Pioneer First Nations owned and led non-alcoholic craft beer company Sobah is celebrating the graduation of their team member Luke Cooper in Cert III in Food Services specialising in Brewing at TAFE Queensland and into his new role as Head Brewer.

Wailwan man Luke joins founder and director Gamilaraay man Dr Clinton Schultz on Sobah’s brewing team and as one of Australia’s very few First Nations brewers.

Not only is Luke now working on quality control, new product development and overseeing Sobah’s original core range, as Sobah’s new Head Brewer he’s assisting Clinton in the installation of new brewery equipment at Sobah’s new state of the art non-alcoholic brewery and native foods brew cafe due to open on Kombumerri Country (aka Queensland’s Gold Coast) later in 2022.

A long-time craft beer fan, independent beer industry advocate and craft beer awards judge, Luke joined the Sobah team in November 2021 on the back of a 20-year career in the Australian liquor industry.

Crowned the ‘bushtucker brewer’ by his mates in the industry and the Sobah team Luke feels a sense of responsibility and excitement at his new role:

Luke Cooper at his TAFE graduation

“As a proud Wailwan man Sobah’s impact as a First Nations owned and led business had me truly hooked from day one. The fact that I get to work with native foods and to help develop new products for a real pioneer in this fast-growing industry that matches award winning products with a mission everyone can get behind is a real privilege.’

‘I’m really excited to see what we can achieve at Sobah with our new brewery and with our great track record, story of impact and plans to build on five years of success.’

Dr Clinton Schultz welcomed Luke to his new role: ‘When we say we champion First Nations culture that’s also a rock-solid commitment to training and employing First Nations Peoples and putting them into key roles in our business.’

‘Luke is already an experienced business development, marketing and sales professional with heaps of industry experience but now – with his graduation and training – he’s all set to take on the important role of our lead brewer,’ he added.

‘As Sobah grows we look forward to First Nations Peoples taking on leading roles in our business and underpinning our commitment to being a First Nations owned and led business,’ he concluded.

Dr Clinton Schultz also sat his exam for his General Certificate in Brewing through International Brewing & Distilling to add to his many qualifications in brewing so the team at Sobah is looking strong!

Hear more from Clinton Schultz and Lozen McDiarmid-Schultz about their Sobah journey on the Beer is a Conversation podcast.