News - Crafty Pint

20 Days To Go!

2012-02-21T00:00:00Z

We’ve had big beers, sweet beers, smoked beers and spicy beers. We’ve had beers for summer, beers for winter, beers for love and beers for the bitter. We’ve had straight humour, toilet humour, dodgy puns and pure poetry. And as of today, we’ve got just 20 days left for you to get your submissions in if you want to be in with a chance of having your dream beer become Australia’s first People’s Pint.

For the uninitiated, The People’s Pint is your chance to come up with the beer you’ve always wanted and have it brewed and released across Australia. All you have to do is come with a name and, in 50 words or less, tell us about it in whichever way you see fit. Some have opted for straight recipes, others have given us descriptions, some have waxed lyrical about the experience that inspired their choice, others have made us chuckle.

Those that impress us – or make us laugh the most – will be whittled down to a top six on March 12, 2012, at which point we open the choice of The People’s Pint up to you – the people. The beer that then secures the most votes will be crowned The People’s Pint, at which point Ron Feruglio, head brewer and co-owner of top Melbourne microbrewery Temple Brewery & Brasserie, will contact the person who nominated said beer, calculate a recipe and brew the beer ready to be launched during Good Beer Week in Melbourne in May.

We’re closing in on 100 submissions from all over Australia, with some interesting ingredients and characteristics in there, from smoke to chilli to vegemite to kangaroo, and with inspiration coming from everything from the morning after the night before to long, dusty motorcycle trips through the Outback.

As well as seeing a beer they came up with bearing their name sold at top beer bars across the country, the person who submits the winning beer also wins a case of the beer (which we think is pretty neat as the beer will be a keg-only release), two tickets to the launch at Temple and, if they’re from outside Victoria, a return flight to Melbourne from their nearest capital city and one night’s accommodation in the city too (see terms and conditions for details), which should allow them to check out some of the Good Beer Week action too.

To submit your idea, head here. Don’t forget to follow The People’s Pint on Twitter and Facebook too – and to share your beer ideas with your mates once you’ve submitted them. We haven’t got long to spread the word – or the funds for a concerted campaign… – so are relying on you to spread the word and get people talking about beer.

Good luck!

Thanks to Temple for agreeing to be part of this concept, to Bintani for supplying the raw ingredients for the brew and, as of last week, Grain & Grape for agreeing to supply the yeast.

Enter The Beer Cave

2012-02-16T00:00:00Z

Our prehistoric ancestors lived in them, Batman had one and Nick Cave actually is one by legal deed. But what exactly is the attraction of caves? They’re generally dark, dirty, full of terrifying insects and, if movies can be relied upon for accuracy, a hibernating bear.

So there was slight consternation when Geoff Huens and Richard Kelsey, owners of Beer Cartel, sent word that they were about to open their cave, one which had lain dormant for years. Who knew what may have been lurking in those murky depths? But then they assured us there was nothing to fear, and clarified that their Bear Cave was in fact a Beer Cave. At which point this suddenly became cause for urgent investigation.

As it turns out, the Beer Cave refers to the newly christened tasting room above the Beer Cartel’s Artarmon store. And, we must say, for a cave it’s remarkably light, welcoming and roomy – it even has a fußball table. It’s a well-suited environment for a beer tasting, centred around a large table with seating around the outside of the room, which means the focus rightly becomes the beer and the conversation.

To call it a ‘tasting’ may be a little unfair in that it might conjure up thoughts of an opportunistic sip of something new while you’re on your way in or out of a liquor store. This is more of an experience, taken deliberately slowly and thoughtfully to allow time for adequate digestion and discussion. The official title was the much more catchy ‘Sip & Sample’.

A large part of the fun comes from the range of people contributing to what becomes a fairly open forum: Geoff and Richard, the audience and a representative from the featured brewery – in this case the perfectly amicable Devon Tong from New Zealand’s Moa Brewing Company – all participated freely in the beer banter, leading to plenty of healthy, but not heated, discussions. As with the grand unveiling of any new project, there was a degree of uncertainty from Geoff and Richard as to how things would go. But due in no small part to their own efforts, they needn’t have worried. They orchestrated a great experience for their guests, notably with the food they had prepared personally to compliment the beer – no doubt having had to sample the beer many times beforehand just to ensure the flavours matched perfectly. Just to give an indication, the pairings were as follows:

Hops and malt

Moa Original (Pilsner Lager) with Swiss cheese and water crackers

 Moa Methode (bottle fermented Pilsner Lager) with Tropical Fruit skewers 

Moa Blanc (Wheat Lager) with Smoked Salmon toasties with Cream Cheese and Dill

 Moa Pale Ale with Spicy Chicken Wings 

Moa Noir (Dark Lager) with Chocolate Brownies (which were actually homemade by Geoff’s better half)

Every course was unanimously well-received, as indeed was the whole Sip & Sample event itself. It was difficult to believe the best part of two hours disappeared so quickly, but time does fly when you’re having fun…

The new tasting element seems set to be a great addition to the Beer Cartel’s growing online and retail presence and gives them a valuable means to interact with their customers on a more personal level. It’s also an extra incentive for those that might not often travel to the store to be able to check out the impressive global range of craft beer. We’ll be looking forward to seeing how many of them might appear in future tastings.

The date and theme for the next tasting is yet to be confirmed, but it’s probably a good idea to keep an eye on their website and get in early once it’s announced – we’ll look to post it in the Crafty events diary too.

New Bay Watch

2012-02-13T00:00:00Z

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But as he prepares to take over the reins at Southern Bay Brewing, Steve “Hendo” Henderson (above right) is confident he can. The Geelong based brewery is perhaps better known for some of the beers it brews under contract for others, such as Boatrocker’s Hoppbier and Alpha Queen, and Two Birds Golden ale, than it is for the beers it releases under its own label, including the Southern Bay Draught. Yet, having plied his trade at Prickly Moses for the past two years – playing a major role in the introduction of seven new beers from the Otway brewery in 2011 alone – the new head brewer has big plans in mind.

“Southern Bay will always be a contract brewery in some capacity but the general manager has given me a creative license to turn the Southern Bay brand into something new,” he says. “There are beers that come out from there that I don’t think are much chop so you’ll soon start to see new, innovative beers. It’s like there’s a new craft brewery that exists in Victoria, but it’s already there.”

Among the new releases he hopes to brew will be a hoppy pale ale “with a twist” in that it features a hard-to-obtain hop variety and then a relaunch of the brewery’s lager, brewed to a new recipe.

It’s been a rapid ascent for Hendo, a Queenslander whose first professional brewing role was at Prickly Moses. He’s made his first signing too, with Chris Haren, another who recently moved from home brewer to commercial brewer, moving to Southern Bay from Tooborac Hotel & Brewery, where he’ll join Hendo in his mission to upgrade the brewery.

“It’s a very exciting and very challenging role I’ve taken on,” says Hendo. “It’s a very old brewery that used to produce Geelong Bitter before that was bought by CUB, who moved production to Abbotsford. It must be 40 years old and uses very old technology as far as brewing goes. When the tanks are changed over, people still have to get inside to clean them, so I’ll miss much of what was taken for granted at Prickly Moses. We’re putting together a modernisation program, however, with the owners putting in significant investment.

“It’s been a really rapid journey for me but that in part is testament to the rapid growth of the industry. I’m pretty passionate about craft beer and really proud of my achievements at Prickly Moses. They’re in a good position now to carry on and grow and have just bought tanks from Holgate, who are themselves expanding.”

Chris Haren, with giant paddle, at Tooborac

Hendo and Chris start their new roles next Monday, ready to embark on the former’s grand vision. And given the Southern Bay site has already been transformed in the past from chicken abattoir to brewery, his plans to transform Southern bay’s beers will hopefully prove a cinch.

Southern Bay Brew Co is located at 80 Point Henry Road, Moolap.

You can follow Hendo and Chris’s progress on Twitter and Facebook.

AIBA Deadline Looming

2012-02-10T00:00:00Z

Last year it was the turn of Americans Moylan’s and Brooklyn Brewery to take out the major trophies and for WA to claim domestic dominance with the state’s breweries picking up five gongs. Now, with little over three months to go until the winners of the 2012 Australian International Beer Awards are announced, the clock is ticking for any breweries wanting to enter their beers. The deadline for submissions was recently extended to February 24, leaving just two weeks to complete your entries.

