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Behind The Scenes At The CIBD Convention 2025
434 Plays27 days ago
In early March, The Crafty Pint headed to Hobart for the 38th Chartered Institute of Brewers and Distillers Asia Pacific Convention. The event brings together brewers, distillers and suppliers from all over the globe for several days of technical presentations and networking with the aim of improving standards and education for technical brewers and distillers.
To provide a behind-the-scenes slice of what CIBD is all about, we recorded three distinct, shorter-than-usual podcast interviews for this episode.
First up, you’ll hear Will and Craig chat to CIBD CEO Tom Shelston and president Dr Megan Sheehy PhD about the organisation's purpose, history and why there’s now a C in front of IBD.
Next up is Carlos Ruiz, chief sales officer at HVG, a major German hop grower and supplier. Against the backdrop of the craft lager renaissance, we wanted to pick his brains about the growing interest from craft brewers in traditional German hops as well as his impressive journey in the Bavarian beer industry, one that starts in Venezuela.
Finally, we look more locally and talk to Tim Bishop, co-founder and head brewer at Easy Tiger, about his experience at CIBD and his brewery’s story. Based on Tassie’s northeast coast, the brewery is as tiny as it is unique, complete with a café, multiple restaurants and a cinema.
Ahead of those chats, James and Will cover the industry’s recent news, including Last Man Standing's takeover of the former home of Newstead, and Nail Brewing’s impending 25th anniversary.
We’re excited to announce that Pint of Origin is return for a thirteenth time – touching down in Melbourne from May 8 to 19, and to bring back Bintani's Sam Bethune with more ways breweries can get the most out of their ingredients.
We’re also eager to see more submissions for the Bluestone Yeast Brewery of the Month and our Have You Done A Rallings? campaign celebrating the country's good beer citizens.
Start of segments:
- 14:26 – Tom Shelston & Dr Megan Sheehy
- 27:37 – Bintani Brewery Booster
- 31:29 – Carlos Ruiz
- 54: 55 – Tim Bishop
Relevant links:
- CIBD Hobart
- HVG
- Easy Tiger
- Last Man Standing Take Over Newstead
- Tough As Nail
- Pint of Origin 2025
- Bintani
- Nominate a good beer citizen
- Nominate a Bluestone Yeast Brewery of the Month
To find out more about supporting the show or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.
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Transcript
Introduction and Updates
00:00:05
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Crafty Pint Podcast. I'm Will. I'm James and both of us appear to have our voices back after the last week's somewhat croaky affair, which is, ah you know, it's good for the podcast, less good for people to hang around with me.
00:00:20
Speaker
to listen to me yammering away, but also some sort of, I guess, a bit of a positive update on the back of one of the stories we discussed in the intro last week as well.
Last Man Standing Brewery's New Venture
00:00:29
Speaker
Yeah, Last Man Standing brewery Brewery has taken over the site that Newstead left just last week. So this followed on a couple of days from it. Obviously, as people in the comments said, I think we made note of it's a pretty interesting turn of events, not least because of the name Last Man Standing is a reference to one of its co-owners.
00:00:49
Speaker
Stephen Bradbury who famously won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics when everyone in front of him fell over. Yeah, and won one of the great Olympic motors of all time I think. Yeah, yeah ah so new sets collapsed and they've come in straight away.
00:01:04
Speaker
At the same time the team were very keen to talk about as a positive story because they've managed to keep the site running. Like like they they've literally come in it's barely been shut, so it's good to say that it continue on brewery. Yeah, it's continuing on and as a venue. They're going add their sort of own branding and touches over the coming weeks.
Staff Retention Challenges
00:01:25
Speaker
I think not not all the staff are continuing on from Newset on to last minute and standing though. So there is you know there is that sort of unfortunate side to things as well. I think often when there's been sort of VAs and stuff like that in the past, obviously they've tried to keep all the staff on. my understanding is that but won't be happening.
00:01:40
Speaker
um in the case of everybody here. and But at the same time, yeah, I mean, it's, Newset have put so much, i guess, you know, time and money and effort into that site over the years. pre all the disasters they had to face and post as well. You know, and it is it is a ah prominent site, it is a big venue, it is somewhere to introduce people going Suncorp Stadium to non-4X beer or whatever, you know. And they're a very sports-focused brewery as well, so it it might work very well for them. Yeah, yeah.
00:02:10
Speaker
So it'll interesting to see what they do as well, because um as things stand, um they had a couple of beers on the market. can't imagine they're going to want to fill all 20 taps in there. in the tap room with the same two beers. um i think they've been putting on some other local breweries' beers, so it'll be interesting to see what the the tap line-up looks like there. But um yeah, I guess it's still a case of watch this space, even though the space between one closing and another announcing they were coming in was a matter of days.
Nail Brewery's 25-Year Celebration
00:02:34
Speaker
And turning to more so celebratory news, Nail ah turning 25 this month or celebrating it this month. I'm glad you said celebratory because it's a word I struggle with. But um yeah, John Stallwood released the first Nail Ale. I think he was brewing at Bobby Dazzler's Brew Pub back at the time 2000.
00:02:51
Speaker
um One of very few um independent breweries from that stage still to be operating um under their own steam. We celebrated Holgate last year. um yeah John's got a remarkable story, one that we've told a couple of times over the years. and Guy Souther has done another interview with him last month.
00:03:06
Speaker
um sort Looking back on on the 25 years, discussing all the issues that he was sort of our guest on the front foot about. many, many years ago when he used to run microbrewing.com.au, that's almost like a precursor to the crafty pint in a way, um you know discussing you know the excise tax, tap tap contracts, those sort of issues as well, but also reflecting on 25 years, or it wouldn't be 25 years, but a number of years of clout stout. He's got some new vintages of that sort of iconic imperial stout coming out.
00:03:32
Speaker
um And yeah, one of one of the beer industry's great survivors, but also one of the beer industry's great advocates and supporters. If anyone hasn't met John, he is a very um special, very unique character, ah but someone who really holds um the craft beer industry, the independent brewery industry, very close to his heart.
00:03:50
Speaker
um I remember when I was actually first... putting the concept for Crafty Pint together. I wasn't aware that he was running this microbrewery.com.au website, found out he was, and i was like, oh, and then I found out he was this legend in the WA beer industry. And i'm like, i don't want to be stepping on anyone's toes. Like, I feel kind of bad that I'm coming in and doing this, but you know, i'm too far, too far down the road to not do it.
00:04:10
Speaker
And I got a contact for John from, um, Al Carragher, the federal co-founder at the Great Northern and Slumdog Brewing, and got in touch with John and he was like, anybody that wants to do anything at all to help support this industry, I'm
Future Plans for Nail Brewery
00:04:23
Speaker
100% behind. And I was like, that was a real sort of weight off my shoulder. So, um but yeah, happy 25th to John and the Nail team.
