3 min read

DIY Dads are the Best Dads !

Without my Dad, I wouldn't be here - Maria Sharipova

At first glance this statement seems like an extremely obvious biological fact. But look further and what Maria means to highlight are the skills her Father has given her & support to get where she did. That's why when September 4th rolls around, we need to spoil that special man in our lives ! 

~ Win your Dad a Big Brew Day ~

Starting this weekend we will be offering all our customers who spend over $100 in store a chance to win big. The lucky 3 winners will be brewing on our Italian 100 litre all grain Nano brewery at our Clayton store.

Not only will they learn the ancient art of brewing, but will take home one of our Brew Equipment kits & bottles so they can ferment & bottle their beer at home.

Not only an amazing prize, but you can show off your finished beer to all your friends !  

~ Get Your Dad a DYI Foodie Hobby ~

We know it's sometimes hard to find that perfect gift for, so here are some ideas for that DYI Dad of yours. We have picked a few items we think Dad will love & dropped the prices until the 11th of September. 

10% off our range of books

 5% off our Home Brew range

 

 10% off our Alpina, Nazionale & Juventus Moka range

10% Crushers, Presses & Demijohns

 

~King Valley Salami Festival ~ 

On September 10th we are sponsoring a very special event indeed. Set on the lovely grounds at Dal Zotto winery and hosted by Dal zotto and The Meat Room , the King Valley Salami Festival will be looking to find out which Salami is the  Il Salame Perfetto (The Perfect Salami). North & South, East & West will be pitted against each other in a Salami recipe show down. The best part of all is that you can enter your Salami and maybe walk away with bragging rights. If you think your little meaty efforts are worthy , then you can find the entry form here. Good luck! 

 

~ Stainless Steel Gypsies, From Garage To GABS ~

Nathan Keatch, Mattias Isaksson, Justin Spicer and Shannon Brooks are Old Wives Ales. Oh yes, they are real. They are not urban myths whispered down through generations, but one the newest Craft Beer labels in town. The gentlemen from Old Wives Ales are all avid home brewers ( hailing from the Merri Mashers brew club ) , who decided to take their hobby up a step & go commercial. They are " Gypsy Brewers ", who travel from brewery to brewery (no, not in a caravan) and utilize the large systems to pump out liquid gold. They excitedly had their coffee infused IPA on the tap list at Australia's biggest beer festival, GABS this year & the sky is the limit. I went and caught up with Justin and Mattias earlier this month as they teamed up with Greg from The Craft & Co to brew an Extra Special Bitter.

 

Look out for Old Wives Ales at your nearest venue & this beer will also be on tap at The Craft & Co when finished. So this is a story of an interest, turned hobby, turned commercial venture. That homebrew you just put in your fermenter, that cheese you just pressed, or that wine you just bottled might be the start of something BIG. Keep at it & enjoy !

~ Cider Trees for Sale ~ 

 

Are you a keen Cider maker ? The  wonderful Strzelecki Heritage Apples company have some wonderful varieties for sale. Kingston Black, Dabinett & King of Pippins to name a few. Contact Margaret on 03 5659 5242 in you are interested. 

~ Krautsourcing with CERES Fair Food ~ 

After their phenomenal CrowdSaucing effort earlier in the year, CERES fair food is back with Krautsourcing. A festival of fermentation, and celebration of sour. Simply order some of the locally grown cabbages from their website & you can organise a huge day of " Krauting "  with your family & friends. We are delighted to be able to offer a hand with this & if you need some jars or lids for your fermented goodies , just mention it to us in store & we'll drop 10% off your order. 

~ Cade's Brew News ~ 

The sun is shining, days are getting longer & it's time to stock up on those home brews for those scorching summer days ! We still have our 15% off Viking grain sale on until the end of August, and have just got a mountain of Pale Ale back in stock this week. So we are all stocked up. 

Sour beers, Farmhouse ales & Brett beers are growing in popularity on the commercial side of the beer industry & it's no different in home brewing. These days the home brewer has access to a large array of grains, fermenting vessels , temperature control & especially specific yeasts. We are happy to say that with our next batch of liquid yeasts from the USA we will be bringing in a limited number of vials from The Yeast Bay. These guys culture up & sell the best & biggest range of wild yeast & bacteria on the market. So get your recipes ready & your barrels washed, come in and see us early because these will fly out the door ! 

I went in and called into the Pale Ale mania home brew competition a last week & even had a taste of a few entries while I was there, for research & development purposes of course ! A good venue, some very well brewed beer & hosted well by the Worthogs brew club. We sponsored the " Best Club in show " category & after all the scores were collated the Worthogs walked away with a Voucher. Congratulations to all the clubs & home brewers involved !

Talking of home brew Competitions, Vicbrew is nearly upon us. On the 10th & 11th of September home brew of all sorts will be poured & judged at Beer Deluxe at Southbank. We are sponsoring the ever popular American Pale Ale category, and I'm sure it will take a belting beer to win it. If you have a beer that you think can hold it's own, please beware the entries close this Saturday & you can drop them into us at home Make It. 

Happy Brewing ! 

~ Courses ~ 

We have already had a jam packed workshop calendar for the first half of 2016 & there is alot more to come! Click on the links for all the course dates, venues and details. Our workshops are hands on, fun and interactive. To participate in one of our great courses, just book your spot ONLINE or call our Clayton or Reservoir stores for assistance.

Courses for the remainder of 2016 include:

~ Specials ~

Click on our sale banner below for this week's Specials .   

 

~ Vouchers ~

Gift Vouchers and Course Vouchers make an ideal gift for. Available In-store or ONLINE