From Little Things, Big Creatures Grow – Little Creatures at 25

“Little Creatures is iconic, and I think we'll always have that iconic status.”

Ask people who’ve been working in, or merely enjoying the delights of, the Aussie beer world for a decade or more which beers turned them onto craft beer in the first place, and if any beer is referenced more than Little Creatures Pale Ale we’d be surprised, if not amazed.

Little wonder then that Russell Gosling, head brewer at the brewery he joined two decades ago, uses the word “iconic” in this episode – timed to coincide with the Freo-based operation’s 25th anniversary. The impact of that beer, and indeed the the Little Creatures approach to hospitality, has been game-changing – arguably only Stone & Wood’s Pacific Ale has come close since.

Russell joined us from Freo amid the “chaos” as a major overhaul of the brewery’s original site nears completion – at the same time as a Little Creatures brewpub opens in Perth’s Elizabeth Quay.

As well as discussing the challenges of stewarding Little Creatures Pale Ale through the years, we look back to the brewery’s earlier days, its evolution – half of which has been as part of Lion, his favourite beers – including some that never took off, recent projects involving the regen agriculture space, and the excitement that came with working amid a group of pioneers aiming to change beer culture in Australia.

We also head back in time pre-Creatures to Russell’s earlier days as a brewer in the UK, where he notched up spells at marquee breweries such as Harvey’s, Fuller’s, and his hometown heroes Everards.

With Will on holiday, James was joined by Guy Southern, one of our WA contributors and a man with his fingers in pretty much every beer-flavoured pie in the state. He provides some local context on the way Little Creatures has influenced so much and so many, as well as chatting about this week's other stories on the main Crafty site: a look at the growing importance of events to beer venues; the opening of 27 South's taproom in Brisbane; and soon-to-open Melbourne bar Donny's.

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• 15:25 – Russell Gosling Part 1
• 35:51 – Russell Gosling Part 2

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