Making Beer
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From the brewing process and ingredients to beer history and the art of running a brewery.
Key Topics
ingredients starting a brewery brewing beer history homebrewing beer basics beer education
Summer Of The Seventeenth Hop
After a lengthy career in beer writing – publishing books as well as a regular column in the Sydney Morning Herald – Willie Simpson swapped pen for mash paddle. Here, he returns to his former profession to look back at his time growing hops.
Diversifying The Pathways Into Brewing
With applications for this year's Young Henrys Brewing Scholarship for female, female-identifying and non-binary people closing soon, we chatted to two brewers about their experiences since ditching corporate jobs.
WA's Beer History To Star In New State Library Exhibition
A new exhibition exploring nearly 200 years of brewing history in WA opens this weekend. Crafty writer Guy Southern, who conducted ten interviews covering the modern era, took us behind the scenes of Liquid Gold.
Beer Basics: Lautering, Boiling & Whirlpool
Sparging, vorlauf, iso-α-acids, centrifugal forces and trub... Join us as we take up our Beer Basics guide to making beer once more in the company of Marie-Claire Jarratt, with hops finally making an appearance too.
AMSAT: Adelaide's New, Locally-Focused Maltster
AMSAT Character Malts is a new malting company based in South Australia which has just launched a range of specialty malts for craft brewers and distillers. But it's also steeped in malting history.
The Hop Selectors: Harvest Time In The Pacific Northwest
Some of Australia and New Zealand's top brewers have been in the US, touring hop regions and selecting the hops they reckon will work best in their upcoming beers. We chatted to two of them on their return.
WSET To Launch New Beer Qualifications In Australia
New beer courses are launching in Australia next year as global training organisation WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) add beer to their repertoire – and bringing Two Birds founder Jayne Lewis to their team.
Scholarships Made Beerable
Looking to learn more about the science of brewing? The founders of Science Made Beerable have launched a scholarship to give people eager to study a science-focused beer-related course a helping hand.
Beer Basics: Milling & Mashing
We've covered the key ingredients in beer – water, malt, hops and yeast – so now it's time to take our Beer Basics series to the next stage and get stuck into the brewing process. First up: milling and mashing.
Creating A Winning Brewery Experience
Breweries have transformed warehouses into social spaces and created new kinds of hospitality experiences. But what makes a good brewery venue and what do founders think about before they start building?
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Beer Basics: Yeast Part II – Time To Get Funky
Having looked at the world of common brewer's yeasts and what they do to beer in Part I of this Beer Basics feature, here Nic Sandery of Molly Rose helps us get funky.
Growing With Intention
Craft beer is a fast-paced industry in which small breweries tend to be nimble operations. Now, in a time of economic uncertainty, many are adapting and changing, but what's it like to change course? And why do it?
A Full Colour Life: From Brewer To Leader
Most people open a brewery or become brewers because they love making and drinking beer. Yet, as businesses grow and careers progress, brewing can play second fiddle to management tasks requiring very different skills.
Beer Basics: Yeast Part I
A few years back, we invited Molly Rose founder Nic Sandery to guide us through the essential elements that make up beer. Having covered malt, hops and water, now he turns his brewer's gaze to yeast.
HPA Eclipse Past Years In The 2023 Hop Harvest
As they release their 2023 crop report, we spoke to Australia's largest hop grower, Hop Products Australia, about their faith in their latest commercial variety, Eclipse, what's on the horizon, and the wider world of hops.
So Fresh: The Rise Of WA's Hop Growers
The South West might be best known for wine and beaches, but now it's not just the brewing community that's growing fast: these days the region has multiple small-scale hop growers making an impact on the local beer industry.
HPA Invest In Major New Pellet Plant
The country's largest hop grower is investing in a major pelleting plant in Victoria which will allow them to keep up with their expanding farm capacity. Hop Products Australia also believe it will provide more consistent hops for brewers.
The Collaborators: Freestyle Hops
If you love limited release hazy beers, you might have spotted the name Freestyle Hops on a can from your favourite brewery. We caught up with the managing director of the NZ grower to find out what the Freestyle life is all about.
From Backyard Brews To The Real Deal
The team at Margaret River Brewhouse launched their Backyard Brewing Tournament as a means of staying connected to their homebrewing roots. Little did they know it would help launch the brewing careers of others.
The Collaborators: Mogwai Labs
Wollongong and surrounds already have a vibrant local beer scene; now adding to its crafty credentials is a new liquid yeast manufacturer, Mogwai Labs. We spoke to founder Josh Allen about foraging yeast and his plans for the business.
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Biotransformation: Where Hops & Yeast Meet
Many fans of hoppy beers will have enjoyed the fruits of Sam Bethune's labour from his days at Fixation. These days, he's with ingredients supplier Bintani where he's been experimenting ahead of the 2022 High Country Hop.
The Collaborators: Mortlock Malt
After studying brewing at ECU and gaining brewing experience at Little Creatures, Rex Rowles moved back to the family farm to combine his love of brewing with his experience growing barley to create Mortlock Malt.
Firies-Supporting Brewing Company Wins Brew Rocket Grant
A brewing company created to support emergency service workers has won the first Brew Rocket grant designed to reward sustainability and social responsibility. Firehouse 51 was selected by a panel put together by Craft Instinct.
Embracing The Fruits
Brewing may be an industrial process reliant on stainless and manufacturing capacity but some brewers are working closely with farmers to showcase the seasons via their beers, including Future Mountain and La Sirène.
