A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.

Veteran beer writer Matt Kirkegaard probably doesn’t require an introduction for many of you.

But just in case, Matt is founder of the beer industry publication Brews News, which I edited for a few years prior to starting Drinks Adventures.

His podcast Radio Brews News is Australia’s longest running beer podcast, with an archive of 644 episodes at the time of writing.

Matt’s never short of an opinion. So, following a particularly eventful year in the beer industry, I figured I was long overdue to invite him on for a chat.

Coming up for you in this episode, Matt and I discuss the booming non-alcoholic beer segment – is it really booming?

We cover the recent trend of breweries raising capital by way equity crowdfunding, with mixed results. And in fact, since we recorded this conversation, Gold Coast outfit Black Hops has completed their latest raise, which at $2.2 million is the largest ever campaign by an Australian brewery.

Also on the agenda is the latest IP dispute between Australian breweries, and whether the legendary West Australian company, Feral Brewing, is damaged goods after being listed for sale by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

And in a related discussion, we consider in retrospect the wisdom of Coke naming a craft beer brand after an obscure country town that no-one visits.

Matt also fills us in on recent projects at Brews News, including its efforts to find out, how many breweries are there really in Australia?

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