After an almost 9-hour delay and two replacement planes later (thanks Qantas), I finally touched down in Perth a couple of days before the WABA meeting in Fremantle. I had originally planned to visit Will at Found Lab and catch up with the Brewmart teams at their stores, but unfortunately, the flight delays meant I wasn’t able to make it. Luckily, I did manage to catch up with Will during the conference, though it would’ve been great to see their Subiaco site in person. The one-day WABA conference itself was impressively well-run and well-attended. I was genuinely pleased with both the turnout and the welcoming nature of everyone I met from the WA brewing scene. A big thank you to everyone who came up to chat, I’m looking forward to following up with you all in the coming weeks. I was lucky enough to give a talk on Zinc and share some data that a few brewers have generously provided. If you are interested in getting a copy of the talk let us know. If you don’t have time to watch, the key takeaway is this: adding Zinc is essential for maximizing yeast performance when re-pitching. Our data shows a 4- to 8-day decrease in ferment times depending on beer style, with an average 30% reduction in total fermentation time. That’s a game-changer for breweries looking to lower costs and improve through0ut. The most significant takeaway from my trip to WA was the energy and optimism in the WA brewing scene. It feels like there’s serious momentum there, with strong craft beer presence in bars and pubs, particularly in Fremantle. It could be that the larger breweries have been resting on their laurels, creating room for WA’s dynamic independent brewers to shine. A case in point was the WABA after-party at Little Creatures Fremantle. Sadly, every beer I tried was either oxidized or had diacetyl, something several other brewers I spoke with also noticed. It’s disappointing, considering Little Creatures Freo was once the pinnacle of craft brewing in Australia and one could argue the birthplace of Australia’s current craft brewing wave. There is a silver lining to the fall of the established names and that is WA’s independent brewers are absolutely nailing it. Found Lab, Rocky Ridge, Wedgetail Brewery, Cheeky Monkey, Phat Brew Club, and newcomers like Ripple Brewing are setting a new much higher benchmark for craft beer out west. There are many reasons to head over to WA, with the craft beer scene definitely one of them!! Speaking of Ripple Brewing, I got the chance to check out their new Freo site, and it’s definitely going to stir things up. It was inspiring to chat with head brewer Joel and hear about the beers they’re preparing to release. His hazy is going to be a standout, definitely one to watch when they open next month. Although I didn’t manage to visit the BrewMart or TWOC crews in person, I did catch up with the West Coast Brewers homebrew club at Phat Brew Club. Huge thanks to Garth Wilkosz for organizing the meetup, it was such a pleasure to finally meet many of you, especially those of you who I’ve only ever emailed or spoken to on the phone. The beers at Phat were excellent, and Garth’s own brews were sensational. Honestly, I think he could take top amateur brewer at the national level, if he can get his entries submitted in time! He also sent me home with an imperial stout I’m very excited to crack open soon. I’ll try to post a short tasting video when I do, so keep an eye on our socials for that. Meeting the homebrewers and seeing the thriving community in WA was definitely a highlight of the trip. If you’ll indulge me for a moment, I’m grieving the loss of my local pub, the Terminus Hotel in Clifton Hill. Well it is still there and operating, but it’s no longer supporting independent craft beer. They recently signed over virtually all their taps to a foreign-owned company, the Kirin group. It’s particularly bittersweet for me. About 10 years ago, the Terminus had 30, 40 taps of independent beer, with half rotating every two weeks. A couple of years after I founded Bluestone Yeast, we had a family dinner there. My eldest daughter pointed to the bar and asked, “Dad, which of those are ours?” I was proud to say that 7 or 8 beers on tap were brewed with our yeast. That moment shared with my daughter is one of my personal highlights from founding Bluestone Yeast. To know our once favorite family pub is another bland corporate pub is very deeply disappointing, and one we will no longer be frequenting. But it strengthens my resolve to support the pubs and venues that are backing indie breweries. Thankfully, Carwyn Cellars is back in the hands of Ben and the team, so you’ll probably find me there. Last time I dropped in a few weeks back I ran into Tim from Hop Nation. It’s more important than ever that we support the bars and pubs supporting independent beer. --- Want to improve your fermentation performance? Learn more about our Nutrient Booster range or book a discussion to talk about your brewery’s needs.