Head brewer and co-founder of Bracket Brewing Mike Meletopoulo unapologetically shares his passion for the brewing industry and how both consistency and creativity inspire him to make great beer.
Meletopoulo’s journey to brewing was somewhat typical as it began at home. He studied a bachelor of molecular biology and genetics but made it to his final year feeling uninspired and unmotivated by his degree.
Then, by chance, Meletopoulo and a friend chose a food science elective. Inspired by an early class on fermentation and a growing sum of money spent on drinking; they started brewing.
“We went past the shops on the way back from uni that day and picked up one of those classic Coopers home brew kits and from there it was a slippery slope.”
With one degree under his belt and a newfound passion, Meletopoulo and his partner Roberta moved to Edinburgh in 2014, where he said things really started to click.
Meletopoulo studied for but never completed his Masters in Brewing and Distilling from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland while also working behind the bar in a few venues.
“Life got busy so I never finished. But I was constantly surrounded in both my work and study by other people doing the course. I would hear where these people were going and their plans for after they were qualified and I remember thinking that it’d help me later.”
But it was landing his job at Edinburgh Beer Factory that he said changed things.
“It wasn’t the sexiest place in the world to work but it was amazing because I was employed fairly early on. The tanks hadn’t even been delivered yet which meant I got to watch everything come together from scratch.
“For a while it was just myself and my head brewer in production. It meant we were allowed to test batch stuff which was heaps of fun, but we also focused a lot on our core beer.”
Meletopoulo said he learnt invaluable lessons about business, consistency, technique and the best way to make minor changes when brewing any beer.
“Making beer is that really nice blend of creativity and science. I love that you can play around with the level of creativity or how precise it is, and that sweet spot is where you produce great beer.”
Mike Meletopoulo
Back to Australia
Returning to Sydney in 2016, Meletopoulo worked at Batch Brewing and later moved into distilling for Archie Rose. But over time realised that he was missing the immediacy of beer production. He decided it was time to start his own business.
Meletopoulo, Roberta and his father Mark officially opened the doors to their Alexandria brewery – the first home of Bracket Brewing – in August 2020.
The initial vision for the brewery was inspired by small taprooms in the United States that were focused on the service of draught beer rather than canned takeaway options.
However, shifting to meet the needs of the market, Bracket now releases four new canned beers a month with an additional one or two exclusives to draught.
Meletopoulo aimed to adapt his skills in consistency but shift away from a core range of beer and instead focus on a rotation of new but always-great products.
“I often got called ‘just a lager brewer’ because of the way I was used to brewing from the UK and I think it was meant as an insult. But I take it as a compliment. The way I see it is, it’s much harder to cover up mistakes with a lager, you can’t hide the way you can with other beers.”
Inspired by a love for the industry
Meletopoulo told Beer & Brewer there is a lot that inspires him, but a trip to New Zealand was influential in shaping his mindset.
“We went for a hop harvest. I had never been to one before, despite already establishing ourselves as a hop-forward brewery. I also went to an amazing technical conference that followed. The trip also lined up with an awesome street festival in Wellington,” he said.
“It was incredible to meet some of the best brewers in the world and listen to them speak about everything and anything. I came home after that trip just thinking ‘wow!’
“Sometimes you can get trapped in a rhythm and repetition, but that trip inspired us. When things get tough in this industry, it’s a bit hard to see the light. But when you talk to people that have had similar experiences or talking about beer it makes you remember why you’re here.”
Meletopoulo was reminded of how much he loves what he does, and love is something that has been at the core of some of his proudest and toughest moments.
“We released a beer called Paperbark which was a barrel aged wild ale. It spent just two years in barrel and conditioned for another six months. The label art was painted by my mum who passed away not long after its release. But we used the release to raise money for the Mark Hughes Foundation, which was directly linked to my mum’s care.”
The future of Bracket Brewing
Just over a year after being forced out of their Alexandria brewery as a result of rent hikes, Bracket Brewing has settled into its new home in Marrickville.
Meletopoulo said he is excited about the opportunities that the new site has to offer.
“We moved out of our old site three-and-a-half years after opening and there were some things that were never finished the whole time we were there. This time I hope we can tick off a lot of our list and establish a solid finished product with our space.”
He is also excited to explore new and exciting brewing techniques.
“We’re hoping to grow our barrel aging program for stouts and sours because it is something I am very interested in, and we have a lot more space here to do it.”
Meletopoulo also hinted at an exciting new project that’s brewing behind the scenes.
“We have access to a whole lot of stuff that as a home brewer I never had. So, I want to start a homebrewers club. It’s an extremely hard industry to get your foot in the door and we’re in a position to give people a chance.”