The Cool Room

Brendan and Geoff from 3 Ravens join the Coolroom crew for a chat about some of their amazing beers and everything that's happening in the Australian craft beer scene.

If you want to taste along with the beers the guys are chatting about then you can grab them from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/3-ravens-4-pack

A lot has changed since the guys first met in Perth at Phoenix beers but that means they are uniquely placed to talk about how the beer scene has evolved, what trends they see emerging and what makes them feel positive about the future.

We sip and discuss a sour beer, an oatmeal stout, a dark chocolate old ale before finishing off with the James Bean, a 13.6% barrel-aged barley wine made for last year's Carwyn/Coolroom Black Box.

Will we get an insight into what they're contributing to this year's Black Box? You'll have to listen in to find out - and to make sure you don't miss this year's Black Box here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/2024-carwyn-coolroom-black-box

The Coolroom and Carwyn Cellars are once again collaborating with 12 amazing Australian breweries to bring you exclusive dark and barrel-aged beers which will blow your minds!

The packs will be available from the Coolroom's shopify store from noon on April 24th: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/

Tito and Ben from Carwyn chat with Davydd and Warren about their favorite beers from last year's pack, which breweries will be included in 2024 and which brewers they're most looking forward to talking to as part of the live shows with the brewers in the packs!

A really limited number of single cans from last year's pack are still available here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/collections/treats-from-the-black-box

Davydd has a new guest co-host and goes to visit longtime friend of the podcast Blake Willoughby who is now Manager of Sales at Local Brewing Company.

They discuss preparations for this year's Hair of the Dog Breakfast where Local's beers will be featured alongside Dollar Bill, Coconspirators and 2 Metre Tall - you can grab your tickets here: Ticketsbeerdeluxefedsquare.com.au/events/hair-of-the-dog

Blake shares how his journey has led to working at Local, all about the philanthropic philosophy which underpins the brewery and all of the new beers that they're exploring.

Blake declares which he thinks is "Australia's Favorite Hop", Cam recalls his experiences with drip trays when working in pubs and Davydd completely forgets to ask the traditional Coolroom question!

Warren and Davydd are joined by Mike Leonard from Hop Hen Brewing to hear all about his journey from home brewer [and home hop grower] to running his own brewery!

As ever you can maximise your listening experience by purchasing the beers we discuss from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/hop-hen-mixed-6-pack

How does a mild-manner school principal make the jump into not just owning a brewery but also running his own venue - well it's quite a story and Mike shares it with us along with plenty of advice for anyone who'd like to make a similar journey themselves.

We hear about the styles he loves, the hops he grows and prefers to use in his brews, and the challenges and joys of operating at his brewery size.

He has a surprising answer for which bit of equipment he likes best [SPOILER it's not a centrifuge], Warren gets distracted by chicken suppliers and Davydd keeps hinting that he might have been a teacher in the past.

It's the second part of our chat with Tom Delmont from Fixation Brewing and there's a heap of fun things to discuss!

You can maximise your listening experience by making sure that you have the beers we discuss in your hand by visiting our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/fixation-7-pack 

In this episode we explore which hops Tom loves to brew with, which ones he sees emerging into the market and which new hop he just can't stand. We also learn which world brewery he'd love to collaborate with and why he admires the way that they've repositioned themselves in the international beer market.

We talk tax, because who isn't at the moment, and which beer trends he thinks are doing the most damage to the industry - and Davydd defends the noble carrot - king of the root vegetables!

It's been 5 years and over 200 episodes since Tom Delmont last had a feature episode but he's back with a whole heap of great beers and fascinating stories to share!

To make sure you get the most from this episode grab the beers from our online shop here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/fixation-7-pack

Tom has worked in the Melbourne craft beer scene for 17 years, starting out as the first onroad rep for Mountain Goat before making the jump and starting his own brewery - in that time he's seen a world of change in terms of beer styles, marketing and even just changes in the city.

We talk about Tom's ability to pick market trends like establishing the brewery's own venue, the creation and eventual sale of Fermentum and how beers have moved in and out of the core range of the portfolio.

There was so much to discuss with Tom that we've broken his visit into 2 episodes - make sure you look out for Episode 221 which will be out in a few days time!

We kick off today's show catching up with Sam Evans from Modus Operandi Brewing who have collaborated with Ten Men Brewing in Ukraine. 

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has meant that the brewery has had to relocate and sales of this beer help to raise funds for the move - you can grab the beers from Modus' website here: https://www.mobrewing.com.au/product/can-it-hazy-pale-modus-x-ten-men/

And of course we catch up with all the other news from the brewery including their recent collaboration with the Trash Taste Podcast. [A brewery teaming up with a podcast - we like that idea!]

And then it's over to the Melbourne Celtic Club to hear about their search for a new home - is buying a pub as much fun as it sounds, and just how does the process actually work?

The club's new home is the pub formerly known as the Sarah Sands Hotel - now titled The Wild Geese - to find out more and get your booking for St Patrick's Day sorted check out their website here: https://www.thewildgeesehotel.com.au/

Emerging from Monash University's Brewlab the team from The Zythologist bring a unique approach to their brewing and having a fascinating story to share.

You can enjoy the beers we discuss in the podcast by visiting our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/zythologist-mixed-6-pack

We learn how the team met at Monash before deciding to brew together and their plans for their own brewery and venue. Shivam, Daniel and Doug share  stories of their earliest craft beer memories and of course stories of cool rooms!

We get advice for home brewers on making lagers and sours and all the tricks of using ingredients like raspberries and rose oils. 

There is local government planning talk and plenty of bad scientific puns from Davydd and a return to traditional values as Warren Wu arrives very very late!

Warren and Davydd are joined by Lein Jenkins from Hard Road Brewing to learn all about his craft brewing adventures.

You can purchase the beers we discuss in the podcast from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/hard-road-brewing-mixed-6-pack

We hear how a trip to a Californian brewers convention led to Lein and his wife entering the world of brewing, then to running a production brewery and finally to Hard Road itself.

There were lots of learnings along the way and we discuss the highs and lows of the process as well as the difficulty of just finding a good name for a brewery.

We learn about Lein's love of building his own equipment, Warren invites hate mail from Sierra Nevada and Davydd goes all English-teachery about the origins of the word 'drongo'.

Davydd is back out on the road visiting old friends at Carwyn Cellars and new ones at Nubilum Distilling in Kensington.

Preparation for the 2024 Black Box are beginning and you can catch up with the very earliest gossip about that and all the other fun things that Ben, Ben & Tito have been planning for the year including Hawkers 9th Birthday and Local Beer Day.

Then Davydd walks down the road to Kensington's newest distillery - Nubilum. We learn all about their backstory and the wide range of spirits they are distilling and all about their plans for the venue they've built.

Don't forget to join us live in the zoom room for the next 3 Thursday nights as we are joined by Hard Road Brewing, The Zythologist and then Tom from Fixation!