Former Gunnedah school boy Matt Wilson, head brewer and co-founder of Moffat Beach Brewing Co, has won the prestigious Beer & Brewer magazine’s Brewer Of The Year award for 2023.
Beer & Brewer editor Gifford Lee said that Wilson had attracted votes from across the industry and readership alike, with many noting the success Moffat Beach Brewing Co has seen under his leadership and the world-class quality of their beers.
The accolade caps off a remarkable string of awards for the small Sunshine Coast brewery, which is currently the reigning Champion Medium Brewery at both the Royal Queensland Beer Awards and the Independent Brewers Association Awards, as well as the Champion Small Brewery at the Australian International Beer Awards, the largest competition of its type in the world.
Matt Wilson described it as ‘a win for the team’.
“We strive every day to brew the best possible beer that we can, and by no means is that a solo effort. Our team shares a commitment to quality in everything we do,” he said.
The son of former Gunnedah residents, Mike and Robin Wilson, Matt was born at Gunnedah in 1976. The family of all boys consisted of a brother Jono and two half-brothers Harry and Tom. Matt attended St Xavier’s Primary School and completed his education in 1994 at St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill, where he was a boarder.
He joined the army as an infantry soldier and was posted to the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) in Townsville, where he spent 12 months in a rifle company.Matt completed the battalion ‘recon’ course and spent the remainder of his military career in a recon/sniper platoon, with two operational tours of duty in East Timor and a posting to Hawaii for six months on exchange with the American Marines.
After leaving the army, Matt and his wife Shaynne decided on a complete career change and they established Moffat Beach Brewing Co which now spans two venues in Caloundra, and distributes beer across South East Queensland, and into Victoria and NSW.
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