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".

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...