Transcript
Speaker: Hello and welcome to the Crafty Pine podcast. I'm Will. I'm James and momentous week once again, Will. We seem to be having quite a few momentous weeks at the minute. Our first weekend crafty intro for the podcast taking place inside the studio that people will probably have noticed us using using rather more in recent weeks.
Speaker: Yes, time's a funny thing. We've been sort of recording a few things here and then putting them out and then we've got others that we haven't recorded in here yet. But excitingly, we moved into an office on Monday, which also gives us a studio access.
Speaker: Yeah, something that we'd been ah you know looking to do for some time. Moved in here this week, gives us access to this and some other spaces within the building. um Less of me sort of... repurposing our little cameras and and microphones around one end of my house that we were doing every week it gives access to yeah it's a much better equipment. So the quality of the podcast, um at least in terms of audio and visual quality, should certainly be increased. Whether we can move beyond our sort of established pinnacle already in terms of content, will it serve? Remains to be seen. Yes, but um even though it's big crafty pint news, the news in the outside world keeps going as well, like in Tasmania where they are IBA and Hospitality Tasmania, which is, I mean, sort of the AHA of more be known in other states, ah the main peak hospitality body. They've received a significant grant from the Tasmanian state government, $240,000 to establish Beer Tasmania. This obviously comes off the back of James Bogue's Closing, they they've given the government back a million dollars because of that. And ah I guess a quarter of that money is making its way to these groups so they can further promote beer local beer in Tasmania, particularly in the north of the state.
Speaker: That's right. Yeah, something that was dropped by the the Premier's office in Tasmania over the weekend. Caught a few people on the hop, as far as we can tell. That is how politician and media releases. i think I think we were kind of taking the news to some of the people within the article, actually, and and updating them on what was going on. But yes, it's this great. You know, we we reported not long ago that the IBA had some success getting some some funding to get the Tasmanian... Beer Trail to but Tasmanian Ale Trail up and running again. That's underway. um And this is obviously, you know, further support for local businesses. and And they actually said in the media release that this is all about supporting independent Tasmanian breweries. um that You know, that was specified as well, and which I think is great that they're I guess, looking to support that sort of business with money that's come from you know multinational brewing company. um Talk of a a Northern Beer Trail, quite how that'll work into the the Tasmanian Ale Trail, we'll see. Talk of a Northern Beer Festival as well. um All sounding, yeah, very positive. And, you know, i guess with all the challenges that are going on in the beer, in the wider hospitality, in the wider the drinks industry, any support like this and and any, I guess, acknowledgement that... And I guess these industries that do do a lot for community and do do a lot for tourism are actually on the on the radar of politicians is is always a good thing to see. Yeah, definitely. And you know this gives groups like the IBA ammunition as well that to go to other premiers, to go to other state governments and say, like you know this is what Tasmania is doing. Hopefully they can show that it's working as well. And and you know maybe this is something you should actually think about. yeah And in the grand scheme of things, they're not huge amounts of money. But I think the ah ROI you get on investing in these sort of small businesses and in tourism trails is is huge. You know, these businesses are already there. They're already employing local people. They're already doing great things and, you know, telling a great local story. You know, i just do believe that.
Speaker: you know for the dollars put into into um and anything that the you know state governments might be doing when it comes to whether it's tourism or food and drink i think you know it is a very um valuable sort of part of the industry to to invest in um and i guess and and talking of investing in tasmanian beer um industry you've also got a story potentially coming later in the week as well bit of an update for us Oh yeah. Well, I'm hoping to catch up with the team at Hobart Brewing soon because they've moved out of the the legendary Red Shed that um yeah I believe is about to be a football stadium that's quite controversial down there or is definitely going ahead. Red Shed's dead baby. Red Shed's dead. So they're moving into their new home and um anyone who follows their story, I've ah particularly loved the social media posts that they've been doing along the way of getting all the staff to show what they're up to while they're building this new home for themselves. um It was Overland Brewing in in Northern Hobart, so they'll be opening doors pretty soon. I'm just keen to catch up with them to you know see what parts of the red shed live on in this ah Hobart Brewing 2.0, I guess. Yeah, no, great. And I guess talking of i guess breweries that have been around for a while and and I guess going through a period of change, another story story where you've been speaking to someone on and off for a number of years is hopefully coming to fruition or at least taking a major step forward this week. Yeah, Warrandyte Brewing. I've just spoken to Dave. So Dave and Bianca, the family that run this business, they started it more than ah around five years ago, Contract Brewing. Warrandyte is a very beautiful, picturesque suburb on the sort of northeastern suburbs of Melbourne. It doesn't really feel like a suburb, though. It's kind of almost... It's like the closest you can go to feeling like you're in the bush in Melbourne and not... kind of leave i guess the greater melbourne area the yarra runs right through it they've secured a property a number of years ago right on the banks of the yarra river they've been having some issues with uh maybe it's a bit too close to the river river because there there was some flood overlay concerns that's gone through vcat they've finally been given the green light to go ahead so they will have a tap room open in 2027 which is great yeah they've really As Dave said, they've had two children during this whole sort of ongoing conversation with council. So they've definitely gone through a lot of life changes and it shows how long it's also taken them to to bring this dream, to make this dream a reality.
Speaker: Well, you know... if you you're not spending time making beer, you may as be making something else. um I'm pretty sure, you know, you mentioned the the the Yarra there. I think I saw one of my first um platypus in the wild in Warrandyte. That's how much it is, that sort of bridge between the the city and the country that, you know, you can get these ah lovely monotremes splashing around in the waters up there. um And I guess talking of splashing around in the water, and we've added a new listing to our brewery directory this week for King Tide Brewing in Coffs Harbour. They opened their brew pub way back in say way back in you know in the grand scheme of things, actually fairly recent in the in the craft beer industry. In early 2022, typical so you know community brew pub, big on events, lot of new releases coming out the whole time. So you can check Mick Vust's listing for King Tide Brewing Out. We'll include a link to that in the show notes. They're also looking to hire a venue manager. So if you have some hospital experience and you would like to switch and enjoy a life on the Coffs Coast, um then have a look at the jobs page on Crafty Pint because they are looking to take someone on.
