Articles by Daniel Ridd
I'm a passionate indie supporter with a keen interest in where the industry is going, the positives and the pitfalls. I’ve often said craft beer is a microcosm of our culture. Politics, economics, marketing, diversity, globalisation, and gentrification, there are examples everywhere in beer.
The beers that turned you onto good beer:
I’ve often cited a night at Bendigo’s Rocks on Rosalind with Bridge Road Bling as my epiphany moment. But, on closer scrutiny, it may have been earlier, when I was experimenting with the various brands available at the local BWS and stumbled across Mountain Goat Steam Ale.
Hawkers IPA was further into my journey, but it was the beginning of the solidification of my desert island brewery.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
Three beers I’d employ to "convert' someone. These are somewhat interchangeable for others, but here goes…
Sours are my go-to for introducing non-beer drinkers who favour fruity drinks. For the longest time, Green Beacon 7 Bells Passionfruit Gose was my go-to here.
For the wine drinker, particularly those fond of a bold Shiraz, I’d love to serve them up a Holgate Wild Red.
The most challenging is the domestic lager drinker. I have no surefire method here, the previous two can work to shatter preconceptions, but there's also a risk someone with a concrete idea of what beer "should be" they’ll turn up their nose instantly. The safer route might be an exquisite helles or pilsner. Rattenhund springs to mind.
A the end of the day, maybe the beer doesn't matter. If you can dial down the beer-nerd arrogance and not overload them with too much info, simply holding their hand and responding to the queries is reliable.
The last beer you enjoyed at time of writing:
A Shedshaker Bock from the source.
Three things that represent you:
I’m a massive tech nerd who loves finding ways to use tech in the beer world, be it my GABS stats project, producing stats on ABAC, automating social media or playing with ways to use AI and Machine Learning.
Who Brews As The Brewers Collective?
Bendigo has garnered a fine reputation for beer over the years, with festivals, bars and even its own beer-pushing association. Yet it didn't have a brewpub. Until now. Meet the homebrewers gone pro behind the Brewers Collective.
