BEER + VEGEMITE

Australian colonial history begins with beer: the Endeavour left England with 250 barrels on board. The drink reflects the changing fortunes of women, from Australia’s first female licensee to the 1960s feminist fight to allow women into public bars. Beer has always bubbled over into politics, with Reschs’ owner, Edmund Resch, thrown into a local internment camp when WWI broke — punished for his German roots, despite living here since age 16. Politicians love to be associated with beer: Prime Minister Bob Hawke set an ale-drinking world record in 1954 and has a craft beer named after him. Beer has given us a national icon – Vegemite. Now, brewers like Wildflower in Sydney are doing fascinating experiments with beer using native grains, wild yeasts and local flowers — showing how far the drink has evolved since its initial arrival into Sydney. 

This episode features Professor Clare Wright OAM, historian, author, broadcaster and public commentator; Alice Resch Le Cras, great-granddaughter of Edmund Resch and host of the Edmund Resch Series podcast; Karli Small, Head Brewer at The Grifter Brewing Co.; Topher Boehm, brewer and co-founder at Wildflower Beer; Claudia Moodoonuthi, Kaiadilt woman and artist; and Paul van Reyk, author of True to the Land: A History of Food in Australia. 

Image by Alana Dimou.