News & Feature Stories
Queensland Beer Week
It’s that time of the year when humans and humpback whales alike flee the colder Aussie climes and head en masse to Queensland for sunshine and, in the case of the whales at least, a spot of breeding.…
Malaysia's Taps Takeover
Despite the rapid growth in the local craft beer market in recent years, we still tend to get a little excited when a venue away from the capitals eschews the financial incentives of tap contracts and…
The Crafty Planner: July 2 to 8
Now that we have a dedicated events bod taking care of the Crafty Pint diary, it’s starting to fill out rather nicely. Brewers and venues are even remembering to take time out from brewing and hawking…
Golden 'Gong
What do you know about Wollongong? That it has the deepest port on Australia's east coast? That, for some reason, it is home to the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere? That it has a Motorlife…
A Generous Pour
Considering Western Australia's justifiable claim to being the home of Australian craft beer, the Perth CBD has always been an infuriatingly difficult place to find a locally brewed pint. OK, the Adelphi…
Good Beer Week: Around the Houses
Missing Good Beer Week? If so, we’ve got good news. In the form of photos. Roving photographer – barman – beer lover Michael Carlson took his trusty camera around to a number of the Melbourne…
Collaboration Crazy
Beer knowledge hasn’t always expanded as fast as the craft beer industry. And, while the world would be a terribly dull place if everyone was an uber-keen beer geek eager to analyse every nuance in their…
Beer Travel: The Beers They Are A-Changin'
Regular readers of The Crafty Pint will be well aware of the activities of Bendigo Beer, a group of beer lovers who have helped turn their city from a virtual craft beer wasteland into a thriving regional…
Over The Hill
At The Crafty Pint, we’ve been lucky enough to visit most of Australia’s microbreweries. We’ve been to those with their own private beach, those with mountain views and those sharing…
Full Steam Ahead
It seems there might be something in this craft beer thing, at least if the number of new festivals popping up all over the country are any guide. Where once the likes of the Australian Hotel’s annual…
Get more Crafty!
Sign up to our newsletters and get the latest craft beer news delivered free to your inbox. Choose from our Friday Roundup of the week, the quick-read, social feed-like Crafty Cuppa – or both!
Extended Family
If you were planning on introducing a beer into the Australian market, what style would it be? Put that question to a hardcore craft beer drinker and you would perhaps be greeted with a hop bomb, a lambic…
From Little Things...
The Australian beer scene has woken to the news this morning that Lion has made an offer for Little World Beverages – known for brands such as Little Creatures, White Rabbit and Pipsqueak Cider – and…
Beers By The Bay
It’s hardly the weather to be thinking of spending time on Port Phillip Bay, unless of course you’re a masochist. Yet, if you’re a beer lover and can cast your mind forward to what will…
Lovely Jubbly
Let’s take a moment to say thanks for international travel shall we? Sure, national carrier Qantas looks to be going the way of the dodo and our government has a less than favourable take on those…
Perfect Harmony
The word "collaborate" has been thrown about quite a bit lately. In fact, the word probably hasn't had such wide usage since 1990 when Vanilla Ice had a number one hit after urging the world to "Stop,…
Imperial Ambitions
If you're the type who only drinks light, crisp, refreshing lagers, you might be advised to stop reading at this point because things are about to get very dark indeed… July is Dark Beer Month at…
The GBW Golden Ticket
Yes, we know this year’s Good Beer Week has only just finished, but preparations are already underway for 2013. And as part of those preparations the Good Beer Week Team is seeking feedback from…
Crafty Snaps: Stone & Wood's Stone Brew 2012
In what is becoming something of an Aussie craft beer institution, Stone & Wood invited a collection of beer folks – writers, bloggers, bar owners and their friends and family – to their…
Ferry Aged Beer
The journey made by strong, hoppy pale ales from British breweries to the mouths of colonials in the British Empire in India is the most famous in beer’s long and colourful history. Not just because…
Sydney Steps Up
One of the great sights at this year’s Good Beer Week was the arrival in Melbourne of so many interstate and overseas beer lovers, including a fair few from New South Wales. A notable absentee, however,…
Five And Fighting
On May 22, 2007, the independent state representative for Port Macquarie, Rob Oakeshott, officially opened a new brewery in the city. At the time, it just seemed like just another case of a local official…
Good Beer Week: Star Spangled Canners
When it comes to craft beer role models, it’s hard to look past our friends in the USA. Over the past few decades, they have turned their industry from essentially nothing into the largest in the world.…
From Little Things...
Whether Paul Kelly will feel moved to mark the occasion with a song is questionable, but for those of us keen to see the craft beer revolution spread into every corner of Australia, this promises to be…
Ravens Still Raving?
