The Cool Room

184 - Black Box 2: Dangerous Ales, King River & Slow Lane

It's the second of our tasting sessions with the brewers from the Carwyn x Coolroom Black Box and it's another doozy!

If you don't already have a black box [or if you'd like another!] head on over to our online store: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/carwyn-cellars-x-coolroom-2023-black-box

And as Tito from Carwyn drops in to remind us each of the Black Box beers is also available on tap at Carwyn on the day that their box number is opened!

It's Dangerous Damo's first visit to the Coolroom and we learn all about his back story as well as the ideas behind his pack contribution and all his plans for the future.

Nathan from King River returns to the show with a brand new beer style of his own creation - which plays havoc with naive Davydd's preprepared question sheet. So just what is a Schweizenbock?

And Alex from Slow Lane returns for his third visit to the Coolroom to share his first ever Barrel-Aged beer with an adjunct! 

The brewers chat about the collaborations they'd like to do together, clever techniques for making such big beers and what they'd do differently if they were to make the beer again!

183- Black Box 1: Hawkers, Fox Friday & Boatrocker

It's the first of our tasting sessions with the brewers from the Carwyn Cellars / Coolroom Black Box for 2023 - and what an amazing line up!

If for some reason you haven't already purchased this amazing beer pack you can do so here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/carwyn-cellars-x-coolroom-2023-black-box

First up is Maz from Hawkers who talks us through his contribution to the box, the tricky issues with brewing with the ingredients and of course more snippets from his very eclectic back story. 

The we join Justin and Joe from Fox Friday as they share Black Box Beer #2 with us. We learn about who they were collaborating with, the journeys that brought them to Fox Friday and whether the name of the beer was inspired by their favourite soap opera!

Beer #3 is a rip snorter from Boatrocker and Matt Houghton backs up from Ramjet Day to appear on the podcast for the very first time. We learn all about the origins of Boatrocker and how the ethos of the brewery is communicated in this beer.

Oh and Warren and Davydd struggle to communicate to each other because they are in the same room.

It's not too often that you're going to see this many big name brewers on a single podcast so don't forget to share this with your friends!

182 - Bendigo on the Hop & Tallboy and Moose

There is so much change going on in the Australian craft beer scene at the moment and this episode catches just a small fraction of that.

Davydd chats with Lisa from Tallboy and Moose to get up to speed with all the news from the brewery following the departure of Steve Germain. 

Steve has been a great supporter of the podcast over the years - check out the archives all the way back to Episode 2 to hear the full story - and check out their Facebook page for information about Canada Day festivities including poutine!

We also chat to Chris Adkins from Bendigo Beer about the upcoming Bendigo on the Hop Festival. With so many venues and breweries there's a heap to cover but Davydd still manages to get in references to why Bendigo's weather is better than Ballarat's.

Grab you tickets for the festival fast and who knows we might even see you there.

 

181 - Blobfish, Moon Dog & Bacchus Brewing

A truly mega-episode as we explore some of the highs and lows of what's going on in the Australian craft beer scene right now.

Karl from Moon Dog drops past to share the very latest news on what's happening with the brewery's plans to open a new venue in Footscray and of course to tell us about all of the other fun things that Moon Dog is scheming about at the moment.

Sam from Hop Nation reflects on Good Beer Week, the launch of the 2023 Kalash and then gives us a preview about what we can expect at this year's Blobfish Sour Beer Festival.

And then we have the second part of our live show with Ross from Bacchus Brewing - a really frank and honest discussion about what it's like to be a part in the industry at this point in time.

What inspired Ross to make the jump from scrap metal dealer in Libya [no really], to opening a home brew store in 2004 - and from there to start one of Queensland's iconic breweries in 2010.

Would he do it all again or would he make a different choice knowing what he knows now - the answer may surprise you. How is the changing economy in 2023 affecting sales of his kinds of beers and just how do you get marshmallow flavour into a smores beer - that answer probably won't surprise you...

180 - Bacchus Brewing Pt 1 & Court House Hotel

In one of our best ever episodes we speak with Rusty from North Melbourne's reborn Court House Hotel and Queensland brewing legend Ross from Bacchus Brewing.

If you're quick you can grab a tasting pack from our online store containing the beers we discuss with Ross: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/bacchus-brewing-mixed-6-pack

Davydd and Rusty from the Court House discuss what it's like to try to renovate a North Melbourne institution, what the teams vision for the new venue is and share what is perhaps the most wholesome coolroom tale that we've ever heard!

Then Davydd and Warren start their chat with Ross from Bacchus Brewing. We hear about the brewery's long history at the point that they are about to move from tiny flexible systems [capable of brewing 12 different beers a day] to a more industrial scale with all the highs and lows that that brings.

We learn how he brews and blends some of the legendarily big beers for which the brewery is famed and how a whole team of palates is needed to perfect them.

And then Davydd and Ross start discussing chicken beers, and keep discussing chicken beers and then get into an in depth discussion about chicken beers.

Then Ross starts to explain his Chilli Mud Crab Beer and Davydd declares he's moving to Queensland to live at Bacchus...

179 - Sierra Nevada’s Steve Grossman

A very special episode as Steve Grossman from Sierra Nevada joins Davydd live at Beer Deluxe in Melbourne's Federation Square.