00:04:32
Speaker
I believe there's some new beers coming out, you know, sort of one-offs and some new sort of cool range beers. So we'll find out about those soon. And I'm sure there'll be a few Clout Stouts either already being consumed or being consumed over the coming days. Yeah, it's interesting to hear him talk a little bit about the possibility of a brew pub as well. They've got Billabong, but that's sort of distinct. I remember when he took over Billabong, John told me that um he has this vision for nail the Nail Brew Pub that he won't tell anyone about, but it's like,
00:04:59
Speaker
so locked in his head ah he wants it to happen and he just needs and there's a lot of money. Yeah, yeah oh and and I'd love you know to try and make sense of anything in John's head to be honest, it would be a challenge for somebody.
00:05:11
Speaker
But it'd be great to see, i like it is a classic WA brand and even though they might not be known as well sort of outside WA, you go around the you you'll find there'll be creatures and gauge rows, feral was everywhere.
00:05:24
Speaker
But generally you'll find a lot of nail taps out of there be because he's got the runs on the board and you know there's been so many iconic beers you know from Nail Red, you know one of the great hoppy red ales, VPA. you know this It really is this sort of well-loved and well-supported brand. um So yeah, it'd be amazing if it got a ah home of its own properly for once.
00:05:44
Speaker
um Yeah, so yes, congratulations to John and the team. We'll see him for a beer at some point in the coming weeks or months,
Brewery of the Month and Community Recognition
00:05:51
Speaker
no doubt. Speaking of incredible brewery stories, we're always looking for shout outs for Bluestone's Brewery of the Month. We had a great run last month. I know Cypher were absolutely stoked with it. I know I've said that a few times, but If you wanna make the the sort of special brewery in your life feel great, then make sure you put their name down as Brewery of the Month. Sounds a Valentine's Day pitch from some sort of Hallmark cards or something. No, exactly, yeah. I think it'd be great to, you know, especially at a time like this when breweries and hospitals, everyone in the beer industry, or most people in the beer industry certainly doing it tough.
00:06:24
Speaker
I think, you know, a bit of recognition goes a long way. so if you'd like to, you know, put a spring in the step, you know, fire Cupid's arrow to continue Will's theme you to to your local brewers, just jump online at craftypint.com slash bluestone, which is B-L-U-E-P-I-N.
00:06:40
Speaker
S-T-O-N-E, very short nomination form there. We'd love to um hear who you're enjoying around the country. um And I guess in a similar vein, our Rallings, Have You Done Rallings campaign celebrating good beer citizens. So this could be anyone outside of, could be someone at a brewery, could be and anyone in the beer industry at all who's doing something awesome. Getting the beer industry deserves a bit of recognition, deserves a bit of a shout out.
00:07:02
Speaker
um They all win so a voucher from Rallings labels, stickers, and also featured on our website, featured on socials as well. um And to nominate nominate your good beer citizens, just head to craftypint.com slash Rallings, R-A-L-L-I-N-G-S.
Pint of Origin Festival Details
00:07:20
Speaker
um And I guess also something else that we're involved in, um which we launched, I guess, launch part one last week, Pine of Origin Festival will be returning in May. One of the the survivors of the ongoing turmoil facing sort of, you know, the major event space is back from May the 8th Yeah, yeah, can't wait. It's always my favourite time of year. I was visiting one of the venues just ahead of the announcement last week and I won't say who it was, but their birthday falls during Pint of Origin and they were like, not just because it's my birthday, it's my favourite time of year. And they they have to work it as well, but they love the festival so much that they can't wait. Yeah. And to anyone that doesn't know what Pine of Origin is, it started out in the second Good Beer Week 2012. It was an individual stream within Good Beer Week. The idea was to have a venue that would represent each of the Australian states and territories.
00:08:12
Speaker
um Brewers just sent a keg over or whatever and showcased WA beers, Queensland beers, what have you. really took off, became a festival on its own a few years ago. This year we have 23 host venues, um a lot of familiar faces, few new ones, um and as well as having you sort of brewers from every Australian state and territory, as well as the USA, UK, etc. We also have the return of the Boilermaker Hub at Whiskey and Almond, so they're going to be pairing various whiskies from different parts of the world with beers from that part of the world.
00:08:42
Speaker
And our first beer cocktails hub, at Captain Melville and the CBD as well. So the minute it's just the basic venue lineup announcement so you find that pintoforigin.com and in a few weeks time in early April we'll put the full program live with all the breweries they're going to be appearing pop-up events and all the stuff you can expect grab your passports etc etc um so yeah should be a lot of fun that's the 13th the pint of origin is now a teenager will yeah great makes me feel old great time for people in melbourne but also for everyone everyone outside of melbourne who wants to visit the city it's oh perfect perfect time to visit and to be honest and we've been pretty lucky all through a good beer week and pint of origin and we've actually been pretty blessed to generally it's sort of like mid late may we seem to get a nice little spell of spell of weather around that time of year as well so touch wood
00:09:32
Speaker
we'll get We'll get that again.
High Country Hop Festival Preview
00:09:33
Speaker
um And I guess maintaining the festival theme before that, um you and I will be at another beer festival within a couple of days. Yeah, the High Country Hop. It's ah awesome to be back there. We'll see a lot of industry listeners, hopefully, at the Technical Symposium, which is on Friday. So just after this episode goes out and then the main festival day on Saturday. So it'll be great to catch up with a lot of people. yeahp Yeah. know You and will be ah doing a bit of emceeing at the Symposium. And then yeah the festival is a great music line-up.
00:10:01
Speaker
Great beers, um weather forecast is pretty warm and and dry for the weekend in Beechworth, so um and my mum and dad will be there as well. My dad will just be staked out in the the ice cream store eating boysenberry ice cream all weekend, but mum probably come and check some beers hopefully.
Hobart Convention Mini-Series Intro
00:10:18
Speaker
um Which brings us to this week's, I was about to say main interview, interviews. This was from yours and Craig's time in Hobart. Yeah, we it's a very different episode, ah so it's sort of in three parts, so a bit of a mini-series take on on things. um There were so many good chats down at the convention that we thought we'd sort of piece a few of them together and and kind of give people, I guess, a taste of what the convention is and and why we were there and why brewers from ah around the globe go. and um
00:10:50
Speaker
So first up we're gonna hear from Tom Shelston, who's the CEO of CIBD, and Dr. Megan Sheehy, who's the president of CIBD. ah good explainer of what CIBD is, why there's now a C before IBD, which are I've continued to get wrong. And I think I get wrong a few times in maybe some of those chats. um So that'll give you a bit more of an understanding of what it is. Just get your weekly apology in there, Will. Yeah, one week I'm going need to do that. um
00:11:20
Speaker
And then you'll hear Craig and I chat with Carlos Ruz, who's the chief sales officer at HVG. It might not be a familiar name to many listeners. It certainly wasn't to me, but there are major german hop grower cooperative uh carlos as the name suggests isn't actually originally from germany he's from venezuela um it is really good chat so obviously we talk a lot in the crafty pint about lagers and lager renaissance and kind of hope we wish this thing into being and so it's really interesting to hear carlos talk about his love for traditional german hops and also
00:11:53
Speaker
working more closely with craft brewers in strip but Australia and New Zealand and America, which have their own hop industries, and how he's connected with them. It was his first time on a podcast, he's never listened to a podcast either, so it was a... very fresh experience with Carlos. I think he killed it, he's a really great guest. I mean, I've never listened to another one again.
