Troye sits down with Alastair, former Devil's Peak brewer turned sole brewer on remote Lord Howe Island, to talk island brewing, mushroom-growing pizza experiments, and a pilgrimage to Sierra Nevada. From shipping costs to "town beer" culture, it's a look at how isolation breeds creativity in craft beer.

Murray Middleton is back in Cape Town for BeerEx Africa, and episode 123 starts where it always does — with good beer and no plan. The boys open a rare Liefmans Goudenband (a 2016 blend Murray smuggled home from a brewery visit in Belgium), get a surprise drop-in from friend-of-the-show Trevor, and spend the better part of an hour riffing on the global beer market, declining craft distribution in South Africa, and why the taproom model might be the only thing that makes sense anymore. Murray also reveals he's now a new dad and working for TNS Solutions (now under ADM), and there's a listener prize buried somewhere near the end of the episode — if you can find it.

Luke Edward is a former Cape Town creative, who somehow ended up as Regional Sales Manager for Yakima Chief Hops in the USA. The road there involved advertising, app development, a knee destroyed on a mountain in Oregon, an online fermentation science degree he never finished, and a PowerPoint presentation built in a Frankfurt airport layover.
In this episode we talk hops, harvest selection, the magic of agricultural ingredients, and what it actually takes to connect the world's best brewers to the world's best hop farms.
One of the best origin stories we've had on the show — and that's saying something.

In this episode, we sit down with Marius Botha from Hazeldean Brewing Co. — a farm-based craft brewery on the outskirts of Pretoria East that's been quietly doing things right for more than a decade. We get into it early, talking water chemistry, reverse osmosis, and why what comes out of your borehole might be sabotaging your lager before you've even started brewing. Marius traces the journey from mechanical engineer to brewer, shares how a family farm market gave Hazeldean its first foothold, and reflects on ten years of incremental growth that's easier to appreciate in hindsight than in the moment. We talk beer ranges, the pressures facing small craft breweries in a tough economy, building a destination around outdoor lifestyle, and the slow-burn joy of sour beers.

In Session 3 of The Random Show, Troye and Calvin Daly reconnect for an honest, wide-ranging conversation about life in their 40s. They unpack fitness, fatherhood, sleep, and accountability, while diving into the rapid rise of AI and how it's reshaping work and creativity. The episode also explores social media anxiety, simplifying life, and Troye's evolving vision for BeerTime as he shifts more intentionally into art and meaningful creation. Thoughtful, humorous, and reflective, this is a candid conversation about staying healthy, relevant, and grounded while navigating change as modern dads.

Troye checks in on where the podcast began, where it's heading in 2026, and why video, Beer School, and art are taking centre stage. Plus thoughts on non-alcoholic beer, homebrewing, festivals, and the future of beer in South Africa.

Troye chats with Jake from Afro Caribbean Brewing Co. about IPA's, balance, and future of South African beer. They unveil a new collab, Piesang & Koejawel, and dive into brewing science, beer culture, and finding the perfect "bliss point" in every pint.

Steven just completed the Comrades Ultra Marathon. His Kölsch beer also just won a Gold Medal at the African Beer Cup. We catch-up over a cold one in his brewery.