Recorded on 4 July 2017 – declared Independence Day by the newly rebranded Independent Brewers Association. Matt Kirkegaard and Pete Mitcham work through four stories that, taken together, map the fault lines opening up in a maturing industry: money, freshness, independence and the ethics of the tap.
The newly minted Independent Brewers Association launches its first national economic report – and Matt Kirkegaard and Pete Mitcham immediately ask the question its findings don’t answer: will tinkering with excise make things better, or just flood an already crowded market?
IBA executive director Chris McNamara joins to walk through the numbers. Then the hosts unpack a week of industry friction: Holgate versus the Great Northern Hotel over tap terms, a Sydney bottle shop refusing to sell beer by the can, the ongoing Stone freshness debate, and AB InBev’s pushback against the Brewers Association’s new independence logo in the US.
We discuss:
- Independence Day – the launch by the Independent Brewers Association of its Independent Brewing Industry National Economic Evaluation. Matt and James Atkinson also caught up with IBA Executive Officer, Chris McNamara.
- We discuss this quote from 4 Pines’ Jaron Mitchell:
“I think it’s one of the stupidest things I’ve seen. There’s no industry on the planet that has benefited from artificial relief from a government. Essentially, it creates a vacuum for inefficient people who are wasting resources to get a $350,000 rebate. If you can’t run a brewing business based on fundamental economics, you shouldn’t be running a brewing business.” - The Great Northern Hotel / Holgate kerfuffle.
- Should bottleshops limit the sale of single beers, and force drinkers to buy four packs?
- Drinkers get fresh with US brewers: American craft brewers have copped another hiding for their perceived lack of commitment to ensuring their beers reach Australian drinkers in the same optimal condition they demand at home.
- Including a reference to our past interview with Greg Koch from Stone.
- ABI’s The High End craft division responds to the Brewers’ Association’s Independence Seal.
