The Cool Room

242 - Bendigo on the Hop - King River, Bendigo Brewing, Brewers Collective & Coconspirators

A special episode featuring interviews from our visit to the 2024 Bendigo on the Hop Festival - a huge thanks to the BOTH team for inviting us up and helping us to organise some super fun interviews. 

We kick off with Brett from the Brewers Collective, hearing not just what they have planned for the festival but all about his journey from barman to helping to run a brewery and venue!

Then it's off to the Cambrian's headquarters in the centre of town to chat with Maggie from Co-conspirators about "The Ringleader" and to learn a few secrets about what they have planned for spring and summer [that she probably shouldn't have revealed just yet...]

Next is our first ever visit to Bendigo Brewing where we meet Head Brewer Evan Hunter inside a pagoda! We hear all about his journey to Bendigo and truly hectic week getting everything ready to be open for the festival.

Finally the tradition of bad audio for an interview with King River's Nathan Munt continues - if you listen closely you can hear him apologise for the audio from the last time he was on the show and perhaps a big scoop about future plans!

241 - Duncan's Brewing Pt 2

It's the second part of our discussion with Duncan's Brewing and Ian McNally is still with Davydd to add to the hijinks!

Make sure you check out our previous episode 240 for the start of the conversations and grab the accompanying tasting pack from our online store: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/duncans-mixed-6-pack

In this episode Llew Bardecki shares more of the behind the scenes stories from Duncan's and of his own experiences in craft brewing including the extraordinary lengths the brewery goes to to make their fresh hopped beers.

We learn about memorable mistakes, fun times in cool rooms and have a thorough discussion about 80s rock stars called Brett.

240 - Duncan's & Melbourne Drinking History Tours

Davydd is joined first by Desmond from Melbourne's Drinking History Tours, then the inimitable Ian McNally for the first of two episodes featuring Duncan's Brewing Company.

Make sure you grab the tasting pack that accompanies today's episode from our online store: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/duncans-mixed-6-pack

Desmond shares a fun taster of what a tour with Melbourne Drinking History Tours involves, including some of his current favorite Melbourne bars, a brief history of some famous establishments and even a ghost story or two.

We'd love to hear from listeners which pubs and bars around Melbourne you'd like to hear more stories about!

Then Ian McNally enters the Thursday zoom room for a chat with George and Llew from Duncan's about their approach to sour beers, the benefits and challenges of being based in New Zealand and lots and lots of hop talk!

239: Obsidian Beer Festival feat. Hawkers, Dollar Bill, Good Knight and Aunty Jacks

Davydd is joined by "rival podcaster" Ian McNally for an amazing day at the inaugural Obsidian Dark Beer Festival in Ballarat. 

They are joined by a stellar line up of brewers who are all at different stages of their journeys and with a range of insights into what's happening in the Australian craft beer industry. 

Joe from Good Knight and Matt from Aunty Jacks tell us everything that's happening in the Ballarat Beer Scene at the moment, what got them interested in brewing and the beer styles they love the most. 

Maz from Hawkers joins us to reveal the non-Hawkers beer he keeps in his fridge, some of his first experiences with selling beer in Lebanon and what's wrong with the government's approach to the craft beer industry.

Finally we're joined by Ed from Dollar Bill who shares a couple of amazing beers and tells us all about how they made and what makes a good sour beer. And we hear the very latest about their plans to open their own venue in Ballarat!

A huge thank you to Tom and the team from the Obsidian Dark Beer Festival - if you missed this year's event make sure you grab your tickets early next year!

238 Holgate Pt 2 & The Australian Tax Office

It's the second part of our online tasting with Paul Holgate and Chris Brady from legendary Australian brewery Holgate! But before we get to that we also have the ATO's answers to the questions you submitted to us!

Don't forget you can grab the beers we discuss with Holgate from our website here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/holgate-mixed-6-pack

Paul and Chris share their approach to barrel-aging beers and why they choose to use local barrels, we learn all about the beer they've collaborated on for Bendigo on the Hop, the challenges of making 25 special beers to celebrate 25 years of brewing and what "beery mountains" they still have to climb.

Oh, and they tell us all about their 125 year old Coolroom!

 

237: Black Box '24 4: Hawkers, Good Land &. Bright Brewery

It's the fourth and final of our Carwyn Cellars / Coolroom Black Box Series for 2024 featuring the return of some of our favorite Australian brewers talking about their contributions to this amazing project.

Lewis Kerr from Bright Brewery, joins Alex Lovelock from Hawkers and Jimmy and Jesse Krekelberg from Good Land to share their thoughts on each others beers and the stories behind them.