Now in its 20th year, the awards are presented by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) in conjunction with the University of Ballarat. This year, following the appointment of an Advisory Group drawn from across the industry, there have been changes to some of the categories. The result is that there are now 24 trophies up for grabs – up from 17 in 2011. The Champion Exhibitor categories, both small and large, have been split into International and Australian, while the ale and lager categories have been subdivided in recognition of the changing beer world.

To find out more, or to enter your beers, head to the AIBA website. Judging will take place next month, with a number of international guests to be announced soon. If you would like to take part in assisting with the awards – with an eye to becoming a judge in the future – head here for info on the new Steward to Associate Program.

Run the Beer Awards

A position has become available at RASV for an events manager to join the Epicure Events team. Their role will include helping to run this year’s awards, which culminate in a Gala Dinner on May 17, 2012, during Good Beer Week. Full details can be found here.

Beer: It's Academic

2012-02-09T00:00:00Z

When it comes down to it, the most important aspect of a beer is whether it tastes good in your mouth. Indeed, you may figure that knowing whether something is to your liking or not is more then enough. Yet, as with any product – food, wine, coffee, music, film, art – the greater your knowledge, the chances are the greater your enjoyment will be. So, with the popularity of quality beer growing fast – and the breadth of styles on offer seemingly growing just as fast – it’s good timing that The Beer Academy lands in Australia.

A British enterprise established by beer enthusiasts, it has already taught more than 10,000 people about beer since its launch. And, keen to make the most of Australia’s embrace of craft beer, it has appointed Brewtique as its antipodean envoy. The concept launched in Brisbane yesterday, where beer educator, writer and Brews News founder Mat Kirkegaard began his role as The Beer Academy’s Brisbane presenter, and will soon begin making its way to other capital cities.

Courses on offer range in depth, starting with a 90 minute tasting session that develops a basic understanding of different beer styles and how to taste them. They cover how beer is made, what makes it different, how to taste it professionally, how to present it, how to pick a fresh beer from a stale one, and other essential skills for the beer lover.

Beer enthusiasts can continue through courses including “Making Beer and Food Dance”, “How To Judge Beer”, and multi-day courses like “Advanced Beer Tasting”. The Beer Academy also offers the ultimate beer qualification: Beer Sommelier, a badge of honour that can only be achieved through extensive training, hands-on trade experience, and intensive one-on-one practical exams.

“We’re thrilled that the Beer Academy has chosen us to be the custodians of their important mission here in Australia,” says Brewtique managing director Mike Spencer. “With microbreweries and major brewers creating beer styles we haven’t seen in this country before, there’s never been more interest in beer or such a thirst for knowledge about it.”

Brisbane host Matt Kirkegaard in action

The first courses to be available will be the “90-Minute Tasting Sessions” and the half-day “Making Beer and Food Dance” course. The first courses will be available during February 2012 with the other courses introduced progressively. They are designed to be suitable for everybody: beer drinkers, the hospitality trade and the brewing industry. Mike says he expects the courses, which can be tailored for specific needs, will be popular as gifts, corporate entertainment and social events.

The Beer Academy courses will be held in a range of cities in venues with a good beer and food reputation, but can also be held in other venues such as offices. Course fees start at $60. Booking enquiries can be made via the Beer Academy website or by calling (02) 9489 8888.

Photos courtesy of Mike Curtain.

What Is The People's Pint?

2012-02-08T00:00:00Z

Friends, beer lovers, countrymen (and women) – lend us your beers! We’re looking for Australia’s first ever People’s Pint.

“What’s that?” you ask.

Well… Umm… We don’t actually yet know. In fact, we want you to tell us. From today, we’re inviting you, the good people of Australia, to tell us what your dream beer would be. The best ideas will be put to a public vote next month, with the winning one being brewed at Temple Brewery & Brasserie at the end of March ready to be launched during Good Beer Week.

That’s right – a beer dreamed up by you, called whatever you want to call it, could become The People’s Pint, brewed by one of the country’s top brewers and enjoyed by drinkers at some of the best beer bars in the land.

Like the sound of that? Then head to The People’s Pint site and send us your fantasy beer ideas now! Or read on to find out a little more…

The idea is simple. You don’t have to be a brewer, you don’t have to know how beer is made. We’re just looking for creative, inspired concepts. You might be after a beer that brings back special memories, or one that captures a feeling. You might have a flavour and aroma combo that will knock people for six – a big, hoppy beast or a delicate flower made with native ingredients. Maybe you dream of a stonking great Imperial Stout that’s a meal in a glass – or maybe the people will choose a plain old pale lager if you can make it sound appealing enough.

Perhaps there’s a magical ingredient out there that you’re desperate to see included in a beer. Perhaps you’ve never quite found what you’re looking for behind a bar and now’s the chance to tell us what that is. Or maybe you’ve got an hilarious name for a beer and are dying to share it with the world.

Whatever it is you have in mind, Temple is the perfect fit – led by a brewer who has never been afraid to approach beer a bit differently. When asked to brew a beer for the Shinobi Japanese Beer Festival, instead of the obvious choice of producing a Japanese style beer, the focus instead turned to ingredients. Head brewer Ron Feruglio had an idea to use buckwheat, more commonly found in Japanese soba noodles, and the result is now a core Temple beer – the aptly named Soba Ale.

Similarly, in the mission to brew their very own Draught beer, the team at Temple chose the quintessential Australian hop Pride of Ringwood – an uncommon choice among craft brewers – as the star attraction. After a series of pilot brews, the resultant Brunswick Draught became Temple’s very own “beer for everyone” – easy drinking and suitable for all occasions.

As such, Ron and wife Renata were only too happy to get on board with The People’s Pint.

“As part of my job as a brewer, I get to dream up beer ideas and recipes every day,” says Ron. “But that’s an opportunity that the majority miss out on.”

“The People’s Pint is both daunting and incredibly exciting for us at Temple,“ says Renata. "It gives everyone the opportunity to put forward their own idea of the perfect beer, and will give us the opportunity to interpret that to create what will hopefully be a great beer.”

As for the daunting part, “we have absolutely no idea what to expect from the entrants,“ says Ron. "The beers could be incredibly technical, far too weird to ever work, or downright scary. I guess we’ll have to see what the people put forward, and rely on our brewing experience and instincts to end up with a brew that’s worthy of the ‘People’s Pint’ moniker.”

Entries are now open and will close on March 12, 2012. At that point, a team of judges from The Crafty Pint, Temple, ingredient suppliers Bintani and Good Beer Week will select their top six. These will be presented on The People’s Pint website for two weeks for a public vote.

The beer that gets the most votes will be crowned The People’s Pint, at which point Ron will speak with the winning entrant while perfecting the recipe for what will be a full length commercial brew, ready to be launched during Good Beer Week. Then comes the best part: you all get to drink it.

The person who comes up with the concept for the winning beer also gets a pair of tickets to the launch event, a case of the beer and, if they live outside Victoria, one return flight to Melbourne from their nearest capital city (terms and conditions apply) plus one night’s accommodation in Melbourne on the night of the launch.

If you haven’t already, head to The People’s Pint site to learn more and enter your fantasy beer ideas. You can also keep in touch with the latest via Facebook and Twitter, where we’ll be sharing some of your beer ideas as they come in.

Anyway, enough chatter: get thinking, get creating, and send us your beers!

Temple has agreed to brew the beer for The Crafty Pint at no cost. Bintani is supplying all raw ingredients free of charge. Thanks also to Code Create and William Delmont for the website and logo respectively. We’ll shout you a beer some time soon!

Fed Square Gets Fruity

2012-02-07T00:00:00Z

The bi-annual Victorian Microbreweries Showcase is to get a little fruitier next month with Fed Square turning the BMW Edge into a Cider Garden for the two evenings. The beer free zone will be handed over to some of Victoria’s best cider and perry producers, leaving the Atrium to the state’s microbrewers and brewing companies. It will mean the ever popular event, which has sold out both evenings for the past few showcases, will be able to offer that little bit more.

Roland Fraval, from Fed Square, says: “The space will be themed to mimic an apple orchard, complete with live music, apple trees and picnic rugs for punters to sprawl on.”

