Moving from Germany to Australia in 2017, Max Hämmerle has quickly become a key figure in the Australian craft brewing scene, and currently works as Head Brewer for Sydney-based brewery, Philter.
Hämmerle’s brewing career began in 2007, when he started a brewing apprenticeship at Allgaeuer Brauhaus Marktoberdorf in Bavaria, Germany.
“Thinking back, I wanted to do some sort of trade that not everyone does and since I loved beers from the early days – beer is allowed from the age of 16 back home – I thought that’d be exactly what I’d like to do,” he said.
Continuing his career in Germany, Hämmerle also worked at Riedenburger Brauhaus, and studied a Bachelor of Engineering, Brewing and Beverage Technology at University Weihenstephan in Munich.
Studying at University Weihenstephan has been a great benefit to Hämmerle’s career.
“If I didn’t choose to study, I wouldn’t have ended up brewing and living in Australia, so this is my biggest benefit from it. The course was also packed with a lot of other alcohol production, including wine making, distilling, and microbiology, which made it very interesting. It allows me to work in a variety of industries, if I wanted to. Though, I’d rather stick to brewing beer.”
Life Down Under
In 2017, Hämmerle made the move to Australia, starting work at The Australian Brewery and subsequently joining the Philter team in 2021.
“Moving to Australia to continue my journey as a brewer was definitely one of the highlights in my career. Since then, I’d say every week is some sort of highlight because you can always see, smell, taste and enjoy your own product,” he said.
Hämmerle particularly appreciates the camaraderie among craft brewers in Australia.
“The big ‘small’ brewing community here in Australia is amazing. We work together, we help each other out and we inspire each other, even if not always directly, but through beer styles we or others do,” he said.
Additionally, Hämmerle finds that he can be more creative as a brewer in Australia than he could when he was working in Germany.
“Compared to Germany, you can be a lot more creative with beer styles and are not very limited regarding ingredients to use. Since there is the so-called Reinheitsgebot in Germany, which is also a nice trademark, you are a lot more restricted in your opportunities. In saying that, the Purity Law has been revised a little these days so there are plenty of breweries back home now that create sensationally great tasting craft beer-style styles,” he said.
“Furthermore, I’d say the Australian brewing scene is a little more relaxed and, of course, by far not as traditional, which makes it more fun.”
Strengths and skills
Evidently, creativity is something that Hämmerle holds in high esteem when it comes to brewing.
“I’d say I have a creative mind when it comes to brewing. I’ve also always been a team player. I care for the whole team and make sure we keep enjoying our brewing journey and learn new things every day.”
Happy in his role at Philter, Hämmerle hopes to continue to build his skillset while working at the brewery.
“I hope I can stay with Philter as long as possible, as it is a great company to work with. I’d like to develop myself in some additional areas within the business, so I get a very good understanding of how the whole business operates and works,” he said.
With 18 years’ experience in the industry, Hämmerle is a strong advocate for the viability of brewing as a career choice.
“I encourage people if they are not sure what to do with their career to have a look into brewing and see if this is something for them, especially the craft brewing scene. It is little compared to industrial breweries, but you can learn so much, be involved in creativity and make a lot of connections with industry people.”