The Cool Room

268: Obsidian Festival Feat. Prancing Pony, Dollar Bill, Noodledoof & Bells Beach

It's a huge episode featuring the interviews we recorded at this year's Obsidian Beer Festival featuring Prancing Pony, Dollar Bill, Noodledoof and Bells Beach Brewing.

Once again a huge thank you to Tom and all the team at the festival for inviting us to be part of the shenanigans and also to today's guest co-host Ian McNally of the infamous rival podcast.

We kick off today with Corinna from Prancing Pony sharing all that Frank kept secret in Episode 267 [check it out if you're a prancing pony fan!] especially about why they named their festival beer "Freakshow".

Then after a year away from the podcast Fi from Dollar Bill returns to share some good news about recent beer awards but also some less than good news about the brewery's ongoing discussions with Council.

Next up it's Sam from Noodledoof with a beer that "shouldn't be legal" and a heap of good yarns from down Koroit way and who also weighs in on what makes regional beer festivals so much fun.

And we round things out with Adam from Bells Beach with a run down of everything that's been going on at the brewery since the last time they were on the show and insights into what led them to create their festival beers!

Ian alleges that people from Bendigo are "flimsy" and Davydd threatens to start a new band called "Accordion Flux" before we finally decide that it's time to turn the microphones off...

267: Uraidla Part 2 & the Return of Prancing Pony

It's off to the scenic Adelaide Hills [and the Salt Lakes of South Australia] in this episode featuring two great SA breweries!

Don't forget you can buy tasting packs that accompany both of these episodes from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/

With Max from Uraidla we continue our chat about the hops that inspire him and some important lessons about what it's like to work in a smaller emerging brewery. We find out who he'd like to collab with and he shares his experiences in many a Coolroom.

Then we welcome back Frank from Prancing Pony to the show and the opportunity to taste some new beers and old favorites too.

We learn how part of a salt lake that Frank races motor bikes on has ended up in the first beer we're tasting, how his brewing style has changed over the years he's been brewing and all about his thoughts on beer festivals.

Make sure you look out for the second part of the interview with Frank which will be out soon, but also the episode from the Obsidian Beer festival featuring the other half of Prancing Pony, Corinna!

266: Festival of Festivals, Obsidian, Famiglia Affairs, Bendigo on the Hop and Darker Days!

It's a truly gargantuan episode of the Coolroom featuring previews and reviews of a heap of great craft beer festivals all of which occur in places starting with B!

We kick things off with a final preview of Ballarat's Obsidian Dark Beer Festival with Tom Madden, before bringing things back to the city with Jacqui from Coconspirators whetting our appetites for Famiglia Affairs 4! Then it's Trevor from Bendigo Beer with the first scoop of what's going to be new at Bendigo on the Hop 2025!

All of that would normally be an episode just by itself but we've super-sized things for our Festival of Festivals episode and so we're off to Darker Days Festival for some live interviews with all the breweries who were part of that awesome weekend.

Evin Craney and Bright's Head Brewer help lead the conversation as we catch up with Matt from Boatrocker, Geoff from Seeker, James from Stomping Ground and finally Guy from Urbanaut.

A huge thank you to all of the breweries that invite us along to be part of festivities - there are some truly awesome people in the Victorian craft beer scene and we're so lucky to get to work with so many of them.

If you're wondering what to do with your winter weekends then why not come and join us at Ballarat https://hullabalooevents.com.au/obsidian-dark-beer-fest Brunswick https://events.humanitix.com/famiglia-affairs-2025-co-conspirators-brewpub or Bendigo https://www.bendigobeer.com/both-2025

265: Uraidla Brewing Pt 1

We're off to the scenic Adelaide Hills in this episode to visit Max from Uraidla Brewing to sample some great beers and to hear the story of his journey as a brewer.

If you want to taste the beers we're discussing as you listen you can grab them from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/uraidla-mixed-4-pack

Max explains how a love of craft beer led him from being a bartender to a brewer at his favorite brewery with a heap of great tips for people who'd like to follow a similar career path one day.

We get to hear his thoughts on pilsners and pale ales and the techniques he uses to bring out the best in the ingredients and where he sources them from in the first place.

And we learn how they pronounce centrifuge in Adelaide!

