Articles by Crafty Pint
Best New Victorian Beers Of 2021
For Victorians, 2021 was for too close a carbon copy of 2020 for comfort, but there were beer highlights aplenty. Here we look back on a year of great beer, close shaves, and brave leadership that shone through the lockdowns.
Last Call: Tell Us Your Beer Highlights Of 2021 And Win!
Have you enjoyed great beer, great breweries, great venues and great beer experiences in 2021? If so, we want to hear about it! Tell us what's impressed you the most in your local beer scene and you could win more great beer!
Crafty's Christmas Giftathon!
To celebrate the imminent arrival of the festive season, we're running a weeklong Giftathon for our beer club, The Crafty Cabal. Each day until December 9 we're giving away mixed cases of beer and double passes to GABF Geelong.
Blasta, Moffat Beach, Stomping Ground & Future Mountain Triumph At Indies 2021
WA's Blasta are once again toasting their awards success, with the brewery's wheat beer named Champion Beer at The Indies. The perennial award winners at Moffat Beach also had a huge night, as did Stomping Ground and Future Mountain.
Australian Beer Industry Diversity Survey Results 2021
In July, the Beer Agents For Change, a collective of females with more than 60 years experience in the beer industry, launched an industry-wide diversity survey. You can view their findings in an infographic released with the results.
Young Henrys Founder Becomes IBA Chair
Following its AGM this week, the Independent Brewers Association has unveiled its new board. Richard Adamson of Young Henrys takes over as chair, joined on the board by members of Ballistic, KAIJU! and BentSpoke.
Feral To Be Sold As Coca-Cola Exit The Beer Market
Just days after we reported one of Feral's original founders was to buy back the brewpub where the brand started comes the news the brand is to be sold. Owners Coca-Cola EuroPacific Partners (CCEP) have decided to exit the beer market in Australia.
Back To The Bar, Melbourne
Today, after making it through a world record number of days in lockdown, Melbourne is open again. James Smith and Will Ziebell spoke to brewery and venue owners and returning customers to assess the vibe.
Otherside's Anthem Named WA's Best Beer
Otherside's Anthem has been named Beer Of The Year at the WA Good Food Guide Awards. The IPA pipped Crate Digger Pale Ale from Nowhereman and Eagle Bay Brewing's Lager at an awards ceremony at Optus Stadium on Monday.
Uraidla & Heaps Normal Fly High At Drink Easy
Uraidla Brewery landed two beers in the overall top ten best Australian drinks at the second Drink Easy awards. They were joined in the best of list by Heaps Normal's Quiet XPA, flying the flag for non-alcoholic beers.
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Back To The Bar, Sydney
Many businesses across Sydney and New South Wales opened to customers for the first time in more than three months yesterday. Two members of The Crafty Pint team were among those heading back to the bar.
Be Part Of Pint of Origin At GBW 2022
Good Beer Week turned ten in 2021 and is set to embark on its second decade in May 2022. Once again, Pint of Origin will play a central role in the festival. If you'd like your venue to be a Pint of Origin host venue, tell us why.
The IBA Launches A Code Of Conduct
Australia's Independent Brewers Association has today unveiled its new code of conduct. It has been created on the back of allegations of sexual assault, harassment and discrimination in the beer industry both here and overseas.
What Next For Indie Beer?
The sale of the Fermentum Group to Lion raises a number of question, not least what it means for the indie beer sector. We've been speaking to people in the beer industry to see what they make of the move.
Vale On Top At Adelaide Awards
Vale Brewing claimed Champion Large Brewery and Most Outstanding Beer In Show for their Fox Hat Phat Mongrel at the 2021 Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards, which saw a large number of awards go to darker beers.
Keeping Local Alive '21
With the winter 2021 lockdowns spreading and looking likely to stick around in some places for a while, we've rebooted the resources section of the Keeping Local Alive campaign to help people wanting to support their locked down locals.
Two Birds: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
Two Birds Brewing celebrate ten years of beers in 2021, after a decade of blazing a trail through the Australian beer industry. We invited the founders of the country's first female-owned brewing company to reflect on the journey so far.
Newstead Open A Taproom At Brisbane Airport
Brisbane Airport is the latest to take a crafty turn, with Newstead Brewing opening a taproom at the Domestic Terminal, marking another major partnership for the Queensland brewery.
Stone & Wood Is The New Beer Of The Wallabies
Ahead of the Wallabies matches with France, Stone & Wood have announced their Green Coast Lager has become the rugby union team's official beer, meaning it will be available at all upcoming tests.
Unbridled Joy For Blasta At Perth Royal Beer Awards
Blasta continued their impeccable run at the Perth Royal Beer Awards by taking out Champion Beer for the second year running while adding Champion Large Brewery and Best IPA to their swollen trophy cabinet too.
Our Story
In this companion piece to Her Story, we examine what needs to happen on an individual, societal, workplace and industry scale to tackle the issues of sexism, sexual assault and gender inequality.
Pint Of Origin 2021 Preview – Part II
When Good Beer Week returns for its tenth outing this May, Pint of Origin will be back too. The Crafty Pint's pocket of the festival has been an ever-present since 2012 and this year is appearing at 14 top Melbourne pubs and bars.
Pint of Origin 2021 Preview – Part 1
When Good Beer Week returns for its tenth outing this May, Pint of Origin will be back too. The Crafty Pint's pocket of the festival has been an ever-present since 2012 and this year is appearing at 14 top Melbourne pubs and bars.
Stone & Wood Confirm $50m Brewery Expansion
Stone & Wood today confirmed plans for a $50m brewery expansion at their Northern Rivers home. The proposed two-year project includes a 200 hectolitre brewhouse and a visitors centre.
