Author: James Smith, The Crafty Pint
Original Article published on 10th February 2026
Prestigious trophy triumphs. A vast barrel program. Rapid growth. Huge IPAs on the one hand, a small beer offshoot on the other. Voluntary administration and a merger.
It's fair to say plenty has happened at Hawkers since the brewery released its first batches of Pale Ale and IPA eleven years ago this month. And that's without taking into account the manner in which the ambition of co-founder Mazen Hajjar helped shape the Australian craft beer industry, or the manner in which his outspoken nature helped ruffle plenty of feathers.
Throughout almost the entirety of the brewery's life to date, one thing has remained constant – well, aside from the consistency of their output. And that is Alex Lovelock, the expat Kiwi brewer who joined the business in August 2015 and these days holds the role of head brewer – a role that involves overseeing not just the production of Hawkers beers but also those of White Bay, the Sydney brewery that merged with them to form the Social Drinks Group last year, as well as their contract customers.
Given everything Alex has lived and worked through at Hawkers, it feels appropriate that he's packed plenty into his life too. The expat Kiwi whose dad had a high school job at the local brewery has worked as a chef on both sides of the equator, at one stage for a pittance in London after the Berlin Wall came down – “I made enough to put it back over the bar in pints.” – then later at hatted restaurants when he headed back down under.
“I learned the finer arts of culinary,” he recalls. “It was pretty good, at least until kids came along. Then working 100 hours a week in a kitchen isn’t sustainable...”
That led to five years teaching budding chefs before he decided to take the brewing skills he’d been honing at home – while gleaning knowledge from some industry titans, as you can read below – and ultimately gaining a first commercial brewing position on the rudimentary, brewing museum-like setup at Southern Bay.
There followed a pilsner he created for one of Neil Perry’s restaurants as well as Le Petit Tronc, which was my first encounter with Alex. The beer was a saison brewed for an in-house "Southern Bay Super Summer Saison Smackdown" run by Southern Bay’s then head brewer, Steve “Hendo” Henderson, its name a nod to another Alex – Troncoso – the former Little Creatures head brewer who has since launched one of the UK’s most-respected breweries, Lost And Grounded.
“Le Petit Tronc was my brewery nickname,” Alex says, “because I talked about Alex Troncoso a lot. [The beer] was bidding him farewell to the UK.”
After a spell at Stone & Wood, he joined Hawkers, initially on the pack line before moving into the cellar and the analytics side of production. That put him in the midst of the whirlwind as the Reservoir operation rose to become one of the largest and best-regarded in the country throughout the second half of the 2010s, and also in the midst of things when the whirlwind became a tempest.
“I’d been in the head brewer role for two weeks when we went into VA,” he says of a time he describes as “challenging for everyone,” adding: “I didn’t see that coming.
“It was a case of steadying the ship – after we’d been through COVID – and then we had the merger.”
Reflecting on the period during and after Hawkers went through administration, Alex says: “I think one of the things that affects a lot of people having gone through that is the social media stuff – ‘Another brewery just copping out.’
“This is people's lives and families. It’s not something of our own making. The government doesn’t want to shut down businesses and make people unemployed.”
A year on from the merger, it sounds like they’re getting into a groove. White Bay moved out of their Rozelle home last year, moving all production to Hawkers, with Alex and his team now responsible for 22 core range SKUs across Hawkers, White Bay and the Rover range – plus limited releases.
“There’s logistical challenges we’re overcoming,” he says. “And we’re still making really good beers.”
The travel still continues to this day too. He spent time with his wife in Italy earlier this summer, although says he ended up drinking mostly Peroni after finding many of the “artisanal breweries” sub-par, while Japan is a favoured destination. He rates the craft beer scene there as the equal of that in the States. Admittedly, you’re as likely to find him smashing fresh, cold Super Dry as anything else…
“I love drinking what the locals drink,” he says by way of explanation.
Another joy he finds in Japan is the quality of the vinyl digging. Music is the greatest of Alex’s passions (with Sonic Youth's Dirty Boots paired with the Garage Project beer of the same name his favourite pairing), and reached a new peak when he got to play his first live DJ set at Footscray Records a couple of weeks ago.
“That was a lot of fun,” he says. “Very Krautrock-influenced.”
As for banging out the hits at Hawkers*, he signs off on our call with a teaser: after taking a break from releasing barrel-aged beers in 2025, they’ll be back with new releases later this year. For now, here’s Alex with more on his life in – and out of – beer as part of our Brew & A series.
Why Are You A Brewer?
It must be in my genes. My father worked at a small but world famous brewery in Paeroa, NZ, as a lad to get pocket money. The town has a soft drink that I was obsessed with as a kid called Lemon and Paeroa which truly is world famous in New Zealand.
Brewing is an extension of 20 years working and running kitchens across Australia, and a time in London just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Fermentation was the connection as I loved making the daily bread in many places I worked, and I became a brewer before becoming a baker.
What Would You Be If You Weren't A Brewer?
Coming from the land, I have a love of the garden, so it could have been something agricultural or nursery orientated.
Music and collecting records could have been another area of interest as I had spent some time working for Festival / Mushroom Records with many afternoons hanging out with some of the giants of American college radio when they toured Australia.
What Was Your Epiphany Beer?
