<rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><channel><title>rockyridgebrewing</title><description>rockyridgebrewing</description><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/news</link><item><title>Imperial Ace &amp; Heritage IPA</title><description><![CDATA[Introducing Imperial Ace Pale Ale - If you didn’t already know we have recently been graced with 8 brew puppies! Ace is now a dad and he has reached imperial status as well! This is a triple dry hop version of our Ace (American Pale Ale) that has a staggering 26 grams of hops per litre. As you can imagine this imparts absolutely massive aromatics. Passion fruit, pineapple, melon and guava assault your nostrils. The mouthfeel is soft while the hop resins coat your tongue with a dry, bitter<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_39d8c5e402ee460189894cf663d48f7f%7Emv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_626%2Ch_980/bceab7_39d8c5e402ee460189894cf663d48f7f%7Emv2.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/04/25/Imperial-Ace-Heritage-IPA</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/04/25/Imperial-Ace-Heritage-IPA</guid><pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2019 01:51:48 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>Introducing Imperial Ace Pale Ale - If you didn’t already know we have recently been graced with 8 brew puppies! Ace is now a dad and he has reached imperial status as well! This is a triple dry hop version of our Ace (American Pale Ale) that has a staggering 26 grams of hops per litre. As you can imagine this imparts absolutely massive aromatics. Passion fruit, pineapple, melon and guava assault your nostrils. The mouthfeel is soft while the hop resins coat your tongue with a dry, bitter finish. Landing in at a substantial 8% ABV this one will keep you on your toes! A very proud moment for us, TDH Imperial Ace is one for the ages. </div><div>We also welcome back Heritage IPA this week! We are stoked to be able to re release our 500ml IPA with our farm grown ingredients. A nostalgic trip down the hop yard for us has resulted in this big, ballsy IPA retaining all the characteristics of the previous release. Huge pine and grapefruit aromas are coupled by a robust mouthfeel and resoundingly bitter finish.</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_39d8c5e402ee460189894cf663d48f7f~mv2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_15fdc46cb05244a0a4b0cf6ceaf92c1f~mv2.jpg"/><div>Landing at 7.6% and 3 standard drinks per can, this big girl is one to sip and savour.</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Our 2nd BDAY!</title><description><![CDATA[We can't believe it. Our second birthday is here! We've released an absolutely ridiculous number of beers over the last 2 years and had an absolutely amazing time doing so. It's time to celebrate! We have already had our first party at Darleen's last Sunday over the Easter break which was absolutely massive. This Saturday (27th) our good friends at The Dutch Trading Co are letting us take over 10 taps from 5pm until late! The whole Rocky Ridge team will be on the floor so why not come party with<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_84730d2633cb45beb6505d5227c5cadc%7Emv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_626%2Ch_782/bceab7_84730d2633cb45beb6505d5227c5cadc%7Emv2.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/04/24/Our-2nd-BDAY</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/04/24/Our-2nd-BDAY</guid><pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2019 08:27:16 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>We can't believe it. Our second birthday is here! We've released an absolutely ridiculous number of beers over the last 2 years and had an absolutely amazing time doing so. It's time to celebrate! We have already had our first party at Darleen's last Sunday over the Easter break which was absolutely massive. </div><div>This Saturday (27th) our good friends at The Dutch Trading Co are letting us take over 10 taps from 5pm until late! The whole Rocky Ridge team will be on the floor so why not come party with us.</div><div>There will be heaps of giveaways throughout the night and one lucky person will win the chance to brew Captain Paddocks V2 with DTC and ourselves down at the farm in the very near future. See you all there! </div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_84730d2633cb45beb6505d5227c5cadc~mv2.jpg"/></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Eagle Rock</title><description><![CDATA[A local collaboration made in heaven? That's right, we teamed up with Eagle Bay Brewing Co and Dunsborough Cellars to make an absolutely wicked beer. Enter Eagle Rock - A Wet Hopped Sour Ale. We went ahead and picked fresh hops from our vines and combined them with West Australian Malts and Eagle Bay sea water to create something truely unique.More information will be available on our social spaces for this one over the coming week but for now, make sure you pencil in 3pm to 6pm Friday 12th<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_4cc3e81232be46be951b5bd117340759%7Emv2.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/04/03/Eagle-Rock</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/04/03/Eagle-Rock</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Apr 2019 07:39:59 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>A local collaboration made in heaven? That's right, we teamed up with Eagle Bay Brewing Co and Dunsborough Cellars to make an absolutely wicked beer. </div><div>Enter Eagle Rock - A Wet Hopped Sour Ale. We went ahead and picked fresh hops from our vines and combined them with West Australian Malts and Eagle Bay sea water to create something truely unique.</div><div>More information will be available on our social spaces for this one over the coming week but for now, make sure you pencil in 3pm to 6pm Friday 12th April for the launch party at Dunsborough Cellars.</div><div>This event will include beers and banter with the Eagle Bay Brewing Co and ourselves. Of course there will be a sausage sizzle and obviously beer giveaways and prizes! Afterparty will take place at The Dunsborough with karaoke!</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_4cc3e81232be46be951b5bd117340759~mv2.jpg"/></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Toast To The Coast</title><description><![CDATA[Join the Rocky Ridge team on Saturday, 30th March 2019 for the 13th annual Gourmet Food, Beer, Cider & Wine Festival, where we 'Toast to the Coast'. Expect FREE ENTRY, gourmet food stalls & food tastings, Western Australian wine, cider & craft beer tastings, live music at The Indi & The Boat and so much more! Click the link below for more information.]]