Speaker: Yes, and in keeping with our nautical theme, Felons Brewing, which have a home in Manly, they've um got their beer on the Manly Fast Ferry, which I always think has to be the world's greatest commute. Like, if you take that ferry to work, you have to be living the dream. Like, except for the fact that you live in Sydney rather than Melbourne, I guess. I think so. I was chatting to someone about this the other day. They were talking about some other commute in some other part of the world. I was am someone... whose parents have moved to Vancouver Island say that some people do do this massive commute from the island to Vancouver, even though it's a far longer one because they want to say they live on the island. um And whenever I hear about someone commuting by water, i I always do think of those times I've taken the the ferry back and forth to Manly. um But yeah, I'm assuming like felons, they've been gradually taking over Manly Wharf, more and more parts of it now. They've got the ferry.
Speaker: presumably they're going to send an invading force down to Circular Key at some point and start trying to take over the whole of Sydney. um I mean, that was the whole thing with the original felon story, wasn't it? The brand story that people sort of came into Brisbane and started settling there. So um look out to the rest of Sydney. The felons are coming for you. um And I guess back to, you mentioned Melbourne there. You've got the latest part of your ongoing series, giving people an insight into what it's like to build a brewery and and a brewery brewery venue in the current day and age with ah Black Match Beverages. Yeah, I caught up with head brewer um slash, I guess, project manager at the moment, at Callum Fowler. um
Speaker: Definitely the most exhausted I've ever heard him, and I've known him for a little while. um He shaved his hair off recently, so that might give you a bit of an insight to his mindset. but Maybe he pulled so many clumps out that he felt he should just even things up. they're They're right in the middle of the... The expansion where the production brewery basically is about to be turned on. So there's been a lot of trades connecting everything out where they've spent all this time putting that infrastructure in. I'm sure a lot of people who have, brought whether or not you've been involved with the brewery expansion or I think just run a small business, you there's a lot in there Cal talks about of,
Speaker: just having so much of it inside your head and, and, you know, not having the time to put it down or not being really able to put it down and having to be the person who's holding onto all this information puts you in a position where you're walking around and every 10 minutes, someone's asking you a question and you can't, I think our he got two or three phone calls in the, we spoke for about 20 minutes and he had to leave the conversation multiple times and then he'd have people yelling at him from across the room while we were talking all those kinds of things. It really captures the intensity of of what the build is like at the moment.
Speaker: And what are they looking timescale-wise now? I feel it's been sort of slipping a little bit. on Nothing too major yet, but do we have any... Well, the very first story in October, they were hoping to have beer out in April. Oh, okay. Only four months late. ah But they're hoping... they They should be brewing on the production brewery pretty soon, Kegland, who are owners in Black Match. They've got a festival coming up in Melbourne, and they're hoping to sell some beer.
Speaker: at that So it's cutting it a little fine now, but they do still have their pilot brewery and they've been putting a decent amount of recipes through that. So they they do have some beer, but yeah, the production brewery is is very, very close to be firing. Taproom is a bit more, we'll see. Sounds like commentators curse all the way there, but I suppose if you want a realistic a picture of what what it's like trying to bring any significant project to life, this is you know probably what you wanted to happen. If had all been a yeah a smooth dream and it all happened in time, you're like, oh, it's So easy why don't we all do it and i guess you know this gives a greater insight um
Speaker: before we get to this week's main chat so just bit of an update on our beer club the crafty kaal and i hosted an event with co conspirators last week um they're celebrating in ten years of coconspirators at that minute sort of all year we had our crafty kabal members down there on wednesday nights um braved It was a very chilly Melbourne evening and that was awesome. We had um Jackie and Tim and maggie Maggie were down there and yeah, it was amazing. The conversation flowed so well. I think, you know, it was, you know, you never know sometimes how these sort of Q&A chats with brewers will go, but I think because we had that themed conversation about their 10 years and going back over the time and all the beers they've made, that was a lot of fun. um If you're a Sydney-based member of our beer club, then you can be headed, you you could be at a Bracket Brewing this Friday night for a Southern Hemisphere Hop Masterclass. with Mike, the founder there, and our writer Jason Truen, aka Mr Inner West Ale Trail, who will be there doing a masterclass. And we've also got some tickets going on up for grabs for members for October Feast at Frenchies with a few more giveaways to be locked in very soon. um
Speaker: Which I guess, you know, in nice, upbeat, positive ticket-related news, brings us to this week's ah main guests. Yes, science made beerable. I've always really loved what they've been doing from afar. So they are Tasmanian based. They run a national science week event every year to celebrate the combination of science and brewing. It was started by Matt Fielding and Kelsey Picard, sort of and and andfo unfortunately because of COVID, but also shows how you can start these things and positively bring, um you know, keep them going as well. It's a really awesome event where they invite brewers down to push the limits, I guess, of beer science. And they're both...
Speaker: really passionate science communicators as well. And I'm talking about science. So Kelsey couldn't join us, but one of their new board members did read, read Berry. So caught up with the two of them about the event. They, I just spoke to read and he said there was one ticket left, he believed at the time of recording. So if you want a ticket, you're absolutely not going to get that one. And unless it's just because everyone wants to go with a friend, but ah the event anyone is on August 21 and they've got some smaller events taking place around the state too. So yeah, it was nice to catch up to people who,
Speaker: you know ah very much who are running a not-for-profit within the beer industry, which is a very rare thing. I mean, the only other one that comes to mind is probably Pink Boots. And um they want to yeah look at beer, I think, in a very different way and very passionate about it and and want to see people talk about it a different way and and you know put put it on a pedestal as well and elevate it. The other way of looking at it is that all the other for-profit businesses out there aren't making any money anyway. so at least these guys are honest about their not-for-profit. Yeah, and and I think there was ah there was the first time we'd done a recording in here with the beaming and someone in from outside. There's bit of a connectivity issue, over believe, the start of the show. So there's no video for part of the start of the show, but there is later on.
