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Former Tribe Breweries and Mornington Peninsula Brewery head brewer Kristian Martin has joined dedicated gluten free brewery TWØBAYS Brewing Co.

Martin got on the brew deck at Dromana-based TWØBAYS this week after six years at Mornington Peninsula Brewery (which was acquired by Tribe Breweries in 2018).

Prior to joining Mornington Peninsula Brewery, Martin helped to set the bar up at Victoria’s Carwyn Cellars and tutored criminology at Deakin University.

“The most exciting thing about all-grain gluten free brewing is that there is so much room for innovation and development,” said Martin, who is based in Somerville on the Peninsula’s Western Port Bay.

“This is what attracted me to TWØBAYS. I think people underestimate the range and diversity of gluten free malt. Given their quality and complexity, I wouldn’t be surprised to see barley brewers incorporating some into recipes soon.”

Martin joins brewer and biochemist Ajay Hill who has been lab testing and brewing at TWØBAYS for just over a year. But it is not Martin’s first experience of working with gluten free beer.

“While I did some development on another gluten free brand, these products were all based around sorghum and rice extracts, not all-grain brewing,” said Martin.

“It provided great insight into the challenges gluten free brewers face around fermentation.”

Martin worked with Andrew Gow at Mornington Peninsula Brewery before taking the reins when Gow moved to TWØBAYS in 2018.

TWØBAYS Founding head brewer Gow is now returning to Mornington Peninsula Brewery’s spiritual home in Watt Road where he teamed up with Matt Bebe again at the beginning of 2020.

Founder and CEO Richard Jeffares said: “We’re delighted to have a head brewer of Kristian’s calibre join us. TWØBAYS has grown a lot since opening just over 18 months ago and Kristian’s expansive knowledge and appetite for experimentation suits the direction we want to head in.

“AG [Andrew Gow] was instrumental in creating some fantastic recipes and beer. We wish him all the best.”

Since opening in December 2018, TWØBAYS has gained a national footprint with stockists across the country carrying its beer brewed with millet, buckwheat and rice. Its core IPA and XPA are currently ranked the best two gluten free beers in Australia on Untappd.

TWØBAYS is also home to Australia’s only dedicated gluten free brewery taproom where the team have experimenting with other gluten free grains, such as lentils.