Where's The Craft Beer Crew Gone?
One of Australia's most popular Facebook beer groups disappeared over the weekend, leaving its founder at a loss as to what happened.
Help Us Get Blind: Lagers Round II
Blimey, there's a lot of lagers out there these days. We've locked in most of the spots for our pale lager blind tasting but we reckon we can squeeze in a few more. So, it's over to you to decide which ones...
Help Us Get Blind: GBW IPA Special
With the return of Good Beer Week comes the return of our Pint of Origin IPA Blind Tasting Championship. And, once again, we're inviting our lovely readers to help us choose the beers that will be on the lineup.
A Year On The COVID Roller-Coaster – Part II
Following on from our look at the impact of COVID-19 on the brewing industry, we switch our focus to hospo, retail and beer lovers – one year on from the day the country was closed for business.
Help Us Get Blind: Lagers
Lagers have been making a comeback in recent years and it turns out it's more than half a decade since we last put them to the test in a blind tasting. Want to help us compile a list as we do it all over again?
Behind Bars: Oldfield Cellars
Behind Bars is where we get in touch with retailers across Australia to find out what's hot with them and their customers, and get their insight on the evolving beer world. Here we chat to Central Coast legends Oldfield Cellars.
Sydney Brewery Claims Top Prize At Queensland Awards
Sydney Brewery claimed yet another major trophy for one of their lagers at the 2021 Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show Beer Awards, taking our Grand Champion Beer for their Pilsner.
Come With Us!
Reaching our audience via social media platforms has been getting ever harder, so we've been working on new, quick read e-bulletins. With Facebook now blocking Aussie news sites, we're asking you to sign up ahead of next month's launch.
Getting Blind With Crafty: How We Judge – 2021 Update
We've been conducting blind tastings at The Crafty Pint since late 2012, both in-house and as pubic events across the country. As we get underway in 2021, we've tweaked the way we source and judge the beers.
Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers Of 2020: The Stories
From the beer in top spot via two Queenslanders bursting into the top ten with new entries and a hazy from the Margaret River region, we chat to some of the people at breweries making waves in the 2020 poll.
Hottest 100 Of 2020: The Countdown
The 2020 GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll has a new number one. More votes were case than ever before with Canberra's BentSpoke moving up to top spot after three years in third spot.
Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers Of 2020: The Table
The votes have been cast and counted and there's a new winner in the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll. Canberra's BentSpoke have taken top spot for their flagship Crankshaft IPA.
H100 Aussie Craft Beers Of 2020: Analysis
Nearly 40,000 people cast close to 200,000 votes. There was change at the top and a mix of consolidation and surprises below. Here's what we made of it all.
2020: The Year In Beer – ACT
It wasn't just fires and COVID-19 that hit the ACT in 2020; they had a destructive hailstorm to deal with too. Yet, while there were losses, there were great beers, comebacks and new openings too.
Park Beers For The Road
COVID's impact has made us appreciate many of the wonderful things that surround us, including Australia's spectacular natural environment. Supporting that beauty with the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife are For The Road.
Help Us Get Blind: Hazy Pales
Having managed to squeeze in a post-lockdown(s) blind tasting just before 2020 drew to a close, we're kicking off the new year with a look at hazy pales. And we'd love your help compiling a long list of those available in Australia.
Win A Crafty Cabal Table Tennis Table!
Want an eye-catching, all-weather table tennis table for your brewery, venue or other beer business? We're giving one of Pongo's epic aluminium tables away to a Crafty Pint partner with a Crafty Cabal deal in place.
Disco Monks From Outer Space
To celebrate the relaunch of our beer club, The Crafty Cabal, we got together with our good mates at Fixation and Molly Rose to brew a one-off beer. Disco Monks From Outer Space is a members-only release.
Love Beer? Join The Club!
We've been beavering away behind the walls of Crafty Towers ready to relaunch our beer club, The Crafty Cabal. It's now bigger, bolder, more expansive yet still the same price it's been from the start.
Cheeky Monkey Win Inaugural WA Beer Of The Year
Cheeky Monkey's Hazy IPA claimed top spot in the inaugural WA Good Food Guide Beer Of The Year awards. The 18-months-in-the-making beer headed a top three featuring their fellow South West brewers Eagle Bay and Beerfarm.
Crafty Cabal Update – October 2020
It's time for the monthly update on the latest from our beer club, The Crafty Cabal, and it's the last one before we unveil its new look too. We've got events, winners, giveaways, teasers and more...
Beer Basics: Hops
Hops are the star in many of the big hits of the modern beer world. In the second of his Beer Basics articles giving readers an introduction to beer and brewing, Molly Rose founder Nic Sandery moves from malt to hops.
GABS Canned For 2020
After two postponements and the earlier cancellation of their Auckland event, the GABS team has been forced to defer their remaining 2020 events. Instead, they're now looking ahead to their traditional dates in 2021.
Crafty Cabal Update – September 2020
Time for our monthly update on goings-on with The Crafty Pint's beer club, The Crafty Cabal. And what a busy month it's been...
Modus' Norty Little Number
A new non-alcoholic beer hits the market next week as Modus Operandi launch NORT. We chatted to Modus co-founder Jaz Wearin about a project that started with a middle of the night epiphany just ten weeks ago.
Ten Years Of Crafty: The Time Barrel
We've spent most of this series looking back over the past decade. Now it's time to look at the here and now. We're going to create a time capsule – well, barrel – that represents beer now ready to be opened in 2030.