></description><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/03/26/Toast-To-The-Coast</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/03/26/Toast-To-The-Coast</guid><pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2019 09:59:51 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>Join the Rocky Ridge team on Saturday, 30th March 2019 for the 13th annual Gourmet Food, Beer, Cider &amp; Wine Festival, where we 'Toast to the Coast'. Expect FREE ENTRY, gourmet food stalls &amp; food tastings, Western Australian wine, cider &amp; craft beer tastings, live music at The Indi &amp; The Boat and so much more! </div><div>Click the link below for more information.</div><iframe src="//static.usrfiles.com/html/9a35a3_eeff9306a2aa2aaebbb3e2ab1b055f06.html"/><div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_18f71be8fa2a4dd5b414775f64d839ca~mv2.png"/></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>BOB'S Last Train To Freo</title><description><![CDATA[We have teamed up with South Fremantle Brewing to brew something super fun! BOB, our Blood Orange Berliner is sure to be the feel good hit of Autumn. To launch this citrus driven sour beer we will be having a train line party, the likes of which has never been seen before! Starting at Petition at 12pm we will then depart on the Freo line at 2pm towards Refuge Small Bar. From there we will jump back on the carriages onto our next destination, Rodney's Bait n Tackle at 4pm. We will be partying<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_bc1eb5e2ea4547a0880303d7818837c2%7Emv2_d_1242_2208_s_2.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/03/26/BOBS-Last-Train-To-Freo</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/03/26/BOBS-Last-Train-To-Freo</guid><pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2019 09:53:53 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>We have teamed up with South Fremantle Brewing to brew something super fun! BOB, our Blood Orange Berliner is sure to be the feel good hit of Autumn. To launch this citrus driven sour beer we will be having a train line party, the likes of which has never been seen before! Starting at Petition at 12pm we will then depart on the Freo line at 2pm towards Refuge Small Bar. From there we will jump back on the carriages onto our next destination, Rodney's Bait n Tackle at 4pm. We will be partying there until the early evening with our last destination being Ronnie Nights where will kick on until the doors close. This train will be stopping all stations towards good times! Come and join us on BOB'S Last Train To Freo.</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_bc1eb5e2ea4547a0880303d7818837c2~mv2_d_1242_2208_s_2.jpg"/></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Scratch That Itch Release</title><description><![CDATA[We had a super successful release of our collaboration brew with The Dutch Trading Co. 'Scratch That Itch' over the weekend! The keg stayed alive until mid afternoon yesterday (16.3.19) and we're super stoked with how this one turned out and the feedback we've received thus far. We used traditional Norwegian Kveik yeast for quick fermentation and its unique fruity esters. Scratch That Itch isn't for the weak hearted coming in at 9% ABV. Be sure to watch our social spaces for updates regarding<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_aecd6b2852bd448594dee847c92efdc9%7Emv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_300%2Ch_264/bceab7_aecd6b2852bd448594dee847c92efdc9%7Emv2.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/03/17/Scratch-That-Itch-Release</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/03/17/Scratch-That-Itch-Release</guid><pubDate>Sun, 17 Mar 2019 03:18:40 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>We had a super successful release of our collaboration brew with The Dutch Trading Co. 'Scratch That Itch' over the weekend! The keg stayed alive until mid afternoon yesterday (16.3.19) and we're super stoked with how this one turned out and the feedback we've received thus far. We used traditional Norwegian Kveik yeast for quick fermentation and its unique fruity esters. Scratch That Itch isn't for the weak hearted coming in at 9% ABV. Be sure to watch our social spaces for updates regarding the release date of Scratch That Itch cans and stockists for this one.</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_aecd6b2852bd448594dee847c92efdc9~mv2.jpg"/></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Shake &amp; Bake Release</title><description><![CDATA[We had an absolutely killer time pouring Shake & Bake Pavlova Milkshake IPA for everyone down at Mane Liquor last Friday. (8-3-19) The team had washed cheeses from the Little Cheese Shop for everyone to try! Ricky & Ash also poured more new releases Melon Collies and Baby Peach and of course the taps were flowing with Rocky Ridge beer for all those growler and squealer fans too. We bought along with us the last keg of Sour Buffalo which was absolutely drained in no time at all. Be sure to watch<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_f5b0f8694cd94679bcd8b34dbd70888e%7Emv2_d_4032_3024_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_407%2Ch_306/bceab7_f5b0f8694cd94679bcd8b34dbd70888e%7Emv2_d_4032_3024_s_4_2.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/03/13/Shake-Bake-Release</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2019/03/13/Shake-Bake-Release</guid><pubDate>Wed, 13 Mar 2019 01:01:12 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>We had an absolutely killer time pouring Shake &amp; Bake Pavlova Milkshake IPA for everyone down at Mane Liquor last Friday. (8-3-19) The team had washed cheeses from the Little Cheese Shop for everyone to try! Ricky &amp; Ash also poured more new releases Melon Collies and Baby Peach and of course the taps were flowing with Rocky Ridge beer for all those growler and squealer fans too. We bought along with us the last keg of Sour Buffalo which was absolutely drained in no time at all. Be sure to watch all your favourite stockists for these three releases over the next few days!</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_f5b0f8694cd94679bcd8b34dbd70888e~mv2_d_4032_3024_s_4_2.jpg"/></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Problems with giving a fuck, and how to solve them</title><description><![CDATA[So, it goes without saying that this last 16 months (yep, we’re finally out of the crawling stage and walking around smashing our heads on things) has been crazy. Like stupid Crazy. Our family here at the brewery has doubled. And doubled again and now will grow to 7. I don’t think any of us have slept in the past 6 months, but that’s normal, right? There are a few things I want to touch base on here, a couple of issues I want to address and I also want to make sure the record is set straight and<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_c7d20c94ff2444e2b50ed86f4ca1cba2%7Emv2_d_3249_2615_s_4_2.