A great opportunity for craft beer industry types and enthusiasts to learn, share information, and network! Hear directly from our industry body the IBA as well as brewers, producers and growers on the latest developments, techniques and approaches in beer.

Ticket price includes lunch and tastings.

A companion event to The High Country Hop, which will run the day before on Saturday, April 2.

EVENT SCHEDULE

10am - Acknowledgement of Country and G’day from The Crafty Pint

10.10am - Understanding the Indie Consumer – Kylie Lethbridge, CEO of the IBA & Tiffany Waldron, Head of Communications and Marketing

We’re kicking things off with the IBA team taking us through the consumer research undertaken by KPMG and their plans to launch their first major marketing campaign that aims to raise awareness of the Independent Seal.

Kylie will outline what consumers around the country think of craft and indie beer, how they purchase and what ‘local’ means to them. Tiff’s then giving a sneak-peek at the campaign assets and run through ways your brewery can engage with and leverage the rollout to promote your brewery.

10.40am All Things Hops – Owen Johnston, Head of Marketing and Sales at Hop Products Australia.

Hop Products Australia will explore a wide range of current issues and recent developments in the world of hops. This will include the Australian and international crop report and how the climate for growing beer ingredients is changing, with a look at current and emerging threats, mitigations strategies and tactics.

Owen will also chat about a whole lot of new hop varieties, along with new product forms, experimental hop varieties from around the world, the commercialisation process and how forward contracting works.

We’ll finish on sustainability in the brewing supply chain and the need for everyone in the beer industry to waste not, want not.

11.40am Where Hops & Yeast Meet – Sam Bethune, technical sales specialist at Fermentis and Bintani & Kirrily Waldhorn from NZ Hops.

Sam has created three iterations of the same beer to provide a practical sensory session to highlight the impact of yeast selection on hop flavour and aroma.

Kirrily will walk us through these three experimental beers, which have been created from the same wort stream, and dry hopped at the same rate at the same time. Perceivable differences in hop expression in each beer should be influenced only by each of the three different yeasts used.

1.00pm – Break for lunch, which is included for all Symposium guests.

1.30pm – Filling Beers With Fruit – Dale Meddings, Director of Bintani & James Dittko, Head Brewer at Bridge Road.

A deep dive into fruit puree with a look at how they can engage beer drinkers and bring new people into the category. Dale will provide an insight into the range of fruit additions and flavourings available to brewers.

Bridge Road Brewers have just put down their eighth fruited sour release in a series they have been running almost two years. James Dittko has had the pleasure of using a huge range of fruits, whole, juiced pureed and those preserved in jam. He will share his insights and learnings on best practices and the mistakes he’s made along the way.

2.15pm - Brewing with Haze - Bridge Road Brewers and Virtual Garage Project

(please note, Mountain Culture unable to attend Sunday due to personal commitment, Ben Kraus of Bridge Road Brewers will fly their flag). A lot of breweries brew hazy beers but few have captured the attention of local craft beer drinkers in the way Garage Project and Mountain Culture have. Brewers from both will speak on their technical process and provide practical brewing tips and recipe development to create a great hop-forward, hazy beer.

3.00pm – Questions from the floor to all presenters and closing words from The Crafty Pint.

Drinks and nibbles will be provided and it's a final chance to mingle and talk through the presentation.

4.30pm - Thanks for coming and see you later.