The Cool Room

It's the second part of our interview with Guy Greenstone and James Smith from Stomping Ground as we discuss the delicious Into the Wood Whiskey Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. You can grab the tasting 6 pack for this episode for just $35 here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/stomping-ground-mixed-6-pack In this episode we learn all about why the guys love making this beer [even if the accountants don't] and all about the very special can design for it. We hear about the fun collaborations they're planning for Oktoberfest, more about what inspires them about the beer business and what suburbs they might be considering for a new venue...

In a very special episode Warren and Davydd are joined by one of the founders of legendary New Zealand brewery Garage Project, Peter Gillespie. It's your final chance to join brewers like this for our annual Hair of the Dog Breakfast - you can grab your tickets here: https://beerdeluxefedsquare.com.au/events/hair-of-the-dog If you want to sip the beers we discuss while you listen to the episode you can grab them from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/garage-project-mixed-6-pack In this episode we learn all about Peter's journey in brewing before he started Garage Project, just how hectic and entrepreneurial the team were in the first 6 months and some of the secrets of their early success. We get some fascinating insights into how they care for their house yeast, how to brew with yuzu and how the way hops are bought has changed a heap during Peter's career. Look out for part 2 of the interview coming soon!

It's episode 275! [does that count as a milestone we weren't sure] but it's a landmark episode regardless as we finally welcome Guy Greenstone and James Smith from Stomping Ground into the Thursday night zoom room! You can grab the beers we are chatting about from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/stomping-ground-mixed-6-pack In this episode we chat about when the team first met and where the name of the brewery comes from and how it represents the ethos that underpins all of what they do. [Check out their upcoming Auslan Interpreted beer launch with artist Gonketa for example: hbit.ly/4ndTnbi ]  We learn more about the special techniques they use to create their beers and how things have evolved over time as well as all about the styles they love and the beers which have influenced them over the journey. Look out for the second part of the interview coming soon!

This week we meet Nick from Hepburn Springs Brewing to learn all about his journey in brewing and everything that's been happening at the brewery. FREE BEER: Listen out for the codeword in the intro to the podcast and send it to coolroompodcast@gmail.com before 5pm on September 11 to be in the running to win a free 6 pack of Hepburn Springs beers - we'll draw it just before our online session with Garage Project. If you miss out you can always grab the beers online from our store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/hepburn-springs-brewing-6-pack In this episode we learn all about Nick's journey to becoming a brewer including the beers that inspired him, the styles he loves, and why he chose Hepburn Springs as the location for his adventure. We hear how the brewery has gone from contract brewing to in house and how he's already had to expand the facilities. We learn what happens if you try to brew beer with mineral water and Warren revives his greatest hits by arriving quite quite late!

A very special episode as Australian craft beer legend Ben Kraus returns to the Coolroom to share all his latest news and his thoughts on the changing scene in Australia. One of the reasons Ben is on is to help promote Bridge Road being a part of this year's Hair of the Dog Breakfast at Beer Deluxe - tickets are on sale now: https://beerdeluxefedsquare.com.au/events/hair-of-the-dog But we also have a great tasting pack of beers to accompany this episode - they're the ones you're going to hear us chatting about and you can find them here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/bridge-road-brewing-6-pack In this episode we get a heap of insights into Ben's love the  Celtic red ale as well as his approaches to wet hop beers - as well as styles like saison which have moved in and out of the Bridge Road line up. We hear his thoughts on the many changes he's seen in the Australian craft beer industry but also what he's learned lately through collaborations with Hop Products Australia, Mountain Culture and Adnams!

It's the second part of our chat with Mattias Isaksson from Great Ocean Road Brewing as we continue the story of his journey as a brewer. You can get the beers for this episode delivered from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/great-ocean-road-6-pack In this episode we find out what Mattias has seen in coolrooms, what toys he'd buy if he won tattslotto and we "nerd out about Saab" some more. We have some wonderfully detailed discussions about NZ Hops and less important ones about the differences between D and E type keg couplers...

Davydd and Warren are joined by the Master Brewer from Great Ocean Road, Mattias Isaksson for a delicious tasting and discussion of his journey in brewing. You can grab the beers for this episode from our online store and sip them as we chat! https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/great-ocean-road-6-pack As well as all that's going on at Great Ocean Road we start to hear of Mattias' journey from working in the Saab Factory to being a Master Brewer via the Merri Mashers home brew club and Old Wives Ales. Apologies for the delay in getting this episode out - we promise to have the second half of the interview out real soon!