The showcase runs on the evenings of March 14 and 15. There will be stalls in the Atrium for 26 brewers and a further seven beer-related, non-brewing exhibitors. It’s an event at which punters get to sample a huge range of the beers being produced across Victoria, and one at which some brewers debut new beers. Tickets cost $25pp, which includes 20 tasting tokens to be redeemed at brewers' and cider producers' stalls.

Any exhibitor wishing to take part should contact Roland at roland.fraval@fedsquare.com. Deadline for registration and payment is February 29, 2012. Anyone wishing to purchase advance tickets can do so through Ticketmaster here.

For an idea of what goes on, check out our film shot at one of last year’s showcases:

TheCraftyPint - Fed Square Victorian Microbreweries Showcase from The Post Project on Vimeo.

See you there!

South West Beer Fest

2012-02-03T00:00:00Z

All over the country in recent months, the people have been turning out in droves at beer festivals. Thousands upon thousands have rocked up to events from the Australian Hote’s annual beer festival in Sydney, the Tasmanian Beer Fest and Microbrew Fest, Ballarat’s inaugural Beer Fest, Perth’s first Craft Beer Showcase and many more.

And now it’s the turn of south west WA to show off its wares with the first South West Craft Beer Festival taking place in heart of the Margaret River region. Bringing together a dozen breweries and brewing companies – alongside food and live entertainment – it takes over the sprawling grounds of the 3 Oceans Palandri Estate winery grounds on the weekend of February 25 and 26. It’s a festival that’s been mooted by the region’s brewers for some time, but which has required the impetus of a marketing firm to get it up and running.

“Whenever we got our heads together, we’d say we must do this,” says Jeremy Good, co-owner of Cowaramup Brewery. “But then everyone would get tied up in their own brewery, so we needed someone to come along and organise it.”

Buzz Marketing stepped up to the plate and now they have 12 breweries and brewing companies taking up stalls for the weekend to show off their wares, plus one local cider maker.

“There are brewers from as far afield as the Moody Cow in the Ferguson Valley as well as locals like us, Bootleg, Colonial, Eagle Bay, Duckstein and, if they’re open in time, Cheeky Monkey,” says Jeremy. “It’s on a weekend that’s not traditionally that busy so hopefully the festival will draw a Perth crowd. I’ve heard quite a lot of locals talking about it too.”

While it’s known first and foremost as a wine region, the Margaret River is awash with breweries. There are those that are well established, such as Bootleg – now in its 18th year – and others, such as Eagle Bay, which opened just over a year ago in a superb hilltop setting overlooking the ocean. There are quirky venues, such as Bush Shack, which specialises in flavoured beers, and others with eyes fixed firmly on the traditional, such as Cowaramup with its focus predominantly on British ales and the likes of Colonial (pictured above) and Duckstein who specialise in German styles.

The team running the event, Buzz Marketing, specialise in events in the south west, including the Cape to Cape mountain bike event.

“We’ve met a lot of brewers at events and through talking to them knew that there was a need for a beer festival,” says Chloe Krushka, from Buzz. “They were all really keen on the idea. Palandri Estate has a huge lawn so is a perfect spot and is central for all of the breweries.”

This week, the organisers confirmed entertainment for the weekend, with Triple J Unearthed winner Split Seconds following up slots at the Laneway Festival with a Sunday appearance. On stage on Saturday are Kris Buckle, Paige Trantham, Ill Starred Captain, Dallas Royal, Juwana, New Soundland and local favourite Cowtown, while on Sunday you can also catch Kate Tillman, Qynn, Tank 7even, Polly Medlen and Minute 36.

The full list of beer and cider exhibitors is:

Bootleg
Cowaramup
Eagle Bay
Cheeky Monkey
Duckstein
Colonial
Bush Shack
Occy's
Moody Cow
Cape Bouvard Brewing Company
The Cidery
Margaret River Ale Company
Old Coast Road
Wild Bull

“The brewers here all get on and appreciate and acknowledge what everyone is trying to do,” says Jeremy. “Competition is healthy and this will give people the chance to experience what we are doing.”

Adult day passes are $25pp in advance, $35 on the door (if available). Sunday family passes cost $50 in advance, $60 on the door. It runs from 11am to 6pm on Saturday, 11am to 5pm on Sunday at 3 Oceans Palandri Estate on the Bussell Highway. There are shuttle buses running from Margaret River, Yallingup and Dunsborough. For more info or to book your tickets, head to the festival website. And look out for a review of the weekend on Crafty in the coming weeks.

Become A Beer Judge

2012-02-01T00:00:00Z

Ever wondered how trophy winning beers get selected? Ever wondered what it would be like to be one of the chosen few whose magical palate is given the task of tasting loads of beers from all over the world and deciding which are the best? Well, wonder no more. The people behind the Australian International Beer Awards, the second biggest competition of its kind in the world, are offering anyone working in the brewing industry – brewers, brewery managers, bar staff, beer sommeliers, hospitality professionals, retailers or marketers – the chance to train up as judges through its new Steward to Associate Judge Program.

The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, which this year celebrates 20 years running the awards, is looking for “dedicated volunteers” willing to work for two consecutive years in a stewarding role. This opens up the chance to become an associate judge in the third year of volunteering, if recommended by the Chief Steward and Chair of Judges.

The Australian International Beer Awards attracts in excess of 1,100 entries annually from all over the world. This year, judging takes place in Melbourne in April. The AIBA stewards are responsible for ensuring the judging process is smooth and professional, with a focus on pouring and delivering exhibits to the judging table. Stewards report and take direction from the AIBA Head Steward.

Stewarding duties typically include:

Set up of glassware for judging
Pouring beers for judging
Tapping kegs
Stock control
Removing glassware, washing glasses and keeping judging tables in a clean state
Ensuring event back of house is in order

Anyone interested in the Steward to Associate Program would be required for a minimum of four days during the judging period, plus an addition day to support AIBA events being held on May 18, 2012. To find out more, contact AIBA on (03) 9281 7473.

The AIBA Gala Dinner on May 17 is one of the key events at this year’s Good Beer Week, which runs from May 12 to 19 at venues across Melbourne and Victoria.

Looking Good

2012-01-30T00:00:00Z

The lineup for this year’s Good Beer Week in Melbourne is taking shape, with the 2012 festival set to be considerably bigger and – we hope – even better than last year’s triumphant debut. Event submissions closed on Australia Day, with around 80 registered across Melbourne and Victoria by breweries, beer bars, bottleshops, fine dining restaurants, cocktail bars, tour operators and more. They encompass everything from sorbets and chocolate to artwork and spit roasts, with a host of interstate and international breweries in attendance, plus the odd celebrity chef and, according to the festival’s events manager Kate Paterson, “even something to keep Star Wars fans happy”.

The Good Beer Week team is now compiling these proposed events into a program to run from May 12 to 19. The full program will be launched in print and online mid-March, giving punters two months to pick their favourite events and get prepared.

“There are some really creative and inspired ideas among the events that have been registered for this year’s festival,” says Kate. “It’s really exciting to see how the beer community is embracing the spirit of what Good Beer Week is all about – spreading the word about quality beer to a wider audience. There are events across the whole spectrum, from those that will appeal to beer nerds or hardcore foodies to those designed for anyone who simply enjoys a good beer. It’s great to see so many events registered too – up 60 per cent from 2011 – and to see so many new venues jumping on board.”

Despite being thrown together in just a few weeks last year, the 2011 Good Beer Week, which took place either side of the Australian International Beer Awards, was a roaring success, one of many moments in recent times that has reaffirmed the strength of the craft beer community. With longer to prepare this time around – and the addition of the monumental Great Australasian Beer Spectapular that’s set to take over the Royal Exhibition Building on the first weekend – it is set to be quite possibly the biggest celebration of good beer that Australia has seen. Not only are we aware of interstate and international brewers coming to Melbourne for the week, there are beer lovers flying in from overseas to join the festivities too.

“Right now, the small Good Beer Week team is working through the submissions,” says Kate. “We hope to have the program finalised by next Friday, at which point we’ll be informing participants which events have made it onto the 2012 program. Now we have a solid framework regarding events in place we are also seeking sponsors to get on board with the good beer community and assist us in making this the event we know it can be. The team is currently putting in huge amounts of time and effort on a voluntary basis and is now looking for support in promoting this amazing program.

“In the meantime, look out in March for some short films showing a fun, behind the scenes insight into Good Beer Week. Less than 16 weeks to go!”