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Hammer</dc:creator><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2018/08/24/The-Problems-with-giving-a-fuck-and-how-to-solve-them</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2018/08/24/The-Problems-with-giving-a-fuck-and-how-to-solve-them</guid><pubDate>Fri, 24 Aug 2018 10:07:03 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_c7d20c94ff2444e2b50ed86f4ca1cba2~mv2_d_3249_2615_s_4_2.jpg"/><div>So, it goes without saying that this last 16 months (yep, we’re finally out of the crawling stage and walking around smashing our heads on things) has been crazy. Like stupid Crazy. Our family here at the brewery has doubled. And doubled again and now will grow to 7. I don’t think any of us have slept in the past 6 months, but that’s normal, right? There are a few things I want to touch base on here, a couple of issues I want to address and I also want to make sure the record is set straight and ensure everyone knows exactly where we sit.</div><div>First off, the problem with giving a fuck is that when you aren’t sticking 100% to the road you have chosen it tears shreds from your soul and crushes your spirit. Now that might sound a little melodramatic- but bear with me.</div><div>We set out with a very firm set of goals and a strong ethos- 16 months of solid growth has made two things very evident; 1) Beer is about love, not money, 2) Without money, love won’t put beer in a can, 3) (ok, so three things) As much as I hate to admit it- this is a business first and foremost. Now don’t get me wrong here- each and every beer we brew has as much love, care and effort put into it’s creation as humanly possible- we couldn’t live with putting out sub-standard products.</div><div>The reason for this semi-rant is that (as some of you will have noticed) we have shifted slightly away from our original motto of “Everything we brew, We grow” to “Freshly Brewed, Freshly Grown”.</div><div>The problem is, as with every business growth story, something had to give. Our resource growth hasn’t kept up with our brewery growth- that’s it, plain and simple. We are still endeavouring to source as locally as possible (WA&gt;Australia) and are trying to lock in enough hops from WA to see us well into next year. The problem is though, it’s really going to be a middle term goal to bring everything back in house, because, let’s face it; the beer is the most import aspect of what we do. Now I know this may seem like a colossal shift, believe you me, I have been digesting this for some time and trying to find a way that we can miraculously make two tons of hops appear in our cool room. Unfortunately, the magic lamp never appeared and I’ve had to buy them in. We’ve also had to make some tough decisions with our malt and expand our current water filtration set-up to allow for a mix of ground and rain waters to be used.</div><div>Now again- this isn’t to say we aren’t working on increasing our raw ingredient production- we are! Our hop yard is looking better than ever and we are firmly focussed on a significant expansion in this area for the 2019 Hop season.</div><div>But don’t stress- we haven’t been sitting idle; Our orchard has increased in size significantly to assist with our sour and fruited beers, Our production capacity is increasing from our current 210HL to 450HL (giving us the capability to produce somewhere around 750,000 litres of beer/year). Our barrel store has grown from 4 barrels to 65. We’ve also been working hard to increase our efficiency in the brewhouse, reduce our energy use, reduce our water use and overall make a smaller footprint. Even though we are more than doubling production, we should be using less water and power than we were 3 months ago. This is bred out of necessity- being off grid means we have firm limits on the amount of power available to us; if we aren’t smart in our energy use, we could have a serious problem on our hands.</div><div>Another huge aspect of our growth is about to be made reality- our Cellar Door will be opening in time for summer (10 Marine Terrace, Busselton). We have eschewed a farm-based location for now, in favour of a small Cellar Door in town- there are many reasons for this, deserving of a blog post of their own- so I won’t add detail here. Safe to say we are super pumped to have this starting up and look forward to seeing everyone come on through.</div><div>Now that I’ve bored you- I’ll leave you on this note. It’s important to care about things, some more so than others. Sometimes, you have to make tough decisions about the things you care about. It’s not easy, but there’s no backing down. Hopefully this has given an insight into who we are, where we are at and why we are doing what we are doing.</div><div>Cheers and Beers</div><div>Hammer</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Brewing, it's a business?</title><description><![CDATA[It's been far too long since I last had the opportunity to collect my thoughts and write a decent blog post. There are a few ramblings saved to my desktop and a few half-finished ideas scribbled in my notebook, so I figured I’d sit down, read over them and spell out a plan over the coming months and years.We are proud to call ourselves INDEPENDENT. It’s a mainstay of who we are. It’s one thing that will never, ever change. It’s a firm commitment and one with roots on our farm; we are a family<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_0671ed2a09ff47ffa20a42a34fdc8dd2%7Emv2_d_4032_3024_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_626%2Ch_470/bceab7_0671ed2a09ff47ffa20a42a34fdc8dd2%7Emv2_d_4032_3024_s_4_2.jpg"/>]]></description><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2017/05/09/Brewing-its-a-business</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2017/05/09/Brewing-its-a-business</guid><pubDate>Tue, 09 May 2017 07:21:25 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>It's been far too long since I last had the opportunity to collect my thoughts and write a decent blog post. There are a few ramblings saved to my desktop and a few half-finished ideas scribbled in my notebook, so I figured I’d sit down, read over them and spell out a plan over the coming months and years.