Speaker: Yeah, so if you watch this on YouTube, yeah, this was just me hosting it and there is no video for the start. But if you're watching it on YouTube, it kicks in around the... halfway mark. So apologies for that, but these things do happen and, uh, yeah, enjoy the conversation. If you do make sure you like subscribe, leave us comment and we'll catch up with you next week.
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Speaker: Matt Reid, welcome to the Crafty Fine podcast. Thanks, Will. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you for having us, Will. It is my pleasure. And for those who don't know, what is Science Made Beerable?
Speaker: Sure. So, ah Science Made Beerables are not for profit, but advocates for spreading the joy that is the science of beer. So essentially, we want to make people, the public, more knowledgeable about the incredible science that goes into every beer they drink.
Speaker: Um, and I guess while we're at it, we're also strong believers of diversity, uh, in the, um, industry. Um, we come from science backgrounds, which also has its struggles with diversity and representation. So that's always been one of our goals as well. So really it's about spreading knowledge and advocating for diversity in the beer industry.
Speaker: Great. And Matt, um, when did you and Kelsey Pickard launch it and how come? Sure. so it's a bit of a funny story. um And it kind of started by accident, I suppose. So Kelsey and myself were both PhD students at the time back in 2020. And we um and we were strongly into beer. We loved our craft beers, but we also loved science communication. So we were out doing something called Young Tassie Scientist, where we went around to schools and talked about our PhD research.
Speaker: um Now, our PhDs were nothing related to beer. Kelsey is a pea geneticist. My PhD was on raven scavenging, so very far away from the worlds of beer. um But we just had that passion for beer, passion for science communication.
Speaker: um And 2020, as many of you know, was the year of COVID. So there was lots of funding given out for National Science Week. um And all these events that were once planned couldn't go ahead because of all the social dis distancing.
Speaker: um kind of laws that went in so essentially trying to reallocate some of the funding and looking for some fresh ideas um and uh one of our mentors uh adele um actually reached out to us and said you know could you do something with with beer um and science and science week um and that's kind of how we brought together the first event which was in 2020 during national science week um which had We were from Van Diemen, Hobart Brewing Company, Shambles and Ocho. So it was a pretty great first line up as well.
Speaker: And they basically just brought beers that were from their core range and we drank them and sat around. And we live streamed it because there were so many people across the country just sitting at home um wanting something to do. And we thought, well, what what better way than bringing the beer science to them? So that's kind of how it launched and from there it grew. So a couple of years ago we established it as a not-for-profit, which means we have an executive committee and it kind of has a whole bunch of extra kind of sweets to it. But it also means we can get funding and we can kind of be a bit more legit around that kind of stuff.
Speaker: So yeah, that's how it started. Cool. And Reid, were you were you sitting at home watching that first episode or did you come come by it later on? I was not. I think I came along, my first interaction with Science Made Beerable was through the experimental science. I think it was in its second year.
Speaker: A friend of mine said, hey, you absolutely love science. You love beers as well. How about we go to an event which mixes both? And I thought that sounds incredible. So i went along and had an absolute blast.
Speaker: It was held down in shambles in Hobart. And it was just an incredible way to um interact with the beverages that you're having, but also to learn about the process as well. I knew a little bit about the process, but I didn't know how much science actually went in and to be able to really pinpoint or to discuss and and flesh out all of those really incredible parts and pieces is was really nice. So that first event really got me hooked.
Speaker: Cool. And um what kind of, do you work in science at the moment or teach science or something like that? Yeah. Yeah, good question. I was originally a science teacher. I actually remember having Kelsey come into my classrooms through the Young Tassie Scientist Program and talk about her genetics PhD, which is absolutely incredible. And through that, um i remember when Science Made Beautiful had their had that event that a friend um told me about. I said, oh, I recognise that name and I recognise Matt's name as well from young Tassie scientists. So i said, it must be a really good event because I knew how much that science communication was a big focus for you and Kelsey.
Speaker: So, yeah originally taught science, now not not in science, but still in the educational policy realm, which is really interesting and part of the Science Made Variable team now.
Speaker: Cool. And what made you want to join up to be a part of it in a more sort of formal way rather than just attending? I had a really good friend who's who was studying her PhD at that time in Hobart.
Speaker: I have really good friends with ah Matt and Kelsey as well, and she's an incredible science communicator, ah has another podcast um all about science. And um She said, we need someone to help hand out the beers at this event. Would you like to help? And i said, sign me up. Yes, please. So that got me hooked after being a patron at the first event. And then the next year rolled around, volunteers sign up kind of went around. I said, yep, shot my hand up straight away. I think I've just done that ever since. I've been that annoying bug on the side of the fly hanging around waiting for the event to pop up. So i said, oh, may as well.
Speaker: Might as well join the committee um and help help out as much as I can in whatever capacity I can as well. So that was really exciting and really glad that um Matt, Kelsey and the team have been accepting as well.
Speaker: A very helpful bug though too. Thank you. Cool. And Matt, you know, you sort of got, this was suggested to you by a mentor. You've had these obviously other science comms people that want to come with you on it and help out. And you've got people like Reid. Is this like sort of, you know, it kind of sounds like a beer event where you can just sort of pull everyone together and a lot of people are happy to pour beers and be involved. Is that kind of typical of, I guess, the science comms community or is it probably more of a Hobart community?
Speaker: Kind of thing, or it seems like you've gotten a lot of help along the way. Yeah. I mean, science communication, is a very, um, it's a very lovely place. Um, there's lots of lovely people. I can't even think of a single science communicator that I don't really like, um, So everyone's trying to help each other out and see each other succeed. So it is a really lovely space where people will help one another.
Speaker: um And, you know, people want to go to other events, see what other people are doing, be part of that. It's all, yeah, it's a, it's a lovely space. And have you met Dr. Carl?