The ad on Grays Online leaves no room for doubt: “Complete Brewery Closure”. And certainly the messages of surprise and commiseration passing around the Victorian craft beer world this week at the…
Wigging Out
He may have a beer named “The Judges Are Still Old Codgers” in their honour but that hasn’t stopped Richard Watkins, the brewer behind Wig & Pen’s beers, taking home one of the major trophies at…
Good Beer Week End
And now the end is near / And so I face the final curtain / My friend I’ll say it clear / I’ll state my case of which I’m certain / I’ve lived a life that’s full / I travelled each and every…
Feral On Fire
There would be a danger of it becoming boring if it weren’t for the fact that not only are his beers brilliant, but Feral head brewer Brendan Varis is also as unassuming, generous and humble a guy as…
Good Beer Week: The Bishop vs The Pope
“I really hate beer,” she says. From the seriousness of her expression and the tone with which she is stating her opinion, you’d be a fool to doubt her. Coming at the end of a beer versus…
Good Beer Week Pt III
Well, this is fun! We’ve been a little busy here at Crafty Towers for the past couple of days and it seems we’re far from alone. Monday night saw the launch of The People’s Pint at Temple Brewery…
Good Beer Sunday
From barrel-aged stouts for breakfast in Bendigo to Japanese delights in North Fitzroy, Sunday was the day Good Beer Week really started to spread its wings for 2012. Add in Mother’s Day bonuses…
Good Beer Saturday
You having fun yet? From the buzz in the air and online, it would seem you are. Yesterday was the first official day of Good Beer Week after GABS kicked off on Friday, with the Brooklyn Brewery Degustation…
And. We're. Off!
Yes! Good Beer Week 2012 is underway. And the nation knows about it after The Project dropped in to the second session of the Great Australasian Beer Spectapular yesterday evening to announce the opening…
Beer Travel: A Journey Into Hops
The year was 1824. Beethoven was still alive and composing his symphonies, though you'd need to hear them live because radio wouldn't be invented for about another eight decades. In that year, the MCG…
Craft Beer Pioneer
A man described as “one of the grandfathers of Australian craft beer” and “one of the original real characters in brewing in Australia” has passed away overnight. Geoff Scharer, founder of Scharer’s…
World Beer Cup Winners
Australian brewers have tasted success at the World Beer Cup, collecting two golds and two silvers at the event described as “The Olympics of Beer Competition”. Golds went to Queensland’s Burleigh…
One Week To Go!
Seven more sleeps… Seven more sleeps… Yes, not long now until the planning, preparation, talk and bluster ends and Good Beer Week 2012 explodes into life. This time next Saturday, Holgate…
Chapel's Broad Church
Melbourne’s Chapel Street is like the city itself in microcosm. Start at the Toorak Road end and it’s high end boutiques, higher heels, sleek convertibles and sleeker hairdos. Head towards…
When Old Meets New
One is the world’s oldest existing brewery, a place of legend that has created beers that are the very definition of their style. It is known by drinkers in every corner of the globe and in its thousand…
Pint of Origin
During last year’s Good Beer Week, The Crafty Pint ran a couple of events during the week aimed at getting people to check out as many craft beer venues as possible – The Crafty Crawl – and showing…
Good Beer Wheaty
Any self-respecting beer lover who has been to Adelaide will have made it part of their mission to call in on Jade and her hop and whisky-loving friends at The Wheaty. One of the finest beer bars in the…
A Rye Smile
Australia’s first ever People’s Pint has been brewed! The beer made its way through the brewhouse at Temple Brewery & Brasserie yesterday ready for release during Good Beer Week. It means…
Slow Mover
Australia’s first dedicated craft beer store is about to open the doors at its new home. Slowbeer has moved a couple of kilometres closer to the heart of Melbourne from its old base in Hawthorn to new,…
Beer & Food: Some Like It Hop
Beer and food matching is proving a hit all around the country at the moment and Sydney’s Pumphouse Bar recently showed they certainly have plenty of hits in them – especially of the hop variety –…
A Giveaway A Day!
As of today, the good folks behind the good ship Good Beer Week will be giving punters the chance to win tickets to one of the 100 events coming to Melbourne and Victoria in just over three weeks time.…
Beer. Art. Cocktails.
History is littered with tales of artists who have found inspiration in alcohol. The likes of Van Gogh and Picasso were fond of a little absinthe, Hemingway had something of a love affair with rum, while…
Houston. We Have A Beer
Australian beer and space themes aren't so unfamiliar to each other – we do, after all, already have Moon Dogs, Retro Rockets and supply the world with Galaxy hops. But an actual beer in space? It would…
Masterclass of Champions
Take two champions of the brewing world visiting Australia for the first time, give them free rein over a brewery for a day, then bring in chefs from some of Melbourne’s leading restaurants and what…
One Month To Go!
As part of the tiny team of volunteers buzzing around in a self-made maelstrom ensuring everything’s in place for Good Beer Week, it feels like the festival is all-consuming. So it’s reassuring…
Waltz In Matilda
The brewery that kickstarted the craft beer scene in Australia nearly 30 years ago opened the doors to its latest incarnation this week. Matilda Bay moved its brewery from the Garage in Dandenong to a…
Record Breakers
The Australian International Beer Awards continues to grow apace. After setting a record for the number of beers entered for judging in 2011, the second largest awards of its kind in the world has attracted…
