In an industry built on precision and process, Jacob Viel is quietly redefining what it means to be a modern brewer. As the founder of Blind Boy Brewing in Salisbury, Brisbane, he has turned the challenges of being legally blind into a deliberate approach to craft brewing that has earned him multiple medals at the Queensland Royal Beer Awards.
Viel first started brewing as a hobby brewer a decade ago with a plastic fermenter given to him by his father. It sparked a passion that led him to join the Brisbane Amateur Beer Brewers and join an entry-level Brewing course at TAFE – but even with formal education behind him Viel faced employment challenges.
“As you can imagine, when somebody comes into a brewery who is legally blind, red flags pop up everywhere and it becomes really hard to create a convincing argument to hire someone with a disability – primarily due to stigma. I can brew beer, I can do a lot of other jobs in a brewery, but I couldn’t get a job because of the stereotypes and stigmas. It’s always been a challenge for me – wanting to be in the industry, but never getting that opportunity – so I decided to do it my own way,” Viel told Beer & Brewer.
First setting up a microbrewery under his house where he developed and tested beer with friends, an opportunity at community-led small business incubator Food Connect allowed Viel to establish his Salisbury brewery and turn the brand into a commercial vision.
“My decision to start my own brewery meant that I could create the brand I wanted to see out there, that isn’t really represented in the current craft beer industry – and that’s a really accessible brand with an accessible product,” Viel added.
Building a brewery on his own terms
While the processes behind a typical brew day at Blind Boy Brewing don’t differ too much from that of a traditional brewery, Viel has made some changes to make brewing easier, and ensures he always brews with a workmate. Rather than printed materials the brewery uses digital software and large whiteboards, and the brewery has also been adapted with colour-coded labels that make it easier for Viel to see.
Viel’s approach is proof that great brewing isn’t just about what you can see, but how deeply you can experience every element of the process, and that is reflected in the final product.
“From the very beginning, accessibility has been at the forefront of the brand. For me to actually brew the beer I needed to have an accessible brewery, so it needed to be an accessible product. A lot of our beers are really easy drinking – balanced, not too complex, highly drinkable. I wanted to put that idea of accessibility into the actual flavour of the beer, but also bring it into the branding.
“I’ve created a brand that is very noticeable – bright yellow with a black font, and that contrast is helpful for somebody who is vision impaired. We’ve made the font dyslexia-friendly and given the brand’s logo a silhouette character, because it’s hard for me to see detail.
“People also love the braille on the can – we worked with Rallings to produce a number of different versions with tactile dots, because it’s something no brand has ever really done, to make sure that the dots on the can are raised. So the side of our cans have braille that says Blind Boy Brewing and the type of beer – it’s for people who can’t read, but also a good interaction for people who haven’t experience braille to get an insight into what it’s like to be visually impaired,” Viel added.
Opening doors for others
While Viel has leaned into his identity as a visually impaired brewer to shape the story of Blind Boy Brewing, the beers themselves hold their own. His core range took home several medals at the 2026 Royal Queensland Beer Awards, and Viel was jointly named Emerging Queensland Brewer.
“As someone who has wanted to be a part of the industry for over 10 years and reached a point where I’ve gone and done it myself, standing up there accepting the award, in front of the industry that basically said no to me, was a great feeling. Standing there with my trophy and medals, and the beer I created, in front of the industry that was hard for me to get into, gave me credit that yes I am a blind brewer, but I can still brew very, very good beer,” Viel explains.
Uplifted by the recognition of those wins, Viel is now focused on something bigger than his own success – creating pathways for others with disabilities to enter the brewing industry, and making accessibility a bigger part of the conversation.
“I would encourage breweries to just stop and think about accessibility – how they can make their products more accessible, or their workplace. It’s the idea of believing in the person and not just stereotyping them.
“There are people with disabilities that want to work in the industry so badly, and it’s not something that comes easily. But what I do know is that if you hire someone with a disability, with that passion, you’ll get somebody who sticks around – somebody who takes the time to understand the workplace, because they have to. It might take time, but people with disabilities will find their way and make it work, and I think I’ve proven that by creating my own brewery.
“There are also many ways I’d like to influence the way we experience the industry. For me, being visually impaired, just approaching the bar is really hard. I can’t see the taps, the lighting is usually dimmed, and a tiny blackboard away from the customer might be the only way to read the menu. Accessibility means making that available in multiple ways – maybe it’s printouts, digital format, or colour coding on the decals. It’s about giving accessibility a moment of time and reflection,” Viel stated.
If you’d like to learn more about Viel’s story and Blind Boy Brewing, the brewery will be hosting exclusive screenings of Viel’s Brewing Blind documentary on Saturday 18 and 25 April. The events will take place from 2-7pm at the Food Connect Shed in Salisbury, Brisbane.