Speaker: ah Not in person. Have you read? No, I've never met Dr. Carl in person. I've been to some of his live events though. Very exciting. Yeah. Would be, would be great. Cool. Sorry, a bit of a detour there. i was like, he's got to be the top ah science science communicator, surely.
Speaker: It's fine. he's the He's the peak or the most famous Australian science communicator. So it makes sense to bring him up and give him at least some shout out. Cool. And, um, Matt, I I'm assuming that science made beerable isn't what you do full time for one, you also write a little bit for the crafty pint, but what, what's your area of expertise these days still focused on. Yeah. Um, I've kind of gone all over the show. Like I said, my PhD was in, um, the scavenging behavior of forest ravens in the Bass Strait Islands, very um specific and very important work that has changed the face of science. Um, but following that, um,
Speaker: you know, do Science Made Beer as a volunteer, like it's ah don't make any money from it. um But it actually got me a job out after my PhD. So there was a job as a teaching fellow in fermentation at UTAS.
Speaker: And because of my experience in communicating the science of of beer through Science Made Beerable, I got a role doing that. um And from there, I um now teach bridging science and math um at UTAS as well um in ah the University College.
Speaker: So that science communication background plus Science Made Beautiful kind of got me into um a job and a role and and that's kind of established me there, which is nice to have kind of um really solid work thanks to hobbies that I've done and and different interests. It's pretty wild when you think about the different paths you can take and that you would never expect to go down.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, I mean, beer is not really something many people come to from out of school, is it? Like there's, there's gotta be a sort of unusual way to get there. Yeah. Unless you're in Germany, I imagine it's probably a bit more streamlined there.
Speaker: True. Then you're 15 and then it's just straight into high school. ah Cool. And um what about what's going on with this year's event? Is it at Shambles every single year?
Speaker: Yeah, so essentially, Cornell, the head brewer at Shambles and owner, is our our biggest supporter. He's actually part of the executive committee this year as well. um And he, so he took part in the first year.
Speaker: We held it down Hobart Brewing Company, because it's um but down at the Red Shed, rest in peace. Um, and he came along, he was a little bit reluctant, but then when he got there and saw it he and enjoyed it, he was like, oh this is amazing. So he's a former science teacher himself, Cornell. so you know, he has that science nerdery, also makes beer, so it's right up his alley. So ever since then, he's kind of said, you know, you have to have it here, essentially. And he's made made a unbelievable offer, so you can't resist. So we've always had it at Shambles since that year. um And this year, we're kind of, um well, Reid, you want to fill us in on what the event's doing?
Speaker: you want to take over here? Because you know the event well. Yeah, yeah, for sure. So this year we're running the Brewers Gauntlet. We've put the challenge out to our brewers to create oh ah weird, wacky scientific experiment and to pit them all oh against each other in a way in in a way that is um the event at Shambles. So um I've actually, Matt, you wrote, the how about you you lead the intro bit? Because I don i know the other bits.
Speaker: Yeah, sure. um So essentially we had a list of challenges um and there were challenges like make the most banana rich beer that you can or make it a beer that reminds you of dessert or make a beer that uses floral kind of components, all these kind of different ideas that kind of is essentially is the idea is to push those limits of those things.
Speaker: Um, it kind of came from a conversation I had with Riley from spotty dog, the head brewer there, um, where we were talking about how much we loved banana, Latin, uh, Hefeweizen, uh, and how there's not enough of them out there. And so essentially this is my, my secret way of getting someone to, to brew a Hefeweizen. Um, Will, you know, how i I think,
Speaker: It's just everyone in the beer industry is always trying to get people to drink more hef or at least certain brewers. it and And unfortunately, it's just not working out for us. So hopefully this this event will change that. But that's not the main crowd bull that's main point.
Speaker: um Essentially, yeah, we're we're getting them to do these different challenges, push beer to the limits. And we can really kind of drive the conversation as well around certain elements. So, you know, talk about the esters and whatnot that have come up through the through yeast in Hefeweizen, talk about, you know, how adjuncts are really important for certain beers and all that happens, what it means for fermentation.
Speaker: um Carbonation, there was one one challenge that was around carbonation, because again, I want to talk about carbonation and how important it is and how much impact it has on the final product. So it's just these different kind of challenges, essentially.
Speaker: And yeah, we call it the brewer's gauntlet. Cool. And I guess typically, I mean, i mean my understanding the other ones, it's often you sort of have one thing you want brewers to focus on and they compare it to each other, right? So so it's a bit of a different approach. Sorry, them all having one experiment rather than comparing doing the same experiment and comparing the beers at the end.
Speaker: Yeah, we've changed it a few times. So every year we try and have a different theme and we kind of discuss it as ah as a group. And then we also get Cornell's input as well. So last year we had the brewers all brew the exact same beer. So they had the same recipe, same ingredients, um a few kind of minor things that they could change.
Speaker: But the the idea was that they brew on their own equipment and we see what the end result was. What we found out from that was that brewers are a bit of cow bit cowboyish and they all pretty were pretty rogue, um adding way more hops or doing something completely different. or you know So we ended up with five very different beers, but it was super interesting as well to compare those five on stage.
Speaker: um The year before that we had actually we had the in before we had a break because we were just going through changes and getting the the kind of executive committee set up, et cetera. But the year before that, we had control versus um experiments. So essentially each brewery brewed two beers, one which was the control and one which was the experiments that had that classic scientific um control versus experimental design. And that was really fun because you had these two beers brewed by the same brewery that were meant to could be compared um compared, that were somewhat similar, but in a lot of ways, lots of differences as well.
Speaker: Cause think that year shambles, Bruder Hazy, um split the batch and actually took the haze out of the beer for the second beer. Um, so Bruder none Hazy Hazy. Yeah. And, um, I mean, Reid, you've been in the audience for some of those, like, I've never been able to make it down, which makes me feel awful. Cause I'd really love to check it out, but it feels, seems like the crowd do really appreciate the the sort of knowledge sharing and what's going on on the night. Right.