00:12:19
Speaker
that's That's a possibility, but who wants to hear their own voice back really, it's a curse. um So yeah, it's a really great chat with Carlos. And then finally we wanted to grab one of the local breweries that were at the conference.
00:12:31
Speaker
ah So we've got Tim Bishop, who's one of the co-founders and the head brewer at Easy Tiger, which is one of the more unusual or unique new small breweries. Yes, it's way more than a brewery, isn't it? it's like there's lot going on. It's in everything. Yeah.
00:12:46
Speaker
So it's based in St. Helens, which is on the northeast coast of Tassie, if anyone's ever been to that part of the world, it's stunning. Bay of Fires is, um I mean literally Australian tourism called it Australia's best beach ah this year. it's It's a beautiful part of Tasmania and they've built this, it's open from 8am every day, it's a cafe, restaurant, cinema,
00:13:08
Speaker
and brewery all in one. so i think they're missing a water slide that apparently it brings you in deposits you at the bar I think it would be the final touch. I kind of felt having met Tim it's probably best not to give him ideas um but yeah um so Tim actually he he worked at Bogues years and years ago and he's been working more recently on the supply side of the industry but he sort of has been pulled back into breweries by these other co-founders sort of groups of locals who wanted The way Tim tells it is they they tried to convince, they went to him and asking for him to convince him why they shouldn't start a brewery and he ended up coming in on board as a founder.
00:13:47
Speaker
So yeah, um the chat with Tim, it's about what he was doing there, but also the experience of running Easy Tiger, which is definitely, it would be good to get them on for a full chat at some point in the future, I think.
00:13:57
Speaker
Okay, so we've got those three chats coming after the break. Before we get there, Will? If you enjoy the episode or the podcast in general, be sure to like, subscribe and review us. Cheers. Cheers.
CIBD's Mission and Education Initiatives
00:14:10
Speaker
All aboard. Get ready to travel the world of beer at 22 pubs, bars and breweries across Melbourne this May. Next stop, Pint of Origin Festival.
00:14:21
Speaker
Visit pintoforigin.com.
00:14:27
Speaker
Tom and Megan, welcome to the Crafty Pint podcast. Thank you. It's great to be here. Guys, you're here representing the Chartered Institute of Brewers and Distillers. For those who aren't familiar with CIBD, give me the the story in a nutshell. What's the organisation about? What are the main aims of what what you do?
00:14:48
Speaker
I'll let you answer that one. yeah okay so We we ah basically provide all the kind of technical and scientific education brewers. There's understood as there two science really to the organisation. There formal qualifications. and so If somebody comes into the industry, then we've got a lot qualifications that people can take ah to get up to a kind of master brewer level.
00:15:15
Speaker
and we've done some quite interesting kind of research recently and 75% of those qualifications are taken in the first 10 years of somebody's career. so The second part of the equation is what happens for the remaining 30 years. What we try and do is provide a lifetime of learning. so you know We're in an industry that changes on account of, you know all industries are changing all of the time. And so it's our job to keep ahead of that and then understand what the needs of the employees are, what the needs of the employers are, and what the needs of the members are, and get ahead of that and provide them with that technical and scientific content and learning.
00:15:56
Speaker
Yeah, great. and And Megan, do you want to tell us a bit about your own relationship with IBD and then CIBD? Yes, well my journey started many years ago with the CIBD. In fact, my first conference was here in Hobart back in 2006, which I have fantastic memories of. sorry I'm even more excited to be here in my capacity as president this time around, having started my journey of the first conference and my real involvement with the CIBD back here in Hobart in 2006.
00:16:31
Speaker
So over those years, my involvement has been on various local communities. committees and attending regional meetings and conferences but then I became ah involved with the, or became a member director on the Asia Pacific section board of management and was chair of that board as well and now obviously I've moved on to being part of the global board of directors so a trustee it's a charitable organisation based in the UK but obviously a global organisation and I'm currently holding the role of president of the Institute and technically the first president of the chartered Institute becoming chartered on the 1st of January and also
00:17:18
Speaker
ah the fourth female president of the Institute in its history and the first female president for the Asia-Pacific region. So it's it's an incredible honour. Congratulations. I think what's really unique about the CIBD is its network that it draws upon and it's a kind of global organisation. It's just incredible that here we are in Hoboil and we've had people come from Edinburgh, from California, from you know all four corners and this people keep coming back to the CIBD so at this conference we've got six past presidents from New Zealand, Scotland, America, Australia it's just the network is what makes the CIBD really special.
00:18:03
Speaker
when When was it founded? when like How far back does the history go? Well, at the Laboratory Club was where it all started in London in 1886. Have I got that? wow yeah That year right? Yes. ah So 1886 was where it started with a group of technical brewers essentially are sitting down talking about technical challenges, I imagine.
00:18:28
Speaker
and essentially the organization grew from there to where we are today. There's been a couple of name changes along the way and going from being only brewing to bringing in the distilling industry as well. So there's been a number of significant milestones along that journey and now becoming chartered is adding another immense milestone to that. We're just custodians.
00:18:56
Speaker
Yes, that's right. We just have to, you know, everyone's job is just to carefully modernise the CIBD, leave it in and a slightly better place than it was before. That's fantastic, just keep pushing the kind of ah the standards and and and do do our best to kind of carry that legacy forward.
00:19:16
Speaker
yeah You've mentioned the the chartered status. I'd love to learn more about that. What did it take to get to that point and what does it mean for for you know IBD alumni and so forth?
00:19:29
Speaker
Well, I think chartered status, it sets a kind of quality benchmark that we have to hold ourselves to and also our members are held to in the same way that other chartered organisations, so you've got engineers, you've got accountants, you've got surveyors, you've got people like that.
00:19:47
Speaker
So what we've had to do is apply for this chartership status. We're assessed by various kind of yeah UK governmental bodies and then they say, yes, we recognise your importance as an industry.
00:20:01
Speaker
We recognise your importance as an organisation and your credibility within that. these all the you know You will set the standards, but we will monitor that you are maintaining those standards.
00:20:12
Speaker
And what it does is it gives an employer the sense of confidence that if somebody has that CIBD status, that they
CIBD's Global Network
00:20:21
Speaker
have... you know been through an education that is trusted, expert, and will allow them to kind of function capability capably within their roles.
00:20:31
Speaker
And then if you're an employee, it gives you a real reference mark in terms of the quality of the training that you've had. So it should be a win-win, but essentially it's about providing that a globally recognised Markov quality the ah you know that represents what the CIBD is about. And then from an organisational perspective, it means that we have to continually push ourselves to maintain those levels and and those standards.
