An industry and parliamentary task force visited the Goulburn Valley recently with just one thing on the members’ minds: beer.
The members of parliament and brewing industry representatives were here at the invitation of Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell, who wanted to demonstrate the region’s input into a $16 billion industry.
In the Goulburn Valley we grow the barley crops and in the north-east, we grow the hops that go into both large commercial breweries and the small, boutique operations.
So the visiting group, hosted by Mr Birrell, visited a Dookie barley farm, inspected the engineering works of J Furphy and Sons, which fabricates fermentation tanks, and enjoyed a dinner at the Shepparton Brewery in Edward St.
Mr Birrell said there has been a huge lift in the craft brewing industry, which created a lot of jobs and economic activity.
“As a federal member I wanted to highlight that and to members of the brewing industry and talk about what a magnificent manufacturing facility in an iconic business, and the growing of barley and hops.”
Brewers Association chief executive officer John Preston said brewing in Australia contributes about $16 billion a year to the Australian economy. The industry buys about $500 million of hops and barley from farmers.
Furphys has been making tanks for more than 160 years, but most of the early versions were for water and were designed to be hauled on a cart towed by horses.
John Furphy famously cast his water tank ends with his personal, temperance philosophy, cleverly disguised in Pitman’s shorthand, and in one version, describes beer and whisky as “concoctions of the devil”.
The irony of the Furphys having moved into the manufacture of fermentation tanks for brewers, and eventually having a beer named after them, is not lost on managing director Adam Furphy, but who has to steer the company through a transformational future.
The company has been making the tanks since the 1970s, but Mr Furphy said the scale was ramped up early this century and further developed with a major investment in 2015-16.
The basic principles of forming and joining are age-old, but the technology and the materials have seen radical change since the first water tank ends were cast.
The brewer representatives, who inspected the New Dookie Rd facility, remarked on the Furphy’s manufacturing reputation for quality.
The biggest tank manufactured was about 300,000 litres and for brewers, about 200,000 litres.