Speaker: you can you you get this buzz in the crowd it starts before any of the brewers sit down at the top of the panel um everyone's really excited to learn about what's going to happen and because i think there's a little bit of a mystery behind like what is going to happen at the event what types of beers will be uh given there's there's that kind of um that build up that tension to it as well and then once all the beers come out and the They're all explained. There's a lot of excitement um for people tasting them all and obviously people choosing which one's their favourite, what elements they do like, which elements they're not so fond of. And it really varies across um everyone as well. and you can bring a ah group of mates as well, a group of friends and and really just nerd out about the little intricacies that make beer beer.
Speaker: It's really fun. And ah normally I'm running around on the microphone, so you get to hear all the little side conversations that are happening in the backgrounds of that that the panel can't really hear. But there are always really interesting conversations around flavour profiles or, I wonder how they did that, or that's really interesting. Like, what happened there? Or, like, taking the haze out of the hazy was it was really interesting to hear from the crowd. Like, you know, how do you think you would do that?
Speaker: And there's always lots of really good questions as well from from the crowd. And I think that interactive element of science made durable events is is really key to bringing people in. And they know that ah next year, they really wanna come and they wanna bring this set of friends. They can all ask really good questions again as well.
Speaker: So that's really exciting. I think we get a lot of, I'd probably need to do some analytics on it or we could, but how many people have been to an event beforehand? That would be a fun question to ask.
Speaker: Yeah, we definitely get a lot of repeat offenders. um And we get a pretty unique kind of mix um for National Science Week events because, you know most National Science Week events kind of bring in the science the science crowd.
Speaker: um Whereas we kind of straddle that that kind of bridge between the science crowd and the beer beer nerds, the beer, like the people who are always, you know, getting the latest beer. And what breweries are involved this year? And also how do you sort of pick them?
Speaker: Yeah, it's it's always really hard to pick. um And we always go back and forth a lot between the members of the committee and working out who we want to get. But then you've also got to reach out, they say no, then you've to find someone else. It's always a bit of a struggle and always a bit of a, um It's fun, but it does take some time.
Speaker: um But this year we're stoked because we finally got Duquesne involved, um been long time supporters and fans of them. In fact, that's what I'm drinking right now, Duquesne pills. um So awesome to have them on board this year for up from Launceston.
Speaker: We've got Spotty Dog. Like I said, when thinking about the idea for this this year's event, it actually stemmed from a conversation with Riley from Spotty Dog and around our love for Hefeweizen. So stoked that he's on board and he is making Hefeweizen. So I'm very pleased. Um, actually it was funny, Clint messaged me, the owner, um, who you probably had on this podcast or at least interviewed before, but when he found out that, um, that I, um, had talked Riley into brewing a Hefeweizen, he messaged me and said, you sneaky little wheat weasel, you. So I'm just, it's just so funny to see how Spotty Dog has changed from this IPA brewery to this, uh, lager driven Hefeweizen brewery. It's great. I'm loving it. um
Speaker: We've got Communion Brewing from the Northwest Coast. um Love what Andrew and the team are doing up there. As a former Northwest boy, um ah love that there's breweries from that up up that way of Tasmania. So great to have them on board. And we've got Welcome Swallow as well, who are based out at New Norfolk.
Speaker: um who does the Nigel is a bit essentially was a home brewer and then upscaled and does some really great beers, especially some really great hazies and things. So excited to see what um he's going to bring. Reid actually knows Nigel as well.
Speaker: Yes, know Nigel. um Well, used to drop in all the time. They've got a beautiful bureau brewery out there in New Norfolk, full of plants, full of light. So beautiful murals well, right?
Speaker: So beautiful murals. It's just such a beautiful communal space. I open it up to the public for events and they try and run. but It's a real communal space, which I really appreciate about um Welcome Swallow. We just had the winter feast as part of Dark Mofo down here in Tasmania and a lot of the brewers.
Speaker: were representing themselves there at the feast and serving their crafts. So was able to run into Nigel down there as well and and ask him how he's going with the brewing. So i think they're they're getting onto that right now, i'm following the surge in all of the...
Speaker: the winter feast activities and brewing that they've been doing. Uh, and he's very excited to, he's given us a little sneak peek into, um, their challenge, which is based around cloud nine being floaty and some water chemistry within their beer. They're very excited to to test and try some out.
Speaker: Cool. So for a hazy brewer, they're kind of effectively ideally making the haziest beer they've ever made. Yeah, essentially. You soft and pillowy. Nice one. Well, let's take a quick break. We'll be right back. Cheers.
Speaker: G'day listeners, Will here. I'm joined by Sam Bethune, the technical sales specialist at Bintani and we're here for another edition of Bintani Brewery Boosters. Sam, how are ya? I'm good Will, it's good to be back. One of my all-time favourite Crafty Pint segments, it's a revived and ah Sam, we're here to talk about hops. ah How can brewers think about working with their hops smarter, more efficiently, better?
Speaker: more productive. Look, hops get a lot of the limelight in beer conversation, so I'm going to touch on it a little bit without going into too much. We know, obviously, we're using T90 cryo hops and things for a long time. Just bit of reminder, we're seeing a lot more different use cases at the moment for some more advanced products. Tetra hop and iso hop are for downstream additions. If you need that sort of tweak or to dial in your bitterness is not quite right, there solutions for that as well as maintaining great foam on your beer as well. So don't forget your advanced products and if you need a hand, give us a yell.
Speaker: yeah And what about terpenes? They've been around for a while now. What's... what's Yeah, we've seen it probably launched a couple of years ago and got a lot of the um you know promo sort of side back then, but it is something we've seen continually used and continuing to grow in this market. Great for flavour attributes and differentiation in in a hop front for either replacing part of your hop bill with the aroma compounds of that to get better yield out out of your products, and also for... Some of are more fruit flavorful or you know out there flavors like the cannabis sort of flavors as well, way to differentiate your beers. I think since we last spoke, probably one of the main things we're seeing in Australia versus other markets is probably a more subtle use of these characteristics to really augment or change a flavor profile in a different way rather than dominating and being over the top. so any brewer sort of use, and we're sort of seeing between about sort of 5ml to 15ml a hectolitre being a sort of sweet spot for those when used in conjunction with removing some of your T9, your other sort of dry hop load, just to really add that extra layer of complexity with it. From it Abstracts that we distribute, one of their sales guys is far more into branding than me described them as the are the Instagram filters of beers. So if you're using existing hop sort of things, you can ah you can add that little filter layer to it and and get that pop.
