The people one meets in Rotary: Jack Millbank - Bargara Brewery

Posted by Franz Huber on Mar 12, 2017
 
Many of you would not be aware of Innerwheel, a Rotary organization exclusively dedicated to women (yep! you read this correctly! Just click on the link).  Fellow member Adrian Crowe and I accompanied our better halves to a big Innerwheel do at Bundaberg.  The men of course are never allowed into the inner circle of "secret women's business", so normally a "Men's Tour" is organized for Saturday afternoon.  This weekend we visited the Bargara Brewing Company and Bunda Ginga.  Both outstanding stories of success. Space only permits me to elaborate on the one: Bargara Brewery. By profession an Agronomist, Jack Millbank (that's him on the left) and friends started this enterprise not even 2 years ago.  The mission:
 
"To brew the best craft beer sustainably, while contributing to conservation projects that really matter, and are doing something, not just talking about it."
 
So we went to check them out. Jack gave us a comprehensive tour of the craft brewery he built from scratch, whilst we nursed a pot of one of his many variations. He explained the technical details of why a Pale Ale (their name: 'Drunk Fish' comes to taste differently to a "Hefeweizen" (their name: 'Phat Heffa'). Fortunately for us there wasn't an exam at the end of the lecture, but to be sure, we went back to the counter to make doubly sure that our initial impression of "bloody marvellous" was not in error...
 
So what's special? Well, Bargara Brewery has landed numerous Export contracts to sell their craft beer into South Korea, Vietnam and China shortly to follow. They are totally swept off their proverbial feet! So much so that they now have to farm part of their production, under license, out to a Sydney brewery which can handle the volume. So, I am asking the question: why is the Australian media not jumping on superb success stories like this instead of the never ending bitching between the political parties?
 
Now, I'm assured that some of Bargara Brewery's products are available in local Dan Murphy and First Choice stores. I'll check that out shortly.