264: Schlenkerla Returns Pt 2

It's the second part of our interview with Matthias Trum from wonderful Schlenkerla Brewery in Bamburg - if you haven't checked out the previous episode make sure you do so before diving into this one!

In this episode we taste more of Matthias' beers [grab them wherever you can and listen in] and hear all about the techniques used to make them and the innovations he's brought to the centuries old family brewery.

We learn a heap more helpful Franconian phrases, learn the history of refrigeration and where coolrooms were born, and all about Smoked Beer Appreciation Day.

A huge thanks to Matthias for spending time with all the Coolroom crowd at the Flem/Ken Bowls Club and to the excellent people from Phoenix Beers who made the event possible!

263: Schlenkerla Returns Pt 1

It's a very special live show as Matthias Trum from legendary German Brewery Schlenkerla joins us for a tasting and chat at the Flem/Ken Bowls Club!

He takes us on an aural tour around the brewery, the city of Bamberg and in fact many other parts of Western Europe too as he explains the origins of the many beers styles he produces and the history of German beer.

And of course there's a heap of discussion about the brewing techniques that Schlenkerla use to make their distinctive beers and how Matthias strives to meld elements of the modern to their traditional methods.

Don't forget to join us over the Kings Birthday long weekend back at the Bowls Club as we're spinning the Wheel of Beery Mystery - for just $9 you never know which fun beers you might land!

262: Vertere Brewing Pt 2

It's the second part of our interview with Emile from Vertere Brewing in Japan and we kick off our discussion tasting an amazing pastry stout.

You can grab it and the beers we discussed in the previous episode from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/vertere-brewery-jpn-mixed-4-pack or you can head in to Benchwarmers in North Melbourne where Lachie has Vertere and a heap of other great Japanese beers in his fridges.

In this episode we learn more about Emile's brewing journey, get some insights into Vertere's amazing can designs and get a very Canadian answer to the worst thing he's ever seen in a coolroom....

261: Bright's Darker Days & Wheatsheaf Hotel Pt 2

It's a huge episode today as Evin from Bright Brewery joins us to preview this year's Darker Days Festival and then it's the second part of our convesation with Jade from Adelaide's Wheatsheaf Hotel & Brewery.

Evin not only gives us a special code word for a discount on this year's ticket for Darker Days but he whets our appetites for this year's festivities by giving us the scoop on which breweries are attending and what beer styles they've been collabing on.

We'll be doing a live show from Bright again this year so make sure that you grab your tickets while they are still available!

Then we return to Adelaide's Wheatsheaf Hotel for the second part of our discussion with Jade this time featuring 2 beers using experimental NZ Hops - naturally there's a heap of hop talk and plenty of insights into the techniques she uses to get the most out of these new styles and just how she gets to be part of these experimental processes in the first place.

But we also hear more of her love of pubs and hospo in general and how she stays positive and motivated in an industry with so many up and downs. We've sold out of Wheaty beers in our online store but make sure you head in to the pub next time you're in Adelaide!

260: Vertere [Japan]

This week we venture to Okutama in Japan to meet Emile Leblanc from Vertere brewing to taste a truly exceptional line up of beers and to hear all about his journey in brewing.

You don't have to book a flight if you want to taste these beers though - they're available from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/vertere-brewery-jpn-mixed-4-pack

Or you can head down to Benchwarmer in North Melbourne to taste them on tap thanks to Lachie and his team as part of their Japanese Pint of Origin!

Emile has had a fascinating path to becoming a brewer crossing different professions and continents and is now helping to produce some wonderfully imaginative and delicious beers.

Grab the beers and settle in for a fascinating episode!

259: The Wheatsheaf Hotel Part 1

It's a special treat as we are joined by Jade Flavell from Adelaide's Wheatsheaf Hotel to hear all about her amazing journey running the venue and brewing some truly amazing beers.

We are all sold out on beers for this tasting session but you can always visit the Wheaty to grab some great takeaway brews or find the tasting packs for our upcoming sessions here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/

Jade has so much enthusiasm and knowledge about the industry that we've had to turn this into 2 episodes - if you enjoy what you hear please share our social media posts about them or tell your friends to listen in.

In this episode we learn how Jade got her start in hospo, what inspired her to take on the Wheatsheaf Hotel as a project and some of hurdles and highlights in her journey.

We start our exploration of lagers and find out how Adelaide's craft beer scene has grown and changed alongside the Wheatsheaf over the years.