THE team at Blackman\u2019s Brewery are toasting their success and say local craft beers have a few rounds left in them yet.<\/p>\n
Jess Giudice and Renn Blackman hosted members and guests of Torquay Commerce and Tourism for lunch and drinks at their Bell Street brewery, and talked about their five years in the beer industry.<\/p>\n
Mr Blackman said the Torquay operation had grown from two beers on tap and a couple of guest beers to at least 12 beers on tap.<\/p>\n
Blackman\u2019s has also been running a satellite outlet in Geelong, Blackman\u2019s Beer Bar, since 2016.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just struggled in Geelong to actually sell beer to venues \u2013 they were all just like \u2018we just sell Carlton Draught; we do what we\u2019ve always done\u2019 so we thought maybe we should get a space where we can sell our own beer,\u201d Mr Blackman said.<\/p>\n
Ms Giudice said Blackman\u2019s had a five-year plan to add takeaway beers but installed a canning line earlier than expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was because everyone in Torquay wanted to take away the beer \u2013 that\u2019s how it started.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Blackman said they decided on cans over stubbies as the beer stayed fresher, got colder quicker, and tasted better out of a can when poured into a glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the perception of beer drinking and flavour has changed so much over the past few years, too. Most people are drinking a pale ale now.<\/p>\n
\u201cCraft beer\u2019s still in a really big growth phase \u2013 I think it\u2019s still got five to 10 years, hopefully, then it\u2019ll get really saturated.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut with all the food, and things like that, it\u2019s getting back to the thing where locals support locals.<\/p>\n
If you look to Germany, the Czech Republic, and America as well, people drink beer from their town or their area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackman\u2019s Brewery recently won Champion Small Australian Brewery at the 2019 Australian International Beer Awards, and TCT president Jeff Crow (who runs Bells Beach Brewing) congratulated the pair on their success.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very, very proud of them in our business community and our community, they\u2019re beautiful people who have done a lot for our community.<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, they\u2019ve been a great help to myself and Adam \u2013 if it wasn\u2019t for them, we couldn\u2019t have done what we\u2019ve done; it\u2019s an exciting time for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE team at Blackman\u2019s Brewery are toasting their success and say local craft beers have a few rounds left in them yet. Jess Giudice and Renn Blackman hosted members and guests of Torquay Commerce and Tourism for lunch and drinks at their Bell Street brewery, and talked about their five years in the beer industry. […]<\/p>\n