“I think right now the limiting factor is venues in Wellington. Whisky and Wood is amazing and it means we can run the festival at a manageable size and pay ourselves for the very first time for a beer festival, and pay our volunteer coordinator and our designers – they all get paid fairly.” Dave Wood on the challenges of running a boutique beer festival.
In this episode Michael and Martin talk to the passionate team behind Wellington’s beloved Winter Ales Festival. Sitting down with festival organizers Dave Wood and Denise Garland, the conversation begins with their journey from craft beer enthusiasts to industry mainstays. Denise shares her start as a journalism student whose beer blog “Girls Drink Beer Too” caught the eye of the Pursuit of Hoppiness magazine, eventually launching a second career in the beer world, while Dave reveals how an impulsive offer to work at Hashigo Zake sparked his long tenure as a craft beer bartender and festival organizer.
The episode then focuses on the history of the Winter Ales Festival, exploring how Dave and Denise stepped up to save it when original organisers SOBA (the Society of Beer Advocates) closed down. They open up about the financial and logistical hurdles of running an independent festival, especially post-COVID. They explain the precarious reality of relying on ticket sales to keep the event alive and discuss how their strategic move to a more affordable, atmospheric venue at Whisky & Wood allowed them to break even and continue supporting local Wellington brewers without relying heavily on corporate sponsors.
There’s also an insightful discussion of the current state of the hospitality industry in Wellington. Dave, who currently manages the Mean Doses taproom, shares his views on what is working well in the current difficult environment.
Finally, Denise & Dave reflect on their time in the UK and use that as an opportunity to comment on the downfall of Brewdog, whose sale had just been announced at the time of recording.
If you enjoy this episode please like, subscribe and comment on your favourite podcast platform. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future topics/guests feel free to drop us an email at michael@hoppiness.co.nz or martin.bridges@beerbigwig.com.
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