Speaker: Nice, nice. And... You know, what about brewers are looking to get more value out of certain hop products or anything like that? Is a good way to use them? Yeah, good question. So 100%, it's no surprise. While it's getting a little bit more imbalanced, there way, way too many hops in the world. So encourage all brewers to not be paying too much for hops. Speak with your suppliers and see, you know, where there's good value around, particularly in bittering varieties and things when you're looking for an alpha acid contribution. costs vary in a huge amount. If you've just been using an early boil edition for a long time because you've had a connection to it or like the name of it, you might find that there's a bit of value moving to some of the other higher alpha oily varieties, particularly from New Zealand and out of Europe.
Speaker: Yeah, okay. And you know what about sort of designing recipes when hops, are there can be a little bit of variation from year to year, like how do brewers approach that? Yeah, definitely. One thing that um I hadn't really given enough credit to for in the brewing days before going in hops selection was just really seeing that difference on farm to farm for farm to farm and geographical differences within hops on a year-on-year basis. So,
Speaker: If you are purchasing hops, be it through us or any other suppliers, really encourage brewers to try and make those sensory notes on them when they're using them at the start of the year, see how they change over the year and from batch to batch. And from Bintani's perspective, it's something we've really doubled down over the last three or four years to be selecting every lot of hops that we get for to try and maintain consistency with the aroma and characteristics of those hops year on, year out. So brewers that are lucky enough to get their volumes up to go and do selections of their particular batches by all means but for us you know looking for across the market to try and maintain a level playing field um yeah you know you're going to get consistent hops um batch on batch from from us wonderful cheers sam thanks
Speaker: Welcome back and Matt, maybe this one's for you, but one thing I really noticed is, I mean, it feels like such a well supported event. Like you, you have these industry suppliers that have been sponsors since I imagined day one or the early days. Like, um, was it, were they quickly on board or did it take some explaining what you wanted to do? Like what were the early conversations like with both brewers and ingredient suppliers who have sort of come to the party?
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, i guess we had to kind of prove ourselves to some extent. So like I said, when Cornell from Shambles came to support us, he you know it was he was kind of dubious, I guess, with the first event. But then when he took part and saw how well it went, he quickly supported it. So I think there was ah there was a proving stage. um You know, we have the National Science Week funding, which we've got to some extent, either whether a national or Tasmanian, which has always been you know great support because that's money. We need money to run an event.
Speaker: um But I think it was probably the second year. I don't reckon we had the support in the first year because that was pretty pretty hodgepodge, bringing together kind of no events background between Kelsey and myself. But the second event, we started reaching out to ingredient suppliers because that's when we wanted the brewers to brew their own beers essentially, specifically for the event. um And I reckon we reached out to HBA first, so Hot Products Australia.
Speaker: Had a meeting with OJ, who's now the CEO, I think, um of HPA. um And essentially they they were keen to support it in in some way. I think, um you know, OJ being a former brewer, um having, ah think he's a master brewer isn't he from CIBD. So he's, you know, he he understands that the importance of knowledge and science and and whatnot behind brewing.
Speaker: So I think there were, they were very happy to support the event and so they provide hops for the for the brewers they've also provided um cash for the um for the event as well um so incredible support um and then probably the third year we were like well we've got hops but there's there's actually four ingredients in beer um so we'll reach out to some other people as well um so we reached out to voyager um so stew up at voyager um love what they do um you know that really kind of um independent, like organic, kind of really sustainable kind of approach to farming. Absolutely love that as my um kind of ecology background, I guess. um And then we've also had um Bluestone yeast support us a number years as well. So obviously with Derek's background in science, he
Speaker: was quick to to jump on board as well. So I think it's just people understanding the importance of science, um wanting to to spread that kind of message and understanding that education is he's key.
Speaker: It's really cool actually because because of the event, me coming into it as just a regular person, wasn't quite sure what the companies were behind it and who's sponsoring it. You obviously hear about the big companies that go in, that that brew and and produce products, but you don't hear about those those other ones like yeah like HBA and Voyager. So it's been really cool to understand the but like almost the organizations in the background that actually do a lot of work to build craft brewing across Australia. So without it and without that sponsorship, it wouldn't be seen.
Speaker: Yeah, that's a good point, Reid, because I guess if you're in the industry, you know who HPA are. Like, there's no way you can escape that. You know them and you know the great work they do. But if you're outside of beer and you're just a pundit drinking it, you might not. You might see it on a little decole, you know, HPA, because they've got Galaxy hops in there or whatnot. But otherwise, you might not actually pay attention to what it means. So it's great advocation for them as well. Exactly. I thought Voyager was a brewery and I was trying to search it. It was the first time I heard it. was like, what this? I like, there's nothing popping up.
Speaker: I would like to go there. No, but that's that's good because it's getting their brand out there as well, which is nice. It's a quid pro quo from the event at least.
Speaker: Nice. And, um, I mean, the event really sells out every year and this year you've got a few other mini events. What, um, do you think drives the popularity? Is it just beers perennially interesting along with science or is it, you feel like, you know, those return customers are just scooping them up really quickly and and people don't ever want to like miss it and once they've been to one.
Speaker: Yeah, I think it's the return customers definitely get in quick. It always sells out, you know, it so it doesn't have a huge capacity like Shambles is in the back room of Shambles, which is a great space, but it's also a very strange shape.
