May 18 2024 40 mins 1
The very first location to visit on our Northern NSW Roadtrip and it’s to visit Smokey at Currumbin Valley Brewing! To say we were excited was an understatement. Joel might have been less excited to quickly realise just how much Smokey talks, and paired with Adsy, was going to be recording a lot of information.
Unique to a lot of the places we’ve visited is that Currumbin Valley’s brewhouse is located on Smokey’s private farmland, nestled in the beautiful rainforest of… You guessed it, Currumbin Valley. But, it’s location is not the only unique thing this brewery has going for it. The kettle is an old dairy vat that had to be rolled into the venue like a massive wheel and suffered only minor dents in the side. However though, while unique itself as a kettle, it’s actually heated by pumping refined oil through the jackets, not steam.
Meet Thomas the Tank Engine, probably the most unique piece of heating equipment in Australia (not confirmed). Thomas is basically a thermal fluid heater, and there’s even a tasty beer named after said oil, Waste Oil Stout. This heater was sourced by Luke, the other half of Currumbin Valley Brewing. Massively need to thank Smokey for allowing us to visit his private residence tucked away in the hills just to chat beer, at 7:30am… And then, to drive to the taproom for a second part interview in the morning. Much appreciated mate!
We love our amazing sponsors Bintani, Konvoy Kegs, Craft Punks Canning, Rallings Labels and CRAFTD. Glass once again, our thanks. As industry people supporting the little guys like us, it’s invaluable what they do for the industry, but also in support of us.
A special thanks also to both Amber Hour App for giving us use of their app, and Beers Illustrated for providing us with our awesome logos and continual support when we accidently delete them!
And it goes without saying, thanks to Hiker Brewing Concern for giving us excellent beer many times a week, and letting run amuck in their brewery more times per week than anywhere else.
And special thanks to you, our fans who may have watched or listened to this episode. Essentially, you’re the reason we’re doing this and it makes a world of difference. We could do it without you, but it wouldn’t be as fun and probably not as worthwhile.