00:21:00
Speaker
And I think it's also about, we we have always had that element of continuing professional development as part of our organisation, but this is giving us the opportunity to really expand that and to focus on it a bit more because as Tom said it's not just about the qualification people may be members for their whole ah working life if they stay in the industry that long so what's after these qualifications and there are short courses that are being developed there's technical presentations I mean now we have the technology to globally stream webinars and
00:21:40
Speaker
and all sorts of things. and And the networking, the discussions that happened this week, and the younger and newer members of the industry that can access, you know, people like Professor Catherine Smart, Professor Charlie Banforth that have this wealth of knowledge, but are also people that are happy to sit down and have a ah conversation and to share knowledge and to help somebody learn and grow in their career. so There's so many different elements beyond just sitting an exam that we are fostering, I suppose you would say, within the CIBD and what we're trying to now...
00:22:20
Speaker
um evolve and continue to create as part of a chartered organization yeah yeah it's definitely something you see particularly when you hear i ran into a head brewer in the hotel lobby and i saw they were like grab someone we like i just need to pick your brain about this tonight like like i need to grab you on that and that's a you know conversation that wouldn't happen because they do live in very different countries like like it's the The only way to see that really is by having everyone together like this. Yeah, and I think the the theme of the conference is about adaptability because the industry is changing. The industry's got some fairly significant economic headwinds blowing against it.
00:22:57
Speaker
And so that involves people being resilient, learning about new things, sharing ideas, gaining insights from other people. So that's, again, it's the power of this network that comes together to, you know, that this...
00:23:12
Speaker
We've got over 400 delegates who've come here and it's a huge commitment. So, you know, every decision matters at the moment and they're coming here for, it you know, it's ah it's a week, isn't it? They're going to, you know, brewers and distillers are busy people anyway. So for people to think, recognize the value in what they will learn from this, these three kind of three or four pack days is just a testament to the guys who set this up. Mm-hmm.
00:23:40
Speaker
Well, let's talk more just about that, the themes and so on of the conference. You mentioned resilience and adaptability. um Will and I, we're here today recording at the 38th Biennial Convention, Asia Pacific, IBD Asia Pacific.
00:23:55
Speaker
um I've been blown away by some of the presentations so far, the the level of technical expertise and and insights and data coming through. um What else are you hoping what what what are else else are you hoping that the conference will really reveal and and why should people be marking it down for in two years time to make sure they're they're here?
00:24:15
Speaker
For me, I think it's the breadth of material and and the experts that we have access to. i mean, you've mentioned a couple of the themes, sustainability. Sustainability is goes across everything about having a sustainable business, having sustainable education. It's it's not just about the environmental aspects.
00:24:38
Speaker
It comes across every element of a business and It's something that is going to continue to be an integral part of and education for new dynamic agile workforces need to understand all of these things. So that's one key theme that is here prominently this week and will be in the future. And in fact, obviously it's not here in Australia, but in Nottingham in the yeah UK, we're running a sustainability conference dedicated
00:25:09
Speaker
purely to that theme for brewers and distillers and there will certainly be material available um online that people will be able to access for that but and I think the opportunity to go from talking about packaging and marketing your brand to highly technical presentations on yeast and hop genetics and I think is that there's something for everyone. i think, in fact, you know, for me this afternoon, it's like where to go. there's
00:25:40
Speaker
There's zero to to low alcohol production and sustainability, I think, on at the same time. And you can't you can't please everybody, of course, but it's an impossible choice. I think that's a good problem to have in that there's such a range of different topics going from really technical. I think people can participate at any level. You don't...
00:26:02
Speaker
have to be a PhD trained scientist to attend the convention. There's lots of different layers and levels of information being shared.
Carlos Ruiz on Brewing Industry Journey
00:26:12
Speaker
I mean, for me, it's also a great chance for us to listen because we have to listen and then we have to act. So we've got 400 plus people who will who were right at the front a brightard the sharp end of what's going on. and That gives us an incredible learning opportunity so we can like think about, okay, if we're going to deliver on the promise of childship, these are the guys who will tell us what that looks like, what would be relevant for them. And I think also it's not just the kind of program, there's an exhibition and the ecosystem of partners,
00:26:49
Speaker
right the way through from from you know grain to glass is just phenomenal and every every conversation gives you an insight into you know how that all fits together fantastic well really appreciate that insight into CIVD now I've got to get IBD out of my head and no we all we're all having that challenge you get fined if you say your swear jar you put books into Yeah, but it's funny. Last night I sent my wife a picture of myself presenting and she goes, the screen it says IBD behind you. And I'm like, oh, you're kidding. We'll get there. We'll get there. but
00:27:31
Speaker
thank you so much joining us and really appreciate it. You're welcome. Thank very much. You're welcome. Thank you for coming as well. Thanks the opportunity. Thank you. Thank you. Hello and welcome to Bintani Brewery Boosters. I'm here with Sam Bethune, a technical sales guru for Bintani, um who've been long-term supporters of the Crafty Pint.
00:27:49
Speaker
um Sam, you're here to, I guess, give us and give brewers some tips on how to run more sustainable more efficient breweries. um This week we're sort of focusing on brew how efficiency.
00:27:59
Speaker
um I guess starting at the start, like what are the simplest first steps brewers can take to make their their brewery more efficient? So think at the start we talk about brew house efficiency. If you don't know what it is, look it up to start.
00:28:12
Speaker
ah But knowing what you know and what you don't know, for me that all comes back to calibration. In the brew house there's a lot of things that are important, particularly pH, temperature, time, that sort of thing. We've all got pretty accurate watches, ah but definitely make sure your pH meters are calibrated regularly, your temperature probes in your various vessels, your flow meters are reading what they should be.
00:28:33
Speaker
You might think you're doing the right thing, but if you're not checking that that data is accurate, you're setting yourself up for trouble. and And why is that so what why is that you know going to either you know cost time or money down the line? So definitely for for pH in the mash, for example, being too high or too low can have big difference on your extract efficiency later on.
00:28:51
Speaker
through your laudering ah laering steps. In the same way, temperature of your mash, you might be hitting particular temperatures to extract the right amount of sugars from your grain and that sort of thing. A degree or two too high and low can add those percentages in that you're going to miss out on at at the outside of the brew house.
00:29:08
Speaker
Another good thing in there is always to taste your spent grain and malt and be measuring your final extracts. If you're not doing that or your malt tastes sweet after it's ah come out of the laudertun, then a few things to look at.
00:29:18
Speaker
Okay, and at the other end of the scale with malts, tell us about the importance of mill gaps in, I guess, maximising efficiency. the The real sexy topic of mill gaps. So malt has a general sort of size, different supplies, different supply regions, different grains are all a little bit different. Generally, on a small scale, we keep our mills the same and don't worry about it too much.
00:29:38
Speaker
In the same way as some of the brew house side, that gap can determine whether we've got the right the right crush of our grist. Too coarse, we're not gonna get the extract out. We're paying for the potential sugar that's being left behind.
