Recently I had the good fortune of attending a beer tasting event in Hobart, to take some photographs for the host. Sam Smith’s baby, Hoposphere is the fruition of many months of planning and years of learning the intricacies of the brewing process. For a number of years now, the craft beer industry has been growing steadily to become a multimillion dollar industry. Wine has traditionally been the subject of great discourse, while beer has traditionally been seen as a product that we drink without giving too much thought to what it is we are drinking. The explosion of interest in craft brewing has changed all that and I doubt there’s anyone reading this who hasn’t heard of it or doesn’t know someone who’s dabbled in home brewing.
Sam’s Hoposphere project is more than just beer tasting, he has a website in the works which is set to become THE go-to resource for those interested in hops and the brewing process. The beer tasting events are a chance for Sam to share his in-depth knowledge of all things hops and malts and his passion for the subject is certainly there for all to see. I was busy shooting away during the event but you really got a sense that beer has come a long way in recent years and that there is a new-found appreciation for the brewing process. For this event, it was a chance to explore the beers produced by Mikkeller and Amager Bryghus. Mikkeller began ten years ago, when Mikkel Borg Bjergsøhe, a math and physics teacher started experimenting with hops, malt and yeast back home in his kitchen in Copenhagen. Today Mikkel exports his micro brewed beer to over 40 different countries and is internationally acclaimed as one of the most innovative and cutting edge brewers in the world.
Guests at the event came away with new knowledge, which they could apply to their own home-brewing efforts as well as making a trip to the local bottle shop a more hands on experience. If you’re in the Hobart area and interested in attending the next event, Mt. Macedon Mayhem: A Holgate Brewhouse Master Class will be taking place on the 29th of March at Destination Cellars, 24a Barrack St. This first event was attended by members of the local hospitality and bar industries as well as beer aficionados so there’s a good crowd of like-minded people to have discussions with during and after the event.
Check out the Hoposphere Facebook page for more information and stay tuned for the website to go live.
Czeching Out Tasmania 
That looks like a good bit of fun.
It also reminds me that I have to revisit my entry on Czech beers and get it up to date with all the craft beer and microbrew action going on here of the past few years.
It’s certainly a vast topic to tackle, and that’s just on an individual country by country basis. The global scene would take years to work through.
You’re not kidding!
The Czech scene alone is a daunting prospect to consider. It’s always changing.
I’m enviously reading this from the UK. Having just started my own journey into brewing I’d love something this factual and hands on in the UK.
There must be something like this in the UK given the craft scene there. If not then there’s a niche for ya 🙂