Former high school chemistry teacher turned beer brewer sounds a lot like a character profile from popular TV series Breaking Bad, but in fact it’s an accurate description of Cairns-based brewer Rob Callin whose microbrewery Macalister Brewing Company overlooks a cane field in the foothills of the Macalister Range.

There is an algorithm to the craft of beer making and former high school chemistry teacher Rob Callin’s chemistry expertise has been indispensable in his more recent career as a commercial brewer. “There’s an absolutely huge amount of chemistry knowledge required in brewing, it’s very technical,” says Rob, who founded Macalister Brewing Company in 2017.

For Rob, his interest in brewing beer started out as a hobby, which grew into a passion. Eight years later, after entering and winning various state and national competitions, Rob’s humble hobby has graduated with distinction.

When transitioning from high school teacher to full-time commercial brewer, Rob was very pragmatic and wanted to be fully trained. “When it’s your living there is a bit more to it than just producing a nice beer for your mates, you need to know what you’re doing.”

Converting from small scale to big batch is where the science comes in. “It’s not a matter of times everything by 50,” points out Rob, “as you scale up, bitterness levels and sugar extraction change.”

“Our beer is ultra fresh, how it should be; balanced, very sessionable, unpasteurised, no additives or preservatives, you can have a few and they still taste so great.”

So, Rob became a beer polymath, the teacher became the student, he completed a qualification in brewing science in the evening while teaching during the day. “The course covered all the technical know-how,” explains Rob, “it didn’t teach me how to make a nice beer but taught me how to brew and eliminate mistakes.”

Unlike Breaking Bad’s protagonist, the meth-cooking chemistry teacher Walter White, Rob freely admits he enjoyed teaching science but now prefers the combination of both art and science. “I get to create flavours, which is the arty bit, while the scientific side of consistently being able to pull it off week after week is the technique.”

Rob is a renaissance beer man driven by a desire for balance, and the brewer’s art and skill lies in blending the right flavours to produce the right product. “When brewing, you utilise different hops and malts for different flavours,” offers Rob, “and to produce a certain flavour profile you need to know your ingredients – that’s how we create balance.”

There is an old school authenticity behind the Macalister beer range because they handcraft beers with no additives, no preservatives and don’t pasteurise anything, thus creating a uniquely, fresh taste which suits the surrounds. ‘Altitude 17’ is the brewery’s current bestseller. “It’s blended along with five other hops and uses a beautiful hop called citra, which has a distinct citrus flavour,” shares Rob.

The real craft of the Macalister Brewery doesn’t lie solely in the science of the brewer’s technique, but in how that science then translates artistically into taste. Rob Callin is more than a teacher and not just a scientist, he is an artist too. Less Breaking Bad, and more brewing brilliantly.

macalisterbrewingcompany.com.au