Speaker: So it's a bit of an L shape. So you're limited in how many people you can have there. So we have about a capacity of 80. it sells out pretty quick um and we could probably move somewhere else and expand it but then we wouldn't have that great backdrop wouldn't have that support that um coil provides so we're happy to keep it intimate um i think we pushed it to 100 one year and 100 people and it kind of got a bit rowdier so um maybe it's better to keep it intimate and lower um So I think that's one of the kind of drives of like Sells Up quickly, past participants kind of picking up tickets quickly.
Speaker: um But yeah, we've kind of thought about, you know, we're always having it in Hobart and even to Kane, like Will's always kind of offered to to host it up there because they've got such a great space.
Speaker: um And, you know, if we were based in Launceston, we'd probably consider it a bit more, just the logistics of doing an event that size in Launceston You know, Kelsey and myself both have two year olds and four year olds each. So like that takes up a lot of time and involves a lot of logistics. So ah we've always wanted to do it kind of in different places. And so we kind of this year where actually expanded a bit. so we're doing the Hobart event still with the the regular kind of um Rick Morrell. But we're also going to be doing events in Launceston and Bernie as well. We've got Duquesne who are from Launceston as the event, and we've got Communion from Bernie who are part of the event as well. So we're going to do these little taster events essentially in these two regional spaces.
Speaker: at their breweries um just shortly after the event. And essentially what will will be, will it'll be one-on-one with one of us from Science Made Beerable and the head brewer of that brewery, drinking that one beer they brewed for the event and having that conversation. So it's like a mini kind of segment taken out and on stage in those regional cities. So we're just, we're stoked to be able to take it to other places essentially.
Speaker: Great. And what about sort of, um you know, maintaining it through other times of the year? I know you had a scholarship. I'm not sure if it's still in position or you sort of finding that you just don't have the time or but or maybe that's why you're the savior there, Reid, bringing more people in to to sort of give yourselves more capacity to do more, right?
Speaker: Yeah, it's it it's tricky managing time when it's a volunteer run not for profit. And, you know, we're all working full time otherwise, or we're managing kids or running businesses, it can be tricky to to find time to um essentially run the other kind of things we want to do. So yeah we did do a scholarship a couple of years ago. so what we did was we get got the brewers of 2023, I'm going to say, um who took part in that. We got them together to brew a beer
Speaker: um like a Colab beer on the day of the event. And then the profits from that Colab beer went to fund a scholarship that Emma Penny was the recipient of.
Speaker: She went under the IBD general certificate in brewing and then scored a gig over at Guinness. So great to see that kind of come to fruition and and and really benefit somebody. um And we'd love to do that again. It's just working out about how, working out capacity,
Speaker: it's It's always a tricky thing to manage, but you know we've always got things going in the background. um The issue, I guess, with becoming a not-for-profit is there's a lot more administrative kind of things need to do. There's a lot more um managing money and all those kind of things, managing people as well um to an extent, you know making sure, you know back in the day it was Kelsey and I kind of messaging each other on Facebook, should we do this, should we do that kind of thing. Now it's kind of a collective where making sure that everyone's voice is heard and everyone has input. so
Speaker: um It's just managing all those different moving parts means that it can be a little bit trickier, but we want to keep going. We want to keep doing different things. We've we've got some great ideas for other events we want to do during the year. It's just that um making sure we have that time can can be tricky.
Speaker: I feel your pain. I'm ah i'm the secretary of the Northgate Community Garden and it's it's it's nonstop. I'll tell you what, you think you're getting yourself into something easy and it it never ends. But it's so satisfying volunteering. That's why we do it. So if anyone, actually, if anyone wants to to join the Science Made Viewable Executive Committee or even just become a member, there is scope. So just reach out to us. um Send an email. Go to our website, viewablescience.com.
Speaker: um Usually the elections and things happen in November. So, you know, a couple of months time from when this podcast goes out. So yeah, please reach out. We're always looking for new members.
Speaker: And for any new members joining, it's a very welcoming committee as well. And there's there's lots to do and there's lots of ideas that you can run off with as well if you'd like. So very open committee. And it's it's a joy to be part of the committee. It's my first year here, so you've done a really good job setting it up and building a lot of capacity around with with experience as well within other committee members. So it's a really nice committee to be part of.
Speaker: Thanks, Reid. Great. And I guess ah turning things around a bit, do you think, obviously you started this and Reid, you got involved to um because of the interest in scientific communication. Do you think beer, like where sort of telling an interesting enough story all the time. I feel like um' I'm reading, i don't know, sometimes about other drinks or other foods you read kind of about more excitement. I feel like there's so many ways brewing can kind of be advertised as interesting science. I don't know how often that's happening or or maybe it is happening often enough. What do you guys think?
Speaker: I think beer's got better. on um It's kind of a long way from what it was 10, 20 years ago. Like um you think about how much more the average punter would know about a beer and what goes into it than they would have 20 years ago when, you know, they were thinking Bogue's Red or Cascade Blue Tins.
Speaker: It's, but then again, maybe it's that's just my own journey as well in terms of now I know so much more about beer and what goes into it. um i don't know i think it has come a long way i think there is more scope to do more um you know for example i would love to see um the water chemistry put on the side of the beer we're always talking about what hops are in it what what grains in it what yeast is in it no one's talking about the water chemistry um so i don't know there's lots of different things we could do differently and um i think there's always ways to push it further and i think
Speaker: ah there is a lot more for people to learn about beer and science behind it. um But as a science communicator, I think I'm pretty biased towards spreading the joys of science and the word of science about everything and thinking that science can bring new and enjoyable kind of ah opinions to people as well. So I'm probably a bit biased for this question.