Good Beer Week is on the look out for a sponsorship manager to join the team on a part time basis between now and the festival. If you’re interested and want to find out more, email marketing@goodbeerweek.com. Alternatively, if you’re interested in sponsoring Good Beer Week or placing advertising in the program, please also email marketing@goodbeerweek.com.

NB: The founder of The Crafty Pint is part of the Good Beer Week team.

Hottest 100 Beers Of 2011

2012-01-26T00:00:00Z

Congratulations Stone & Wood on adding this year’s Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers title to the Critic’s Choice award they picked up last year. Is there no stopping the Pacific Ale juggernaut? And why would anyone want to? The Byron Bay brewed cracker won by a huge margin, picking up 11.5 per cent of total votes; one in eight of all voters included the beer in their top five. As a result, there was a big gap between first and second, then a pretty tight spread covering two to ten.

The Pacific Ale (whose creator Brad Rogers is pictured above enjoying a Pacific straight from the tank) headed up an impressive top ten in The Local Taphouse’s latest running of the poll, with old favourite Little Creatures Pale maintaining its strong showing and serial trophy winner, Feral’s Hop Hog, completing the top three. The success of Creatures Big Dipper should encourage the Freo brewer to keep pumping out Single Batches, while it was a pretty hop heavy top ten, with the guys at Kooinda once again punching well above their weight; where last year their Pale secured a surprise fifth, here their Full Nelson Black IPA – a truly uncompromising beer – hit the number eight spot, just behind last year’s number one, Vale Ale.

Kooinda’s wasn’t the only Black IPA to hit the list, with the Thorny Goat rating highly and Feral’s Karma Citra and Murray’s Shawn’s Fault also making an appearance, alongside plenty of IPAs, IIPAs and Goat’s Seedy Goat coffee IPA. Several breweries or brewing companies made three or more appearances – Bridge Road, 4 Pines, Mountain Goat, Vale, Murray’s, Little Creatures, Moo Brew, Hawthorn, Kooinda, Holgate, Mornington Peninsula Brewery and The Grove.

There were also first appearances for newcomers including Moon Dog, Four Hearts, Thirsty Crow, Pinchgut, Two Birds and Yowie Lager. Thousands of votes were cast (we don’t have the final figures from The Local Taphouse yet) for around 850 beers; hopefully much discussion and tasting of Aussie craft beers was encouraged by the poll too. Anyway, enough prattling on – here’s the full list:

Thanks to Andrew Mitchell for putting the poll together, The Local Taphouse crew for conceiving the idea and running with it the past few years, and Brews News for helping publicise this year’s poll and making it the biggest yet.

Nailed On Funk

2012-01-24T00:00:00Z

Australia is to get its first ever dedicated sour beer brewery, after two of WA’s top brewers finalised plans to move into a joint facility. The decision of Nail and Feral to form Brewcorp and share a new 50 hectolitre brewery in Bayswater means Feral’s existing brewery in the Swan Valley will eventually be used to produce nothing but sour and wild ales and other funky Belgian styles. The remainder of Feral’s range will be switched over the course of the year to the shared facility, which will also allow Nail to ramp up its output significantly and supply its award-winning Ale and Stout to a wider audience.

“The vast majority of beers – 80 per cent – produced [at the existing Feral site] will be for our sour beer program,” says Brendan Varis, of Feral. “We need to be brewing beers now to sell in 18 months or two years time. It’s a different mentality for a brewer to make beers that take that long, rather than thinking three weeks ahead. It’s a pretty significant capital investment as we’ll have a dedicated filler for our sour bottles and dedicated tanks [to prevent contamination of other beers with the wild bacteria]. And if sour beer doesn’t catch on then I’m a pretty thirsty fella!”

He already has 60 barrels onsite that he has used to create sour beers such as the Dark Funk and Funky Junky as well as barrel-aged brews such as the King Brown cognac barrel-aged Imperial Brown. The aim is to move bottling and storage to Brewcorp and extend the barrel room.

His sour obsession can be traced to a bottle of Liefman Goudenband and has since led him to visit sour ale experts Russian River in the States several times, including attending one of the brewery’s Sour Beer Symposiums.

“The biggest attraction for me in a climate like we have got now is the refreshing character of the acidity,” he says. “Bitterness is good for refreshment but acidity is king.”

On its way is what he claims is his most ambitious sour beer yet: the Swanambic, which should be debuted at one of the Liquid Lounge events being hosted by The Crafty Pint at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. It is a beer fermented with wild yeasts living in the Feral brewery: Brendan poured wort into a clean mash tun post boil and left it open overnight in the brewery to pick up whatever was in the air. It was the fastest ferment he had ever witnessed.

The soon-to-be-sour Feral brewhouse

“We left ourselves at the mercy of what was floating in the brewhouse at the time. When we came back the following morning, it smelled of baked beans. Now it’s had months to develop it smells like three-week-old socks and that’s an improvement.”

If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, then you can console yourself that plenty of other Feral and Nail beers will be spreading across the country later this year. What’s more, the opening of Brewcorp represents, for Nail founder John Stallwood, a chance to get back into his own brewery after several years of “gypsy brewing” at other facilities, including Edith Cowan University, a situation forced upon him after he suffered serious injury in an incident in 2004.

“It’s been nearly eight years since my accident and I am finally in a better place to where I was before my accident,” he says. “If you believe in a dream then one day that dream will believe in you.

“The idea of Brewcorp is to save money. By sharing warehouse and equipment we pretty much pay half the price. It’s enabled both of us to have ownership of a 50HL brewery, something a few years ago I thought would be impossible without giving up ownership of Nail. By Feral and Nail being partners in Brewcorp we keep our breweries' ownership separate and therefore continue to be independent.”

He and Brendan are long established in the WA brewing scene – friends who enjoy a lively relationship.

“Both Feral and Nail have put lots on the line together so have strong trust in each other. We are sure to have our conflicts but can communicate constructively. Its going to be tough and very hard work but we now have no restriction on brewing capabilities and a lot better economics of scale. We are both competitive with each other but that should only help our quality.

“Brendan is a better brewer than me, I just brew better beer.”

The new brewery has been delayed in leaving the DME plant in Canada but will be delivered later this year. Feral will immediately transfer brewing of its White, Sorachi Ace and Hop Hog to Brewcorp with other beers to follow over time (Boris lovers – that should be one of the first to follow). Once the transfer is complete, Brendan will ramp up his sour production, a project he has been developing over the past few years.

Once the new facility is in place, John will begin brewing Nail Ale, Nail Stout and probably a Lite beer (currently under development and based on the Nail Ale) on a national scale in both draught and bottle. He will continue to brew some specialty beers at Degrees Brewery at Edith Cowan with others developed to brew on Brewcorp.

Picture at top is John Stallwood. Brendan Varis is on the right in the reflection in his glasses.

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

2012-01-23T00:00:00Z

If it’s as much of a mouthful as its name, then a new beer brewed especially for Australia Day should be worth hunting down. The snappily titled “100% Australian Owned Real Craft Brewed Australia Day Ale” has been produced by Sydney brewery Redoak to be launched on Thursday at their CBD venue and a handful of other bars across the country. The idea is to promote the drinking of beer brewed by breweries that are 100% Aussie-owned, with the resultant beer described as “a big Australian ale with a large amount of hops and fresh fruit flavours, a lovely mouthfeel and huge bitterness”, one that weighs in at 6.5% ABV.

It was brewed by Hollyoak on the day he launched the Australian Real Craft Brewers Association (ARCBA), a body designed to unite local craft brewers, shortly after the formation of fellow craft brewing association Craft Beer Limited.

In a statement accompanying the beer’s release, he says: “With the recent sale of Fosters to foreign ownership, now over 91% of all beer sold in Australia is foreign owned.

“While it is sad to lose such iconic brands, not all is lost as 100% Australian owned Real Craft Brewers with real passion for Craft Beer continue to rise to the challenge and fill the void. It’s our very own Real Craft Brewers who are providing diversity, initiative and creating exciting new craft beers.”

If you can’t make it to Redoak to sample the 100% Australian Owned Real Craft Brewed Australia Day Ale – perhaps Aussie ORCBADA for short – you’ll also find kegs at Cookie in Melbourne, Preachers in Hobart, Clancy’s in Fremantle, and 3 Weeds and The Royal Albert Hotel in Sydney.

