News & Feature Stories
Get Fresh
It's hop harvest time across Australia. And this year's offers more chances than ever to get up close and personal with the little green flowers, not least thanks to a pair of festivals celebrating the harvest and fresh hops beers.
The Beers Really From Up Here
There's been plenty of talk about the rise of craft beer in Queensland in recent years. For the most part, it's been centred around the state's South East but, as Will Ziebell finds, it's gaining a toehold in the Far North too.
Cabal Update - 17.2.17
Beer festival season is not over yet, and The Crafty Cabal has got you well and truly covered. Throw in some tasty CANimals and a chance to meet a whole load of brewers, and February is proving itself to be one hell of a month for Cabalistas.
Stepping Up
Newstead Brewing is deep into stage two of its development, building a large brewery close to XXXX and launching a project to study Brisbane's indigenous yeasts. In a broad-ranging interview, Judd Owen speaks to founder Mark Howes and new head brewer Dr Kerry Claydon.
Two Birds II
Today sees Two Birds Brewing founders Jayne Lewis and Danielle Allen celebrating the completion of their journey from contract brewers to fully self-sufficient brewery owners. They're marking it with a new beer and new look too.
Beer Travel: 12 Hours In San Diego
When Aussie beer lovers head to the States, they usually give themselves several weeks to explore the beer scene. What if you've only got 12 hours? In San Diego for a conference, Marie Claire Jarratt discovered the answer is: plenty.
The Crafty Dozen – February 2017
With a handful of other directory listings waiting in the wings, time to round up the most recent dozen to be added to the site. It's the usual mixture of breweries, venues and bottleshops, this time from WA, NSW, TAS and VIC.
Betting On The Farm
Next month will see the first beers released by Rocky Ridge Brewing Co. The WA operation aims to be totally self sufficient, growing and harvesting all of its ingredients on the family dairy farm near Busselton.
Events Wrap – 10.02.17
Whether you need something for your sweetheart, a massive hit for you hoppy heart, or want to get to the heart of what the beer community is about, the smorgasbord that is the world of Australian beer events has everything you need.
Sailing On White Lakes
Former Swan Brewery man Sean Symons has returned to brewing, taking up the reins at the impressive new Whitelakes operation in Perth. Ross Lewis joined him to talk beer, brewing and grand plans for expansion.
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Beer Travel: High Country Part II
Earlier this week, we ran the first part of Kerry McBride's jaunt through the Victorian High Country, calling in on the members of the region's Brewery Trail. Today, she completes the trip at three more breweries.
Grab The Slab
Journalist Glen Humphries was already writing a beer book when he scooped the 2016 AIBA Media Award. That win changed his view on his writing and inspired him to turn it into a very different beer book, The Slab.
The Big Issue: Exploitation
The official line is that craft beer is a resoundingly good thing. And that working in the industry means you're the luckiest person alive. Yet what happens when someone's goodwill or eagerness to be part of it is exploited beyond all reasonable limits?
Beer Travel: High Country Part I
The High Country Brewery Trail has expanded to stretch hundreds of kilometres and include seven breweries. Over the course of a three day weekend, Kerry McBride stopped in at each and every one.
Hottest 100 Kiwi Craft Beers of 2016 – The Top 3
The first GABS Hottest 100 Kiwi Craft Beers countdown saw three hoppy beers from three masters of the NZ beer industry fill the podium. We chatted to all three: Mike from Panhead, Luke from Epic and Jos from Garage Project.
Hottest 100 Kiwi Craft Beers of 2016 – The Results
First, the Orange One takes the White House and now the orange one from Panhead takes out the inaugural GABS Hottest 100 Kiwi Craft Beers, ahead of Epic's Hop Zombie and Garage Project's Pernicious Weed.
Hottest 100 Kiwi Craft Beers of 2016 – Analysis
The first GABS Hottest 100 Kiwi Craft Beers countdown is complete. Panhead, Epic and Garage Project fill the top spots. But what, if anything, does the public vote tell us about the beer scene in New Zealand?
Brew & A: Greg Mace – The Craft & Co
It's Waitangi Day and the first ever Hottest 100 Kiwi Craft Beers countdown too. So it feels like as good a time as any to run our Brew & A with Greg Mace, a Kiwi brewer who now plies his trade in Melbourne.
Cabal Update - 3.2.17
A festival, a brewery tour, new offers including for Brewsvegas fans and the chance to win some free Balter beer. The Crafty Cabal is rolling through into February with a bang.
Broo Buys Mildura Brewery
For the second day running, we've received news of a buyout in the Australian beer industry. Broo has announced via the ASX that it has purchased Mildura Brewery. More to follow...
The Big Issue: The Canned Wagon Pt II
Earlier in the week, we looked at the history and recent renaissance of cans in the beer world. Today, in part two of her Big Issue feature, Marie Claire Jarratt delves deeper with a panel of experts.
Dixon Buys Hawthorn Brewing Company
The fast-growing Dixon Hospitality Group has added another string to its bow. The business has moved into the craft beer sector after buying Hawthorn Brewing Company and launching new division Salt Brewing.
The Big Issue: The Canned Wagon Pt I
After a slow start, the rise of craft tinnies has been little short of phenomenal. Today, we kick off a two-part Big Issue feature, looking at how and why they've come to prominence and how popular they may become.
Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2016: First-Timers
The 2016 GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll saw nine brewing companies appear for the first time. In the last of our related articles, we speak to the brewers and owners at three of them: Balter, Fixation and Blackman's.