</div><div>We are proud to call ourselves INDEPENDENT. It’s a mainstay of who we are. It’s one thing that will never, ever change. It’s a firm commitment and one with roots on our farm; we are a family business and want to stay that way. I feel this is an important place to start this blog, as it helps to lay the groundwork for everything to come, so keep this in mind as you read on.</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_0671ed2a09ff47ffa20a42a34fdc8dd2~mv2_d_4032_3024_s_4_2.jpg"/><div>Firstly, a brief update;</div><div>After three months planning, twelve months of building and altogether too long assembling and testing, we finally have had a number of commercial releases of beer. In no particular order: Goibhniu(Limited), Succellus(Limited), Ironstone (Core), Granite (Core) and Gold Leader (Collaboration). We have Three separate strains of Sour beer under way as well as an incredibly exciting Collaboration with Cheeky Monkey Brewing and Wild Hop Brewing, both out of the Southwest. It’s an open ferment Barley wine utilising fresh Shiraz grapes…. Keep an eye out for some cheeky teaser samples. We also have our next limited release, an APA (Ace’s Pale Ale) utilising our new hop variety, FLINDERS. It’s going to be a hop bomb and I can guarantee it won’t last long.</div><div>-</div><div>We’re trying to grow our availability and tap list at the moment; if your local doesn’t have us, ask them to get our beers in! We are available direct from the brewery in the lower South West, or through Off the Vine wine distributors in the Perth Metro area.</div><div>Founders- don’t worry I haven’t forgotten you. I’ve kept aside a keg of each of these beers and will be filling your quotas once the canning line is installed!</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_8f5a5d1cb4c34ce8a66db3dfdebb5cf8~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg"/><div>Brewing, it’s a business?</div><div>The learning curves keep coming. The romanticism of Brewing is well and truly still there, however the late nights, cleaning and oh, cleaning, are starting to take a small toll. Did I mention paperwork? No…well there is a mountain of it. Which keeps growing. Compliance, invoices to send, invoices to pay, delivery dockets, delivery notes, purchase orders, sales orders, sales emails, emails, quotes, you name it, it’s in the pile on my desk. I’ve hardly even started selling beer and it seems a little overwhelming at times, the light is there though, as soon as I find time to clear the desk. Not that I’m complaining mind, just a little reminder to everyone who keeps saying how it must be ‘the life’ running a brewery. Well, it is, but there is some work in there too.</div><div>A core theme that I continue to touch on is SUSTAINABILITY. It’s something that I take very seriously and believe is integral to the future of both our own business and to the future of Australia. We are powered by the Sun and are currently investing in an expansion on our Solar/battery system to cater for the addition of our packaging line. As a part of this expansion we are also investigating the feasibility of the addition of a Biogas Digester and Combined heat and Power generator. This would be a massive addition and allow our entire farm to be run off-grid for electrical use, heating and very importantly provide a high value nutrient output for use on crops. Keep an eye on our progress here, it will be an exciting time for us if this goes ahead over the next twelve months. Sustainability isn’t just about electricity though, it’s about how we use and re-use resources on the farm. A massive drive at the moment is the expansion of our hop growing facility and yard- the only nutrient input for our hops comes from our dairy effluent. It’s a great source of the three key nutrients (for most plants); Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorous. This year we have taken the step of composting the remains of our hop plants in a bid to re-use as a ground cover/mulch, in an effort to reduce our water use.</div><div>Further to this, we are doing everything we can to streamline and reduce our water use in the brewery, from reclaiming grey water where possible, to streamlined cleaning procedures and reduced chemical use, through to more efficient insulation on glycol lines and steam lagging to prevent heat gain/loss respectively.</div><div>To be truly sustainable an all-encompassing approach is required, from raw energy and material input, through to reducing use and reusing waste where possible. It takes time, yes, but the benefits to the environment are worth it (IMHO).</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_72a6777172344e8b9b0ed4b2f0c1373c~mv2_d_2592_1944_s_2.jpg"/><div>Can it be Canned?</div><div>So, our Canning line is due to arrive at the end of this month, though I suspect that it will more likely be at some point in June. This is huge for us as packaging will allow us a much greater distribution and hopefully mean more product out the door, thus more experiments and more cool beers! We’ve started a small expansion to cater for the addition of the canning line, which should hopefully be finished in time for the install! As mentioned, a big part of this is an increase in our solar capacity, to make sure we can run 24/7.</div><div>To the Future!</div><div>Our step-by-step goals over the coming year(s)</div><div>Cans!-In motion! Rationale; Provide ability to package and distribute. Cans prevent O2 pickup= more stable on shelves. Also lower transport costs.</div><div>1.5 Cellar Door (Busselton)-Build Underway! Awaiting final licensing approvals Rationale; Provides a dedicated venue for our beers, allows us to showcase our limited release products and get face feedback on our products</div><div><div>Hop yard expansion (Cascade/Chinook/Flinders/Goldings), Lab and equipment-TBC over winter Rationale; Cater for increased volumes. An increase in production will see the need for onsite analysis and the ability to quickly harvest, requiring the addition of dedicated harvest, drying and preserving machinery. Without dedicated harvest equipment expansion would have limited use as preservation would be difficult.</div><div>Energy Matters; Biogas/Bio digester. Fully Off-Grid and self-sufficient. - Feasibility underway. Rationale; A part of our Green Future initiative; we will be bringing the farm off-grid in a fully sustainable manner. Use of Dairy Effluent, along with other waste (spent grain) and waste from surrounding farms will allow the generation of Methane (natural Gas). This gas will be used in the production of electricity and heat for both brewing and the farm. A by-product of the generation of Methane is nutrient rich nitrogen and potassium fertilisers, creating a low net input system/closed loop system where waste is reused as power and nutrients- for cropping, hops and barley.