It's a huge live show recorded at Coconspirators Famiglia Affairs 4 featuring Sobremesa, Sailors Grave, The Mill, King River and of course Coconspirators themselves! A huge thank you to everyone who made the day possible and to all the lovely Coolroomans who came up and said hello while we were recording. As ever with live shows there's a bit of background noise here so apologies in advance! As ever there are some great scoops here including a new home for Sobremesa, new things at The Mill's home, a summer beach stout from Sailors Grave and all the news from King River's High Country vantage point. And because Davydd's footy tipping is going so badly it's time to declare winter is drawing to an end and spring is on the way - so we ask what the breweries are looking forward to when the weather warms up!

It's been an extravaganza of Prancing Pony content in the Coolroom lately and we round this out with this the second part of our interview with Frank - don't forget to go back a couple of episodes if you haven't heard the first! We get into some heavy hitting beers here and have an equally intense discussion about the changes that Frank has seen in the industry over the time that he's been a brewer. We discuss a few of the low points but also what he thinks the best ways to inspire young people to enter the industry are. We ask if there's an extra little bit of rebelliousness in Adelaide brewers, get some secrets of changes in techniques they've made at the brewery and round things out with a couple of questions about Frank and Corinna's motorbike exploits! Don't forget you can get the tasting pack to accompany this episode from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/products/prancing-pony-mixed-8-pack

It's a huge episode featuring the interviews we recorded at this year's Obsidian Beer Festival featuring Prancing Pony, Dollar Bill, Noodledoof and Bells Beach Brewing. Once again a huge thank you to Tom and all the team at the festival for inviting us to be part of the shenanigans and also to today's guest co-host Ian McNally of the infamous rival podcast. We kick off today with Corinna from Prancing Pony sharing all that Frank kept secret in Episode 267 [check it out if you're a prancing pony fan!] especially about why they named their festival beer "Freakshow". Then after a year away from the podcast Fi from Dollar Bill returns to share some good news about recent beer awards but also some less than good news about the brewery's ongoing discussions with Council. Next up it's Sam from Noodledoof with a beer that "shouldn't be legal" and a heap of good yarns from down Koroit way and who also weighs in on what makes regional beer festivals so much fun. And we round things out with Adam from Bells Beach with a run down of everything that's been going on at the brewery since the last time they were on the show and insights into what led them to create their festival beers! Ian alleges that people from Bendigo are "flimsy" and Davydd threatens to start a new band called "Accordion Flux" before we finally decide that it's time to turn the microphones off...

It's off to the scenic Adelaide Hills [and the Salt Lakes of South Australia] in this episode featuring two great SA breweries! Don't forget you can buy tasting packs that accompany both of these episodes from our online store here: https://the-coolroom-podcast.myshopify.com/ With Max from Uraidla we continue our chat about the hops that inspire him and some important lessons about what it's like to work in a smaller emerging brewery. We find out who he'd like to collab with and he shares his experiences in many a Coolroom. Then we welcome back Frank from Prancing Pony to the show and the opportunity to taste some new beers and old favorites too. We learn how part of a salt lake that Frank races motor bikes on has ended up in the first beer we're tasting, how his brewing style has changed over the years he's been brewing and all about his thoughts on beer festivals. Make sure you look out for the second part of the interview with Frank which will be out soon, but also the episode from the Obsidian Beer festival featuring the other half of Prancing Pony, Corinna!

It's a truly gargantuan episode of the Coolroom featuring previews and reviews of a heap of great craft beer festivals all of which occur in places starting with B! We kick things off with a final preview of Ballarat's Obsidian Dark Beer Festival with Tom Madden, before bringing things back to the city with Jacqui from Coconspirators whetting our appetites for Famiglia Affairs 4! Then it's Trevor from Bendigo Beer with the first scoop of what's going to be new at Bendigo on the Hop 2025! All of that would normally be an episode just by itself but we've super-sized things for our Festival of Festivals episode and so we're off to Darker Days Festival for some live interviews with all the breweries who were part of that awesome weekend. Evin Craney and Bright's Head Brewer help lead the conversation as we catch up with Matt from Boatrocker, Geoff from Seeker, James from Stomping Ground and finally Guy from Urbanaut. A huge thank you to all of the breweries that invite us along to be part of festivities - there are some truly awesome people in the Victorian craft beer scene and we're so lucky to get to work with so many of them. If you're wondering what to do with your winter weekends then why not come and join us at Ballarat https://hullabalooevents.com.au/obsidian-dark-beer-fest Brunswick https://events.humanitix.com/famiglia-affairs-2025-co-conspirators-brewpub or Bendigo https://www.bendigobeer.com/both-2025

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!