Biggest Hottest 100 Yet

2012-01-18T00:00:00Z

Each year that the Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll has been run, it has doubled the number of votes of the previous year. Each year, voting has also usually been open for around 12 weeks. So, it’s quite something that in just one week the 2011 poll has already broken the record for the most votes ever made. Since being launched jointly last week by its founders, The Local Taphouse, as well as The Crafty Pint and Brews News, votes have flooded in, aided by the new voting system whereby voters select from a drop down list of beers rather than having to enter their choices manually. With more beers added to those lists since it went live, there are now well in excess of 800 to pick from!

Local Taphouse founder Steve Jeffares says: “Last year, voting for the Hottest 100 was open for 12 weeks but this year it has taken just one week to surpass the same number of voters as all of last year. It’s quite phenomenal really and an indication of how many people enjoy the sometimes tortuous task of selecting their favourite five Aussie craft beers of the year.“

The new system has given the man who set it up, Andrew Mitchell, the ability to see where votes are coming from and it seems they’re flying in from all over the world. At the same time, there have been campaigns by brewery staff to try and influence the result in their favour.

“Unsurprisingly, there have been some brewery staff running a campaign to vote for only their beers,“ says Steve. "But through the sheer number of unbiased voters, we are seeing a list perhaps truly reflective of the great beers of 2011.”

Voting closes in a week’s time – at 11.30pm on January 25, 2012 – with results to be revealed at midday the following day, so don’t delay. If you’re still contemplating who to go for, don’t forget to check out the SPECIAL BEERS section of this site for reminders of around 150 of the limited releases to come your way in 2011.

And finally, a confession: we’ve not picked our five yet. But, having failed to find the time to run an article on Crafty’s Ten for 2011 as we did for 2010 due to a particularly hectic end to last year, we thought this poll was as good an excuse as any to put one together; who knows, it might act as something of a reminder too.

So, acknowledging the fact that, despite best efforts, we didn’t sample every beer to come out of Australia’s micros this year, here goes (in no particular order):

Feral Karma Citra (Black IPA)

A relatively new style that took hold of brewers' imaginations Down Under for much of the year, this was debuted at the Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular in February and was the first beer to blow at both St Kilda and Darlinghurst. Brewer Brendan Varis promptly declared he was unhappy with it… It’s been tweaked since and, on last sampling, was just how you’d imagine a black IPA should be. Honourable mentions to Kooinda’s Full Nelson, a massively full on take on the style that was improbably likeable, Dr’s Orders Mind Warp and the Thorny Goat. And if Temple had released it a little earlier, who knows whether the Midnight IPA might have pipped them all?

Red Hill Bohemian Pilsner

Such is the consistency of Red Hill’s beers, many of them would have a chance of appearing in anyone’s end of year pick (well, those who are lucky enough to be able to get hold of them). Fresh, this is as good a pilsner as you’ll find: rich, full-bodied and drop dead gorgeous to look at in a glass. What’s more, we had to squeeze at least one lager into the list, surely…

Murray’s Oak-Aged Heart of Darkness

OK, so when a brewer of the quality of Shawn Sherlock tells you he’s brewed probably his best beer yet, you’re bound to be excited. And the result, this, really was a treat. That said, throughout a winter of massive Aussie stouts, the competition was fierce: Hargreaves Hill’s Russian Imperial Stout (RIS); Red Hill’s Imperial Stout; Moo Brew (Barrel-Aged and standard) Stout; Seven Sheds' Whisky Willie Warmer; Feral’s Boris; Murray’s Wild Thing; need we go on?

Bright MIA IPA

A beer that nearly killed its brewer. Well, sort of. Bright’s Jon Seltin went missing in action while indulging in the adventure sports of the Victorian Alps the day before this beer was due to be debuted at the Victorian Microbreweries Showcase. Search parties were sent out, wreaths were ordered (OK, they weren’t, but it did get pretty bad), before eventually Jon reappeared and was banished to the brewery to pack everything up ready for the trip to Melbourne. A gloriously refreshing hop monster that wasn’t actually in any way monstrous, we dearly hope they bring it back and replicate its awesomeness (without the near death experience). As above, it’s a pick that could have gone in many other hop heavy directions, not least Bridge Road’s Galaxy IPA, Hargreaves Hill’s Melanie (sorry, Topaz and Amarillo IPA), Mornington Peninsula’s IIPA (which we preferred to their single IPA), Goat’s Rare Breed IPA and old favourite, the Hop Hog.

La Sirène Saison

“You bloody what, Crafty? What the hell is La Sirène?” This. And in launching their first beer at the end of 2011, along with a promise to only ever brew French and Belgian farmhouse styles, they added a cracking take on what’s becoming an increasingly popular style. See Murray’s Le Natural and Bridge Road’s Saison for two other crackers.

Murray’s Punk Monk

Just as the rise in popularity of saisons is something we welcome with open arms, so is the steady arrival of more Belgian styles. Murray’s is among those leading the way, with this beer one that’s punk by name but actually rather smooth by nature – and one that we’d love see much more of. Running it close in the world of Belgians were Lord Nelson’s delightfully crisp Anniversary Ale, Goat’s Oak-Aged Rapunzel Mark II (much better with the spritzy addition of some golden ale pre-tapping than it had been on its first release), Ninkasi’s Angel, Lobethal’s Devil’s Choice and – other than when they experimented with the ferment temperature and made a batch that was a little solventy for our delicate nose – Little’s Mad Abbot Tripel.

Bridge Road India Saison

Well, we’ve done hoppy beers and funky Belgians, so how about a beer that combined the two? When we first sampled this, it was cold, cold, cold and all we got was a wall of Galaxy and Stella hops. When it warmed, the saison side of things came to the fore in what we can only describe as two beers in one, but two that are co-habiting in a way that Carl Williams and Matthew Johnson could only dream of.

Mountain Goat Skipping Girl

The Pacific Ale might have nailed the market in awesomely-refreshing-and-quaffable-aromatic-as-hell-hop-treats-with-a-decent-percentage-of-wheat-for-dryness-of-finish, but this – one of three Goat summer seasonals – stood up against it brilliantly for the short time it was around at the start of 2011. In fact, side by side in a pub tasting, the Skipping Girl, which used Kiwi hops to the Pacific’s Aussie, won Crafty’s heart.

4 Pines Wee Heavy

It’s probably not right to include too many beers that only appeared as one-offs, but what are you gonna do? Sue us? The beer fridge’s the only thing worth claiming! Among all the wild and crazy beers unleashed at GABS in February, this multi-layered malty marvel was one we kept going back to. OK, we kept going back to the Karma Citra, Two Hills Maibock and Holgate Empress too, but not as much as this one. A lovely rich, British style ale, which was kept good company in its field in 2011 by the likes of the Holgate Nut Brown Ale, Van Dieman’s Little Hell, and 3 Ravens USB.

Little Creatures Pale Ale

Expecting a biggie to end? Well, you got one, the biggest seller of them all. You’ll find plenty who’ll say it’s changed, it’s not what it was, and so on, and indeed the brewers do play around with the recipe. But it’s a beer that has done so much to change the beer scene here in Australia and one that never lets you down. Simply a beautifully balanced beer you can knock back at any time. In the field of tasty, session pales, Mornington Peninsula’s Pale Ale, the first beer they bottled, was mighty impressive too.

So there we go. No room for plenty of others we’ve enjoyed, others as varied as Kooinda’s Karakaberry Witbier, Feral’s King Brown, Moon Dog’s Black Lung and Mildura’s Choc Hops. No mention of a sour beer yet, but that’s going to be the story of 2012, don’t you think? All that’s left now is to work out which five to enter for the poll. Wish us luck…

The More The Merrier

2012-01-16T00:00:00Z

It’s a new year, so time to add some new listings to The Crafty Pint. While in NSW for Sydney Craft Beer Week late last year, we headed out on the road to visit a few more breweries, bars and a bottleshop, all with the aim of improving our coverage of the state and populating the Beer Finder a little more. At the same time as adding them, we’re also filling a few of the gaps in Victoria too. New on the site today are:

Beer Cartel – a great little bottleshop in Artarmon that grew from an online business and has plans to create an onsite tasting room.
Schwartz Brewery – a well established microbrewery in the bowels of the former Macquarie Hotel, now renamed the Schwartz Brewery Hotel, in Sydney’s CBD.
Pumphouse Bar – a striking looking venue in Darling Harbour that’s undergone a seriously beery reinvention in the past year or so.
HopDog BeerWorks – one of Australia’s newest and smallest micros, this Nowra brewery has been creating some crazy concoctions in its short lifetime.
Little Brewing – the Port Macquarie based microbrewery with a reputation for full-flavoured, true to style beers.
The Albion Hotel – the pub that, along with the Warners at the Bay bottleshop, is leading the craft beer revolution in Newcastle.
Temple – the much-admired brewing company finally opened its brewery, bar and brasserie just in time for Christmas.
Woodlands Hotel – a truly unique venue, packed with Victorian beers and wines, excellent food and some seriously out there decor.
Goldmines Hotel – part of the sudden upsurge in craft beer appreciation in Bendigo and a darn pretty hotel to boot.

