News & Feature Stories
Postcards from the Edge No.48: A Hustling Hand
The speed at which beer businesses adapted and the rise of the growler were two of the standout features when the first lockdown hit. Now, a new family-run operation sparked by the unique challenges of that time has launched.
Crafty Cabal Update - August 2020
As the beer world returns to something approaching normality in most of Australia, we've been adding plenty of new deals, giveaways and events for members of our beer club, The Crafty Cabal.
Postcards from the Edge No.47: Interstate Mates
During the first lockdown, everyone in the beer industry was faced with similar challenges. Now, with some states rolling back restrictions while Victoria is suffering again, the brewing industry is rallying to help mates in need.
Wildflower: Time Is On Our Side
Sydney's Wildflower Brewing & Blending didn't wait for March 23 to close their venue. Instead they set about using the shutdown to recharge batteries and expanding their operation into a newly acquired warehouse.
Who Brews At The Bond Store Wallaroo?
A couple with a background in tourism have turned a rundown former bonded store into a brewery, distillery and restaurant in one. Matt King called into Bond Store Wallaroo to find out more.
Hop Nation Set Up In Mornington
Hop Nation have taken over the former site of Mornington Peninsula Brewery's main production brewery. It follows Mornington owner Tribe Breweries' decision to stop using the site earlier in the year.
Aussie Beerstagrammers: Sticking With Beer
Our Aussie Beerstagrammers series with a young account that's quickly become one of the country's most popular thanks to its creator's unique concept and humorous approach.
A New Competition For WA Brewers
This year's WA Good Food Guide Awards will feature beer for the first time. The competition will judge only WA beers with the judging panel led by The Crafty Pint's own Guy Southern.
Postcards from the Edge No.46: Lockdown Life
Streets are emptier, bottleshops and cellar doors are quieter, masks – and a greater sense of fear – are everywhere. Midway through the scheduled six weeks of Lockdown Mk II, we chat to two reps about life in Melbourne's beer world.
Who Brews Heaps Normal Beers?
Alcohol-free beers – and other beverages – are becoming an increasingly visible part of the local drinks industry. As Heaps Normal prepare to launch their non-alcoholic XPA, we got in touch to find out more.
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The Collaborators: KegSwappa
“It seemed like such an obvious thing to do. Why is no one else doing it?” If you've ever used Swap'n'Go gas bottles, then you basically already know how KegSwappa works. Read on to see how this simple idea came about.
Postcards from the Edge No.45: Mr Frothy
Growlers played a huge role #keepinglocalalive during the first lockdown. Now much of Victoria is closed again, they're back, with one brewery even set to delivery them from the High Country to Melbourne homes.
From Belgium With Love: The International Beer Collectors
It started with a British take on an Abbey ale, took in the farms, breweries and bars of Belgium, and ended up with some of the finest Belgian beers entering Australia via Newcastle. Meet the International Beer Collector.
Postcards from the Edge No.44: The Million Dollar Tip Jar
As soon as Lockdown Mk II hit, the team behind Tip Jar, a fund launched to support the hospitality sector, ramped up their efforts again. We chatted to them about their fundraising beer and cocktail and hopes for the future.
The 2020 Australian Craft Beer Survey Launches
Beer Cartel's annual survey of attitudes, opinions, trends and spends in the Australian craft beer world has opened for 2020. It's your chance to contribute to a snapshot of the beer scene at this uniquely challenging time.
Craft Beer Heroes: Pete Meddings
He might not be a household name but if there's any craft beer-loving household in Australia that hasn't enjoyed the fruits of Pete Meddings' labour, we'd be surprised.
Postcards from the Edge No.43: Bingo – It's A Gas
Watching customers pull into and out of a servo in Wagga Wagga might sound like an odd way to spend a Tuesday night. But the Servo Bingo concept, launched by the Thirsty Crow during lockdown, is proving a hit.
The Collaborators: The Post Project
From the first GABS to breweries big and small – more than 50 of them – shooting brand stories, beer launches, collabs and even a beer song, Alister Robbie has helped bring the Aussie beer world to life over the past decade.
It's Still In Your Hands
With Melbourne and parts of Victoria back in lockdown and travel restrictions tightening elsewhere we're looking to update part of the Keeping Local Alive campaign site we'd hoped was no longer required.
Melbourne Goes Into Lockdown Again
Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews has announced Melbourne will face its second lockdown. The return to stage 3 conditions sees all pubs, bars and brewery venues closed for six weeks with potentially devastating consequences.
Postcards from the Edge No.43: Open & Shut Case
It's a scenario all venue owners have feared since Australia started to move towards reopening: a second lockdown. And it came to Ascot Vale on the day Jimmy's Tap & Barrel was set to open for the first time since March.
Craft: What Does It Mean & Does It Matter?
The debate is almost as old as craft beer itself: just what does "craft" mean? British beer writer Pete Brown spent lockdown writing a book examining the term and arguing that it remains absolutely essential.
Who Brews Golden Hills Beers?
Golden Hills make golden (and many other coloured) beer from a small brewpub in Diamond Creek and were ready to launch just as Australia closed down. We caught up with the team to find out Who Brews...? Golden Hills beers and ask what it was like opening during a nation-wide lockdown.
High Sobriety
As Dry July kicks off, we look at the rise of alcohol-free beers: how a new yeast strain is helping brewers create them affordably, the challenges involved in brewing them, and the opportunities that lie ahead.
