Brewer Profile: Mark Overton

By Nick Wiseman, Editor

Landing his first job in 1990 straight out of university and not having much money left to grab a beer Mark Overton started into the hobby of home brewing.

Brewing with no temperature control in the sunny city of Brisbane, QLD tended to produce under-par beers with explosive natures sending shard of glass into the pool and ceiling.

Fast forward to today and Mark now brews all-grain but keeps the simplicity of his starting years with equipment held together with superglue and bottle-conditioning all his beers.

Although he does not brew on the latest technological, automated and stainless steel equipment his 20 litre HLT, 15 litre round willow esky and 40 litre urn have won him Brewer of the Year and Best of Show last year.

His beer, Scarecrow Cream Ale, has since been brewed and put on tap at the Wig & Pen for everyone to enjoy.

Mark said he came up for the idea of the beer as he was looking for something simple and low on hops compared to most of his other beers.

“I wanted something that my wife would be happy to drink rather than just sip and pass it back to me then reaching for a glass of water,” he said.

“It’s a clean, bright, lightly hopped and refreshing ale.”

Since his first batch last year he has made it two more times and enjoys the latest batch best which used a different hop variety.

Mark also added that the recipe was best after at least two months in the bottle and that he would most likely be making it more often with the neighbours taking a liking to it.

When told his beer would be brewed by Richard Watkins at the Wig & Pen he said he was over the moon.

“Making it with Richard was a once in a lifetime opportunity and treat – especially as he allowed me to bring my family along,” he said.

“He gave me plenty of advice on how to improve my brewing – many which I have implemented already.”

Mark has been a member of Canberra Brewers since November 2006 after wanting to improve his beer and brewing techniques and to get exposure to other brewers and enter competitions.