Next up we’ll be adding more venues from Tasmania and South Australia following recent trips, with yet more gaps to be filled in Victoria. Then, with WA on the agenda for later this week, look out for more listings from the home of craft beer in Australia in the near future.

Meanwhile, if you’re wondering why we’re not adding listings faster, it’s because our policy is to visit every brewery, bar or bottleshop first and spend time with the owners so we can offer what we hope is a genuine reflection of what to expect from an independent viewpoint. We write the copy and take pretty much all of the photos you see on these pages rather than asking brewers or venue owners to supply their own. It’s a time-consuming way of doing things but we believe it means you get a better experience.

Anyway, check out the new boys and girls and, as soon as you get the chance, go visit them and show your support for what they’re doing.

Murray's At Manly Returns

2012-01-12T00:00:00Z

In Herman Melville’s epic novel Moby Dick, Captain Ahab spent a lifetime on rough seas pursuing the elusive white whale, a journey that ultimately consumed him. To follow Ahab’s journey today there are two options: (1) smuggle yourself on board a ‘scientific whaling’ vessel, or (2) hop on a ferry to Manly where, in an infinitely more favourable twist on the tale, it will be you who will be consuming the white whale. To the great relief of animal rights activists the latter option does not mean there is a restaurant serving hari-hari nabe and to the great relief of craft beer lovers it does mean that Murray’s is now pouring its flagship Whale Ale on the peninsula.

That Murray’s has opened their own restaurant at one of Sydney’s most iconic beachside locations is perhaps the clearest indication yet that the craft beer scene has moved from dimly lit back sheds towards the mainstream. Murray’s at Manly is the newest addition to the burgeoning craft beer fraternity and as Murray Howe, owner and founder, says “in terms of location, this is the premiership”. It’s hard to argue.

Sitting directly opposite the beach on prime real estate and a prime people-watching position in the sunshine, you can now enjoy a beer good enough to match the surroundings. In fact you can, and probably will, enjoy much more than one beer. The whole Murray’s range is available, which means up to 18 craft beers on tap plus those in bottle and whatever seasonal releases happen to be, well, in season.

A dingy boozer this is not. A wholesale revamp has made the interior naturally bright and airy, with particular attention paid to making the most of the sea views – just so you remember you’re at the beach and it’s OK to kick back and enjoy yourself. That probably explains the cushy seats which make you more inclined to recline. Indeed, such is the relaxed ‘beachy’ vibe of the place it feels more like going to a friend’s modern beach house for a meal – albeit one which can accommodate 300 diners. That’s a lot of people but it’s necessary because, despite the obvious beer connection, this is a restaurant first and foremost. Scratch that, this isn’t a restaurant at all: as the menu states, it’s “a real beer and food adventure”.

What Murray’s at Manly aims to do is introduce craft beer – something not everyone loves – to people via food – something everybody loves. They’ve put together a comprehensive food menu where each item has been carefully matched with one of their beers. From the relatively simple – Fish & Chips with a Whale Ale (Wheat Beer) or Pork Spare Ribs with the Angry Man Pale Ale – to the more complex – Belgian Beef Carbonade with a Heart of Darkness (Imperial Stout) or Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee with a Grand Cru (Trippel/Golden Strong Ale) – there genuinely is something for everyone in terms of both sustenance and liquid refreshment. By serving quality food with a beer of equal quality, the overall dining experience is enhanced and customers head home with a better understanding of the virtues of quality craft beer.

As remarkable as it seems, not everyone knows about craft beer. Not yet anyway. With this in mind, dining at Murray’s is designed to be as approachable as possible to the newcomer. In addition to the beer and food matching, staff will happily give recommendations, explain curious terms like ‘IPA’ and ’hand pump’ and provide samples. Removing some of the intimidation about beer – yes, it can be intimidating – helps to get people talking about the beer which in turn is a good starting point to getting them interested in it.

Murray Howe (left) with head brewer Shawn Sherlock

Having only reopened in late December 2011 following the refit the venue is still very new, so the real test of converting the masses lies ahead. Among planned events are regular Beer & Cheese and Beer & Chocolate matching classes, as well as Meet the Brewer sessions. Pushing the quality craft beer message is something Murray’s is particularly keen to get behind, not solely for their own business but for craft brewers and craft beer in general. To that end, they also have plans for Tap Takeovers where smaller Australian craft brewers will get exposure to a market that would otherwise be virtually impossible to reach.

Murray’s enthusiasm and passion for craft beer has taken the business from dreaming of selling a keg of IPA a week in rural NSW to having a venue at one of the more prominent foreshores in Sydney. Even for an industry on the rise, setting up shop at Manly is a bold statement of intent, one which should be wholeheartedly encouraged by anyone interested in seeing quality craft beer make it into more hearts, minds and pint glasses.

Whale watching on the east coast has always been a popular activity but, thanks to Murray’s, it’s gotten a whole lot better.

Thanks to Nick Oscilowski, the man behind Water & Hops & Malt & Yeast, a blog about Aussie and Kiwi beer. A Kiwi craft beer lover who moved to Sydney a few months and was initially shocked at how little good beer he could find, Nick began to dig a little deeper and gradually found what he was looking for. That inspired him to start his blog, then he found The Crafty Pint, got in touch and here’s his first article for us. Hopefully, there will be more to come.

Hottest 100 Of 2011

2012-01-10T00:00:00Z

Yes, it’s back – the Hottest 100 Australian Craft Beers poll returns for a fourth run, giving you the chance to tell us which beers amazed you in 2011. Since its launch by The Local Taphouse in 2008, the annual poll has doubled in size each year – in keeping with the rapid growth in popularity of craft beer. As you may recall, last year The Crafty Pint sponsored the poll and, this time around, in the spirit of togetherness, Australian Brews News is joining the action too.

As in past years, all you have to do is cast your mind back over 2011 and try to recall which beers were the standouts for you. And in an improvement on past years, the voting process has been made more user-friendly. Taphouse Ale Star Andrew Mitchell has put together a voting form – here – that allows you to pick your favourite beers from a drop down list rather than having to type them in yourself. There are around 750 in the list (yes – 750!), but if there are any you’ve had and loved that aren’t there, you can enter them in a box on the voting form and we’ll get them added pronto.

If you want a reminder of what’s been on offer this year, we ended up putting nearly 150 limited releases in our SPECIAL BEERS section in 2011 – not bad considering we’ve still got a long way to go before we’ve got listings up and running for every Aussie brewery (look out for a few new additions this coming Monday – January 16). If you visit the BREWERIES directory, you can access descriptions of all the year round beers for the breweries that are listed on the site, while brewers, bar and bottleshop owners picked some of their favourites in our state by state end of year roundups here, here, here, here and here.

Alternatively, if you already know your top five and are ready to vote, simply head here and click away.

Once again, the top 100 will be revealed on Australia Day, which means there’s less time to vote than in previous years. However, because of the spiffing new automated system, voting will be open right up until 11.30pm on January 25, just in case you need to revisit a few favourites before casting your votes. And, in keeping with past polls, one voter will be selected at random to win a case of each of the top five beers, provided those beers are available in packaged form. Where a beer isn’t available, we’ll move to the next one in the list.

“The Hottest 100 is a great idea,” says Australian Brews News founder Matt Kirkegaard. “With beer awards, there are any number of formats and ways of deciding who’s in, but sometimes it is the people’s choice approach that unearths some overlooked gems. The Hottest 100 looks at beer consumed the way it is naturally – not under award judging conditions that are usually very technical and can take beer out of its natural context.

