The Cool Room

There's been a lot of change in and around Melbourne's Westside Ale Works lately and we get to explore it all in this episode with Jonathon and Leo.

You can buy all the beers we discuss in our episode here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/westside-ale-works-mixed-6-pack

We last had Westside on back on Episode 103 with Casey but today we learn all about the new owner Jonathon and his journey from keen home brewer to making the leap to actually buying a brewery. 

What made Westside the right fit for him, what will change and what will stay the same under his ownership and how does he feel about the current state of Australia's craft beer scene?

But the change doesn't stop there! We also meet new brewer Leo who has journeyed from winemaker, to spirits distiller to now being a brewer? What has she learned at each stage along the way, where does she get her inspiration from and what made her the right choice for Jonathon?

After a little taste on our Bendigo on the Hop visit, Brett from Brewers Collective joins us for a full episode to discuss everything about his journey from home brewery to living the dream of running a brewery.

We discuss how Bendigo's craft beer scene has come on in leaps and bounds and how the Collective has been part of that push alongside many other friends of the podcast!

We hear about the years of planning that preceded the opening of the brewery, and how the plans compared to reality once the doors had opened.

We hear about his favorite brewing gadget, his efforts to make great tasting lower alcohol beers and all about a large pig in a small Coolroom...

It's the second part of our January live show at Subculture Brewing where owner/founder Luke shares more of the story of his journey from home brewer to professional!

In this episode we learn more about the local breweries who have helped out in his journey, the lessons he's learned and the collaborations he's been part of.

We find out which bits of equipment make him happy, and which bits make him sad and discover more than we ever knew about buffer tanks.

And for reasons that remain remarkably unclear Warren wants to put a bowling ball into liquid nitrogen...

It's the third and final instalment from our live show with Maz at Hawkers and we're into the audience QandA session with questions about "Hopefully Beirut", his karaoke skills and the Henty St Ale.

Make sure you check out the previous 2 episodes with Maz and don't forget you can buy their beers online here: https://hawkers.beer/collections/our-beers

But first Davydd and Warren head out with the Coolroom faithful to visit a new Melbourne brewery - Subculture! 

We meet the owner/brewer Luke Forster and hear all about his journey from homebrewer to to professional with all of the ups and downs along the way.

We learn about the hidden secrets in the brewery's logo, what styles inspired him to brew and we call get a bit confused about the space/time continuum.

PS We've done our best to clean up the audio in this episode but with a live recording things can go a little quiet from time to time...] 

It's the second episode of our traditional end of year celebration recorded live at Hawkers with the inimitable Mazen Hajjar and there's some massive news if you listen carefully to this one.

NB - There's some pretty strong language in this one so if you're listening with the kiddies in the car you might want to wait till you've dropped them off at the pool!

If you want to sip some great Hawkers beer while you listen to the episode make sure to visit their online store here: https://hawkers.beer/collections/our-beers 

We cover a heap of ground in this episode and there are some massive scoops about the future of the brewery, beers we can expect from Hawkers in 2025, the issues the industry is facing but also the things that make him inspired and excited for the year ahead.

Maz is also amazingly open about the voluntary administration process that the brewery underwent in 2024 explaining not just the mechanics of the process but also the personal impact of owning a business that goes into VA. And he also drops us a massive scoop about how the business will be structured in 2025.

We also discuss his favourite beers of the year, his thoughts on brewing competitions, pinstriped cans and the origins of Mediterranean Pilsners!

Make sure you listen in for Episode 252 featuring the audience questions part of the conversation which will drop soon!

It's our traditional end of year celebration recorded live at Hawkers with the inimitable Mazen Hajjar and as ever there's a heap to talk about. 

NB - There's some pretty strong language in this one so if you're listening with the kiddies in the car you might want to wait till you've dropped them off at the pool!

If you want to sip some great Hawkers beer while you listen to the episode make sure to visit their online store here: https://hawkers.beer/collections/our-beers 

We cover a heap of ground in this episode and there are some massive scoops about the future of the brewery, beers we can expect from Hawkers in 2025, the issues the industry is facing but also the things that make him inspired and excited for the year ahead.

Maz is also amazingly open about the voluntary administration process that the brewery underwent in 2024 explaining not just the mechanics of the process but also the personal impact of owning a business that goes into VA.

Make sure you listen in for Episode 251 featuring the second part of the conversation which will drop soon!

It's the second part of our chat with Michael Stanzel from Devilbend Farm and this time we're focusing on his amazing rauchbier - you can grab it and the rest of the Oktoberfest inspired beers we discuss from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/devilbend-oktoberfest-6-pack

We hear all about the planning for the brewery, including things that didn't go to plan in good and bad ways, what Michael sees as the future of the craft beer industry in Australia and then chaos breaks out as discussion of Comic Sans font begins!

A reminder that if you aren't already on our mailing list to reach out to us as soon as possible so that you don't miss out on the opportunity to grab the last couple of bottles we have left from our Cantillon allocation!

It's a big episode featuring the World's Smallest Beer Festival and the return of one of our favorite brewers Michael Stanzel who is now at Devilbend Farm.

You can grab the beers we discuss with Michael from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/devilbend-oktoberfest-6-pack

Old friends Ian McNally, Nick Capper and Pocket Beagles' Clint Weaver arrive in the Coolroom for the world's longest promo for the world's smallest beer festival which will take place at Brewmanity on Saturday November 30.

Just how many small things can you jam into one festival, will Ian jump a fiery BMX and just how did Clint find himself involved in all of this - listen in to find out!

And then it's the first of 2 chats with Michael who is now brewing at Devilbend farm about his amazing Oktoberfest beers and much much more. 

What's it like to start with a blank canvas brewery, what memories of German Oktoberfests does he bring to his brewing and what's the right way to pronounce Aldi?

We learn how Devilbend grow their own grains, hops and cows, have a heap of enzyme talk and about the joys of roof trapdoors.

In the second part of their visit to the the Thursday night Zoom Room Ollie, Ross and Hamish from Rocky Ridge share more stories of the their journey in both the West Australian and Victorian craft beer scenes.

In this episode we sip the amazing Hoppel Bock which is available as part of the tasting pack from our online store: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/rocky-ridge-mixed-6-pack We learn all about the original doppelbock style and then how the team worked with hop growers on this adaptation.

Then we go behind the scenes to find out what the guys wish they'd known earlier in their journey, the realities of the craft beer market in 2024 and why they are optimistic and expanding into Victoria.

In the first of two episodes Hamish, Ross and Ollie from Rocky Ridge join Davydd to discuss their amazing beers and the stories behind them.

In this episode we compare and contrast Rocky Juice V14.1 and V14.2 which you can purchase from the Rocky Ridge website or directly from the Coolroom shopify here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/rocky-ridge-mixed-6-pack

In this episode we meet the team and hear about the origin story of the brewery and the ethos that underpins all that they do. We learn about their core beers how they decide which beers make it into the range.

With beers like these there is plenty of hop nerd talk as we taste two versions of the same beer, one made with hop pellets and one made with hop liquid.

Stay tuned for the second part of their visit in the next episode!