Over the past few years, we've run many articles in our Going Green series looking at steps brewing companies and others in the wider industry are taking to be more sustainable and socially and environmentally conscious. And now one local business is launching a grant as an incentive for newcomers to the world of brewing to ensure they put such measures at the heart of what they do.
Brew Rocket is the brainchild of Jessie Jungalwalla, founder of brand agency Craft Instinct, and will see the successful applicant win a multi-faceted package of support worth tens of thousands of dollars. As well as a full branding packaging from Jessie and her team, it includes business plan development and mentoring from BentSpoke co-founder Rich Watkins, coaching from Peach Business Management, discounts with Rapid Labels and Sun Tap Decals, plus a launch story and year's free listing with The Crafty Pint.
That Jessie has hatched such a scheme will come as little surprise to those who know her; the No Beer On A Dead Planet campaign that tied in with the 2019 Climate Strike marches was her idea, and she donated her time designing the look and feel of the Keeping Local Alive campaign last year, as well as the Beer For Bushfire relief logo before that.
"I'm passionate about the environment and social change, and the career I find myself in doesn't necessarily lend itself to that without thinking outside the square," Jessie says. "I saw an opportunity where I could make a difference and have a bit of impact where I want to be having an impact, through inspiring other people to make a change."
Rich put his hand up to get involved when he and Jessie were on the Cryer Malt Brewery Startup Panel during this year's Good Beer Week. He will be offering the successful applicant eight sessions covering a wide array of topics designed to help them enter the brewing world in a strong position.
He regularly gives informal advice – whether to brewers or prospective brewery owners visiting him in Canberra or making contact from interstate – and says: "It's humbling to think people are reaching out to ask me questions."
Rich, who collected another trophy at the most recent Australian International Beer Awards for BentSpoke's Sprocket IPA, adds: "I'm keen to help people set up better and do it the right way. Starting a brewery sounds really great, but understanding what it all means and doing a good job are two different things.
"It's good for our industry to have more good breweries opening up, so the more I can help the better."
At BentSpoke, he says they're sitting at around 79 percent when it comes to being self-sufficient with solar power and are working to reduce their water usage, although Rich says they particularly focus on people when it comes to being good corporate citizens, from making sure their staff have clearly defined roles, and receive the right training, support and career progression, to working with organisations in their local community.
"We work with arts foundations that aren't as well funded as others," he says, "but also organisations that might otherwise struggle to survive."
As for the sort of ideas Jessie is hoping to see from applicants, she cites plans for carbon neutral brewing companies, businesses with strong messaging around social change, and policies to build and support a diverse workforce.
"I'm looking for people that are really excited and passionate about these things too," she says.
"I've worked really hard to build my business over the past five years, and feel I'm really privileged to be in this position, so one reason I wanted to create the grant is to give back to the independent industry that I love."
Applications are open until August 31, 2021. Applicants must demonstrate how their business model fits the requirements of the Brew Rocket Grant, found towards the bottom of this page, and must be planning to open or be selling beer within two years of the grant application closing date (August 31, 2023).
To apply email brewrocket@craftinstinct.com for an application form.
You can find other entries in our Going Green series here.
James Smith launched The Crafty Pint in 2010, two years after moving to Australia from the UK. He was taken to Mountain Goat within weeks of landing in Melbourne, joined their indoor cricket team, and is still navigating the rabbit hole that is craft beer to this day.
The beers that turned you on to good beer:
- Watching pints of McEwan's 80 Shilling settle when visiting family in Edinburgh.
- Pints of flat Bass from the jug at the Cap & Stocking in Kegworth.
- A first Paulaner Hefeweizen when working in Munich in 1998: “This smells of bananas!”
- Castle Rock Harvest Pale – how could a 3.8 percent ABV beer be so good? (It turns out it was an early example of the three Cs – Cascade, Centennial and Columbus – in an English bitter).
- Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA poured through hops at the Sunset Grill in Cambridge, MA, in the company of a man who turned out to be the Beer Nut (while we were both covering a double murder case at the time).
- Ordering a Mountain Goat Hightail on my first day as an Aussie resident as it was local and I’d never heard of it; “A dark Australian beer; well I never…”
- Murray’s Icon 2IPA at Beer DeLuxe Fed Square, recommended by a guy I’d not long known who's now the main man at Fixation, served by Mik Halse, now head of sales at Hawkers. How could an Australian beer smell as good as that?!?
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
- Any really good, fresh and balanced West Coast style IPA. Punchy hop aromatics are the most obvious way to capture someone's attention and these IPAs, done well, present the key components in beer (if you're sticking to just water, malt, hops and yeast) in harmony yet with the volume turned up.
- Saison Dupont. Arguably a selfish choice here as I bloody love the broad saison style and dearly hope it will finally take hold in Australia one day. Given a choice, I'd probably crack one enlivened with Brettanomyces like Molly Rose Matilde for myself but, when it comes to turning on someone new, you've got to go with the classic.
- Rodenbach Caractère Rouge. Because if you don't enjoy or can't appreciate this beer, I'll never win you over. And because Filip, the fruit and wood specialist at Rodenbach that designed it, is a beautiful human.
The last beer you enjoyed:
Fixation IPA at The Incubator.
Three things that represent you:
- The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Golden Plains
NB All articles written by James in the first eight years of the site appear as By Crafty Pint. Today, that's used for collaborative efforts by the wider team.