“We often debate the merits of various beers as we convene for a cold one with our friends. This gives everyone with an opinion about a beer the chance to vote for it and see how it stacks up against the favourites of others. What’s more, Australia Day has, unfortunately, come to be associated with some of the least attractive aspects of drinking. I want to reclaim the day for beer’s best characteristic: flavour. The Hottest 100 is a popular celebration of the best beers from the best breweries in Australia and puts the most positive face of our national drink forward on our national day.”

Taphouse co-owner Guy Greenstone says: “The Local Taphouses in Sydney and Melbourne have run a Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Brews poll for the past three years with the results always causing much debate.

“We’re not necessarily looking for the number one selling craft beer nationwide. Rather, what are the favourite craft beers people have tasted this year? For the purposes of this fun poll, the beer must have been brewed in 2011 in Australia by anyone other than macro-brewers' main operations. The beer must have been commercially for sale (even if it’s just at the cellar door) on draught or in bottles.”

So there you go. Will Vale Ale follow up on its surprise victory from last year? Will an old favourite rise to the top once more? Will a newcomer appear from nowhere to surprise us? Will you find 120 awesome beers landing on your doorstep soon? Either way, grab your matres, crack a few of your favourite beers and some mates and get voting!

For last year’s countdown, head here.

Show Us Yer Beers!

2012-01-09T00:00:00Z

It’s time for brewers to put their beers to the test, with submissions opening today for the Australian International Beer Awards. This year the country’s largest beer awards celebrates its 20th anniversary and hopes to attract the biggest number of entries yet. Last year, almost 1,200 beers from 34 countries were entered and this year a number of new categories have been introduced to keep pace with the fast-changing beer world. Among the new categories are Champion Large Australian Brewery and Champion Small Australian Brewery, plus Champion Large and Small International Brewery. With a handful of new beer trophies introduced too, there are now 24 titles up for grabs.

The changes have come about following the appointment of an advisory group drawn from all quarters of the Australian beer industry, which has been meeting regularly since the last awards in May 2011. The committee features Bill Taylor of Lion Nathan, Brad Rogers of Stone & Wood, Chris Badenoch of Josie Bones, Leif Ryan of Phoenix Beers, Peter Aldred from the University of Ballarat and AIBA Chief Judge, Peter Manders.

Ann Houlihan, manager of Epicure Events at the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, says: “Now in its twentieth year, the Australian International Beer Awards is one of the most highly regarded awards in the industry, attracting incredibly high quality and inventive beers from Australian and international breweries.

“With the Australian International Beer Awards growing in reach and prominence each year, the introduction of the new advisory group will ensure the awards maintain relevance to the Australian and International brewing industry."

As in 2011, the judging panel will include a number of prominent overseas judges, with judging taking place at the Melbourne Showgrounds in April and results to be announced at a Gala Dinner on May 17. The dinner is one of the keys events in the 2012 Good Beer Week festival, which runs across venues in Melbourne and Victoria from May 12 to 19.

Submissions for entries to the awards close on February 10, 2012. Full details on how to enter, as well as information on the new categories and how the judging will be carried out, can be found here. Good luck, everyone!

For last year’s winners, head here.

The 2011 Judging Process

Beer Awards from The White Tree on Vimeo.

The 2011 Awards Dinner

TheCraftyPint - Australian International Beer Awards from The Post Project on Vimeo.

Malaysian Invasion

2012-01-03T00:00:00Z

Readers of The Crafty Pint’s Friday newsletter may recall plans for a craft beer bar in Kuala Lumpur serving a selection of Aussie and Kiwi beers. The brainchild of two Malaysian brothers who developed a taste for quality beer after moving to Australia, Taps is now open, bringing our local brews to a brand new audience – an audience that, according to the brothers, wasn’t getting the chance to experience the craft beer revolution.

“There is a real shortage of quality beer in Malaysia,” says Adrian Chong, “and the market faces even worse access issues than those that exist in Australia, such as difficulty in getting a license to brew, high taxes, and so on. A large number of Malaysians are only exposed to mass-marketed beer, with Carlsberg and Tiger being our VB and Carlton equivalents, and very few are aware of how great beer can be. We thought we could change that and hopefully get people talking and excited about beer while bringing proper, quality ales and lagers to Asia.

“It was also very important for us to maintain our independence and in that regard we have been called everything from brave to crazy to stupid.”

Their first shipment included beers from Mountain Goat, Holgate, Bridge Road, Red Duck, Kooinda, 3 Ravens and Mornington Peninsula Brewery. It marks quite a change from the Aussie beers previously on offer: other than very small amounts of one or two micros, it’s been Crown Lager and VB sold as premium imports at premium prices.

“I looked at brewers with bigger capacities and brewers which I personally liked at first,” says Adrian. “I chose Mountain Goat because they were bigger and I thought that the Steam and Hightail would be excellent introductory craft beers. I was a big fan of the 3 Ravens Black and the Kooinda Pale Ale and Full Nelson, so I thought I’d ask them. Holgate has always been a mainstay so it would be wrong to not include them. Red Duck was one of the beers that got me on my way to craft beer when i had them while travelling down to the Great Ocean Road and never turned back. I became a big AG fan [the brewer at Mornington Peninsula] after having the Mornington IPA. Bridge Road make some excellent beers and was a no brainer.

“In fact we were hoping to squeeze in a few more before our cutoff, such as 2 Brothers, Murray’s and Feral into the mix as well. Next time we hope to include Bright Brewery and Prickly Moses too.

“It wasn’t all that hard to convince the breweries to sell to us. The bigger issue was coordination and trying to maximise variety in time for the shipment. If anything, the brewers were super excited and extremely helpful, particularly Jamie and Mick at Kooinda who very patiently explained everything to us first-timers – the most clueless bar owners in the history of man!”

Taps is located one of the more artsy, upmarket areas of Kuala Lumpur, where there is a variety of restaurants, bars and lounges, and is close enough to the heart of town to attract a mix locals, workers, expatriates and tourists. It’s a sleek, contemporary affair, with a row of taps hanging over the bar. With Adrian and his brother spending most of the year in Australia, the bar is being run by three of their cousins – Alvin, Mili and Aaron. There have been a few bumps along the way, but the bar has enjoyed a positive first Christmas, even welcoming Kjetil Jikiun, founder of Nøgne Ø to the bar when he was en route to New Zealand.

“We thought it would be the easiest thing starting a bar – but it turned out there were a lot of things we didn’t foresee. Staff, design, building and logistics were all challenges and the guys in KL have done a terrific job in getting the bar set up. It’s a very steep learning curve and there have been a lot of sleepless nights, but I think we’re nearly there.

“We hope to get the locals a bit more interested in craft beer, so that is our ideal target market. At the same time, we think we’ll have a fair few expatriates and tourists at our bar.

“That said, the only way to encourage local craft beer enthusiasm is to educate, and we hope to do that by giving them as many beers from as many places as possible. The good news is a lot of brewers are very passionate about educating people on beer and so we’ve had the great luck and honour of having Kjetil make a special trip to the bar. So hopefully with the passion and support with of everyone in the industry, both in Australia and the rest of the world, we can do what we hope to do, which is to educate Malaysians about better beer.”

In the past year, we’ve seen numerous examples across Australia where the passion of one or two individuals has helped towns and cities open up to craft beer.

Here’s hoping the Taps team has similar success in KL. With a second shipment of beers due to feature a range of Kiwi breweries as well as more Aussies, they should do just fine.

Taps Beer Bar is at One Residency, 1 Jalan Nagasari, Off Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur. You can keep tabs with what’s going on and what’s on tap via Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

Year In Beer: WA & QLD

2011-12-31T00:00:00Z

So, just time for the final look back on 2011 before you all go and crack something special for Hogmanay. And as a festive treat, it’s a two states in one bonanza. OK, so we did pose the questions to a few others in WA and Queensland and planned to run them separately, but it seems the respondents have been rather busy brewing or selling beer, which is fair enough. Also, no Northern Territory yet – another frontier that awaits the arrival of craft beer – and apologies to ACT; we’ll catch up with the activities at the Wig & Pen soon enough, no doubt.

WA is the home of craft beer in Australia and celebrated another great year at the Australian International Beer Awards, collecting a swag of awards, while the local craft beer industry established its first ever microbrewery showcase in Perth. With some of the leading brewers in the state having big plans for 2012, there’s little sign of a let up. Meanwhile, Queensland, the state where craft beer had made perhaps less of an inroad than any outside NT until now, has had a phenomenal second half to the year, with new craft focused venues opening regularly and the local media really getting behind the burgeoning scene.

