NEWS

Rocks Brewing Co Managing Director Mark Fethers will be demonstrating his conviction in custom

Rocks Brewing Couture after losing a bet to Jaron Mitchell of Manly-based craft brewery, 4 Pines.

Sometime last year, Fethers declared that his brand-new, first-of-its-kind (for Australia) brewery would be up and running before New Year’s Eve, 2013.

The terms of the wager stipulated that a beer brewed in the brewhouse had to be served, and drunk,

Given that the brewery wasn’t commissioned until 7 February 2014, Fethers lost the bet well and truly

sporting a t-shirt with 4 Pines branding splashed across it.

[NOTE: The bet was fulfilled on May 12. Thanks to everyone who came out and to The Little Guy crew for having us along.]

Rocks Brewing Co Brings Australia’s First Commercially Available PET Growlers to Market

Rocks Brewing Co is taking its conviction to help beer lovers access the freshest, best beer available to a new level as the first brewery in Australia to bring PET growlers to market.

The custom manufactured bottles are 100% recyclable and offer beer lovers the chance to ensure that their beer is totally fresh, explains Head Brewer, Scott Morgan.

“There has always been issues with reusable growler systems,” he says. “People don’t always sterilise them properly because they don’t realise that even the tiniest amount of bacteria or stale beer left in a growler can infect the fresh beer and spoil the lot.”

Designed to look like traditional brown glass growler bottles, the PET version is not only better for the beer it carries but also a whole lot lighter than the original. That meanings that the Rocks Brewery Bar’s legion of bicycle-riding fans can easily strap one on their bike and cycle home – or cart it home on public transport.

Even better, the PET growlers also negate the need for new fans to place a down payment on a bottle, and repeat customers don’t have to remember to always have their growler with them. The disposable bottles also make it easier to pick up multiple brews in multiple growlers for parties and events, without breaking the bank.

“If you’re in the Lord Raglan for example and you try something new off a rotating tap for the weekend – or we’ve got a new limited edition on at the Brewery Bar you can now grab a PET growler to go,” says Morgan. “You don’t have to pay for a new one if you don’t have yours on hand, and there’s no need to return it. Simply chuck it in the recycling bin and off you go.”

It has also been noted that craft beer fans have a habit of taking a shine to growlers – who wouldn’t – and instead of being returned to the ‘swap-and-go’ the vessels are being turned into decorative features, like vases and light fittings. That’s all well and good until the brewery is suddenly out of growlers and new customers are unable to purchase beer.

Rocks Brewing Co also acknowledges that a lot of their fans already have their own personal growlers and Braulers – the stainless steel version – that they like to use and are happy to fill them at both the Brewery Bar and the Lord Raglan. The only condition is that the bottles have been thoroughly cleaned prior to arrival, as there will be no cleaning facilities for growlers at either bar.

Prices for growlers start at $20 for Rocks Brewing core range beers. For details enquire at the venues. Regrettably, due to licensing restrictions, growler takeaways will not be available at the brewery’s original venue, Harts Pub in The Rocks.

To celebrate the hop harvest, Rocks Brewing Co has teamed up with Hop Products Australia to incorporate fresh hop flowers into a new limited edition Wet Hop Ale.

The aim of the limited edition brew is to showcase the incredible flavours and nuances that the use of fresh – or wet – hops can bring to a beer. As such, the classic beer style guidelines went out the window, with the team happy to abandon conventions. According to Head Brewer Scott Morgan, brewing with the fresh flowers (also known as hop cones) was a little bit like a dream come true.

“The wet hops smelled amazing straight out of the bag,” he says. “But out of the tank the aroma and flavour is, well, nothing short of amazing.”

Owen Johnson, from Hop Products Australia, concurs that brewing with fresh, or wet, hops is a singularly exciting experience for brewers – especially when it comes to using exclusive Australian varietals.

“At harvest time we love to get involved with brewers making wet-hopped beers,” he says. “Anything to help make hops the hero in beer is great.”

Weighing in somewhere between 5.0% and 6.0% ABV (alcohol by volume), and featuring Ella and Galaxy hop varieties, the brew blurs the lines between an IRA (India Red Ale) and an ABA (American Brown Ale). The Rocks Brewing team of Scott Morgan and Ben Landsberry, were aiming to create a beer that features a solid malt profile and flavour, as well as being extremely hoppy.

The beer is the latest member of Rocks Brewing Co’s Conviction Series, and is currently fermenting in the company’s state-of-the-art brewing facility in Alexandria. Incidentally, the working name for the brew was Holy Diver – in honour of the Black Sabbath song by Ronnie James Dio – due to Hard Rock Monday and Wet Hop Brew Day happily coinciding.

As Rocks Brewing Co gears up to launch the beer to market, Morgan is very happy with the progress the brew is making in the tanks.

