Pilot Brewing Australia (PBA) is a contracted function of Grains Australia and is responsible for the pilot brewing of pilot and commercially malted barley lines submitted for evaluation.
PBA undertakes a small-scale batch brew of the malted evaluation trial. The pilot brewery is located at the CUB Abbotsford Brewery in Melbourne. It has the ability to mimic many different styles of brewing and hence the plant can replicate brewing conditions for both sugar and starch adjunct brewing, appropriate for many of Australia’s target malt
and barley markets, both here and overseas.
The results of the brewing trials are returned to the MBIBTC for review, and this evaluation process ensures that new barley varieties are fit for the purpose of brewing.
Pilot Brewer – Minsik Seo
Minsik is a graduate from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (MSc. Bioprocess and Chemical Engineering, Germany) and from the Inje University (BSc. Biomedical Science, Korea). After completing his studies Minsik took on an Industrial Internship at CSIRO, experimenting on coconut oil extraction using ultrasound which sparked his interest in the food and beverage industry. Following this, Minsik worked as an International Brewer in various sized craft breweries for five years, until he accepted a Brewing Operator position in 2019 at Asahi Premium Beverages Laverton Brewery. In early 2023, Minsik accepted the Pilot Brewing Specialist role in the Brewing Innovation team at Asahi Beverages and has also commenced studies for the Diploma in Brewing, through the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD).