Although there weren’t any brewing courses in Australia back then, John was far from discouraged. Instead, he contacted the University of Ballarat and convinced them to resurrect the 100-litre setup from a brewer’s course they stopped running in the 1980s. John later enrolled in the university for an Honours in Science and wrote his thesis on the development of a full-strength ale using the setup that he painstakingly fought for.

After 40 test batches and a completed thesis, John was ready to establish his first brewery. In March 2000, the first cold pint of the famous Nail Ale was poured at Bobby Dazzlers on an auspicious spring day.

As if that weren’t enough, John is still brewing and even expanding his brewery across Australia and into overseas markets despite having been in a coma before. In 2004, John was trying to break up a fight outside a pub in Fremantle but he got coward-punched and went into a coma.

The doctors managed to save John’s life but they had to implant a huge titanium plate in his skull to do so. During his time of recovery, John’s parents were forced to sell his beloved brewing equipment to save Nail Brewing from bankruptcy.

John never forgot the doctors who saved his life and the good samaritan who apprehended his attacker. As such, he created seasonal tribute beers in honour of them: the Gareth Skywalker Golden IPA for the samaritan Gareth, and the Flaming Lamington for Dr Jeffs and Dr Watson.

Nail Brewing is proud to be one of Australia’s most consistently awarded breweries despite the tough and fierce competition. The brewery has outlasted several big breweries, learnt from other beer experts, and won multiple awards for their delicious beers. Nail Brewing is as resilient as its founder; it will continue to produce amazing beers no matter the setback!