This week in Beer is a Conversation, we hear an interview Matt recorded with New Zealand Hops CEO Doug Donelan earlier in the year during the New Zealand hop harvest. James and Pete also share a conversation they had with founder of White Lakes Brewing Sean Symons last week at the Australian Brewers Conference.

Doug Donelan

Doug Donelan

Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, Doug was Head Brewer of Australia’s Malt Shovel Brewery and James Squire Brewhouses.  Doug has over 30 years’ experience in the brewing, beverage and hospitality industries and is an internationally recognised beer judge.

Doug joined New Zealand Hops, the grower-owned co-operative in 2006 and has played a pivotal role in the co-ordination and successful repositioning of the New Zealand hops brand internationally and the continuing development of their unique hop variety offering. He has published numerous papers and articles for brewing journals, technical papers and presentations on beer, brewing and hops and also continues to write and present on innovation, marketing, research and new product development.

Sean Symons

Sean Symons

Sean began brewing for the Hahn Brewing company in Sydney Australia in 1996 before transferring to the Tooheys brewery, part of the Lion Group. In 2002, Symons moved to Vietnam and built a microbrewery in Nha Trang before returning back to Australia in 2008 to take on critical roles within the XXXX Brewery in Brisbane and then the Swan Brewery in Perth, where he worked up until its closure in 2013.

Sean is one of the founders of White Lakes Brewing company in Perth where he currently holds the position of Head Brewer. Amongst his many qualifications, Sean’s Bachelor of Environmental Science proves to be an invaluable tool in the establishment of White Lakes Brewing as is situated in a protected wetlands area and required innovative environmental planning.

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