Speaker: Conflict of interest. Yeah, if you go back, you know, 15, 20 years, um in terms of beer, yeah, there there were those mainstay, like big, big brewery kind of beers. But then, know, the smaller craft breweries started to to really take off. And then, you know, you you start to see a Pacific Ale and, oh, what's this Pacific Ale? And then um then you see like other other variations and then you've got IPAs come through and Niebuhrs and all of these beautiful, you know,
Speaker: creations coming from abroad as well and your Hefeweizens and um your pills as well, which is starting to become more mainstay on the kind of the the Australian beer market. I guess they're just being consumed more. So they're just staying there, which is um really exciting for from craft drinkers at least. So I think it is changing and that that people are opting to, um,
Speaker: to choose independent breweries as well. And I think that's having an effect on how many that there are popping up as well, which is great. Great for a place like Tasmania where um the brewing is, that that there are little breweries that can pop up and sustain themselves, which is really interesting. And I also think that um those breweries popping up as well, they're almost like ah like a mini show and tell in and of themselves. So normally the equipment that's there is, it's almost like the drawcard, the drawcar be attraction. It's like we we brew this and we brew it right here.
Speaker: And that that will draw people in as well. It's almost like taking... doing a lab tour or bringing someone into the science science experience, which is um great for the education around how beer is made as well. And not just one type of beer, but lots and lots of types of beer.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that's definitely the drawcard for us having the event at Shambles is that you are nestled within the fermentation tanks as you are listening to us talk about beer while we drink beer. like It's something romantic about about that.
Speaker: Even if it is just a bunch of stainless steel. Yeah, um it still makes for a beautiful place, like particularly that shambles ah room. it's It's very sort of industrial but romantic at the same time.
Speaker: and And something that is you know obviously quite special about Tasmania is the fact that you you do basically have to go to the places to drink the beer. Like it is a place where, you know, small island, small population, small brewery seems to be sort of like run across it. What breweries are exciting you guys at the moment?
Speaker: I guess I've already said to some extent, and i'm um I love Spotty Dog and I love what they're doing. i think Riley coming in with that German knowledge background, you know, he's educated,
Speaker: at a German bar beer university. So him coming in with that knowledge means that there's some fantastic lagers. When he can convince Klimt, he's doing some Hefeweizens and other beers. um So I'm loving that kind of more German European style that they're they're bringing.
Speaker: um Always, always have a soft spot for Hobart Brewing Company. Love what they do. And love like, but there's, you know, breweries popping up everywhere. Like the East Coast has like four or five now, I think. So there's like these little kind of beer trails you can do as you're traveling around. So um yeah, it's fantastic. But I think probably Spotty Dog has my heart at the moment.
Speaker: I think in terms of breweries and beer makers across Tasmania, there's heaps popping up at the moment, which is really exciting for those who partake.
Speaker: And for me, the beer beer. And you know you can get some really good ones and you can get some some ones that you go, well that one's interesting. But for me, it's really it's really the commute that it's the space for me. It's the community that the brewers can bring um to to a town or to ah to a city. was talking to a friend today and they were saying, oh, it's really funny how you can have these small country towns and the the thing they they describe themselves as or how they kind of categorize the town is we've got a pub and a post office like that's that's it but it's it's focused around you know the the main establishment and um you can really see there there are there some communities across Tasmania which don't have an it like don't have an establishment or don't have a brewery or a pub so Fingal for instance um
Speaker: talking to a couple of community members there, there they're saying there's no real, there there are places to connect, but there's no one real place to connect. So it's funny how beer can bring people in and build community as well in a place to gather, like the local watering hole.
Speaker: guess So for me, building that sense of community and that sense of place is really important. So places like Welcome Swallow, have that beautiful space out in new Norfolk, are even um in in more industrial spaces like Brew Lab in Derwent Park, just north of Hobart, they've got an incredible space. they They're really packing a lot into a type a tight venue, but they are They put a lot of effort into building community around that area.
Speaker: I'm sure that um other spaces well like Easy Tiger on the East Coast, holy always holding events, making a beautiful space, um bringing in different types of cuisine as well into their kitchen just to to keep it fresh, but also to give some variety to the locals as well.
Speaker: So it's just those types of communities, the community spaces that breweries can bring, ah I find really exciting. Great. And, um, I'll, before I let you both go, i mean, what about, you know, science comms more broadly, we've spoken a lot about beer, but you know, uh, do you feel like important messages are cutting through, particularly in a place like Tasmania? I won't make you talk about, um, salmon farming or anything particularly controversial like like that, unless you're chomping at the bit too, but you know, do you feel like some of those messages, um, are still cutting through?
Speaker: It's a tricky one, I think, with science communication. It can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. um You can feel like, well, you can get in your own little bubble and you can get surrounded by pet like-minded people who understand the science and are keen to have a critical mind and and think about new things.
Speaker: And then you might get a wake up call when you know you find out certain people going vote for a certain person um who contradicts a lot of well-known science. So there are there are wins and losses, um but I guess if it wasn't here at all, then we'd be in a terrible place. so I think this is about keep keep on fighting, keep on spreading a good word, and hopefully we can convert some people to the to the the importance of science, essentially.
Speaker: i think one of the important things about science communication is making the science as relatable as possible. And when people hear science, they normally hear this the school subject and they think how hard and challenging and difficult it is, and they tune out straight away. Whereas realistically, science is happening everywhere. And it's, I think the beauty of Science Made Bearable is the beer the The beverage you're drinking, the beer or the drink you're drinking, whatever it is, science went into that.
Speaker: So it's making it relatable, making it accessible to the average punter. And it's just this way of...
Speaker: being yeah very patient and calm but letting everyone understand that science realistically is just curiosity and asking good questions and not taking things at face value and being critical about the world around you. And you can do that with literally anything. you can You can try try two beers and ask some really good questions and that's science in reality. so i like I like Science Made Beerable in terms of its ability to just really make the science of beer accessible and then get people interested in it. Because once you've got people first step through the door, you can hopefully pull them and a lot of others through as well into the wonders of science.
Speaker: Excellent. That feels like a wonderful place to leave it. Reid and Matt, thank you for joining me. Thanks so much, Will. Cheers.
Speaker: The Crafty Pint podcast is produced and edited by Matt Hoffman. You can get all your beer-related news and reviews on the Crafty Pint website, craftypint.com, and can stay up to date on future podcast episodes via our socials.
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