur (Aus) recipe for a smashing summer India

derived from the whirlpool additions, which I find

Pale Lager.

give a more balanced, less harsh bitterness and also great hop flavour.

SAM FUSS: PHILTER

developed a range of beers which perfectly showcase

DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR AUSTRALIAN, NEW ZEALAND OR AMERICAN HOPS?

how to use new world hops effectively. She gives us

SF: Aussie and US are my most favoured hops, but

some hints and tips for homebrewers to consider.

some of the NZ hops are cracking! I also really like

Sam Fuss, head brewer at Philter brewery, is a champion of new world hops. At Philter, she has

using noble hops in beers styles that call for it. I would

LET’S PUT IT OUT THERE FROM THE START, YOUR HOMEBREWING EXPERIENCE IS LIMITED… Sam Fuss (SF): Yes, limited to the point that I’ve never homebrewed before!

definitely say I’m a bit of a new world hop user.

HOW DO YOU WORK OUT YOUR QUANTITIES WHEN DESIGNING A NEW BEER? SF: When I design a beer, I have a pretty good idea of

HOW DID YOU GET INTO COMMERCIAL BREWING FROM HERE?

what profile I’m after already, then it’s just a point

SF: I started brewing over 18 years ago at Little

above what I’m after if it’s a single batch.

of fine-tuning and tweaking. I generally shoot a little

Summer 2019 69

FINANCIALS

76 www.beerandbrewer.com

Black Hops Brewing has raised money in myriad ways

FINANCIALS

s s e n i s u b The g n i w e r b f o IT MIGHT NOT FIT WITH THE DREAM IMAGE OF CRAFT BREWING, BUT AS CHARLIE WHITTING DISCOVERS, BREWERIES NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT CASHFLOW AS WELL AS BEERFLOW.

B

reweries are founded by

actually be greater than the money received

passionate people making a

from the buyer, so a brewery loses money

career doing what they love.

with every can or bottle sold. She called

The principal focus in those

on breweries to take costings seriously,

early days is on the creative

especially since any ambitions of growth will

process, the recipes you’re

necessitate periods of significant debt for the

going to perfect, the branding, the name, the identity. Introducing suits and business-

brewers, what she called ‘Valleys of Death’.

Maria Pearman, principal at Perkins and Co.,

talk into proceedings isn’t necessarily what

an American accounting firm that specialises in

most of us got into brewing for. We relish the

craft breweries, also gave a financially themed

irreverence and the camaraderie, saving the

talk that echoed this advice.

seriousness for another day. Unfortunately,

“My recommendation is: hire a professional

the craft brewing landscape has changed

leadership team as early as possible,”

and continues to change, and brewers need

Pearman told Beer & Brewer. “You can

to adopt a business-like approach – or

outsource if needed, but it’s important to have

employ someone to adopt it for them – if

someone who’s looking after your company’s

they are to maintain or grow their business,

financial health. I think it’s important for

because unless you have another form of

business owners to realise they don’t have

employment, your brewery is your career and

to have all the answers and to realise that if

it needs to be making you money.

they did have all the answers, they probably wouldn’t be very good at what they do.

THINKING BUSINESS

“Second: invest in clean data in timely

This year’s BrewCon featured speakers

financial data,” adds Pearman. “It needs to

talking about the business of brewing rather

be reviewed at a detailed level – looking at the

than the actual brewing itself. And that’s

performance by brand. It’s not a sexy thing

because the craft beer industry operates in a

to do, but it’s critically important because it

competitive market with tight margins. The

helps you see where you’ve missed the mark

many costs associated with the production

and it’s important to understand why. Are

and sale of craft beer must all be accounted

you missing it because of a variance in the

for and rigorously assessed if a brewery is to

number of units sold or is it a variance in the

make money.

sales price? If your costs are out of line, is it

Corinna Steeb, co-founder of Prancing

because you’re using more raw materials than

Pony, explained in her talk that if you’re

you expected or did they cost more on a per

not on top of your outgoings, the cost of

unit basis? Review it, understand it and make

producing and delivering a carton of beer can

changes based on that review.”

Summer 2019 77

BREWING EQUIPMENT

BREWING EQUIPMENT

Treat it right BUYING BREWING EQUIPMENT IS A MAJOR INVESTMENT, BUT THE WAY YOU LOOK AFTER IT AND USE IT WILL HAVE A MASSIVE IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF BEER YOU PRODUCE AND THE LIFESPAN OF THAT KIT

M

y father was a sheep farmer in south Wales for a time and one of the things that drove him mad was the habit some farmers had of leaving their machinery – tractors, spreaders, bailers – outside in all weathers at the mercy of the elements. Farming equipment will set you back a pretty penny, but if it’s left out to rust in the Rhondda rain it will cost you even more in time

and money. The same rules apply to brewing equipment. Any piece of kit will give you better results and for longer if you use and care for it correctly.

In our Brewing Equipment Part 1 feature (issue 45) we explored what to look for when purchasing brewery equipment and setting up your brewery. In this second part, we will examine what it takes to get the most out of that kit in the subsequent years.

GETTING STARTED

ALL THE BEST BITS FROM THE ANHC (see page 74) >>> * Additional costs apply for New Zealand.

INCLUDING

Looking after your equipment begins before it has even arrived at your brewery. You might be eagerly waiting for that fully laden truck to arrive laden, but you need to

have a plan in place right from the get-go, or you will be tinkering even more than usual. Preparation is key, especially before your first brew. Your primary aim should be to get to know your brewery, and that means learning to walk before you start running or making your craziest batch.

“Good results come from continuous improvement – the process of commissioning, test brewing and production brewing can be undertaken with this mindset,” says Julian Sanders, founder of Spark Breweries and Distilleries. “Small adjustments should never finish. Although you should be prepared to dump your first batch, there is no reason that you should need to with an appropriate setup, cleaning and commissioning process. Plan for your first batch to be good, and the worst batch that you’ll ever brew.”

It is more than likely that this won’t be the first brewing equipment that you

ISSUE 47 SUMMER 2018

have used, but it is important to remember that this is the first$9.95 time (NZ you’ve PRICE $11.95) used this particular system, with all its idiosyncrasies and different requirements. It is

ALL THE BEST BITS FROM THE ANHC (see page 74) >>>

unlikely that you’ll be able to simply replicate exactly what you’ve been doing on

* Additional costs apply for New Zealand.

FRESH BLOOD

previous systems. You need to take things slowly, test them out, and work out what

INCLUDING

the equipment is telling you.

“We still don’t know if 67°C on our mash tun is 67°C, but we know the attenuation

Australia’s it will give us at the end, so it doesn’t really matter,” saysDiscover Rhys Lopez, brewer at newest breweries Otherside Brewing. “It takes a couple of batches of the same beer to really figure 36

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ISSUE 47 SUMMER 2018 PRICE $9.95 (NZ $11.95)

St Andrews Brewery with FBPROPAK

SESSION BEERS

SUMMER 2018

37

Why less is more

FRESH BLOOD

BALTER’S

Discover Australia’s newest breweries

SESSION BEERS

BEST

Why less is more

BALTER’S

BEST

Scott Hargrave soars in 2019 Beer & Brewer Awards

Scott Hargrave soars in 2019 Beer & Brewer Awards ISSN 1834-5115

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