Brewers Take A Cold Dip
Haze and DDH might be here to stay but brewers are trialling new ways to brew punchy, hoppy beers. We caught up with two Australian brewers taking cues from America to brew "dip hopped" and "cold IPAs".
Beer Basics: Waters Ain't Waters
It might seem like the most mundane of beer's four main ingredients, yet in his latest Beer Basics guide to the world of beer and brewing, Molly Rose founder Nic Sandery argues it's one of the key elements that turns a good beer into a great one.
Is Fresh Always Best?
Fresh is best is a mantra we hear often in the beer world but can a beer be too fresh? Packaging shock is common parlance in the wine world but rarely raised in beer, while hazy, hoppy beers can perform better later too.
The Collaborators: AC Hops
AC Hops was launched late in 2019 by a couple with little experience in growing hops but a lot of ideas about farming and passion for craft beer. Following their latest harvest, we caught up with Victorian growers.
A Day In The Life Of: A Technical Brewer
He gets to play around with new ingredients and techniques as much, if not more, than any brewer in the country, yet you'll never taste his beers. We spent A Day In The Life Of Ellerslie Hop's technical brewer Glenn Harrison.
How Do You Build A Brewery?
What do you do if you want to start a brewery, but can't find the information you need? If you're Chris Hayton, you interview brewers and other industry professionals, make a podcast, and share it with the world.
Total Eclipse Of The Hop
Seven years after the launch of Enigma, Hop Products Australia today unveil the latest` hop variety to graduate from their breeding program. Eclipse is a sibling of star pupil Galaxy set to bring a hit of mandarin to an IPA near you soon.
Dark Emu – Telling Stories With Beer
Sailors Grave are among the country's most avid and adventurous collaborators and harvesters of all things local to East Gippsland. But the Orbost brewery's latest collab really gets to the heart of the brewery.
Beer Basics: Hops
Hops are the star in many of the big hits of the modern beer world. In the second of his Beer Basics articles giving readers an introduction to beer and brewing, Molly Rose founder Nic Sandery moves from malt to hops.
The Collaborators: Native Flavours
As they prepare to launch their seventh collaborative Native Series beer together, Jono Outred spoke to the people at Beerfarm and Fervor driving these unique beers and the educational aspect that surrounds them.
Beer Basics: Malt, Malt, Malt
A couple of years back, we launched a new series aiming to teach people about the basics of beer and brewing. It slipped through the cracks but is now back, ready to boost your beer knowledge and enjoyment.
High Sobriety
As Dry July kicks off, we look at the rise of alcohol-free beers: how a new yeast strain is helping brewers create them affordably, the challenges involved in brewing them, and the opportunities that lie ahead.
My Favourite Hops
Few things in the world of beer excite people as much as hops. So we got in touch with a bunch of growers, sellers and hop-lovin' brewers to find out which varieties they love the most and whose mastery of hops impresses them most.
Brewer Be-Guiled
Since launching his first book on historical homebrewing recipes, Peter Symons has continued scouring the world for more. As he returns with Guile Brews, we got in touch to find out where his research took him this time.
The Beer Professor
Sam Holloway has combined his passion for craft beer (which includes owning a brewery) with his academic career in business management and entrepreneurship to help advise small brewery owners on building sustainable businesses.
The Collaborators: White Labs
Chris White is a hero among brewers worldwide. His White Labs operation has been supplying a growing number of yeasts to brewers (and winemakers) for decades. We caught up with him when he was speaking at BrewCon.
Our Man In NZ: The Yeast Starters
They've been mates since they were 12 and have brewed together for years. Now Simon Cooke and Ryan Carville are looking to change the NZ brewing industry via Froth Technologies.
Meet The Hop Doctor
Dr Tom Shellhammer is a world-leading expert in hop chemistry helping brewers understand how better to use hops. We caught up with him in Tasmania as he gives a series of talks in Australia.
Help Recreate Brewing History
The author of two books bringing old Australian beer recipes back to life is embarking on another. Peter Symons is keen to fill the gaps in the country's brewing past and is after your help in doing so.
Kveik – Something Borrowed, Something True Blue
In part one of this mini-series, Mick Wust took a journey into the history of Norwegian "super-yeast" kveik. Here, he speaks to some of the early adopters in Australia to find out more about its unique appeal.
Kveik – Something Old, Something New
There's a new yeast in town. Actually, it's not new at all, but it is extraordinary. Here, Mick Wust delves into the romantic history of Norwegian kveik before speaking to Australian brewers and bar owners who've fallen for its charms.
The Milkman Of Human Kindness
For the past century, you were only ever likely to find lactose – AKA milk sugar – in the occasional sweet stout. These days, it's cropping up everywhere. Brewer and beer scholar Chris Brady examines why.
Victorian Heritage
Bad Shepherd have plundered a bit of local brewing history in creating their new Victoria Pale Ale. It features the historic Melbourne Ale Yeast, brought back to life recently but dating back to the late 19th century.
Spirituous Away
The rise of craft brewers and distillers is creating ever more chances for cross-pollination. As Wolf of the Willows launches its Barrel Exchange Program with Lark, we speak to them as well as the small Gippsland operation blending boozes in house.
The Collaborators: Big Malt Thinking Small
The rise of craft beer continues to have an affect on the industries surrounding it, with large scale malt producers Joe White and Barrett Burston both introducing new lines designed with small breweries in mind.
Brew A Batch – An Ethical Guide To Homebrewing
Brew A Batch is one of two quality beer books released in Australia in the lead up to Father's Day. It's a beginner's guide to homebrewing by Batch co-founder Chris Sidwa that delves into the brewer's ethos too. Judd Owen joined him to find out more.