00:29:51
Speaker
On the other side, we crush it too finely. We have laudering problems. We get too much polyphenol. We get haze issues and that sort of thing as well. So particularly year on year, or if there's any change in in supplier, be it through um the distributor or wherever else, make sure you have a look at that grist, even an eye and visual, or having a look at your laudering times can really help you help you know whether that needs to be adjusted.
00:30:11
Speaker
I guess for brewers and for drinkers alike, they get excited about the latest hop variety, talking about flavour and aroma. but i guess this focus on data on sort of the boring numbers like it it is important in running a successful sustainable brewing business massively particularly with numbers in the brew house side if you've got multiple brewers or shifts or writing down and trying to figure out what's gone wrong or right in a particular brew making sure you've got your your times and temperatures validated all those little points that you put in on your brew sheet that you think are important if they're not needed take them out but if they are needed make sure you check it between brewers
00:30:46
Speaker
and that there's consistency there. At a brew house level, that can be that difference between timing and um making sure yeah each beer is out the way it should be. There you go. Excellent. And if anyone wants to pick your brains a bit more, um how can they sort of find find you or find find out, you know I guess, some tips about running a more efficient brewery? ah Yeah, so more than more and more, you're going to hit us up at Bintani, yeah just generalsalesatbintani.com.au will make its way to me very quickly. Otherwise, but all great resources online. We've all the internet at the moment and plenty of ah plenty of good places to start.
00:31:20
Speaker
Awesome, though. Thank you for that. Thanks very much.
00:31:29
Speaker
welcome to the podcast Thank you for having me. It's our pleasure. You've come a long way to be here. So do you want to tell us a little bit about HVG and also your role there? Yes, certainly.
00:31:41
Speaker
and Thank you very much for the invitation
Promoting German Hops Worldwide
00:31:43
Speaker
for me. It's a big pleasure after Being all my life dealing with beer and hops, to be the first time in Australia is is for me really something very exciting to get to know the brewing market, the hop cultivation in Australia.
00:32:03
Speaker
Very beautiful. As to myself, i as you see from my name, i am, it's not very typical Bavarian, Carlos Ruiz. I am originally from Venezuela and I started my brewing career in in Venezuela at the Cervecer Nacional when I was 17.
00:32:25
Speaker
So I have been always somehow linked with beer. I studied brewing science in Weinstefan. and I returned to work in Venezuela and in Brazil for a couple of years before the cooperative HVG ah re-imported me back to to Germany and I have been there for 29 years now.
00:32:51
Speaker
i I was appointed last year as chief sales officer, so I'm one of the three board members. And what we do at HVG, HVG has a very unique constellation.
00:33:10
Speaker
Maybe the name is not so popular here in in Australia because you have your own hops. You have four hop-growing families.
00:33:23
Speaker
We have in Germany over a thousand. wow So Germany is the largest hop-growing country in the world.
00:33:34
Speaker
We have been growing hops for, I mean, we can trace it back 1,200 years. so hops and beer have always been very, very, very interconnected.
00:33:48
Speaker
The history, well, we could spend hours seeing why hops became so relevant in beer. as As the listeners from your podcast certainly know, hops was not the paramount spice in beer.
00:34:04
Speaker
It had to fight its way against other herbs and spices. But in 1516 when the German Reinheitsgebot was declared and it was specified that to brew beer you have to use barley and hops and water and nothing else.
00:34:22
Speaker
That's where you can really say, okay, hops starting there really ah took the place and and displaced all other stuff that was used in the grud that was used for spicing.
00:34:37
Speaker
So as to HVG, as I said, we are very unique in the sense that all the families from the hub regions of the Hallertau, Tetnang and El Bezale in Germany are members and owners of our company.
00:34:58
Speaker
However, they are not obligated to sell their products only to their own company, to HVG. So we are marketing Depending on the year around, one third of the German hops is exported, but also stayed in Germany through the cooperative.
00:35:18
Speaker
The growers are entitled or allowed to sell their production to whoever knocks at their door. So we have ah variety of other hop merchants.
00:35:30
Speaker
that also trade with German hops. So we have like a double role on one side. We do a lot of promotion and we are very focused on German hops, whereas the rest of the traders are um normally dealing with hops from all the provenances.
00:35:50
Speaker
So our view, again, in that sense, I think is very unique because we We take a different approach, we go to the breweries and to ask, okay, you see from our portfolio of 45 different varieties, what kind of beer are you making and what is the answer in terms of hop varieties?
00:36:15
Speaker
Then comes the second step, which is, which products do you make out of of these hops? Germany traditionally, also due to the Reinheitsgeburt, is not producing in in a large scale chemically modified hop products.
00:36:34
Speaker
So our philosophy is as close to nature as possible.
00:36:41
Speaker
In that sense, I would say also we are very special because we we we know the attributes of the hops And we study, we have in 1999, we started our own research jury that we share with the Bart Haas group in St. Johann.
00:37:03
Speaker
In the 80s, the hop growers decided to invest in hop production. So the largest hop processing facilities that exist, which is the Hopfenfeich of St. Johann, the hop growers are directly and owners with 40% capital share.
00:37:25
Speaker
So we have the ownership and the varieties and the processing. We take care of marketing for HVG as a company, but again, everything we do whenever someone around the world buys German hops, it is but beneficial for our hop growers.
00:37:48
Speaker
So we do a lot of marketing, of which everybody who is marketing German hops also benefits. in in that more or less in short words.
Global Brewing Trends and Lagers
00:38:04
Speaker
Yeah, thank you. And i mean, listeners will know Tet Nang and Halatau because of the varieties, I think. But how can you give us a sense of how many different varieties um you're growing or or the families are growing rather?
00:38:18
Speaker
Yes, yes, certainly. the The varieties and We have now, if I was a brewer today, i would feel overwhelmed if you see the list of varieties from the International Hop Growers Convention. You have over 340 different hop varieties.
00:38:40
Speaker
When I started brewing hundred years ago, there were just a handful of varieties that you could choose from. The development has gone very, very, very quick.
00:38:54
Speaker
Initially, those varieties that we call noble hops, which are the these varieties that historically through some kind, let's call it some kind of Darwinian survival of the of the most flavorful,
00:39:10
Speaker
and
00:39:13
Speaker
released these special varieties that were linked to the hop-growing region. So you had in Bohemia, you had the varieties of what we call the Saats circle of varieties, which are these Farnes-Sem rich varieties like Saats, Tetner, Spalt, Lublin.
00:39:33
Speaker
so So these are varieties that their distinction is this very high furnace and content that you seldom find in other varieties.
00:39:45
Speaker
In the Hallertau, you had the Hallertau or Mittelfrühe. which is the variety that originated there. And you had in the region of Herzbrug, at the northern part, you had the Herzbrugger.
00:40:00
Speaker
So basically in that part, well, the Herzbrugger and the Stritzelspalter in France are related as well. But that was You had these Saatz-Circle varieties, Spalter, Tettnanger, Lublin and Saatz. You had the Hallertauer Mittelfrüger, you had the Herzbrucker and the Strisslspalt.
