Big Niles Brewing Co's Cam White shares his tips on homebrewing after winning three medals at the Australian International Beer Awards

Big Niles owner and brewer Cam White said he was "stoked" to secure three medals - one for every beer he submitted in the competition.

"I can't believe we got even one medal," he said, "but three from three!"

The Australian International Beer Awards is one of the biggest beer competitions in the world, with more than 2600 beers entered from 355 breweries, representing 19 different countries around the world.

Big Niles' most popular taproom lager - the Lawnmower Lager - won a bronze medal in the Other International Style Lager (Best International Lager) class.

By comparison, former Champion Large Australian Brewery and multiple time winner of the popular Australian GABS Hottest 100 award Byron Bay based brewery Stone and Wood also won a bronze in the lager category.

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The Hell Raiser Imperial Ale won a bronze in the Other Amber / Dark Ale (Best Amber / Dark Ale) class, and the No Stout About It won silver in the Imperial Stout (Best Porter / Stout) class.

Mr White said his beers were not traditional, with recipes developed over his almost ten years of small-scale home brewing.

It began small scale, experimenting with different techniques and styles of beer. Each batch would be labelled and named after the family dog - Big Niles - before being shared among family and friends.

Mr White is a former professional freestyle BMX rider who returned to the south coast from America to raise a family after officially retiring from the sport almost ten years ago.

"I wanted to find something that kept me creative and kept my mind going," Mr White said. "Brewing was the thing."

"Creating things from scratch and working on recipes kept me occupied."

Eventually, Mr White decided to start the brewery and Big Niles Brewing Co was opened just prior to the bushfires - the first brewery in the Eurobodalla.

However the bushfires prevented an official opening, and when COVID hit a few months later, Big Niles was forced into canning it's beers for takeaway.

When restrictions eased, the community was quick to support the new business.

Mr White prides himself on running a local brewery and involving the community in the business he runs.

While Big Niles has food trucks, community groups are also invited to cook barbecues to fundraise for themselves. It's Mr White's way of giving back to the community that supports him.

Mr White didn't expect to receive any awards when entering the Australian International Beer Awards.

"The best thing you can do entering competitions is get feedback from professionals in the industry," he said.

"They are looking to see what is wrong with your beer.

"It's constructive feedback."

Beers are judged over a week-long period by professionals with honed palettes who can detect the slightest discrepancy in a beer. Many factors are considered including appearance, aroma, presentation, bitterness and carbonation.

The process of brewing large scale batches for the brewery is essentially the same as homebrew, according to Mr White.

So what are his tips for homebrewers?

The most important factor is a consistent process.

"Being consistent gives you a more consistent beer," Mr White said.

"You have to get your process right and it is all learning.

"You are always learning."

Secondly, be patient.

"Don't cut corners," Mr White said. "Brewing takes time."

A 50 litre batch will take Mr White six hours to brew.

It's a big time investment, but Mr White wouldn't have it any other way.

He loves "everything" about beer.

"You can create whatever you want," he said.

"There are so many new styles of beer and new types coming out. It's a clean slate."

His greatest joy is seeing his local regulars enjoying a beer at his brewery.

"Instead of getting the adrenaline rush of doing double flips on your BMX and winning awards," he said, "you do all the effort in a different way and still get the same satisfaction and brain stimulation from seeing people happy