Stuart Taylor is our Head Brewer at Homestead Brewery. Stuart began his career in hospitality, working front-of-house in Perth bars before transitioning into craft brewing. He developed his skills under Perth brewers at Indian Ocean Brewing and Blasta, also completing a Cicerone qualification under Steve Blaine.

Here’s a little chat with Stuart on his most recent awards.

Can you tell us about the most recent award(s) you’ve won?

Most recently in June we claimed two trophies at the Perth Royal Beer Awards, both in the European Ale category. Over the last 3 awards shows we have entered (The Indies and last year's Perth Royal) that makes it four trophies total in the same category which shows remarkable consistency for our beers. Our award-winners are split into draught and package depending on how the beer is presented which were awarded to Le Donk- Hybrid Saison (draught) and our Flanders Style Red Ale (package). Le Donk was a fun idea I had to take some wort from another previous champion Saison (St. Isidore) brew and blend with fresh vermentino juice from the estate. That was then dry-hopped to add a layer of citrus and floral tones to a complex, crisp and peppery French/Belgo Style ale. Our Flanders Red Ale has consistently gold or silvered across the last 2 years since packaging it in 2023, this time finally getting the win. It's a great winter sour beer, aged in ex-Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from Mandoon that give rich deep notes of cherry and vanilla. It's also apparently getting better as it ages!

Anything unique about the recent award results or beer?

The scoring system at our awards means they take the top 4 awarded beers from your brewery, plus trophies count for extra. We won 4 golds and 2 trophies which is pretty much as well as you can do but unfortunately for us so did King Road. They also managed an extra gold medal across their entries which means they took home the Champion Small Brewery, with us missing out by a hair. This shows our beers are quality, being made to a consistently high standard and mixing with the best WA has to offer.

How do awards influence your brewing process, if at all?

My process doesn't change for awards shows, but the timing and releases of seasonal beers for awards shows does play a factor. We're getting a reputation for making high quality European-style beers, which has been my mission since working with the Kaspar Schulz brew-kit, and that affects how I stage seasonal releases. You won't see us entering too many hop-forward beers into competition as our kit and tanks aren't designed for that style, and the litany of entries for IPAs makes it tough to stand out. The last bit from awards is the feedback you get from judges; which I can use to fine-tune recipes to fit the style guidelines.

What’s the next award you’re chasing?

I'd love a trophy at AIBA which is our big national awards based in Melbourne. We've picked up a few gold medals in that competition for sours and Euro ales so the next step is to bridge that gap to a trophy. Apart from that I'd enjoy seeing a win for our lager which seems to be getting closer every year.

Any new products on the horizon?

I'm working on a few new projects, which goes along with coming up with new beer releases every couple of months. We just bottled our Champion Hybrid Saison which is now available from the take-away fridge (only 180 750ml bottles), plus two variations of a Belgian Quad that we made in collaboration with Artisan. I think everyone is keen to have some more takeaway options for our core range too, and I've been spending the last few months planning how to make that available without forsaking quality. We should see some exciting things in the fridge by spring...

Which beer are you most proud of?

Definitely our Hefeweizen- Kaiser's Choice. It's such a tricky beer to get right in terms of aromatic qualities, mouthfeel, body, flavour and appearance but it's one of our most consistent beers and has raked in a few golds plus a trophy in the last two years. It's also the beer that historically Homestead has been known for since opening and I'm proud to keep that legacy going.

Homestead Brewery is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week from 11am. Feel free to come on down and try one of Stuart’s award-winning brews.