00:40:23
Speaker
And when the in Great Britain was really where after the Second World War a lot of breeding took place in order to increase the resin content.
00:40:34
Speaker
So typical for all these varieties is they have somewhere between 2 and 4 percent of alpha acid. So you can imagine when The first varieties like Brewers Gold was released with 6% of alpha or Northern Brewer with 8%. It was like, wow, you're doubling the alpha acid content.
00:40:54
Speaker
These varieties were very quickly imported to the mainland, to Germany, and a race of breeding started with different
00:41:07
Speaker
but say with different goals. One of the goals was to mimic the original varieties with new improved agronomical performance.
00:41:18
Speaker
So you have the daughters, for instance, of the hallata metal flua which is, hallatawatrainion the schpier select that is the daughter of the. schaltahos And in that sense, the intention was always trying to get varieties that have this noble characteristic but with improved agronomical conditions.
00:41:42
Speaker
And so with the passing of time, the varieties became more and more. So you had these noble varieties, then you had what you would call ah the after-breedings of the noble varieties, then you have the aroma hops.
00:41:55
Speaker
For instance, Perle. Perle is a daughter of Northern Brewer, crossed with the German variety. And Perle became very, very prominent in the hop landscape in Germany.
00:42:10
Speaker
So you had these varieties, what we used to call bitter hops, was improved strongly when Magnum came into being.
00:42:23
Speaker
And all this, maybe let me make a step back, all this breeding started and In 1927, there was a big fungal epidemics that almost eradicated all the hops in the Hallertown. So the brewers, the hop merchants and the hop growers came together.
00:42:47
Speaker
to found the Hop Research Institute that is known as as the Hüll Institute. So Hüll world famous and has a very very strong support from the Bavarian State Ministry and is actually the craftsman of the varietal development in Germany.
00:43:11
Speaker
So in that sense the hop breeding in Germany is also very unique because we have a lot of support and backup from the science that comes from from the knowledge of the governmental institutions.
00:43:26
Speaker
So Hüll started releasing all these varieties and until now there are some private breeding programs. HVG has one as well, very humble in comparison to what Hüll does.
00:43:45
Speaker
It's actually something we inherited from from a very ingenious and creative hop grower that was doing his own breeding program and he decided to give it to the fortune or to the benefit of all the hop growers to say, okay, HPG, you take care now of my breeding program because I want to keep these varieties alive.
00:44:10
Speaker
So the situation in Germany is different than in the United States for instance or here with the proprietary varieties. So all our growers have access to cultivate all the varieties.
00:44:22
Speaker
Even the variety Hercules, the variety of rights belong to HVG, so we bought the variety from the Hop Research Institute.
00:44:34
Speaker
But the variety is released and free to be cultivated by all the hop growers in Germany. So in that sense, this is is one of the ways how we as HVG promote from all the hop cultivation in Germany.
00:44:55
Speaker
Yeah, wow. I have to say, Carlos, I could listen to you speak the names of German hops and towns for the rest of the day. It's just, it's quite magical. I've just realised how many I've been getting wrong for my whole writing career. I've i been mispronouncing these hops for years and years and years.
00:45:14
Speaker
Carlos, so we're we're here at CIBD 2025, your first time in Australia delivering obviously the the good word of of German hops and so forth.
00:45:25
Speaker
um what's What's your aim of being at this conference? Are you hoping to promote promote more sales of German hops to Australian brewers, to learn from the industry here? What what do you hope to achieve this week at the conference?
00:45:40
Speaker
Yes, I have to say that probably due to... HVG has a strong footprint in asia altogether, so it's not like this is totally uncharted territory for us.
00:45:53
Speaker
But Australia itself, due to their own hop production, and if you see the statistics, the export of German hops to Australia has been... it's there, but it's not certainly. So you have ah your own hop region, you have the fantastic cultivation of hops in New Zealand around the corner and with the with the explosion of the craft brewing industry that that went hand in hand with American varieties and that is something that we have been trying to promote also a little bit our varieties for the craft brewing industry. I think we have beautiful hops
00:46:39
Speaker
also for that segment. In terms of varieties, there is no other region that has such a full spectrum of varieties from really the most noble hops to very, very high flavor and and unique characteristics.
00:46:56
Speaker
However, I have to say I thought Our craft brewers who claim to think outside of the box are very reluctant to experiment, for instance, with a Callista or a Mandarina Bavaria for designing new beers because somehow everything IPH is related either to flavor varieties here from from Australia or from New Zealand or to American varieties.
00:47:29
Speaker
So coming back to your question why why I'm here, this offered very unique opportunities on one side. We know that the market for craft brewers all around the world is suffering.
00:47:47
Speaker
So the Bonanza time when everything was growing and price didn't matter and and and the cost pressure was not so present, those times are gone.
00:48:01
Speaker
So we see that there is more acceptance of the brewers to think about alternatives also coming from Germany, because since they are not proprietary, they are cheaper.
00:48:15
Speaker
So, you can, you know, sometimes the the pain threshold has to has to be reached to to promote these improvements.
00:48:28
Speaker
I think many brewers many creative brewers understand that also i mean that many of those trends also in the craft brewing industry are coming from the United States.
00:48:42
Speaker
At the end of the day you have this 13% of specialty market in the craft beer segment, but there is then an untapped 87% of market that offers a certain potential for good crafted lager beers.
00:49:03
Speaker
And so this is actually where we perform best, where our varieties really can play their their attributes at best.
00:49:14
Speaker
so
00:49:17
Speaker
We see a lot of change in thinking and many of of the craft brewers are thinking about lagers and we have a lot of expertise and a lot of support to give.
00:49:29
Speaker
So part of all my visit is also here to understand a little bit better how these six, 650 different craft brewers here see this opportunity maybe we have not made ourselves aware with our varieties as you say you have been doing this for such a long time but there are still a lot of gaps or or misunderstandings about about European hops so if we can contribute and try to work out a strategy together with with our friends from Bintani on how to
00:50:07
Speaker
make, at least create the awareness and offer the possibilities and see if the brewers here are keen also to ride this wave of lagers.
00:50:20
Speaker
So we we created a ah t-shirt for the last Craft Brewers Conference in Las Vegas and it said lager is the new IPA. We thought, okay, they're going to give us hell in the United States and most of the brewers said, yeah, you're right, that's it.
00:50:36
Speaker
That's the way to go so So yes, and and you see the facts deliver a clear message. You see the entries in the World Beer Cup and those that have the highest increment are the lager beers and the Pilsner style beers.
Hop Production in the Southern Hemisphere
00:51:01
Speaker
So this is something that where we perform best and I would say also a third reason why it was for me so important to be present at this conference was also to understand a little bit better how the hop production works here in the southern hemisphere.
00:51:20
Speaker
Because there, at least from what I saw on the fields, there are clear differences when it comes to hop production. yeah well Carlos, this might this is a real question without notice, but do you have ah a favourite hop?