</div><div>Maltings- pilot plant for Munich/Crystal malts (50kg capacity). -Investigating Suppliers Rationale; Malting is a science unto itself, integral to the brewing process. Spec malts are unique in compostion and require additional kilning (as opposed to pilsner/pale base malts). Small batching of Spec malts will enable greater depth to our recipies along with finite control over raw ingredient inputs.</div></div><div>Stretch Goals;</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_5a4b7454e314492987c9f8cc15254245~mv2_d_3888_2592_s_4_2.jpg"/><div><div>Hop yard expansion II (Cascade/Chinook/Flinders/Perle/Super Alpha). Not on the radar yet Further expansion.</div><div>Perth Metro Cellar Door. Pending other items/directions. Further investigation and feasibility required to assess the potential/lack thereof.I'll leave you with this photo of sunset last week....Enjoy!</div></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>#III</title><description><![CDATA[It’s been a long time between posts for me; there are several reasons but essentially the two primary ones are; 1) Until, a fortnight ago I had very little (Sweet FA) to write about, 2) The last fortnight has been crazy, crazy busy. So, starting with the news; our brewery arrived. Finally. Only about three months late, but let’s not go there (Some idiot screwed up when he was ordering). It also happens to have been the first week of sunshine we have had in forever, so our Hops have decided it’s<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_e34d10e2b15d4f9c89a196517d4fc662%7Emv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_131%2Ch_131/bceab7_e34d10e2b15d4f9c89a196517d4fc662%7Emv2.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Hammer</dc:creator><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2016/11/18/III</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2016/11/18/III</guid><pubDate>Fri, 18 Nov 2016 00:35:00 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div>It’s been a long time between posts for me; there are several reasons but essentially the two primary ones are; 1) Until, a fortnight ago I had very little (Sweet FA) to write about, 2) The last fortnight has been crazy, crazy busy.</div><div>So, starting with the news; our brewery arrived. Finally. Only about three months late, but let’s not go there (Some idiot screwed up when he was ordering). It also happens to have been the first week of sunshine we have had in forever, so our Hops have decided it’s time to go crazy (leading to literally days of trimming, training and re-training shoots) at the same time as assembling the jigsaw that is our brewhouse and brewery as well as making a start building a cellar door in Busselton town centre (more on that later).</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_e34d10e2b15d4f9c89a196517d4fc662~mv2.jpg"/><div>For anyone that hasn’t followed the journey so far; we are attempting to be entirely self-sufficient brewers- growing everything on site (hops and barley), using rainwater and some awesome yeast from our (pristine) air in the southwest. Basically going back to ye-old ways of brewing, pre industrialisation and commercialisation (where everything was uber local and seasonal). In case you missed it; WE LOVE LOCAL PRODUCTS. To bring us right on back to the 21st century we have adopted some kick-ass technology to make brewing a breeze; from our awesome off-grid electrical/battery bank to help save the planet, through to semi-automated brewery controls and a wifi-enabled ferment monitoring system (so that there is a chance I’ll be able to sleep at night knowing that everything is A-OK in the Brewery) Check my note on sustainability <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/rocky-ridge-brewing-co/sustainability/1290918020942876">here</a></div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_b78dfa300ef845b2882b3fbb57c6d170.jpg"/><div>What’s in a name? Rocky Ridge is the name of our family farm, named by my great-great-great-great Grandfather in homage to the ridge of ironstone that runs the width of our main farming property. The full colour version of our logo utilises the texture and colour of a sample of the rock taken from the farm- but in a more contemporary frame. Matt- our designer and graphics guru really nailed it for us, we are super stoked to have had his input in this process!</div><div>Essentially the last two weeks have been crazy busy out here at the brewery, getting our tanks lined up, the pipework in place (minus a couple of small connections I’m yet to puzzle out) and essentially everything we can do done before the engineer arrives to complete the final hook-up and commissioning. Thank God I have some very useful friends who are a bit savvier (with a lot more common sense) than I am. You know who you are, Cheers!</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_42a40b397fcd417a99a5925b73ac98e1~mv2.jpg"/><div>As I mentioned earlier, Our Hops are just starting their skyward run. It’s been a hectic few weeks between farming weeds, pulling them out and finally starting the (highly laborious) process of training the bines around strings. Individually. 9 bines per plant x 650 odd plants, plus trimming back any excess….it’s a huge and hugely rewarding process to go through. I’ve learnt so many things about these plants in the last 12 months, it’s crazy. Having to approach them as both a grower and brewer is an incredible experience because it gives a real appreciation of the effort that goes into producing a quality product, from ensuring adequate vernalisation and stored nutrients, to devising site-specific nutrient plans including use of counter and cover cropping- not to mention monitoring the moisture levels in the ground. A massive shout out to Trey and Olivia at Karridale Hop Cottages; collaborating with you guys in setting this up has been fantastic, I think the shared knowledge is growing fantastically and should lead to some great results for the industry in WA. Anyone interested don’t hesitate to drop us a line; always more than happy to chat hops!</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_552b59fcb60c4fbfbc467d3b83f2fd68~mv2.jpg"/><div>Moving right along, we have started preliminary works on a cellar door/taphouse in the City of Busselton….I won’t reveal the location just yet (it’s pretty awesome), however we have Council approval for a restaurant on location- fingers crossed we can get a modification through for this and start pouring our own pints shortly after brewing our first beers! If we do, Our FOUNDERS will be the first to get an exclusive peak at the venue, with a couple of beers thrown in for good measure. If you haven’t signed up yet, get onto it now. I can assure you it’s a good decision and</div><div> you will regret it if you miss out!