With more than 20 years of experience in the brewing industry Neal Cameron has done more than brew beer, he has worked as an educator, consultant, beer judge, technical director and a credited beer writer.
Cameron has returned to his brewing roots taking on the role Head Brewer at the recently reopened Goulburn Brewery.
Reflecting on his long and colourful career Cameron said being back on the brewery floor feels full circle.
“As I look towards retiring in a few years, I think about how the brewing industry has been phenomenally enjoyable and kind to me. The opportunities have been amazing and to be here now is satisfying. I’m loving brewing and the physicality of it,” Cameron told Beer & Brewer.
Goulburn Brewery recently underwent a large-scale restoration and renovation, opening its doors last month. Although Cameron has been a part of the project since its new owners came on board four years ago.
“I did some work for the owners in Sydney. Then they asked me to try and resurrect the old tower brewing system which turned out to be impossible. We decided to redo one of the halls, we modernised it with floors and drainage.
“Over the last couple of years, I’ve been much closer, commissioning the new brewery, developing the recipes and working with the team to get that historical feel. The owners had a clear vision, and we got it done. Now it’s back to brewing and I’m loving it,” he said.
Back to the beginning
Cameron first developed a connection with the brewery during a visit with his wife in the early 2000s – around the start of his brewing career.
“We went in and the guys were really hospitable. The beer was frankly awful. But that wasn’t important. We still drank an awful lot of it, and the owner took us for a tour. I thought it was magical.
“It was this amazing 200-year-old junk shop. But we went around the whole place. He showed us the view from the tower. I was just entranced because that architectural history in Australia is rare.”
To this day, Cameron celebrates the building’s charm and unique heritage with a special morning ritual.
“Every morning, I have a coffee before I start in the old building, and I just absorb it. The building feels like it’s happy we’re doing what we’re doing. I know that’s a bit metaphysical, but I feel it. I couldn’t think of a better way to have a last brewing job. I assume it’s my last, but you never know,” he said.
Looking back on his early career, when the UK national came to Australia he worked in logistics and operational management for Johnson and Johnson, but said he was always curious about beer.
“That work was all about manufacturing, but I wrote a few articles here and there about beer. Pardon my French but I was an absolute beer wanker. I loved talking about it,” said Cameron.
Unhappy in his career Cameron, decided to complete a post graduate degree in brewing science at the then Ballarat University.
“I had no plans after that. I was living in Griffith and working for McGuigan Wines on the side, and I got sacked. I started a public campaign to stop Lion Nathan from taking over Coopers in 2004. It was all in the press. At the same time McGuigan was trying to do a deal with Lion and it got squashed because of me.”
Cameron said he was unemployed with a degree on a Monday morning when he got a serendipitous and career changing call from Darren De Bortoli, Managing director of De Bortoli Wines.
“At the time they wanted to open a brewery as the craft scene was staring to pick up. So, I went and ran their production lines for six months while we got the brewery (William Bull Brewery) open, and that was it. It was kind of poetic because it was the only just the beginning.”
Passing on the knowledge
A key part of Cameron’s career has been his ability to give back, educating and supporting the Australian craft brewing industry from all angles – something that has become his passion.
“In any industry you work in, you have your own passion that comes out of it. I began working in education because I started judging a lot of beer competitions in the 2010s and in all honesty, I was horrified by how much faulty beer was out there. Only around 30-40 per cent of the beers would get a medal,” said Cameron.
As a result, he became instrumental in the development of the TAFE NSW Certificate III in Microbrewing course.
“Richard Adamson (Young Henrys) and I were chatting and agreed that we wanted to do something to help. He had a conversation with then NSW Premier Mike Baird. A couple of days later, Richard got a phone call offering the opportunity fix the lack of brewing education. We sat down and created the course. We were complaining about something, and someone came along, and gave us the opportunity to educate the next generation of brewers.”
Through the course and in his role as Technical Director at consultancy company Brewtique, Cameron said it has been incredibly rewarding to connect with the industry.
“I keep in touch with so many students because it great to see where they are. We built 80 odd breweries around Australia over the past 10 years. Half of those breweries have got my students, so it’s great to have left a mark left all over.”
Heading towards the end of his career, Cameron said the final part of his legacy he hopes to leave behind is helping businesses with sustainability.
“I would love to be a part of changing our mentality towards sustainability. The brewing process is not a particularly sustainable one. We’re focusing on developing more efficient heating and refrigeration systems so I’m excited to see where that takes us.”