00:51:37
Speaker
Yes. Are you willing to say what it is? or Well, let's say so. Herzbrücher is the variety.
00:51:50
Speaker
There are a couple of beers where Herzbrücher is used and the the classic flavor, this hop fruitiness that it has and and this noble character.
00:52:04
Speaker
make beers very, very, very drinkable. And our brewmaster of the research brewery, Andreas Gahr, he always makes for Christmas a hella bock, a pale bock that is just bittered with Herzbrugger.
00:52:21
Speaker
And I'm longing all the year for Christmas to arrive so that Andy makes his Herzbrook. welcome um I have to say I have become very a big fan of Calista because Calista is very unique in the sense that it has a very, let's say, a classic alpha acid content, so to say. and very high oil content.
00:52:48
Speaker
So you don't need to let's say when you when you when you're using the special flavor hops from the United States, You are buying this oil content, but these are hops that usually in the past would have been classified as bitter hops because they have 13, 14, 15% of alpha acid.
00:53:11
Speaker
And Calista has around 3% of alpha acid, but has more than 2 milliliters of oil, so you can make very, very, very pleasant dry hoppings with that and and the flavor is very tropical, very fruity, very unique.
Favorite Hop Varieties and Brewing
00:53:26
Speaker
so i I encourage everyone who has not tried Calista and is in that segment of special flavored beers to give it a try. It's a very good alternative.
00:53:38
Speaker
Yes, and before we let you go, we have to mention that you brought us a present and I'd love to know more about what's sitting in front of you on the table because I've never seen a drink like it before. This is sponsored by Hallertauer Hopfengold Meinberg.
00:53:51
Speaker
It's actually a... a chocolatier and a specialty shop that thus this has has started doing this Halatau Hopfengold, well not started, there at least two decades if I if i don't recall that, it has 56% of alcohol So in cold Hallertau winters it keeps you warm and we like to say that it's a little bit of medicine because it contains contains a very subtle, very tasty... I ah will be delighted to hear what what you say. Drink it a little bit cold and you will feel how the hops and you become one.
00:54:35
Speaker
Fantastic. You did say before you could either use it as rubbing alcohol or drinking. You can also use it for rubbing. You have a muscled egg. You can't. You don't say about too many things.
00:54:46
Speaker
Carlos, thank you so much for joining us. We'll go have a sip of that now.
Easy Tiger Venue Concept and Community Impact
00:54:49
Speaker
Oh, okay. thanks Thanks for having
00:54:56
Speaker
Tim, welcome to the Crafty Pint. Mate, pleasure to have you here. I've heard nothing but good things about Easy Tiger. I want to talk about that, or about the venue, the madness that that sort of is.
00:55:08
Speaker
But I'd love you for you to just set the scene for me first. Take me to St. Helens, where you're located in Tasmania, and kind of paint me the picture of of what that town's like. Awesome.
00:55:19
Speaker
Great to talk to you guys. It's fantastic. And fantastic to be here at the CIBD 2025 conference. there It's absolutely awesome. so Yes, St Helens, absolutely fantastic place. It's the biggest town on the northeast coast of Tassie.
00:55:37
Speaker
Absolutely awesome beaches, world class beaches there, some of the fantastic fishing. that you know You see great fresh seafood from Tasmania, a lot of it comes from the east coast of Tassie.
00:55:53
Speaker
You've got mountain bike trails up there. There are lot of things for people to do. It's a little bit of a secret I guess, and a Tasmanian perspective, that we want to open this whole place up.
00:56:05
Speaker
Make sure that St Helens isn't just a sleepy little town and it's vibrant. There's lots of stuff going on in there. We want it open for business. We want other businesses to do really well on the northeast coast of Tassie because you hear a lot about towns further south.
00:56:26
Speaker
Bishno, Fraysenay and Coles Bay, they're great places absolutely. Let's push it a little bit further north in Tassie, get things happening up to the north end of the state.
00:56:38
Speaker
This is what we're all about. I've actually had ah a friend of mine move recently from the Sunshine Coast to St. Helens. She's a ah musician, a singer and and performer. And um I think she said that she immediately felt at home in St. Helens. It's a real creative kind of community.
00:56:56
Speaker
Is that the vibe you feel as well? Yeah, absolutely. And it's a funny mix, right? that You get people retiring to St. Helens. Mm-hmm. So there's a bit of an older demographic as well.
00:57:10
Speaker
Then you've got this surfy community also, and you've got quite a few artists coming in there, whether they're painters, musicians, but doing arts and crafts, you know using local like seaweed, using glass, sea glass.
00:57:29
Speaker
So this there's a ah lot going on. Things like there's people getting in doing yoga and all sorts things. you know That sort of funky stuff is which is a bit of a hippie feel going on. and yes It's a great little community. I think there's somebody there that sort of aligns with what you're doing or the pastimes that you have, that sort of thing. you know it's If you reach out, you can see on this like the St Helens notice board, people just reach out and say, hey, I'm doing this and I'm interested in that. Is somebody interested in the same thing?
00:58:11
Speaker
you Can we get together and do something? And absolutely, you see the the responses come back and say, hey, yeah, I'm interested in that. Let's get together and do it. yeah and And tell us about Easy Tiger. It's a small brewery, but it's also, it's far from just being a brewery as well. It's ah it's an interesting beast. Absolutely. So it is a tiny brewery. Absolutely.
00:58:35
Speaker
But the the whole venue, Easy Tiger, is this diverse hospitality offering. So because of the wide demographic we've just talked about a little bit there,
00:58:48
Speaker
We want to make something for most people. We know you can't do it for everybody. But you can try and make a space, and build a space for the community, like a central hub for the community.
00:59:05
Speaker
that there's something a little bit for everybody happening there. So we started in the end of June 2023 with a 48-seat boutique cinema.
00:59:17
Speaker
So it's... That was an existing cinema you... Yeah, was sort of. if The b room was there. Yeah. We were going to pull it out as part of the demolition to make way for the rest of the the the multifaceted venue. Yeah.
00:59:32
Speaker
we decided to keep it. But it was in really bad way and there was no way you could open it as a cinema. It was a pretty much homemade job one. So we've pulled together this thing with proper cinema seats, a proper cinema screen. and It's actually off cut from the IMAX at Darling Harbour, so it's perforated. wow. And there's these huge speakers mounted in behind it. It's a state-of-the-art digital sound and projection system.
01:00:00
Speaker
So that's where we started. We had no idea what we were doing. None of us had run a cinema before, so that was... bit an white man But we worked it out, you know, we had a lot of help. Some people coming down, helping train us and they were amazed that there was a group of people there trying to make this cinema work that had no idea about the cinema industry. We had no idea about films and how to pull them together and what it required.
01:00:27
Speaker
We learned, right? Yep. So there's the 48 seat boutique cinema. Then we went from there to open up a cafe, a bar, a beer garden.
01:00:42
Speaker
We since roofed the beer garden with customer experience in mind because you're trying to get people out of the weather. and And direct sunlight too was it as an issue on a hot day and reflection off the concrete.