</div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_760a7568d800406a8c5d8c3cdf5e624c~mv2_d_5472_3648_s_4_2.jpg"/><div>Lastly, I’ve been working a lot on some of the recipes that I spoke about and hinted at earlier, along with a very firm plan of attack for our first brews. As a pre-note; I have a very clean approach to brewing- don’t overcomplicate things and allow the ingredients to shine. Our Pale Ale will be brewed using a specially devised Pale base malt ONLY (No crystal here guys), showcasing a combination of Dr Rudi (Supa Alpha), Cascade and Chinook hops. I’ll let you work out what order I’m using them in and how- ask me if you really want to know, but safe to say there is a generous dry hop and there will be a high utilisation from our awesome Hop back (check the pictures). It’s worth noting all our hops are grown on site and whole cone- no pellets here.</div><div>Our IPA (India Pale Ale) uses the same base malt as the pale ale, with a dash of our house crystal added at the start of sparge for a delicious dose of biscuity goodness. We will be utilising Dr Rudi, Cascade, Chinook and Flinders hops for this bad boy. Expect lashings of pine, resin and deep cleansing bitterness. I’ll save the midstrength for later- but just to tease you a little bit- the third beer in my brew queue is my first seasonal beer. It’s a Golden Ale base, utilising a solid lashing of Pilsner and Pale malts, coupled with a tiny bit of our house crystal. Saaz Hops feature, however don’t expect a huge hop bitterness as we will be barrelling this bad boy in Sem-Sauv barrels with a healthy dosing of Brett. A solid lashing of Blueberries will be added at harvest to finish this baby- so don’t think you’ll see her any time soon…but keep it in the back of your mind!</div><div>Guys…Shit is getting real now. Thanks again for everyone who has rendered assistance, supported and backed us over the last year. We’ve come a long way, but have a hell of a journey ahead of us!</div><div>Stay Chilled!</div><div>Your favourite Brew Wizard</div><div>Hammer</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Silent Blog</title><description><![CDATA[Blog V2.4It’s been a long time coming! Sorry for the radio silence guys- I hope everyone has kept up to date via my Facebook and Instagram posts. I’ve drafted this blog four times now and It’s probably worse than the original, so I’m just going to cut my losses and hope that this makes some kind of sense!Before I go on, my deepest condolences to Debby, Georgia, Will and Cooper Hallyburton. Brad will be sorely missed and you are all in our hearts. Words are not enough to describe the pain felt by<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_cc1e7c1a46ef47eab31a060a137b7452%7Emv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Hammer</dc:creator><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2016/09/15/The-Silent-Blog</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2016/09/15/The-Silent-Blog</guid><pubDate>Thu, 15 Sep 2016 01:34:56 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_cc1e7c1a46ef47eab31a060a137b7452~mv2_d_3024_4032_s_4_2.jpg"/><div>Blog V2.4</div><div>It’s been a long time coming! Sorry for the radio silence guys- I hope everyone has kept up to date via my Facebook and Instagram posts. I’ve drafted this blog four times now and It’s probably worse than the original, so I’m just going to cut my losses and hope that this makes some kind of sense!</div><div>Before I go on, my deepest condolences to Debby, Georgia, Will and Cooper Hallyburton. Brad will be sorely missed and you are all in our hearts. Words are not enough to describe the pain felt by us and the wider community with this loss.  Our strength and wishes are also with Rodney, Kelly, Fraser and Connor Oates- wishing Rod a speedy and full recovery!</div><div>So the past couple of months have seen a ton of progress here on site; with works in the hop yard, works on our harvest equipment and finalisation of our brewery building. Throw into the mix a trip to China for equipment inspection and a nasty bout of salmonella and it’s been a hell of a journey!</div><div>We’ve been pretty busy getting the hop yard and barley under control. All I can say is thank god it’s all done now(until harvest at least); 864 rhizomes in the ground from 12 varieties, upgraded fertigation, comprehensive nutrient management program as well as an ‘organic principles’ shot at ground covers/counter cropping along with two new age malt barley varietals in the ground. It’s been awesome fun reading and learning about these little babies, although the biggest lesson has been that seedlings and rabbits DON’T MIX WELL. I’ll leave that one there though. Rabbits aside, this gives us a great standing for the next season; our plan is to increase our hop yard from around 1.5 acres this year to nearly 5 next; this with the 12 varieties under plant, plus a few extras in the pipeline; things are looking good!</div><div>I’ve nearly finished construction of our hop dryer, utilising a 3kw industrial heater coupled with two standard bathroom vent fans and a series of drying racks, we are attempting to mimic a traditional oast on a much, much smaller scale. The idea is to dry the hops as quickly, but as gently as possible from a harvest content of 80-85% moisture, to a storage content of 8-12% moisture (varies by variety and proposed use). In order to do this, you need to be able to 1) control the temperature very accurately, 2) ensure that the hops in each drying rack will dry evenly and 3) very carefully monitor throughout the process. All things going well, my mini oast should allow a fair throughput and ensure even and gentle drying of the hops. Check out photos on Facebook, we should be finished this week and giving her a test run over the next few days! (For those of you wondering about how we measure the moisture- it’s actually pretty easy: using a control sample and set of scales you can measure the moisture content at harvest versus dry)</div><div>Our barley is growing strong under the expert ministration of T-Payne, with promising early signs. Work on our malting plant is coming along well, hopefully we can get a couple of test batches underway soon.</div><div>Earlier in the piece I mentioned a trip to China; well the exciting news is that after a couple of delays (mostly my fault; another learning curve) our brewery and cellar are ready to be shipped! As I type this 4 x 40 foot containers of brewery goodness are being loaded onto a container ship and should arrive in Fremantle early in October. Here is hoping that everything runs smoothly from then! Check out my Facebook page for some more photos! I’ll give a quick shout-out to Chalky from Wild Hop Brewing Co who accompanied me there to inspect the equipment- watch out for him, his beers promise to be second to none- well except maybe mine.