“The hop notes at the moment are heavy and lush,” he says. “We are doing all we can to retain the flavour and aroma throughout the rest of the brewing to make sure our thirsty fans share in this hop-plosion.”

The beer will be available on tap at quality craft beer venues in the Sydney area very soon.

The symmetry between the brands is obvious – like Rocks Brewing Co, Tilse’s Apple Truck Cider is a family-based business that is focused on creating a quality product that stands out in a crowded marketplace.

Head of Sales for Rocks Brewing, Tim Fishwick, says that the decision to work with Tilse was an easy one that sees both brands playing to their strengths.

“We’re really excited about finally putting our first beers into the tanks at our new brewery, and right now we’re focussed on doing what we do best – making beer,” he says. “Luke Tilse has been a great supporter of Rocks in the Newcastle market, and we love the fact we’re able to repay the favour by getting his genuine natural ciders to market, both in pack and on tap.”

Apple Truck Cider is based at a small orchard at the foot of Barrington Tops, in the Upper Hunter Valley area. The Tilse family have owned the land since 1916 and have grown everything from oranges, plums, peaches, and pears, to cabernet and merlot grapes.

Focussed on quality, Apple Truck Cider uses a combination of Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples, grown both in the Tilse’s own orchard as well as on the plains around the township of Orange in NSW. Using no added sugars, and absolutely no concentrates, in the cider’s creation results in a crisp, medium sweet cider with a huge apple nose and a refreshing, slightly tart finish – perfect for year-round drinking.

“We’re looking forward to working with Tilse to build the brand in Sydney,” says Fishwick. “Once it’s establish, we’ll definitely be looking at other markets where Apple Truck is not currently available.”

Apple Truck Cider has replaced Rocks Brewing Co’s own cider offering – previously known as Pickpocket – in the portfolio currently offered by the brand. The character of the Pickpocket is not about to be forgotten however, with a relaunch as a new permanent beer due to be unveiled in the next few months.

By Scotty Morgan

Building a brewery is a game of compromise. All the things you want or need to do are often constrained by a budget, time and the approval to brew delicious beers in your own brewery.

Unfortunately, local councils and breweries do not always make friends. There is a lot to cover – from wastewater management and smells, to truck movements and the like.

Our brewery though had a reasonably easy ride through the process. We’re located in Sydney Corporate Park in Alexandria, on 26 acres of what used to be a huge printing factory. The site used to chill 500,000 litres of water to three degrees Celsius every night, and used 32,000 megajoules of gas per hour. Since we’ll only use a mere 3000 litres of water a day and 2000 megajoules of gas, we’re tiny and more environmentally friendly, compared to the operation the site used to hold.

We’re also lucky to have 5000 people working onsite. Our neighbourhood is a diverse range of businesses, including a Harley dealership, Australia Post, a bank, a few more car yards and (until this wee) a large magazine company. All in all, a good mix of people to come visit the brewery.

But, the DA and the Excise application require a lot of work. Our town planners submitted a 50-page document, with associated plans and drawings, on our behalf. And our excise application required more pages of information than I care to remember.

Regardless of the amount of paper and mind-numbing hours of work, we are thrilled to have all the approvals done – just got to lock in our license now – and to be getting on with the job of making great beer.

Rocks Brewing Co is looking for craft beer superstars to be a part of our expansion.

With two new venues opening in February, we are looking for:

• General Manager – Brewery Bar

We have the opportunity of a lifetime for a passionate beer advocate to run our new flagship Brewery Bar and Restaurant. Get in touch if you’re interested in being the driving force behind creating a new Sydney craft beer icon, sharing your love of craft beer, and have at least three years experience in bar management to your name.

• General Manager – Harts Pub

Harts Pub is an established venue with a stellar beer and food reputation to uphold. We’re looking for a craft beer-lover, with at least three years experience in bar management, to run our iconic pub.

• Beer Loving Chef – Lord Raglan
  

The Lord Raglan is our newest craft beer venue and we’re looking for a young up and coming chef to take over the kitchen. A love of American-style comfort food is a must as well as a passion for craft beer and beer and food matching. This position is ideal for someone with a few years as a sous chef under their belt who is looking to move up and run their own space.

• Six Experienced Bar Staff

Are you a beer nut? Think you have what it takes to talk shop with beer lovers as well as guide some newbies along the path of their beer journey? We want to hear all about it.

• Two Part-Time Baristas

At Rocks Brewing Co we’re also pretty serious about our coffee and, as such, we’re looking morning people to cover the making of our other favourite brew.

Did an opportunity catch your eye? Email your resume – or any questions – to jobs@rocksbrewing.com.

What it a HEBS? It is short for High Efficiency Brewing System.

What does that all mean? Well one significant difference is the use of a mash filter rather than a lauter tun.