Postcards from the Edge No.42: Good Beer Still Helps
The campaign to provide four-packs of indie beer to thousands of essential workers has entered a new stage with mixed A Good Beer Always Helps packs now hitting BWS and Dan Murphy's stores across the country.
Range To Set Up Home In Abbotsford
Melburnian fans of Range Brewing's much-hyped beers are in for a treat: they're opening a 16-tap venue in Abbotsford later in the year.
Postcards from the Edge No.41: Let There Be Gin
In the space of a few months, Lee McAlister-Smiley, founder of Brisbane's White Lies Brewing, has gone from having no idea how to make hand sanitiser to producing wasabi gin alongside his beers.
Postcards from the Edge No.40: All Change, Please!
One of Melbourne's best-loved pubs reopens today. The Terminus changed ownership before COVID hit and the pandemic gave the new team the chance to bring forward planned renovations.
Ten BADASS Years Of Badlands
Ten years on from quitting his corporate job to start a brewery in Orange, Jon Shiner has released a unique series of beers under the BADASS banner. We caught up with him to find out more about a decade of doing it his way.
Who Brews Wandana Beers?
It's home to yoga retreats, hippies and an annual music festival. And now Mullumbimby is also home to its own brewery. We caught up with the team at Wandana Brewing Co to find out more about fermenting beer to music.
Hand Over The Deeds
It's been one of the most drawn out processes in modern Aussie brewing but, four years on from their initial application, Deeds Brewing finally have permission to build a taproom at their Glen Iris brewery.
Postcards from the Edge No.39: It Ain't Weak To Speak
More than 20 Brisbane brewers plus other industry suppliers have joined forces to create a collaborative beer designed to raise funds and awareness for Queensland mental health charity LIVIN.
Brew & A: Cam Turner
Cam Turner has been brewing beers on the Mornington Peninsula for close to 15 years, first for Hickinbotham then Dainton. We traced his career in beer right back to caring for cask ales in London and beyond.
Colonial Challenge
One of the country's largest independent breweries has found itself caught up in growing global calls for racial equality after public pressure led to a prominent bottleshop chain drop their beers from their stores.
Who Brews Bay Rd Beers?
It's not found in Bay Rd but it does have its locals at heart. Having switched a greater focus onto canning during COVID-19, Bay Rd Brewing in Gosford is now looking forward to welcoming those locals back.
Postcards from the Edge No.38: Room At The Inn
Now venues are reopening across Australia, two mates keen to get back to their favourite watering hole have devised a new system that allows customers to find out if there's room for them at their local.
Postcards from the Edge No.37: Band Aid
The live music scene has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, longstanding live music supporters Young Henrys have joined forces with Inertia Music to sell local artists' vinyl with their beers.
Who Brews In The Slow Lane?
While living in the US, Alex Jarman quit the corporate life to start working at San Francisco breweries. Now he and wife Yvonne are making yeast-driven European ales at a small brewery around the corner from One Drop in Botany.
Postcards from the Edge No.36: Centralian Care
With venues open again and restrictions eased more than elsewhere in Australia, Alice Springs Brewing Co have been doing their bit to get local hospo businesses going again with their Centralian Care Package.
GABS Announce New 2020 Dates
The team running the multi-city GABS Festivals have announced new dates for their Australian 2020 events, although have had to take the decision to cancel Auckland for this year due to insurmountable logistical challenges.
Postcards from the Edge No.35: Keeping Local Alive Alive
The Keeping Local Alive campaign has been embraced by the beer community as businesses navigate unprecedented times. Some brewers have even put it on their cans, including Boatrocker with their new fundraising Local Lager.
The Future Is...?
Many venues in Victoria opened for the first time in 70 days today as restrictions elsewhere were eased further. Yet any celebrations will be tempered by the fact the road to recovery remains long and many won't make it to the end.
Sun Dog World
Moon Dog World has attracted plenty of attention – and for good reason. There's another good reason to pay attention to the building too, as they've installed so many solar panels they're almost regarded as a power station.
Postcards from the Edge No.34: A Lucky Break
There's never a good time to break your leg, but during a global pandemic while running a regional business is most definitely not good. Yet, with a little help from their friends at Lallemand, Pioneer Brewing turned it into an opportunity.
Postcards from the Edge No.33: Gambling On A Better Future
With venues closed, The PBC not only took the chance to undertake much-needed renos, but the Sydney bowlo's president also took the opportunity to highlight the success they've had since ripping out their pokies.
Beer Swag Day: The Finalists!
We've sifted through hundreds of posts from Saturday to anoint winners around the country. Now it's up to you to decide who'll win the swag full of swag and the year of beer from Fury & Son. Vote away!
Postcards from the Edge No.32: Keeping Hospo Alive
An initiative providing meals and support for hospo workers impacted by COVID-19 has already provided more than 6,000 meals since launching in March. Will Ziebell spoke to one of the founders of CoViD-19 EAD.
AIBA 2020 ISO Edition Winners
With this year's awards proper postponed, the Australian International Beer Awards went online for a special ISO Brewer's Choice Edition. The industry was invited to vote in a new set of categories, with CUB's brands cleaning up.
Postcard from NZ: Good George
Pubs and bars in New Zealand open for the first time since March today. Nick Oscilowski spoke to Brian Watson of Good George about surviving the lockdown and hopes for the future of beer and hospo across the Tasman.
Three Sleeps Til Beer Swag Day
The inaugural Beer Swag Day is almost upon us. The #keepinglocalalive campaign team is calling on Aussies to show their love for their local breweries, bars, pubs and bottleshops on May 23.