</div><div>Again, a massive thanks to all of our supporters. You have made this process much smoother and infinitely more rewarding than it would have been as a lone journey. I can’t wait to share more of this with you over a few Frothies…..Stay posted!</div><div> Prost!</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Its not all about Beer</title><description><![CDATA[It’s not all about beer.To be honest I’m not a writers behind, however for the sake of my own sanity I think I should attempt to write about some of my experiences so far. As most of you following this will be aware, we are a fair way down the path to opening a production brewery on our family dairy farm. An idea was hatched late last year- we did some feasibilities and I’ve ploughed ahead with the implementation of it. To say it’s been easy wouldn’t be fair, however it’s probably (to this<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_3c62d02ce4f34183beb96201d51bbbc3%7Emv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Hamish Coates</dc:creator><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2016/06/21/Its-not-all-about-Beer</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2016/06/21/Its-not-all-about-Beer</guid><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jun 2016 06:24:00 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_3c62d02ce4f34183beb96201d51bbbc3~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_bb82e2e96c7c4f9fb5f5d583d4ace09d~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_32b7b54140ea4d32b1b8b52b6be58133~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_0804ab144fd54484921a8b5364332988~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_1f45550597de4c729945c4e7a4fd0c52~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_fa058dfd521e44f8a1634827d62e3411~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_6de006ffbc3d4b628dd1d0fb1f9f40a0~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_98f7df1428704059b70b1b421a11cb2f~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_7079ea9db7a0465ba466c00a7b6a14df~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_e2d2dfd0d28b4d9ca71adc782341493e~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_538bd6947e0747fa8d019a1a5590588b~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_d52d30978a934ecbaa93c4ed83faf778~mv2_d_5312_2988_s_4_2.jpg"/><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_d171430116414ef5a097cc9bbd187ea7~mv2_d_3264_1836_s_2.jpg"/></div><div>It’s not all about beer.</div><div>To be honest I’m not a writers behind, however for the sake of my own sanity I think I should attempt to write about some of my experiences so far.</div><div> As most of you following this will be aware, we are a fair way down the path to opening a production brewery on our family dairy farm. An idea was hatched late last year- we did some feasibilities and I’ve ploughed ahead with the implementation of it. To say it’s been easy wouldn’t be fair, however it’s probably (to this point) not been quite as difficult as one might expect. A whole lot of work, very little sleep and some arguments ensued, however for the most part everything has been relatively smooth. Our approvals went through with only minor changes necessary, probably the most difficult part and the area that has caused us by far the most trouble is the waste water system. Initially we wanted to re-use our waste water (all cleaning chemicals are neutralised by the end of cleaning cycles)…this is apparently something that is very difficult to fathom- who could possibly want to re-use perfectly good water? Long story short, we ended up capitulating and agreeing to a system which…well it’s a long story that may get me into some s*** (pardon the pun) so I best tell it in person. We have made every effort to be as environmentally friendly as possible; both during the build and moving into our production phase. This has included the install of an off-grid electrical system, supplying three phase power. It’s a beauty! We have no connection to the electrical grid whatsoever, just a massive battery bank and a small generator backup in case of failure. At every step we have tried to ensure maximum efficiency, including a few small changes to our brewery to ensure less power use (more on this in a later blog) Our liquor license has been conditionally approved- words can’t explain just how excited I was when I found this out. All we now require is final sign off on our build. We are so very close to that stage; just some finishing touches on the bathroom/toilet and lab and we are a go!</div><div>Our equipment has been very carefully sourced direct from a manufacturer in China: yes I would have loved to use local gear or even equipment from the US or Canada, however it is just too far outside our current budget. We have had a small delay on the manufacturing side- my fault as I made some late changes to the system design. The build should be complete mid-July and arrive in Australia late July or early August. Here’s hoping the process continues relatively smoothly.</div><div>Anyone following our Instagram/ Facebook feeds will see our latest Hop propagation efforts: subsequent to the latest post I have now nearly 600 rhizome cuttings from 12 varities. We are aiming for around 80% strike rate in the greenhouse which should give us a fairly good kick-start to this season. If anyone is interested in Hops and growing them in this region, please drop me a line. There is a plethora of information available however very little on our specific climate and I’m more than happy to share the little I’ve learned. All of our Hops are fertilised with compost from the dairy, with a carefully selected cover crop planted this season to add nitrogen and biomass back to the soil. We are making every effort to ensure that our hop production is sustainable, both for the environment and to our predicted brewing needs.