Powder Monkey Business – Dave Padden

About this episode

Dave Padden discusses his journey in the beer industry and the recent developments at Powder Monkey Group.

"The brewpub model has proven itself to be the right model over the last few years." Few people have been through as eventful a few years as Dave Padden. The founder of Akasha Brewing spearheaded a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2022 which enabled the acquisition of two new venues, only for one of them to later close overnight, followed by a period in voluntary administration, and a subsequent merger with fellow Sydney operation Wayward. Soon afterwards, both businesses were acquired by the Powder Monkey Group [https://craftypint.com/news/3829/powder-monkey-lock-in-akasha-acquisition-wayward-taproom-to-shut], a UK-based operation whose Australian wing, headed by Southern Highlands Brewing founder Ben Twomey, now owns all of the above plus Willie the Boatman. Confused? You've every reason to be, but help is at hand. Dave is now the GM for Powder Monkey Australia, so we joined him at the soon-to-open Powder Monkey brewpub in Camden to find out how the brands are working together within the group, as well as what its founders' goals are – both here and overseas. We also trace his time in the beer industry, from the pioneering 77 and 777 IPAs he created at his first brewery…

People in this episode

Hosts: Will, James

Guest: Dave Padden

Topics covered

• brewpub model
• crowdfunding
• mergers
• beer industry
• brewing techniques
• business challenges

Keywords

• brewpub
• Akasha Brewing
• Powder Monkey
• Wayward
• crowdfunding
• beer industry
• brewing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Akasha Brewing, Powder Monkey Group, Wayward, Southern Highlands Brewing, HPA

Products: Luna

Places: Camden, Sydney

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