Beer
LEGENDS OF AUSTRALIAN BREWING BEER DIVA KIRRILY WALDHORN, WHILE BUSY JUDGING FOR THE AUSTRALIAN BEER AWARDS AND JUGGLING GABS RESPONSIBILITIES, STILL MANAGED TO PEN THIS PIECE ON LEGENDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN BREWING INDUSTRY. WHAT A LEGEND. THE BURGEONING AUSTRALIAN CRAFT BREWING SECTOR IS FULL OF THEM, SO IT ISN’T EASY TO NARROW THIS DOWN. HERE ARE A FEW MAKING INCREDIBLE BEERS WORTH RAVING ABOUT.
How exactly is a legend in an industry defined? Does legendary status get bestowed upon those who have been around forever; a part of the furniture, is comfortable, and reliable just like a well-worn Chesterfield, leaving a big gaping hole when taken away? Or does legend relate to those big, audacious and fun to be around personalities that every industry has? Maybe the title legend needs to be earned, gained from the mutual respect of the people who operate within the boundaries of the defined industry? Many incredible people fit into all of the above categories in the exciting, evolving, and continually revolutionary world of craft beer, making it challenging to select a handful who stand out from the crowd. Like many alcoholic beverage industries, in beer, awards are things that pretty much every brewery strives for. Whilst they are not
the driver of the everyday runnings of the business and certainly not the key decision influencing the next idea or innovation within a workplace, it would be rare to hear anyone murmur that awards don’t mean anything or, in fact, are undesirable. Over the years, we have seen breweries in their infancy catapulted into stardom through huge trade interest, taking their business to another level. They become the talk of the town, and everyone wants a piece of what made their beers stand out from the others. Being a fast-moving industry, when asked to write about craft beers’ biggest legends, I thought to choose those behind the most significant awards in the past 12 months voted for by the beer-loving public and industry peers.
RICHARD WATKINS BENTSPOKE First up, and slated as one of Australia’s finest brewers, is Rich Watkins. For anyone from Canberra or who visited Canberra between the mid-’90s and mid-2010s, you would be familiar, if not a little besotted, with the Wig & Pen Tavern and Brewery, situated in Canberra House in Civic (the city centre of Canberra). Rich was the man behind the sensational and often eclectic lineup of beers for 17 years until he decided it was time to own a brewery of his own. He took over an ex-car dealership in Braddon and, with his formidable and equally talented partner, Tracy Margrain, opened Bentspoke Brewing Co in 2014. He had already picked up two Champion Australian Brewery titles at the Wig & Pen and set the stage for great things in the new
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