Jayne Lewis needs little, if any, introduction to anyone that reads or listens to The Crafty Pint. Following stints at many of the country’s brewing trailblazers, she blazed a trail of her own, creating Two Birds Brewing with mate Dani Allen, together going on to conquer the country’s beer awards while inspiring many other women to follow in their footsteps.

Two years on from leaving Two Birds, she’s been carving out a new path, one focused very much on the human side of the food and drinks industry. Today, she operates Full Colour Life, working with small business owners as well as individuals on everything from business strategy to setting and achieving personal goals.

The wealth of knowledge she brings to the role comes not just from her time as a brewer and business owner, but also from personal experience: succumbing to burnout and a sense of losing agency, before embarking on a mission to rebuild herself and help others do the same.

Given the well-documented issues around burnout, stress and churn in the industry, Jayne is playing – once again – a vitally important role, which she discusses in this episode, along with her experiences as a woman in a male-dominated industry, the remarkable success of the Australian chapter of Pink Boots Society, the importance of allyship, and bobbing like a cork in the ocean – even in the middle of a Melbourne winter.

Last week’s tech gremlins overcome, the show opens with Will and James discussing the ACCC’s decision to oppose MicroStar’s proposed acquisition of Konvoy, ten years (or is it 140?) of Pikes Beer Co in the Clare Valley, the growing number of breweries using silos, and a new video launched by NSW indie suppliers Mogwai Labs, Ryefield Hops and Voyager Craft Malt. Mid-show we also reveal the latest Bluestone Yeast Brewery of the Month.

If you enjoy the show, please rate and review – and tell your mates!

Start of segments:

• 13:55 – Jayne Lewis – Part 1
• 35:57 – Bluestone Yeast Brewery Of The Month
• 39:34 – Jayne Lewis – Part 2

To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

“It's a big picture approach. I love it because our kids are going to have a future.”

The phrase “more than the sum of its parts” shouldn’t really apply when the parts in question are as significant in their own manner as Wildflower Beer, Organically Greenwood and Voyager Craft Malt. Yet there can be no denying that these pioneering operations are stronger together – their impact magnified by their ongoing collaboration.

Since first discovering each other, the trio – respectively a brewer favouring native, wild and organic ingredients, a farmer exploring innovative regeneration techniques, and a maltster of world-beating ingenuity – have encouraged each other to push their ideas further, to chase their wildest dreams, and to inspire others along the way.

We sat down with two of them – Wildflower’s Topher Boehm and Organically Greenwood’s Chris Greenwood – at an event conceived by the third, the Stu Whytcross-curated Grainstock. They told us about their first encounters, the friendship forged between their families, the exploration and experimentation they’ve enjoyed together, and their hopes for the future of grain, regen farming, sustainable brewing practices and the planet itself.

They’re fascinating and eloquent guests who take us from brewing with saltbush in Belgium to old man Ivan and his crop-enhancing “voodoo juice” with plenty of insight and laughter along the way.

Due to some unexpected and insurmountable gremlins in the system, which we only discovered three hours before this episode was due to be published, there's no full intro this week. Will and James had discussed the week's news – two more venue closures in the local beer world, a fledgling brewpub changing tastes on the Murray, and the new “Northern IPA” style – but instead you just get a brief word from James before the main course.

We’re always keen for feedback on the show, which you can provide here (just don't mention this week's intro), as well as nominations for good beer citizens in our Have You Done A Rallings? campaign and wonderful breweries you'd like to see named Bluestone Yeast Brewery of the Month. As ever, if you enjoy this episode, please like, subscribe, rate and review.

• 3:05 – Topher & Chris Part 1
• 33:17 – Topher & Chris Part 2

To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

"We're all massive grain users – bakers, brewers, distillers – so it's so good to get to connect with them."

Grainstock was a first-of-its-kind industry gathering and beer festival celebrating grain, agriculture, brewing, distilling and baking under the one banner.

Held at Voyager Craft Malt’s home at the Whitton Malt House over three days, it brought diverse yet linked industries together for farm tours, networking, and a symposium exploring the opportunities, challenges and future for farmers and businesses that rely on grain.

During the conference, Will and Craig sat down with three guests to chat about their respective backgrounds, what brought them to Whitton, and their experience at the conference.

First up, we have Caolan Vaughan, head brewer at Stone & Wood, who has been overseeing the introduction of regen and organic ingredients at the brewery. He’s followed by Phil Stevens, who used to lead brewing at The Welder's Dog and is now focused on native grains, before we’re joined by distiller and CIBD board member Lisa Macrae.

Ahead of those interviews, James and Will discuss Lachy Crothers’ new fresh AF beer project, the return of Ballarat Bitter to its founding family's hands, and Rehn Bier’s move into the Old Mill Brewery with some Barossa mates. We also unveil the latest Have You Done A Rallings? winner.

Start of segments:

• 17:42 – Caolan Vaughan
• 27:59 – Phil Stevens
• 39:19 – Have You Done A Rallings?
• 43:07 – Lisa Macrae

To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.