01:00:54
Speaker
and And I guess so, and you know you've got cinema, you've got live music, yeah cafe, bar, beer garden. Yep. you know, brewery, how do you manage it all? What's what's the secret here? And you're open you're open all day, every day, except for Christmas. This seems like a pretty big task. Have you got have you got a ah a large team going on? like How's the management of it been going? Yeah, absolutely. Right. So we don't want to be 100% owner managers or owner operators because we don't want to be stuck in the business ourselves every hour of the day because we've got the life.
01:01:35
Speaker
yeah I want to enjoy the fishing on the east coast. I'm a pescaterian so want to be eating those fish that I catch. um We've got a great team, so we've got ah a vd like a venue manager, so that's really a permanent day job.
01:01:51
Speaker
And so Ethan looks after that. And then we have supervisors on each of the shifts. So you know we've asked people that are mostly locals. We do have a few people that are you know coming passing through that we've we've put on and we've given some extra responsibility to.
01:02:08
Speaker
But know we have these people who take some extra responsibility, you know day, afternoon, night, to make sure that the venue runs well. We're only a phone call away. There's three of us based on the East Coast, so were we're not far away if they need us.
01:02:26
Speaker
But we're there genuine mostly, generally, if one of us every day, which which is it is good. But it may not be the same person there every day. So we need to make sure we're in really good communication with each other, which we are. We're great friends.
01:02:45
Speaker
Most of us ended up at the same high school at one stage at different years, so which is ah which is a bit amazing in itself. yeah But yeah, i think that friendship, we're real ah we're a real family in a way, and I think that works well.
01:03:01
Speaker
What's the response been from the community? I mean, is it has it been embraced by the locals? Is it something tourists are travelling for? Yeah, so look, the the local support has been absolutely amazing, and we're really grateful for that.
01:03:17
Speaker
One thing we did early on is we used local trades. We wanted to use local trades to help put this venue together. And one of the benefits, the side benefits of that, was a real community around tradespeople grew up out of it. They were really proud to say to their mates, to their family, you know,
01:03:40
Speaker
acquaintances, go and have a look at Easy Tiger, get in there and use the space, look at what we've helped create here. So that's awesome, youre getting those guys involved to start off with.
01:03:52
Speaker
And we see them all the time, yeah the guys that were in their building, this place. It's absolutely fantastic. And you know so they so they're great advocates for the business.
01:04:06
Speaker
A lot of locals come in and say, this is some one of the best things that's happened on the East Coast. We needed a space like this, you know somewhere to to go for home. We have guys who just come in and they They've got a board game and they sit down with their mates and they'll play it for 4-5 hours.
01:04:25
Speaker
camped easy tigers it's Just They have some coffee and bit cake and some beer and they'll stay for dinner. And see a movie afterwards. Yeah, all sorts of stuff. it's just like It's just absolutely fantastic.
Value of CIBD Membership
01:04:40
Speaker
and And Tim, tell us a bit about CIBD. like what have yeah what Why did you come and yeah have you enjoyed it? Yeah, absolutely. absolutely like I've been a member of the, well, what was the IBD before the CIBD ever since I was at Bogues. and many I can't even remember how many years ago now.
01:04:58
Speaker
yep But I think that there's a great like institute for learning and education. There's something always interesting in the in the magazines and the articles they send out on the website. There's some great resources and that sort of thing. yeah So that's one part of But when you get to ah convention, you see all these people from the industry that you've known, maybe worked with in the past, been at a different brewery. and People move around a bit, obviously.
01:05:31
Speaker
You've caught up with somewhere else but haven't had a chance to sit down and talk to them until you get... some one-on-one time here at this sort of event. you we We get a solid week.
01:05:42
Speaker
yeah Together we can catch up with people in the industry, share knowledge, just have a good time, share beer. Do a podcast. Do a podcast.
01:05:55
Speaker
Which is fantastic. you know Also and then hear from people that... kept Coming internationally as well, which is awesome, which often you don't get the opportunity. ah I did my summer school in Scotland, which was great.
01:06:09
Speaker
But that some of those people in the UK I haven't seen for like 20 years. And you often you get that opportunity at these sort of events if they travel to them.
01:06:23
Speaker
You also get the opportunity to check in on your knowledge and how you're doing as well. So now having stepped from a bigger brewery, it's a bit different because you've got access to a lot of other technical resources inside a larger company.
01:06:36
Speaker
But when you're doing craft brewing yourself, yes, you've got your own experience, but it's also good to hear from others around, okay, am I on the right track for some of these things? And it's great to...
01:06:48
Speaker
to see that and hear it and either affirm where you are or go, oh, you know what, i hadn't thought about that. you Maybe I ought to consider that or have a look at it and see how can I incorporate that into what I'm doing in craft brewery. One thing I'm interested about being here this time around is you know I'm getting older and I'm planning my exit strategy.
01:07:15
Speaker
ah
01:07:18
Speaker
That doesn't mean I give up work full time or brewing full time, but it means that you who is going to run the brewery later, and that's starting now, right? I've got to get somebody trained up now.
01:07:30
Speaker
So it's what resources are here at and through and in partnership with the CIBD that can help me get an apprentice brewer on, trained up, in into that educational space that move into taking over the brewing at Easy Tiger.
01:07:52
Speaker
Yeah, I can imagine a venue in ah in a regional town in Tasmania, it's it's probably a challenge to to find qualified brewers and... and Well, yeah, absolutely. so And we also we also have one give somebody that is working for us an opportunity. Yeah.
01:08:12
Speaker
so we've So we've got a young fellow at the moment who's keen. He works for us already. He's been doing a good job. So whether he wants to take that next step, we can we can start to explore that. And it'd be great to use a local person for that as well. so we so we look so that's So that's one of the reasons why I'm here as well, to take that back.
01:08:35
Speaker
take that back And then it's great to hear that there's a UTAS and CIBD and the Ferment Tasmania collaboration going on. So maybe that's something we can get our personal involved in.
01:08:49
Speaker
Yeah, great. Well, that's been fantastic, Tim. And thank you for for sharing with the Craft Refinite podcast listeners the Easy
Future Aspirations for Easy Tiger
01:08:56
Speaker
Tiger Story. And it's certainly going on my bucket list for my next trip to Tassie. We'll have to catch up in a couple of years. And hopefully you won't be retired then. And we'll...
01:09:05
Speaker
We'll chat over um the the history of it. Yeah, awesome. oh That'd be great. I'm sure they won't be able to keep me out of the river. I'll probably come in visit and give them some advice whether they want it or not. Yeah, yeah. Thanks so much, Tim. Cheers, guys. Thanks you very much.
Episode Wrap-Up and Listener Invitation
01:09:24
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.
01:09:38
Speaker
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01:09:54
Speaker
And if you're a beer lover who'd like to support what we do, you can join our exclusive club for beer lovers, The Crafty Cabal. Visit craftycabal.com for more. And until next time, drink good beer.