EP-247 Phil Sexton of Giant Steps Winery and Matilda Bay Brewing

Explicit content warning

12/07/19 • 71 min

This is Luke Robertson, and you’re listening to the Good Beer Hunting podcast.

When it was announced in October of this year that Phil Sexton would be opening a Matilda Bay Brewing Company brewpub, the entire Australian beer industry did a double-take. If we were in a cartoon, we would’ve removed a hip-flask from under our coats and sworn off drinking. To say it was a surprise is underselling it.

Sexton cofounded Matilda Bay in the early ’80s. He left in the early ’90s after the publicly listed company was taken over by Carlton United Breweries (CUB). From there he went to the States to become brewmaster at the now-shuttered BridgePort Brewing Company, where he created BridgePort IPA, one of the early West Coast IPAs.

Then, back in West Australia, he teamed up with the old Matilda Bay crew to open a new brewery called Little Creatures. Its flagship Pale Ale played a big part in the next wave of craft beer in Australia, and the Fremantle brewpub is still a pilgrimage for Australian beer lovers 20 years later.

Like Matilda Bay, Little Creatures was publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and was eventually taken over—this time by the Kirin-subsidiary, Lion. From there, Sexton focused on his other passion: wine. He launched two brands in the Yarra Valley, just outside of Melbourne, and for a while it looked like he was done with beer.

In his absence, Matilda Bay has been increasingly driven by marketers. The popular Fat Yak Pale Ale was spun off into its own brand, called Yak Brewing, and old favorites from the Matilda Bay range such as Redback Wheat Beer and Dogbolter Dark Lager were found in fewer and fewer places. Matilda Bay’s only recent launch is a beer called Frothy. Followers of Australian beer immediately pointed out its similarity to Lion Breweries’ Furphy, a Kölsch-influenced easy drinker. Frothy has the same-colored packaging, is a similar style, and even the names look and sound the same. While CUB says it was designed independently, the imitation is obvious and disappointing. For longterm Matilda Bay fans, it was a death knell for an old favorite ... or so we thought.

Much has changed since Sexton left the beer world, especially with his old brands. Only in the past year, it was announced that Matilda Bay owner CUB would be sold by AB InBev to Asahi. Lion is also buying New Belgium Brewing, while BridgePort was a casualty of the competitive market.

Now that Sexton in joining forces with his old brand again, however, I wanted to find out why—and hear his thoughts on the chaos that is beer in 2019.

This is Phil Sexton of Giant Steps Winery and Matilda Bay Brewing. Listen in.

This is Luke Robertson, and you’re listening to the Good Beer Hunting podcast.

Now that Sexton in joining forces with his old brand again, however, I wanted to find out why—and hear his thoughts on the chaos that is beer in 2019.

This is Phil Sexton of Giant Steps Winery and Matilda Bay Brewing. Listen in.

Previous Episode

SL-016 Rebel vs. Regulator Pt. 2

Welcome to the Sightlines podcast from Good Beer Hunting. I’m Jonny Garrett.

Yesterday we released a podcast interview with John Timothy, chief executive of the Portman Group, which is an independent regulator for advertising and marketing in the U.K. alcohol industry.

If you missed it, we recommend giving that a listen before today’s episode, where we’re going to see how the regulatory system the Portman Group has put in place works in the real world. According to my first guest, it doesn’t work at all.

Today you’ll hear from two breweries who have gone through the complaints process more than once. Tiny Rebel Brewing Company first went in front of the complaints panel in 2017 with its award-winning Red Ale, Cwtch. One complainant in a supermarket had written to the Portman Group saying the beer’s bright colors and bear logo appealed to under-18s. The brewery states its case in writing but the panel agreed with the complainant, and suggested several changes to the packaging to avoid the brand potentially being delisted by major stockists.

Tiny Rebel was forced to redesign its best-selling beer at the cost of well over £10,000. Despite this, just a few weeks ago, the owners found themselves writing to the panel again to defend themselves after a similar complaint from a customer in a supermarket.

It’s the first time in the Portman Group’s 30-year history that a product has been up against the panel twice. In theory it shouldn’t ever happen if the brewery takes the advice in the judgment. Tiny Rebel made major changes to its design, but was it enough? We spoke to Tiny Rebel cofounder Bradley Cummings about the context of the complaint, and how the ruling went.

For added perspective, I also chat to Nick Dwyer, the art director at Beavertown Brewery. Nick has also had several encounters with the Portman Group during his tenure, and shares thoughts about his experiences.

This is the Sightlines podcast—listen in.

Next Episode

OL-003 Jonny Garrett Reads, “A Homebrewing Festival in the Arctic Circle”

This is GBH Outloud, I’m Ashley Rodriguez. Today you’ll hear Jonny Garret reading the very first story he ever wrote for Good Beer Hunting. It’s called, “A Homebrewing Festival in the Arctic Circle,” published on goodbeerhunting.com on February 28, 2018.

This article is part of our GBH in Residence series, where we go beyond the brewery tour and the tasting room, and literally join the crew in their daily grind. For the Residence series, GBH spends a day or two working alongside brewers, cidermakers, cellarmen and delivery drivers. It's what the craft industry looks like on its own terms. And in this case, Jonny goes all the way to the Arctic Circle to follow a homebrewing festival and taste perhaps some of the wildest, weirdest, and most interesting beers you can imagine.

As you can imagine, getting to the Arctic circle isn’t easy. Before Jonny starts reading, you’ll hear him share his experiences about what it takes to actually get there—follow along as he reads and shares stories of this adventure by checking out his article at goodbeerhunting.com.

This is Jonny Garrett reading his article, “A Homebrewing Festival in the Arctic Circle.” Listen in.