In October last year, Felons Brewing Co. expanded its hospitality footprint with the opening of its first interstate venue at the Manly Wharf waterfront precinct. Following the successful opening of Felons’ new Sydney home, Beer & Brewer spoke to Head Brewer Tom Champion about building new venues, the social side of brewing, and his career successes.
Reflecting on the early days of his brewing career, Champion says he had initially studied to be a chemical engineer, before deciding he wanted to move into a different industry.
“Prior to brewing, I was working as a graduate chemical engineer within a mining group. A very corporate, very sterile, very ‘pizza party’ office. One day while I was pondering the meaning of it all, an email came through from Little Creatures with an advertisement for a Junior Brewer role. Even when just applying for the role, I felt a thrill and a spark I hadn’t felt in any other hobbies or pursuits to date. The thought of using science to create something as fun and enjoyable as beer had me hooked,” he recalls.
Starting on the packaging line of Little Creatures in 2009, Champion was able to participate in the craft beer boom in the early years of his brewing career. Since then, he has worked with a broad range of breweries; small, medium, and large; commercial and independent; both in Australia and overseas. Now working as the Head Brewer at Felons Brewing Co., Champion has been able to put his extensive experience to the task of this brewery.
“The design, installation and now operation of Felons Brewing Co. at Howard Smith Wharves in Brisbane has certainly been a highlight. On behalf of our hardworking and world class team, it was my pleasure to receive the trophy for Best Queensland Brewery last year at the Independent Beer Awards run by the Independent Brewers Association,” he stated.
“I’ve seen many other friends and talented brewers take the stage to receive awards in the past, and that feeling of success and recognition that your brewery is making world class beer was an incredibly memorable moment for me.”
In the business of people
Though he initially studied engineering, Champion finds that his skills lie more in the social side of brewing rather than in the technical side.
“I’ll be the first to tell you that I wouldn’t consider technical brewing to be my strength, but fortunately I have no shortage of educated and intelligent technical brewers on my team. Managers I’ve reported to over the years have always told me that my strength is with people.
“I thrive in harmonious workplaces, where people are smiling, happy and most importantly content – and I believe this drives me to always invest time and energy in creating that culture wherever I’m working. I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in multiple brewery builds, which have been great projects to dust off the engineer in me,” he continued.
Throughout his career, Champion highlights a shift in his priorities towards people, which he believes has given him a strong appreciation of the hospitality side of the Felons business.
“While a younger me would be prattling on about the science of beer, the different styles, the traditions and the technologies, quite simply now I love the people who make up our industry. While I used to be so focused on the beer itself, I now find joy in the sociability and memories of enjoying a beer with others in great environments. Our focus at Felons on not only our beer, but our food and our service, has been a catalyst in that change.
“The whole team that makes our complex and innovative business come to life continue to impress me daily. Our culinary and front of house teams are second to none, and combining that with what I consider to be the most talented brewing team in the country has given us a business model which disrupts the norm. Our focus on fresh, draught product that is paired with locally sourced, thoughtful food is proving to be a very successful model to follow in the current brewing climate,” he said.
However, the beer still plays a prominent part in Champion’s enjoyment of his role.
“Every brewer has their favourite beer-child. The success of our Felons Crisp Lager, being awarded five gold medals since I made our first batch on our 50L pilot system in 2018 and our number one top seller, does give me a sense of pride,” he explained.
Confident in his skills and in the strength of the Felons brand, Champion looks forward to continuing the brewery’s growth this year, and in particular building on the momentum of the Manly outpost.
“I still love building breweries, and with the tremendous success of Felons Brisbane, and our decision to set up a new site at Manly Wharf, it seems I’ve got some more to build. We intend to grow Felons Brewing Co. to be a brewery of not just national, but international acclaim.
“My time working abroad and travelling the world showed me that the world perceives Australians as beer lovers, and consequently that we are fantastic brewers. I would love to continue contributing to our fraternity wherever I can to show them just how right they are.”