West of Centre
Just southwest of Melbourne's CBD is a small brewery producing hop forward, West Coast USA influenced beers. Will Ziebell spoke to the American expat who opened Westside Ale Works with the aim of fostering even more love for the mighty hop.
Events Wrap 27.01.17
If you need a sign that the little craft beer juggernaut hasn't lost any momentum over the festive period, a quick glance at the schedule of beer events in the first month of 2017 ought to do the trick...
Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2016: Analysis
With the results out and the resultant debate underway online, it's time for us to have a look at what the Hottest 100 of 2016 says about the local beer landscape.
Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2016: The Results
The people have spoken and the results of the ninth Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll are in. Stone & Wood Pacific Ale takes top spot again with Pirate Life IIPA and Feral's Hop Hog completing the top three.
Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2016: Infographic
In what's becoming a time-honoured tradition, we present a breakdown of the results of the Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll in colourful infographic form. Complete, appropriately, with lots of hops.
Brooklyn Back Down Under
Brooklyn Brewery is well on its way to becoming a global brand. We caught up with CEO Eric Ottaway during his current visit to Australia to chat lager, caution, over-saturation and the move towards hyper-local brewing.
Aussie Beer Blogs: The Craft Beer King
Readers of The Crafty Pint will be familiar with Matt King as he's responsible for most of our coverage of the SA beer scene. Now he's launched his own site that looks to cover the state in even greater depth.
Our Man in NZ: Moa's Changing Fortunes
Our new Kiwi correspondent, Jono Galuszka, today kicks off his monthly feature series by sitting down with one of the most controversial figures in New Zealand beer, Moa's CEO, Geoff Ross.
Cabal Update - 20.01.17
New year, new beers, new offers! The Crafty Cabal is kicking into action for 2017, and there are plenty of cool events and offers in the wings to grab the attention of our existing and future Cabalistas.
Mall Brewing
The team behind Perth's Northbridge Brewing Company is set to open a brewpub in a northern suburbs shopping mall. And the move could be a sign of things to come as the nature of shopping centres evolves.
Too Big For The Big Shed
It's been a case of "You say hello, and I say goodbye" as brewing buddies Big Shed and Mismatch embark on new adventures in SA. Matt King spoke to both about their plans and how they see the beer scene developing.
Who Brews as Little Alchemist?
Ahead of their belated official launch – and a few months after we first bumped into brewer Riaz on a sofa during Sydney Craft Beer Week – we chat to new Sydney-based gypsy brewing company Little Alchemist.
Deadline Looming For Hottest 100 Voting
Time is running out to vote for your favourite Australian craft beers of 2016 in the GABS Hottest 100 poll. Already, a record number of votes have been received. Polling closes at midnight on January 20, 2017.
Our Man In NZ: Introducing Jono Galuszka
Like many Kiwis, Jono Galuszka’s first forays into beer were of the cheap, cold and tasteless kind while at uni. Things have changed significantly since, with Jono named New Zealand Beer Writer of the Year in 2015. In 2017, he joins the Crafty Pint team as our regular New Zealand writer.
Drink Smart
Greater education for people in all areas of the beer world is much needed in Australia. And now it's on offer at an unlikely location as one of the world's leading universities adds a subject dedicated to beer to its prospectus.
Behind Bars: Joel Beresford
For our first Behind Bars interview with one of Australia's leading venue operators, we return to WA to chat with Joel Beresford. He's Perth's Mr Beer, is involved in many facets of the industry and just loves his sours.
The Crafty Pint’s Top Stories of 2016
Time for one final look back at the year in craft beer that was 2016. This time, instead of reflecting via the prism of its best new beers, we gather together some of the most read stories on the site over the past 12 months.
Best New ACT Beers of 2016
We may have crossed the threshold into 2017, but we've still got one final blast from the year just gone. Completing our around-the-country best new beers review comes our panel's pick from ACT's burgeoning beer scene.
Through The Looking Glass
While 2016 was a monumental year in many pretty terrible ways globally, for craft beer in Australia it was another in which we witnessed huge growth and ever greater diversity. So surely we're set for even greater things to come.
Raising The Stakes
The Hobart craft beer scene continues to expand. After a period spent brewing at Belgrove Distillery, T-Bone Brewing has opened the doors of its NoHo brewery to the public. Ruth Dawkins caught up with its owners.
The Crafty Dozen – December 2016
Our latest roundup of the latest breweries, venues and bottleshops added to our directories is actually more of a baker's dozen as we got a little ahead ourselves. So here's the last 13 of the 73 new additions to the site in 2016.
Who Brews Once Bitter?
The founder of one of Melbourne's newest brewing companies first discovered a love for brewing in a place few could claim to have found theirs: the kitchen of an Israeli boarding school. We meet the man behind Collins St Brewing Co.
Best New Queensland Beers of 2016
As we near the end of the year, we head to Queensland for another look back at the best new beers released in 2016. The result is a list containing debut beers, fruit, barrels and much more besides.
Best New Tasmanian Beers of 2016
It's time for the fifth of our seven roundups of the Best New Beers of 2016. This time, we head south to the state that's enjoyed huge recent expansion in the number of brewing companies, even though half a dozen hog this year's list.
Aussie Beer Blogs: offthetap
He loves beer, he loves travel, and he loves to hunt down new beers when he travels. So Matt Johnson decided to start capturing his passions via another one: photography, creating offthetap and attracting Instagram followers in the thousands.
Best New NSW Beers Of 2016
We reach the midway point in our Best New Beers review with a look back at the year in NSW. It features almost entirely younger operations from the state, plus a few beers that may have snuck out in 2015 but hit the big time in 2016.
