smorgasboarder into the aether And here’s another few blokes we think little of. Laughing away. They’re smug with the fact they are living the life. Two friends who dared to dream and set about realising that dream. Dave Johnson and Jimmy Young are a couple of mates who worked together in oil and gas. They lived on the Gold Coast and one day, while knocking back a few beers at Jimmy’s place, Jimmy said those seven words that so many have said before him: “I’ve always wanted to own a bar!” To which Dave replied, “I’ve always wanted to own a brewery!” Eyes lit up. Excitement grew. They pulled out the butcher’s paper and started scribbling down all their ideas to open a craft beer brewpub in Brisbane. Whenever they hit a dead end, they said, “Chuck that out into the aether for now, and we’ll deal with it later.” Any other story would have ended there. Any other two guys would’ve woken up the next morning, perhaps slightly the worse for wear, and shrugged it off as a pipe dream that they could never pull off. Not this story however and not these guys. Dave, the creative, the ideas man, would never let his dream die. Jimmy, the perfectionist, the action man, would never stop before the job was done. Over months and years, the plans kept forming, the brew recipes kept evolving, the pieces kept falling into place, and the boys kept working. Obstacles fell in their path, but they pressed on in their labours with Herculean determination. And then, one fateful day at the start of 2016, they signed a lease for a venue on Railway Terrace in Milton. Halfway through the year, their custom designed brewing system arrived on their doorstep. The following months had Jimmy and Dave working around the clock—fine-tuning equipment, ripping out all evidence of the previous tenants, building a brewpub from scratch… and of course, brewing enough ‘test batches’ of delicious craft beer to keep them hydrated during their marathon effort. Finally, at the end of 2016, the day arrived. Six years of vision culminated in the doors swinging open, as the delights of Aether Brewing were made available to the people. It truly is a remarkable story of two mates simply having a crack and working their clackers off to realise a dream. And their dream is now expanding into an entirely new realm, their brewpub in Milton can’t keep up with the demand and hence they are looking to establish a production facility in Northgate. It would see them in a position to distribute on a sustainable level. The only downside of all this expansion is the limited surf time. Jimmy had this to say, “We started this business so we had more time to do the things we love, like surfing. Having a fresh beer after a surf is the best. I mean, surfing is the ultimate escape, removes all stress and worries. A beer afterwards is just the icing on the cake. “One of the big things for us when we developed the business plan revolved around surfing before work every day and then heading into the brewery. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened” Jimmy says laughing. “We’re way too busy, so buy more of our beer so we can.” In all seriousness, these guys have a sweet setup if you are in Brissy or are passing through. There is a super cool, friendly vibe to the place, the food is awesome and the beers are rippers. The vote for mine is the Hop, Skip and Jump IPA. And believe me, after a few of these you could probably add a stumble to that title. These boys are pursuing perfection and doing a pretty darn good job of it. 48
smorgasboarder . . . surfing is the ultimate escape, removes all stress and worries. A beer afterwards is just the icing on the cake. 49