We learn the secrets of their barrel programs, their favorite brewing gizmos, the ideas that went into the designs on the cans for the black box and which band t-shirts would automatically get you a job at their brewery. 

A huge thank you to all of the brewers who have been part of Black Box 2024, and of course to Carwyn for inviting us to be part of the adventure, And also a massive cheers to everyone who helped us sell out of the packs - we hope you've loved the beers and our chats about them!

236: Black Box '24 3: Hop Nation, Seeker & King River

It's the third episode of our series for the Carwyn / Coolroom Black Box for 2024 and we kick off by celebrating the news that Tito from Carwyn is now one of only 3 Advanced Cicerones in Australia!

Then it's quickly on to the Black IIIPA from Seeker Brewing and a discussion about how the brewery and its output have changed in the first two years of its existence. We hear how the guys first met and absolutely everything that's happened since that day.

Then it's Duncan from Hop Nation's turn to talk about the Jammy Dodger. We discuss the dangers of using cinnamon in a brew, where the inspiration for the artwork came from and what keeps him and the brewery inspired, and the terrible curse that afflicts Hop Nation / Carwyn collaborations.

Then we are joined from Adelaide [and yes the sound is a little dodgy at times] by Nathan from King River Brewing and his Adambier. Tito and Nathan discuss the origins of the beer style and the joys of researching forgotten styles. 

We have some fantastic chats as the brewers sample each others beers and talk about the techniques and tricks of making such complex offerings.

235: Black Box '24 2: Deeds, Fox Friday & Rocky Ridge

It's the second of our 2024 Carwyn Cellars / Coolroom Black Box sessions with a truly extraordinary line up of beers and brewers - a huge thank you to everyone who joined us online on the day!

We kick things off with Ben Duval revealing some of the behind-the-scenes gossip of putting together the black box before Adam from Rocky Ridge takes us through the Imperial Ken Oats Pastry Stout. He reveals what the brewery has planned for their new Victorian adventure and what the best tricks for brewing with coffee are!

Then Ned from Fox Friday brings us the "One Friday" BBA Imperial stout made in collaboration with One Drop. We learn all about the nascent Fox barrel program and just how a collaboration between two breweries works.

Then it's time for "The Final Deed", a BBA Imperial Stout resulting from the visit of Carwyn, the Coolroom and a heap of beery influencers to Deeds just days before they closed. We're incredibly lucky to be joined by Curtis Uhryn who shares the techniques that went into the making of this beer, his feelings about the closure of the brewery and his plans for the future.

The interactions between the brewers as they taste each others beers and reflect on their experiences in the craft beer industry makes this one of our most interesting episodes ever! Thanks again to them all for being so open and honest with their answers!

234: Black Box '24 1: 3 Ravens, Bacchus & Working Title Brewing Co.

It's a truly epic start to this year's Carwyn Cellars / Coolroom Black Box as some of the most innovative brewers from Australia join us to talk about their beers.

Tito from Carwyn gives us some insights into how the breweries for the box are chosen and organised and then we are underway with Brendan from 3 Ravens and an absolutely amazing barrel-aged barley wine.

We change styles completely for beer #2 as Ross from Bacchus Brewing talks us through the Gingerdead Man, at the same time bringing us to speed with everything that's happened at the brewery since he joined us almost exactly one year ago.

And then for the first time ever we welcome Working Title Brewing Co into the Coolroom with "In Bruges" which has some amazing intricate flavours and a great fun attitude from the brewers to accompany it.

The Coolroom are all sold out of this year's Black Boxes but you can try the beers on tap at Carwyn Cellars in Thornbury or you can grab the very last releases of the pack from their website here: https://carwyncellars.com.au/products/the-black-box-2024

233: Holgate Part 1

Celebrating 25 years of great craft beers Paul Holgate and Head Brewer Chris Brady join us for a tasting of some best known beers while sharing stories of their journey in brewing.

You can buy the beers we discuss from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/holgate-mixed-6-pack

Don't forget you can join the podcast and Holgate at this year's Obsidian Beer Festival being held in Ballarat on June 29 - tickets are available here: https://hullabalooevents.com.au/obsidian-dark-beer-fest

In this episode we hear the story of the Mt Macedon Pale Ale, how it has changed over the years yet remains at the heart of their core range and the legendary Millennium Falcon - one of the most anticipated craft beer releases each year in Australia.

Stay tuned for the second half of the interview coming soon in Episode 234!