We have some amazing deals in our online store to accompany this episode which you can find here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/collections/sierra-nevada

Including Pale Ale 6 packs for $25 [or a slab for $99] and Torpedo 6 packs for $35 [Slab $130.]

We also have Atomic Torpedo, Big Little Thing, West Ghost IPA, Ruthless Rye, Bigfoot Barleywine and Barrel-Aged Narwhal in stock!

You can hear Steve discussing these beers and the techniques used to brew them while you sip at home.

He also tells of his teenage years growing up with his brother and experimenting with home brewing, how the US beer market has changed during their time in the industry and what hops and styles he sees emerging as he travels around the world.

He reveals his favourite ever Sierra Nevada beer, answers some great audience questions and of course answers our traditional coolroom question.

A big thanks to Steve, Phoenix Beers who helped to organise the event and of course the team from Beer Deluxe!

178 - Good Beer Week 6, Telina Menzies, Your Mates & Julia from the Footscray Traders

It's the final of our Good Beer Week episodes and there's so many great things to discuss - make sure you check our our Facebook events to find all of the opportunities you have to meet up!

We kick off our show with Telina Menzies who is hard at work designing the menu for the Hair of the Dog Breakfast at Beer Deluxe. You'll hear not just about what they have in mind for the morning but about their whole journey through kitchens and coolrooms.

Then it's off to Julia Ponte from the Footscray Traders Association to hear all about the special Footscray Frothies Past & Present events.

Then it's the second part of our online masterclass with Your Mates - tasting 6 packs available here for just $25: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/your-mates-brewing-6-pack

We hear about their appearance on "Shark Tank", the backstory of the Donnie Dark Ale and a coolroom story involving a chainsaw and a forklift...

177 - Your Mates, Carwyn, Hopheads & Aysha from Renegades of Wrestling

It's another huge episode as we close in on Good Beer Week and Pint of Origin here in Melbourne and we've got all the news you need to help you decide what to go with.

This episode finishes up with the first half of our online masterclass with Your Mates from Queensland - you can buy the beer that accompanies the episode for home delivery from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/your-mates-brewing-6-pack

Christian tells us the story of his rise from humble school teacher to co-owner of a brewery with 60 employees [and a bowls club to boot] as well as the dangers of buying a coolroom on gumtree...

Before that we are joined by our old friend Lord Andy Coyne at Moon Dog who introduces us to the Renegades of Wrestling Champion Aysha. She'll be in action at Brewery Brawl 3 at which we will have a special contingent from the coolroom that you join! https://www.facebook.com/events/1160756627942004

But we kick off the show with Ben from Carwyn Cellars and Adrian and Wade from Hopheads previewing the unbelievable line up of beers that both venues are going to have on tap in the next couple of weeks - over 150 different beers!

Please subscribe to the podcast and follow us on Facebook and instagram to learn more about our live and online events!

176 - Good Beer Week 4 & Urban Alley

Blistering Barnacles it's almost 2 hours of great beer chat!

This episodes features the second half of our online masterclass with Urban Alley - and yes we've still got a few tasting packs to accompany that available from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/urban-alley-mixed-6-pack

In this episode Dove and Mitchell talk about their favourite toys at the brewery, their approach to hazy beers and the Melbourne canning duopoly as well a trombone story to round out the episode!

We kick off the episode with Geoff from 3 Ravens telling us which beers they will be bringing to the Hair of the Dog Breakfast at Beer Deluxe [last tickets on sale now] as well as their own Good Beer Week plans including the famous Woods of the North!

Ben from Bridge Road comes in from his mushroom hunting to talk about the their event at Horn Please and we get some inside scoops on progress on their newest Melbourne venue.

Jimmy from Good Land returns to discuss the events he has coming up but also the challenges that so many events brings when it comes to having enough beer in barrels! 

And finally we hear from Scott from Wolf of the Willows [apologies for the audio on this one - Scott was driving back from the mountains]. We get a high country weather report, and a run down of the event that they are planning at Naughton's Hotel in Parkville.

It's a truly bumper episode - enjoy!

175 - Urban Alley & Good Beer Week Special 3

It's a truly bumper episode with heaps of news and insights into the Melbourne beer scene!

Our feature interview is the first half of our live online masterclass with Urban Alley - we still have some great tasting packs available to accompany that part of the show that you can get from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/urban-alley-mixed-6-pack

We hear how Dove and Mitchell both came to be at Urban Alley and the important lessons they learned along the way as well as the UA approach to brewing and business. Oh and there's plenty of brewing insights too!

Before we get to them we have a good chat to Deeds about what they are bringing to the Hair of the Dog Breakfast at Beer Deluxe as well as their other Good Beer Week plans. And because it's Curtis' first time on the podcast we chat with him a little about his background and Kumar gives us the scoop on their distillery.

Hugo from Local Brewing returns to the show [numerous times due to Davydd's inability to press record] to talk about the excitement in Clifton Hill as their new venue opens, their agreement with Melbourne Victory and what he'll be doing for Good Beer Week.

And last but certainly not least Sam from Hop Nation is along to talk about what's happening at their venue and the joys of dog beer!

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast and share it with all your favourite humans!