Chimay Red in Brussels when I was backpacking around the former Eastern Bloc, Europe and the UK. The backpackers hostel had a bar and it had been a long day of travel, so I asked the barman for the beer you would drink if you walked in and sat down.
I loved the whole experience of spending time in Brussels and drinking all these amazing beers from this little country. Having been back to Europe since that trip to France, I recently found the amazing Brussels Project, which do new-world beers including an amazing Kiwifruit Sour.
How Did You First Get Involved In The Beer World?
Being unemployed on the North Coast of NSW and teaching myself to brew really terrible kit and kilo homebrew. I later moved to the Southern Highlands and the local hardware owner mentored me a little to the point I would win the local show's brewing competition every year I entered. That lead to full-mash brewing and hanging out at the Wig & Pen when Richard Pass was head brewer – before Richard Watkins took over.
Some success at the nationals then pushed me to join the first intake at Ballarat University's online brewing course. When I moved to Melbourne and went to Goat Army brewery open nights I met [Mountain Goat co-founder] Dave Bonighton, and hung out out with BrewBoy Stephen Nelsen at Gunn Island Hotel and later Doug Donelan at the James Squire brewpub on Russell Street.
My good friend Alex Troncoso lived in the same western suburb; we brewed together, sampled many beers and talked beer nerd chatter for a couple of years.
What's The Best Beer You've Ever Brewed?
I think the Hawkers West Coast IPA (which Alex is drinking in the photo at the top of the article) has come a long way from when we prototyped an early version with Joe Wood from Liberty Brewing (pictured below left). Justin Corbett and I took the base idea and cut the fat out of it to be a lean West Coast IPA with a Pacific twist – namely using Southern Cross hops to blend in with some big American standards.
I love this beer and it's always a cause for celebration when its coming off the line fresh. Luckily, that celebration happens every two to three weeks as it's brewed in small batches to keep it as fresh as possible.
What's Your Single Favourite Ingredient To Use In Beer?
New Zealand hops.
I think the New Zealand growers have done an amazing job with the NZ government at the Plant & Food Research station in Motueka. This has helped NZ brewers to create amazing hop-forward products and other innovation, including work with thiol precursors and additives.
Are There Any Beers You've Brewed That Might Have Been Better Left On The Drawing Board?
There have been a couple of beers that have had a too-high percentage of rye in the grist and probably not enough of mother's helpers in the mash/lauter tun to help the goopy mash run off with ease. This is where brewers learn as a group to solution a fix.
One of the examples was a very tight timeline beer being brewed late in the week and we couldn't get replacement rye in time to hit the deadline. Not wanting to waste what had been collected, we held the collected wort at 72ºC overnight and I reformulated the recipe to hit the correct gravity and volume.
When we rebrewed the following morning, we used the collected wort to mash in the fresh grain to complete the brew. This particular beer went on to be rated pretty highly on Untappd so sometimes there can be silver linings.
Other products won't be named and shamed but doing a 100 percent polenta mash makes one hell of a mess...
If You Could Do A Guest Stint At Any Brewery In The World, Which Would It Be And Why?
The Bruery in California as they do some of the most amazing high-ABV, barrel-aged products I have had the pleasure to consume. This would help amazingly with my barrel craft and help lift the quality and consistency of Australian barrel-aged products.
Russian River Brewery, also in California, so I can go to the home of West Coast IPA – their sour products are pretty mind-blowing as well. I'm looking forward to some feedback from their lead in production, who had fresh samples delivered of our Double WCIPA and Four Seasons Spring.
Which Local Breweries Inspire You?
- Garage Project
- McLeods
- Liberty
- Wildflower
- Good Land
What Inspires You Outside The World Of Brewing Beer?
Music, which to me is food for the soul. Having grown up during the first wave of punk, the DIY and independent attitude of "throw the rule book out" have always stuck with me. So going to gigs, collecting the hard-to-find records on wax, and building a library of music-associated books and documents.
Also, growing food and worm farming, which becomes its own little ecosystem in my backyard. Worms feed the plants and the weeds and scraps feed the worms while improving the biomass in the soil.
Then there's travel, because it opens one's eyes to similarities and our differences as people.
What's Your Desert Island Beer – The One To Keep You Going If You Were Stranded For The Rest Of Your Days?
There are two, which doesn't really answer the question so maybe someone else can decide for me. Forerunners are the original Pilsner, Pilsner Urquell, and Timothy Taylor Landlord. Both are simple but complex 4.4 percent ABV beers for easy-drinking on a hot desert island.
And What Would Be The Soundtrack To Those Days?
I think it would have to be the likes of Pitch Black, Salmonella Dub, Fat Freddy's Drop and other electro/dub artists from labels like On-U Sound.
If You Couldn't Have Beer, What Would Be Your Tipple Of Choice?
Whisk(e)y in all its forms from Kentucky, Scotland, Ireland, Japan and beyond. Who said single malt at the end of the night will end well?
What's The One Thing You Wish You'd Known Before Becoming A Brewer?
A higher understanding of chemistry as it helps to make really good beer technically, then you can overlay the craft of brewing.
And The One Piece Of Advice You'd Give To Anyone Considering A Career In Craft Beer?
That wort production is not the pinnacle of your learning in a small brewery.
