This week we return to Sydney’s Inner West and again catch up with Willie the Boatman’s Pat McInerney. We last spoke to Pat back in May 2020 just as the impacts of the Covid epidemic were starting to make themselves felt across the economy. You may wish to go back and listen to that episode before embarking on this one, because it’s a very different Pat that we meet this week.

We have been hearing a lot about the changes that have taken place in the industry since COVID and the increased challenges brewers are now facing, and Pat goes into some detail in discussing his experiences over the last 3 years. This latest conversation came about after Pat announced Willie the Boatman was launching a rebrand and we discuss that it also led to a very frank discussion about market conditions, and the crowded marketplace that small Brewers are facing at the moment.

Despite Pat’s ever-present upbeat nature, it’s a sobering conversation, especially when contrasted with that which took place just three years ago.

This episode of Beer is a Conversation is presented by HPA. Australia’s leading hop grower offers a huge range of Aussie, international and innovative hop products that can help breweries of all sizes become more efficient, more sustainable, and more profitable.

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