Media release

Thunder Road Brewing Company of Melbourne, Australia and Devils Backbone Brewing Company of Virginia, USA, Jointly Announce International Brewing Collaboration.

Award Winning Brewmaster Jason Oliver from Devils Backbone Brewing Company and Marcus Cox, Senior Brewer and Manager of Thunder Road Brewing Company will Lead Innovative Collaborative Brewing Program in Melbourne, Australia.

January 23, 2013 – Philip Withers, CEO, Thunder Road Brewing Company and Steve Crandall, President, Devils Backbone Brewing Company announced today that Jason Oliver, Brewmaster of Devils Backbone Brewing Company, has been selected to join the company from a highly competitive field of brewers in Thunder Road’s Inaugural Summer Brewer’s Invitational. Oliver and Cox will jointly lead the collaboration program in January and February 2013 in Australia.

Devils Backbone Brewing Company’s Jason Oliver (left) with Phillip Withers and Marcus Cox from Thunder Road Brewing

Devils Backbone Brewing Company, based in Nelson County, Virginia has become one of the most award winning breweries in the United States. The phenomenal rise of the brewery, in just a few short years, is unique in the craft brewing industry. The success of Devils Backbone Brewing Company isdirectly related to its industry leading accomplishments in creating internationally acclaimed beers. Since opening its Basecamp Brewpub in 2008 at the foot of Wintergreen Mountain in Nelson County and then their production facility the Outpost in 2012 in Lexington, Virginia, the consistent quality of their beers has propelled the company into a leadership position in Virginia and the wider craft brewing industry.

In the last four years, their prestigious collection of awards includes seventeen Great American Beer Festival medals and five World Beer Cup awards. Devils Backbone Brewing Company has also been recognized internationally at the 2010 World Beer Cup as Champion Brewery and Small Brewpub and most recently for Small Brewpub and Small Brew Pub Brewer of the year at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. Devils Backbone brewmaster, Jason Oliver, has 16 years of brewing experience and holds an international accreditation in brewing science.

In selecting Oliver, Thunder Road Brewing Company was impressed with how similar the two company’s brewing philosophies were. According to Oliver, “My brewing philosophy is one of traditional expansiveness. I take inspiration from traditional and contemporary methods and techniques then expand upon them. I like to say I’m ‘inspired by tradition… not handcuffed to it.’”

During Oliver’s assignment he will lead a number of projects including at least 10 collaboration beer developments between Thunder Road and Devils Backbone that will be marketed in both countries under the name “Devils Thunder.” To celebrate the collaboration, a special beer will be brewed to raise funds to aid research for the Institute for Glycomics at Griffith University in Australia and The Chesapeake Bay Foundation in the U.S.A.

Thunder Road Brewing Company is a leading independent brewery in the working class suburb of Brunswick in Victoria, Australia. Since opening its doors for business in 2011, the brewery’s beers have taken Melbourne by storm and are now expanding nationally throughout Australia. Thunder Road Brewing Company brews year-round flagship beers including Full Steam Pale Lager and Brunswick Bitter, as well as limited release seasonal beers, for on-tap sales. The company is well known for its fanatical focus on freshness and quality and produces beers that appeal to a broad audience.

For additional information on Thunder Road Brewing Company, please visit: www.thunderroadbrewing.com
For additional information on Devils Backbone Brewing Company, please visit: dbbrewingcompany.com or contact: Heidi Crandall/Marketing at hatcreekfarm@gmail.com

Details regarding charities:

For additional information on the Institute for Glycomics, please visit www.griffith.edu.au

Established in 2000 at the Gold Coast Campus of Griffith University, research at the Institute for Glycomics involves the study of the glycans and glycanbinding proteins in various biological systems, and the design of novel drugs and vaccines. This approach presents an exciting therapeutic platform for the control of a wide-range of medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, infectious diseases, inflammation and immune disorders.

The Institute is the only one of its kind in Australia and only one of six in the world. They seek to collaborate with leading scientists around the world to build a critical mass around carbohydrate-based research. Global collaboration together with a multi-disciplinary approach to research, are essential to achieving their vision to bring forward novel medicines and vaccines to the community.

For additional information on the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, please visit: http://www.cbf.org

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation mission: The Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers, broadly recognized as a national treasure, will be highly productive and in good health as measured by established water quality standards. The result will be clear water, free of impacts from toxic contaminants, and with healthy oxygen levels. Natural filters on both the land and in the water will provide resilience to the entire Chesapeake Bay system and serve as valuable habitat for both terrestrial and aquatic life. Clean Water, Save the Bay!