</div><div>Our first barley crop is in the ground! LaTrobe and Bass varieties, planted in a couple of locations around the southwest. We will note the growth characteristics this season and use them to better our crops for next year. Our malt in the meantime is being produced in Dumbleyung by Organic and Biodynamic growers (and boutique maltsters) Keene Hills. The guys are legends and learning just as much as us while going through this journey. As I hope you can all appreciate; we are making every effort to grow everything ourselves- in the short term though we need a bit of help as there is a LOT to do. Our own malting plant is just being set up- we are repurposing an old milk vat by building in a false floor and forced heating element. This will enable us to make some very specific malts and beer profiles….watch this space! While all of this might sound fantastic, it’s amazing how easy it is to become caught up in what other people are doing, how other breweries are achieving things. While I firmly believe in keeping an eye on what’s happening around us, I’m trying to concentrate on what we are doing. This is because I firmly believe in what we are achieving here; a sustainable future for our brewing industry. This isn’t just an experiment, I’m confident that it’s possible to have a sustainable industry, where self-sufficiency in production is attainable on a craft scale. While I know many out there don’t believe me, or think there is too much work involved, I look to the end result: we have the ultimate control over all of our inputs. While this can be a little overwhelming, it is also the most exciting thing imaginable when you’re designing a recipe. While it’s true that I may currently be limited by some of my ingredients (but hell- 12 hop varieties isn’t something to turn your nose up at, right?), imagine the possibilities that exist as our rhizomes adapt to our climate. It’s well documented that even cloned hops (hops propagated via rhizomes are clones of the original) will take on the different characteristics depending on the region, climate, soil type, aspect, day length….the list of variables goes on! That’s not even considering the possibility of a hop breeding program somewhere along the way…</div><div>For me, the journey is just now starting to begin. I can’t thank those of you who have supported me through Founding memberships enough. It is this kind of support that keeps me going, when there doesn’t seem an end in sight, you provide me with that direction I need. To everyone who has been involved or donated their time during the build, from the bottom of my heart- thankyou. You have all contributed to something that I hope becomes an icon for quality, for sustainability and most importantly- it’s something we can all sit back and appreciate over a few brews. For now- Onwards and upwards peeps. It’s time to go put down some pilot brews! Watch this space. Hammer</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Website Launch/ Blog 1.0</title><description><![CDATA[Welcome to our new website! We've been working long and hard on this baby, but it's finally time to set her free and go live! Massive thanks to Matt Nankivell of MN Creative for his fantastic work on this project. We couldn't have achieved anything of this calibre without his help and guidance. My apologies to everyone who has been following our progress and missed the updates; I've been flat out transitioning from my current role at Cheeky Monkey Brewery into my new position at home....It's<img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_7818802c4c714cc6a532109cf89b6265.jpg"/>]]></description><dc:creator>Hamish Coates</dc:creator><link>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2016/02/07/This-is-your-first-post</link><guid>https://www.rockyridgebrewing.com.au/single-post/2016/02/07/This-is-your-first-post</guid><pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2016 05:09:28 +0000</pubDate><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/bceab7_7818802c4c714cc6a532109cf89b6265.jpg"/><div>Welcome to our new website!</div><div>We've been working long and hard on this baby, but it's finally time to set her free and go live! Massive thanks to Matt Nankivell of MN Creative for his fantastic work on this project. We couldn't have achieved anything of this calibre without his help and guidance.</div><div>My apologies to everyone who has been following our progress and missed the updates; I've been flat out transitioning from my current role at Cheeky Monkey Brewery into my new position at home....It's been a hell of a ride! So, to bring you up to speed:</div><div>-Our Brew house is currently nearing the end of manufacture, we had a couple of small hiccups early on with the engineering, but finally sorted it out. We expect all of the equipment to land here by mid-June, with an &quot;unknown&quot; amount of time in customs, before making it's way down to the farm.</div><div>-Currently we (optimistically) hope that we have our initial releases ready for September. Remember that install and commissioning the system will take some time...not to mention making sure we don't rush the first batches of delicious golden nectar through.</div><div>-Our Hop yard had fantastic success this year. I have nearly 100kgs of beautifully preserved whole hop cones dried, sealed and frozen for preservation (not including the hops that we used in some very special pilot brews) We're currently increasing the size of our yard and anticipate close to 1 ton wet weight harvest for this season.  -Our solar array has been installed along with a metric S*** ton of batteries to cope with our brewery energy requirements. Hats of to Mick and the team at Miller Electrics...fantastic job guys!</div><div>-We're on our way out to collect a couple of additional varieties of barley to do our trial maltings with; Bass and LaTrobe- both high yield, modern varities. We will keep you posted as to the success (or lack thereof) -Our next couple of months will be spent putting the finishing touches on the brewery build (We've started from scratch here!), expansion, landscaping and of course the all important recipie development! -In keeping with our ethos, we are going to be spending a lot of time investigating ways to save power, cut water usage and keep everything nice and tight in the brewing process. Of course the Product comes first....but everywhere we can, we will save that little extra bit of water, chemical, power and time (so I can spend more drinking with everyone!)</div><div>-Our contract brewing information will come out shortly....The minimum batch size will be around 1000 litres on our baby, most comfortable at around 1500l. If you want more info or just to have a chat about any of this, drop me a line!</div><div>Finally, most excitingly, Our brewery Memberships have launched with our website. Get your membership now! They won't last long. Obviously the beers won't come until they are ready, but rest assured; if you join our membership you will be pampered and treated like royalty. This is a one-off opportunity guys. One not to be missed!</div><div>Cheers to the beers!</div></div>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>