The Cool Room

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!

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!

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!

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....

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!

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!

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.

It's a packed episode and we dive straight into things with Tom Madden from Ballarat's Obsidian Beer Festival giving us a sneak peek at what we can look forward to in the 2025 edition.

You can grab your tickets for the festival here: https://hullabalooevents.com.au/obsidian-dark-beer-fest and don't forget to follow their socials for more announcements as we get closer to the date.

Then we return to our chat with Cornella Brewery and this time it's their dry Irish stout. Don't forget you can grab that beer and the others we discussed in the previous episode from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/cornella-brewery-mixed-9-pack

Matt and Spencer discuss all things stout including what it's like to make a style that has such iconic versions as Guiness and other malt driven styles that inspire them.

We get the scoops with our traditional Coolroom questions and then it's over to the audience keep the questions coming!

It's the first of two episodes with Cornella Brewery and luckily Warren Wu is back in the Coolroom to help out with tricky questions about wineries and terpenes!

Matt and Spencer take us on a guided tour of some of their best beers while telling us all of the stories behind them - you can buy a tasting pack of the beers we discuss with them here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/cornella-brewery-mixed-9-pack

We learn about the inspiration they took from their overseas travels, their origins with the real ale movement and how Cornella has evolved as a destination and venue.

We learn more about terpenes and how to use them in brewing and how all good beers begin with a punny name before they're even brewed!

It's a packed show as Evin Craney returns to the Coolroom to discuss his role as Chair of the Australia's Independent Brewers Association and Jonathon and Leo from Westside Ale Works wrap up their tasting with a delicious Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout.

You can grab the stout as well as the other Westside beers that we discussed in our previous episode from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/westside-ale-works-mixed-6-pack

With a Federal election around the corner Evin explains what the IBA is talking about with Australia's politicians and he sees as the opportunities and challenges for the country's craft beer industry.

But it wouldn't be a Coolroom episode with a tangent or two and Davydd immediately gets things offtrack by asking about Bright Brewery's recent purchase of the Prince Alfred Hotel in Carlton and what made that the right choice for their expansion into Melbourne's hospo scene.

We then pick up the conversation from last week with Westside hearing about all the fun collaborations they are undertaking with local businesses, their experiences in coolrooms and Davydd plays "Guess the Nut".