A publication dedicated to beer and cider has named the head brewer and co-founder of a Sunshine Coast business as its Brewer of the Year.
Matt Wilson, from Moffat Beach Brewing Co, won the prestigious gong for 2023 from Beer and Brewer magazine, which covers Australasia.
The magazine each year gathers industry professionals to vote on the leading craft brewer, best new brewery, craft beer venue and brewpub. Readers are also invited to nominate and vote for their standout performers of the year.
Beer & Brewer editor Gifford Lee said Mr Wilson had attracted votes from across the industry and readers alike, with many noting the success Moffat Beach Brewing Co has seen under his leadership.
“It almost wouldn’t be a beer award without Moffat Beach making an appearance. This honour is well deserved, and demonstrates the impact this brewery is having in the Australian craft beer scene,” Mr Lee said.
The accolade is the latest in a string of awards for the small Sunshine Coast brewery, which is currently the reigning Champion Medium Brewery at both the Royal Queensland Beer Awards and the Independent Brewers Association Awards, as well as the Champion Small Brewery at the Australian International Beer Awards, the largest competition of its type in the world.
Over the past four years, Moffat Beach Brewing Co has also won more than 30 champion trophies and more than 120 medals across the country’s largest peer-judged beer competitions.
Remarking on the latest award, Mr Wilson described it as a win for the team.
“We strive every day to brew the best possible beer that we can, and by no means is that a solo effort. Our team shares a commitment to quality in everything we do,” he said.
Far from starting in the brewing trade, Mr Wilson began his career as an infantryman in the Australian Army, serving in East Timor for two tours before moving on to work in finance in Sydney.
With his wife Sharynne and two young children, he decided to move his family to the Sunshine Coast, taking the lease of a small cafe in Moffat Beach in 2012.
With a love of the growing craft beer scene, the Wilsons were one of the first licensees on the Sunshine Coast to start serving independent Australian beer, with Mr Wilson teaching himself how to brew at home.
After releasing the first beers of its own in 2015, today Moffat Beach Brewing Co spans two venues in Caloundra and distributes beer across South-East Queensland, and into Victoria and New South Wales.
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