CSB - Michael Donaldson - Beer chat

Weekly beer chat. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Breakfast with Brian Kelly on gold Sport A long time ago,
way back in history. Well there was to drink, was
nothing but ups the team along, but the name of
Carliver wonderful he needed.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well, it is time to talk beer on the show,
as we always do on a Tuesday, and this time
we're heading down to white bait country the west coast
of the South Island. Michael Donaldson joins this morning. Michael,
how are you. Yeah, the white baiting season, my favorite
white bait Fritish you can't beat them? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Who doesn't? Who doesn't? Yes, I thought, because we were
in the basically in the middle of white baiting season. Roughly,
I talk about a brewery yet done in Westport and
it's called short jaw And I didn't know this, but
it's actually named for a species of white bait that's
New Zealand white bait and it's the short jaw copoo

(01:07):
co copoo found in rivers and streams around the West coast.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Wow, I mean I didn't know that either, the short
jaw white bait.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yeah, but apparently it's quite hard to get your I
was going to say, get your hands on, but get
your net around it because it likes shady spots and
quiet areas. Anyway, it's quite a good name for I mean,
that's a cool sounding name, short jaw and yeah. So
the story here is quite interesting because there's been a

(01:37):
brewery in Westport for yonks and it was once upon
a time called the Miners Brewery as a coal miners
and you know, it's I think it's had a series
of troubles, the particular brewery there, and the previous owner
went and had some trouble. And what happened is a

(01:58):
guy and he was living in Melbourne and I knew
him at the time. He was a beer writer and podcaster.
But he's called Luke Robertson and he's originally from Westport
and his family still lived there, and he was living
in Melbourne with his partner Emma, and saw that this
brewery was up for sale and thought, I'm going to

(02:19):
come home and buy a brewery.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
You do, yeah, as you do.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
And I think it's had it sort of two or
three years now, and I think it's been it's been
a big learning curve as a beer rid myself, I
don't think i'd like to go and just take ownership
of a brewery I think it's a whole different skill set.
But you know, they so they took the old brewery,
they did it up. It was probably a bit dilapidated,

(02:48):
rebranded it, and you know they're actually they're making really
good grounds and sort of getting the beer into other
local establishments, you know, restaurants and pubs, and mainly only
the South Island, like down the West Coast area and
maybe across from christ Church that you'd find it. They're
not a big supermarket presence, right, although they do have

(03:12):
their beer in cans, but I think they're just focusing
on that kind of their local market for now. So
I mean, if you're ever over in Westport, you should
go and check it out. There's not many other independent options,
shall we say, on the West Coast. It's not it's
not exactly a bustling craft beer metropolis.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
So what sort of beer are they making. I mean
you've obviously tried one or two there.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
I've tried a few of them. Actually they're keeping it
pretty not simple, that's not the right word. But their
best seller and their most popular beer is it's called
Kiwi Dark, and it's quite unusual for a dark beer
to sort of be a if you're like a flagship
beer or a best seller for a brewer. You know,

(04:01):
everyone tends to light their lagers and piltoners and pale ales.
But so the key we dark. It's one quite a
few metals at various competitions. It's for anyone who out
there is listening and maybe you know the lights of
spaces a what's it called the space's dark? I think

(04:21):
the dark. Yeah, it's slip, you know, or Monte's black
or black mac, you know that type of bear. It's
a dark lager around four four and a half percent,
and honestly there's is really really nice and you know
it sort of suits maybe without being too derogatory, might

(04:43):
suit the West coast climate. You know, you love a
sort of a darker thier when it's a bit cold
and rainy. Yeah, but they've you know, but they've also
got the you know, they've got a pilsner and a
pale ale. But they you know, there's thing to brout,
bra out into more unusual types of beer. They've got

(05:06):
very mixed berry sour, which is really nice, a hazy
pale ale unbelievably a beer, a hazy beer made with coffee.
So they're sort of they're starting to get into the
adventurous space as well. But the key we dark is
the one that you know to look out for. But

(05:27):
it's a good story, sort of local boy comes home,
buys the brewery, you know, find it, try to drive
some interest in that community and give them, you know,
a good independent brewery where for a long time, you know,
montets wool or probably still does the West Coast, but

(05:47):
not many of your listeners might not know, but you
know it's it's owned by dB, which is owned by Heineken.
So you know, we like our independent small breweries to thrive.
So you know that like that we white bait. We
like some of them get back up to see him thrive.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
Absolutely. So if you're down on the West coast, Westport,
Short Jaw, Short Jaw Brewery, there we go. Good listen
that one, Michael, great to chat. Let's do it again
next week, all right.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
So