Page 24 - foodservice Magazine August 2018

24
UNCORKED
A STOUT FELLOW
DANIEL FARDON, HEAD BREWER OF MARRICKVILLE'S NEW CRAFT BREWERY AND BAR,
STOCKADE BREW CO, SHARES HIS LOVE OF HOPS, MALT AND DARK BEER.
What was your first taste of beer?
Wow, that’s going back a long way. My dad always drank beer, so it was simply, “Dad, can I have a taste of your beer?” I was probably 10 years old, I also hated it.
Why did you choose a career in craft beer?
Beer as a job has everything going for it. It’s creative like the culinary arts, it’s technical and scientific,
a bit of biology, chemistry and physics. It is also a hands-on mechanical job. When you’re done, you have made beer which you can then enjoy.
How would you describe your approach to crafting beer?
I’m a homebrewer, so most of the time I treat homebrew as the pilot batch. Which then must be translated to a large scale system. There are many challenges to overcome when scaling a recipe. From availability
of ingredients to efficiency differences and process differences.
What advice would you give to an up-and-coming brewer?
If you start by homebrewing (as I did) I suggest trying to introduce a new process each time you brew. Whether that be creating a yeast starter, or moving into kegging.
How did Stockade Brew Co develop its five signature beers?
Before my time, the recipes and styles were developed by Sunny Browning from Tribe Breweries, in conjunction with the company owners, the Szpitalak brothers.
What is your favourite, Stockade Brew Co brew?
Our barrel-aged dark ale (Rockafella) is my current favourite.
What's your favourite food and beer pairings?
Dark chocolate and Rockafella.
In your opinion, how has the Australian beer industry changed or evolved over your career?
I’m a relative new comer to the industry. But the sheer number of breweries that opened in Australia last year (49) is clearly saying something about the recent rapid growth and the demand for craft beer.
How have consumers tastes changed or evolved in that time?
It seems to me as though most people are looking for something different and interesting in their beer experience. Gone are the days of a lager, a pale ale, an amber and a porter as your only beer offerings.