Professional beer brewer Jeff Goodieson believes he's found paradise among the vineyards south of Adelaide.

Mr Goodieson started his career in beer by drinking it — a lot of it — in Europe.

As well as falling head over heels for their golden ales, he also found love with the lady who would later become his wife, Mary.

When the two returned to Australia, Mr Goodieson attempted to replicate the tastes of the beers they had enjoyed.

"We couldn't afford to buy the beers that we had been drinking, so we started dabbling in homebrew," he said.

Soon hooked by brewing, he enrolled in a four-year university degree in Ballarat, Victoria.

Jeff Goodieson hopes to source as much of his supplies for beer as possible from within SA. ( 891 ABC Adelaide: Brett Williamson )

"I was really lucky to get a good understanding of the raw ingredients — water, hops, malt and yeast," he said.

"And the geology department and engineering department had a good time [sampling my practice brews]."

Fresh out of university, Mr Goodieson found himself in demand by the major breweries.

"I was lucky enough to get offered an honours [post graduate] role with Boag's," he said.

He went on to be employed by Lion Nathan.

"I would have been happy to sweep the floors, but I was really lucky. My first brew manager sat me down and said, 'You have all of this knowledge, let's see if you have any common sense'," Mr Goodieson said.

He was charged with taking control of the company's brew house recipes.

The fight for top froth

Mr Goodieson said the pressure on a brewer when a recipe was adjusted was intense.

"Any changes I did, I lost sleep over, wondering if I had done the right thing," he said.

After three years working at Lion Nathan's West End Brewery in South Australia, Mr Goodieson, his wife and two young boys moved to Sydney to allow him to pursue a role with the company's technical division.

There, he created several new brands of beers.

Grains used in Jeff Goodieson's beer mixes are drained and fed to local livestock. ( 891 ABC Adelaide: Brett Williamson )

When a competitor gained success with a new low-carb beer, Mr Goodieson was given three months to design a rival.

He worked with brewmaster Dr Chuck Hahn to create Hahn Super Dry.

Making a green change

Five years ago the Goodiesons decided to escape the city and move back to South Australia.

There, Mr Goodieson has built his own microbrewery, which is nestled among McLaren Vale's vineyards.

"We just can't believe how lucky we are — this is paradise," he said.

Mr Goodieson said he was determined to protect the environment where he now lives and works.

As a result, he has gone against an industry trend of cleaning vats with sodium hydroxide to ensure the salt-filled waste water would not damage local soils.

The volumes are much smaller for Jeff Goodieson since his Lion Nathan brewing days. ( 891 ABC Adelaide: Brett Williamson )

He opted to use potassium hydroxide to clean his machinery instead.

"I'm a lot happier knowing where the run-off gets dumped the potassium goes into the soil and it is much better for the plants and the environment than sodium," he said.

His other by-product — the leftover grains — are drained and become feed for the family's sheep and neighbouring cattle.