Sydney’s Akasha Brewing Company was founded by former IT professional and passionate homebrewer Dave Padden in 2015.It has quietly grown into one of the inner west’s larger independent breweries, having quickly developed a reputation for high quality, hop-driven beer styles. The year 2022 was pivotal for Akasha. The company undertook a $1.7 million equity crowdfunding raise that supported its diversification into barrel-aged beers, as well as funding the addition of two hospitality venues; The Barrel Room in Leichhardt and The Edwards in Newcastle.It’s also ramped up its sports sponsorship program, becoming official beer partner of the Sydney Kings and Sydney Flames professional basketball teams.Exciting times all round then, for Akasha. But as Dave acknowledges in this episode, it’s against the backdrop of some very difficult trading conditions for small independent breweries.There’s been multiple casualties in this sector already in 2023. So later on in this interview, Dave and I reflect on some of that unfortunate news, and discuss some of the steps Akasha is taking to ensure its financial sustainability as a business.