What is a mash filter? A mash filter replaces a lauter tun. During the brewing process, the brewery sugars are created by mixing hot water with the grains which makes malt sugars. The sugars need separating from the grains. A lauter tun allows the sugars to drain and be pumped away. A mash filter acts as a pneumatic press to squeeze the malt, just like you can do with a tea bag. This means higher extract of sugars from the malt and less water usage; which kinda means we’re able to maximise every part of the process and make it lean.

Mash filters are nothing new to brewing, Meura developed the technology at the beginning of the nineteenth century and they are a widely adopted system in big breweries. It was not till 2011 when our brewery supplier – IDD in California – started building systems for craft brewers that they were available for guys like us. And we jumped at the chance to be the first craft brewery in Australia to order and install the system.

The decision was a relatively easy one for us. We’ll get more extraction and therefore use less malt, we’ll use less water – close to 70,000 litres in the first year – we’ll use less energy, and we’ll spend less time making sugar and more time focusing on making our beer better down the production line. We’ll also be making the sugar component in about four hours, compared to the usual seven-nine hours. We can also run multiple batches, which means we can run multiple brews simultaneously.

We’re pretty chuffed to be the first craft brewery in Australia to purchase and install this type of equipment. It is good for us as a company, better for the environment and great for our customers – it means lots of fresh beer. All round it’s a great looking piece of equipment, and her name is Connie just in case I didn’t mention that before.

By Scotty Morgan.

Well it’s been a crazy, often scary year with a whole shebang load of things going on for Rocks Brewing.

Late in 2012, after a visit to the US, we started working on our brewery installation project. We were introduced to IDD by our mate Barry Broughton (Franke Blefa kegs fame) and started the process of looking at the revolutionary new HEBS system Jeff had designed. We were lucky enough to inspect the first prototype system built for Tin Man Brewing in Indiana, and it sealed the deal for us.

January rolled around, beer sales were on the up, we had to go to three different breweries to get our beer contract brewed – the new brewery was looking better and better all the time.

April came around, and enough was enough. With beer in four plants for the month, Mark (the MD) placed the order for the HEBS unit. The unit will make up to one and a half million litres of beer with the current number of tanks, pushing to three million with more tanks added.

July arrived and you guessed it, beer sales were on the up and we were at five plants and still waiting desperately for our brewery to ship.

September, I took off to the US to inspect our equipment prior to shipping and to brew a collaboration brew with Chris Anderson at Coachella Valley Brewing. Coachella have the same brew house, so it was part collaboration brew and part ‘lets see how this sucker works’ trip. And work the brew house did. We made a 10.0% Imperial IPA with fresh wet hops flown down direct from Washington State. The hops had their own plane seat. We got 95% efficiency from the brewery (that’s massively impressive, a normal system would push to give 75%) and the beer – from Chris’s reports – turned out killer. Some of the beer will be oak aged, waiting for our next visit.

October, well lots of men with work boots, cranes, and what not started the putting the building together for the brewery. The brewery, incidentally named Connie, also arrived.

Here we are in November, waiting for the brew house to be installed and knocked together. This part of the process begins on 9 December, with Frank from IDD coming out to supervise works. The brewery will be fired up by mid-late January, and I am very excited... Oh, and we still have beer in four breweries this month, so thanks to those brewers helping to make our beer!

Position Vacant – Production Brewer (NSW)

Rocks Brewing Co is looking to add to our growing team. With our new brewery opening early next year, we are looking for a qualified Production Brewer to join our Head Brewer Scotty Morgan in our state of the art facility in Alexandria, Sydney. This position is a hands-on production role across the brewhouse, packaging and QA/QC.

Key Responsibilities:

• Brew house operation and wort production
• Packaging machinery operation – keg and bottle
• QA/QC
• Mentoring and managing junior production staff

What we need someone with:

• Comprehensive experience across wort production, packaging and QA/QC
• A burning desire to work for one of Sydney’s largest brewers
• Good communication skills
• The ability to work flexible hours including weekends (attending beer festivals etc.)
• A certain level of physical fitness i.e. capable of picking up 65kg kegs

What you need to have:

• A completed brewing qualification from a recognized tertiary institution (Ballarat, Edith Cowan or similar)
• 3-5 years experience in a large commercial brewhouse
• A passion for craft beer
• To be organised and self-motivated
• Ability to work unsupervised and as part of a team
• An obsession with creating a clean, neat and safe work environment

The Fine Print:

We are a pretty picky bunch at Rocks Brewing Co, so only applicants with the correct tertiary education requirements will be short-listed. And please note that while interstate applicants are encouraged to send us their resume, there is no relocation allowance for this role. Salary will be discussed as per candidates’ experience. All applications will be treated as strictly confidential.

If you think you fit the bill, drop us your resume at jobs@rocksbrewing.com.