So, without further ado, for the last time in 2011, we ask: “How was it for you?”

Matt Marinich (see pic above), formerly manager of Freo’s Sail & Anchor, now manning the fort at The Quarie

How was 2011 for you?
Extremely fun and rewarding. Bringing the Sail back to the tip of the craft beer spear in Australia and gaining the venue the title of “Best Beer Venue in Australia”. Unfortunately due to painful work conditions and lack of support, I had to break free and start working for a private operator that understands the needs to spend money in the right areas.

What was the highlight of the year?
Firstly, the birth of our daughter Mabel. Secondly, getting the Sail up to the highest standard of Beer Venue in Australia.

Anything that surprised you?
Being voted second best beer tender in Australia was a nice tip of hat!

The best beer you tasted all year.
Dude, where to start?! [Soft! – Crafty]

What would you most like to see in 2012?
WA craft beer in cans!!! C’mon! If I had a micro I would have done it two years ago. Someone please sort this out! Less head space for oxidation.

Steve Brockman, one of the two head brewers at The Monk in Freo

How was 2011 for you?
Personally a very big year – moved up from Margaret River to do the ECU Brewing Post Grad Diploma with Hugh Dunn, met some amazingly talented and passionate young brewers while studying. It was very satisfying finally finding a niche of people as passionate about good beer I was. To land a co-head brewing job at The Monk, with my good friend Paul Wyman, was spectacular as well, many thanks to ex-head brewer – Justin ’Juzzy’ Fox for a smooth transition.

The Monk’s co-head brewers

What was the highlight of the year?
Getting involved in the Western Australian Brewing Organisation and putting our pedal to the metal until we finally ran the inaugural WA Craft Beer Showcase! After a few failed starts after the last couple of years it was awesome to see us come together to show just how strong our craft beer scene is in WA.

Also the first seasonal release from Paul and I, the Coconut Stout, finally hitting the taps was a moment I’ll cherish for quite a while. Your first commercial beer produced from scratch is always going to be a thrill!

Anything that surprised you?
Just how much good beer the Sail and Anchor was able to put on. The guest list always had something I hadn’t tried before which is rare in a pub. And Rex Attitude. What a surprise that was!

The best beer you tasted all year.
So many… Murray’s 2IPA, Kooinda Black IPA, Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude, Firestone Walker Signature Range Double Jack Double IPA (part of a coup for the Monk’s American Beer Week)

What would you most like to see in 2012?
A continued push by everyone, both locally and nationally, to push craft beer into glasses of Australian consumers. It’s a very exciting time for craft beer in Australia, with the national body (or bodies) coming close to unifying a response, and growing the craft beer segment. I hope everyone can come together, realise the greater good in it for all of us, and just get on with it. More beer events, and continued success of events such as the WA Craft Beer Showcase will be really satisfying too.

Wade Curtis, founder of the 4 Hearts Brewing Company and instigator of a mini-craft beer revolution in his hometown of Ipswich

How was 2011 for you?
Awesome, several bars taking on 4 Degrees Pale Ale, the launch of Summer Wheat, a tap or two in Brisbane and the launch of both beers in five litre mini kegs. Overall an excellent year for 4 Hearts and craft beer in South East Queensland and great media coverage for Ipswich as the craft beer capital of Queensland.

What was the highlight of the year?
I think Queensland Homebrewing Conference (QHC) was the highlight, great people, great beers and great food, what more can you ask for! I think seeing Bitter Suite and The Scratch Bar opening were great too.

Anything that surprised you?
Getting a great repsonse to the launch of 4 Degrees Pale Ale at the Platform Bar only to be told at the start fo the year “our tap contracts mean we can’t have your beer on tap”, very sad.

The best beer you tasted all year.
Possibly the last two Little Creatures Single Batches: Dreadnought and Big Dipper. Had a Tokyo Black Horizon and Mikeller Beer Geek Breakfast on the night before QHC that were very nice too.

What would you most like to see in 2012?
More craft beer bars in Brissy and Ipswich, I would love to see 4 Hearts with a brewery to call home in 2012, not sure if that will happen. Definitely looking at having the Pale Ale in bottles for national distribution in 2012 and there is a rumour about a QLD tap takeover for Good Beer Week – that will be awesome. [Not just a rumour, Wade!]

I’d love to win a medal at the AIBA too this year! I’m also really looking forward to seeing 20 independent craft beer taps at the Yamanto Tavern early in the new year.

Paul Wyman, the other brewer at The Monk and Queenslander now working in WA so covering both bases in 2011!

How was 2011 for you?
2011 has been one of the best years yet, so much happened in such a short amount of time. The start of the year had me packing up all my things and driving across the whole of Australia from Brisbane, QLD to Perth, WA. Once here, like Steve, I started my studies of a Post Grad in Brewing at ECU with the beer master, Hugh Dunn to improve my beer knowledge and hopefully become a craft brewer one day. Was great to finally be around people who understand and appreciate top quality beer after being starved for so long in QLD, with the majority of the class now all having jobs in the brewing industry!

Then halfway through the year the opportunity of a lifetime popped up, with offer of becoming the brewer at The Monk Brewery in Fremantle, thanks to Justin Fox! Now the year has finished off with myself and my good mate Steve Brockman being the head brewers at The Monk, living our craft brewing dreams and hopefully change people’s perceptions of what beer can be!

What was the highlight of the year?
There were quite a few, firstly the great drive across Australia to pursue a beer appreciator’s dream with so much unknown, and then amazingly being given the opportunity to take over the reins at an award winning micro-brewery like the Monk. Another was having the opportunity to brew with the amazing guys at Stone & Wood for a week in beautiful Byron Bay; it was tough but someone has to do it! Lastly, the hard work my brewing partner Steve and many others put in to get the WA Beer showcase up and running was something special. To have so many award winning breweries in one place for the WA public to soak up especially when you take into account the distance some breweries travelled was great!

Anything that surprised you?
I was surprised by the beer culture that WA has. Generally, the drinker is a lot more educated and appreciates a well crafted beer. The Sail and Anchor is proof of that, what a treasure to have at our doorstep – their beer selection is out of this world! Not to mention the numerous bottle shops around WA like Mane Liquor who stock some 700 plus craft beers from around the world, it’s a beer lovers heaven!

Secondly, would have to be how much my home state is starting to learn about craft beer with two new beer bars opening up, with more and more development in QLD craft beer happening daily. I hope to come home and be part of it one day but for now WA beer culture has been far too good to me!

The best beer you tasted all year
One of the worst questions for a beer lover…. Gosh, where to start… The Monk produced some great seasonals – The Bounty (a Coconut Stout) which tasted like lamingtons really changed people’s ideas of a dark beer and our own Amber Ale which showcases all the best parts of a beer: full malts, hops and bitterness! In Australia, Murrays has some great beers, their Angry Man (Brown Ale) and Icon 2IPA were special. Moo Brew are always solid, Feral is always doing something special and Bridge Road are really pushing the boundaries.

New Zealand is producing great beers, the whole range from Yeastie Boys is special, Epic is good and 8 Wired are amazing! From America, the Sierra Nevada range is fantastic, Rogue Dead Guy Ale and Hazelnut Brown Ale is something special and I had the privilege of trying the Stone Brewing Co., Pizza Port, Firestone Walker, Ballast Point and Lost Abbey beers to name a few at our own American Beer Week this year. The best wheat beers for the year would have to be the ever reliable Weihenstephaner, Sierra Nevada Hefe and Blanche de Namur.

What would you most like to see in 2012?
I would like to see QLD keep developing the craft beer presence that has started there over the last couple of years.

I would like to see the national bodies work out their differences so we can have one association take care of the whole brewing industry and in general improve the overall profile of craft beer in Australia. I think we can all agree on one thing that we want the average punter out there more aware of what craft beer is and how much better it is then the big breweries' beers.

I would like to see the Australia Government to review the current excise tax arrangements and give a tax in terms of overall volume being produced which is more in line with the current craft beer market which is growing daily!

That’s it then, folks. Hope your 2011 was as great as ours – and here’s to an even bigger year for Aussie craft beer in 2012. Cheers!