News & Feature Stories
Best New SA Beers of 2016
As in WA, collaborations make multiple appearances in our panel's selection of the best new beers released in South Australian in 2016. The ten ranges from mid-strength to triple IPA with some root vegetable there for good measure too.
Best New WA Beers of 2016
Part two of our look back at 2016's best new beers heads to the birthplace of modern Aussie craft beer. There our panel finds fascination in collaboration and is impressed by some of the lesser known lights of the local industry.
The Collaborators: Growing Gladly
We've often shone a light on Australian businesses that have launched or discovered new and fruitful avenues thanks to the rise of craft beer. Today, we chat to a New Zealand maltster winning fans at home and abroad.
Best New Victorian Beers of 2016
Each year, we assemble panels of experts around the country to come up with lists of the best new releases to come out of Australian breweries in the previous 12 months. This year, we kick off in Victoria, home to the most brewing companies in the land.
Vote For The Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers
It's time for you to cast your votes for the best Australian craft beers. This year's GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers is the tenth time the poll has been run and there's never been more beers or breweries from which to select.
The Devils' New Platform
Tasmanian gypsy operation Devils Brewery has set up home in the historic Margate Train. Ruth Dawkins caught up with founder David Tottle to find out more about his beers and partnerships with local producers.
A Day in the Life Of: A Draught Beer Specialist
Stone & Wood's Draught Beer Specialist Ed Bodey travels the country making sure Stone & Wood's beer comes out of the tap exactly how the brewery intended and that bar staff serving you know just how to look after it.
Events Wrap 09.11.16
The end of the year is nigh and with it comes one final splurge of beer events across the country. If all you want for Christmas is a new beer or a tap takeover, you're very much in luck, while there are dinners, festivals and more too.
Brew & A: Cowaramup at 10
Margaret River has long been home to a good number of brewing companies; these days it must be the most populous of any region of Australia. One of the longest established is Cowaramup, which marks a decade since opening today.
Show Us Your Stats
The Craft Beer Industry Association is hoping that this year's annual survey of Australian craft brewers will be the biggest yet, providing data to help them improve and grow the industry. The survey closes on December 16.
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Tour de Brew
You don’t have to look far to find a beer lover who also spends a fair bit of their time in the bike saddle, especially in Victoria. Kerry McBride speaks to three Victorian breweries helping keep the state’s cyclists well hydrated about the bonds between the two worlds.
Beer Nuts: Matt Kirkey
Beer Nuts is our semi-regular feature focusing on people taking their love of beer to extreme levels. People such as Matt Kirkey, who quit his job this year to travel the world doing research for upcoming beer book, Beer Around The World.
Hoppy Christmas Gifts 2016
What do you give to the beer lover at Christmas? Beer. Or things related to beer, of course. So, with the festive season upon us, here's a roundup of some of the beery gifts on offer from local breweries and beer businesses.
Who Brews Co-Conspirators Beers?
Melbourne's Merri Mashers is proving fertile ground for new brewing companies. A week after Old Wives Ales celebrated turning one, Co-Conspirators Brewing Co is set to launch its first beer, an IPA.
Dead Ahead: 30 Years Of The Lord Nelson
It's been a big year for craft beer in Australia. And in particular for a Sydney icon. The Lord Nelson celebrated 175 years as a hotel and 30 as a brewery. Nick Oscilowski travelled back in time with its founder, Blair Hayden.
Cabal Update - 2.12.16
A whole year has passed since the Crafty Cabal was launched into the beerosphere. In that time, we've given away more than $10K in tickets and beers, poured 25 kegs for members, hosted 14 events – and it's just getting started.
The Big Issue: Crowdfunding Pt II
In part two of our look at crowdfunding in the craft beer world, Will Ziebell seeks the thoughts of a provider, a supporter, a commentator and two people who've run campaigns on this increasingly popular method of raising capital.
Craft Beer Heroes: Neil Whittorn
You could search every corner of the Australian craft beer community and you'd struggle to find someone held in greater affection by as many people as Neil Whittorn. So we asked the man well into his fifth decade of brewing to be our latest Craft Beer Hero.
A Year Of The Crafty Cabal
Just before the end of 2015, we launched The Crafty Cabal, a beer lovers bonus scheme that offers readers the chance to help The Crafty Pint grow in return for heaps of beery benefits. Here, we take a look back at its first 12 months.
The Big Issue: Crowdfunding Pt I
Crowdfunding has become increasingly popular among both new and existing beer businesses. In the first of a two-part series, Will Ziebell speaks to crowdfunding platform Pozible and a brewery that has run a successful campaign.
Brew & A: Doctor's Orders Brewing
Doctor's Orders Brewing could lay claim to being the archetypal gypsy brewing company in Australia (or cuckoo as the Doc prefers to call it). As they turn seven, we invite them to be latest guests in our Brew & A series.
Events Wrap – 24.11.16
Birthdays galore in the latest fortnightly roundup of new and forthcoming beer events. There's also plenty for hop fiends, some cask ale action, bowls and, as is customary these days, some specials for Crafty Pint supporters.
Here Gose
Perhaps nothing should surprise in the contemporary beer world, yet the rise of gose is still an unexpected development. We chat to a couple of gose brewers and also look back into the history of the style in Germany.
Beers From The Otherside
Ideas for brewing companies can come from anywhere. In the case of Otherside, the aim was to create beers and cider for major events in WA. Guy Southern chats to the two guys charged with bringing Sunset Events plan to life.
Aussie Beer Blogs: Food Grog Blog
It was only supposed to be a means of sharing recipes, but a beer filled trip to Wellington saw one Brisbane beer geek's blog become morph into something else. A year on from its launch, we ask Jamie to tell us all about Food Grog Blog.
The Crafty Dozen – November 2016 Mk II
As suspected, we've had such a flurry of new brewery, venue and bottleshop listings to add to the site in the past few weeks that we've got a second dozen to round up before November is out. Here they are...
Cabal Update - 18.11.16
WA Beer Week is coming to its finale, one that includes a trio of The Crafty Cabal events. And there's plenty happening for our supporters elsewhere too, with a ballot just opened for a birthday tasting with Old Wives Ales.
Behind Bars: Mane Liquor at 10
On November 14, Mane Liquor celebrated ten years in business. In this extended Behind Bars article, owners Elliot Moore and Josh Daley talked to Guy Southern about witnessing a decade of craft beer evolution from behind the counter.
Who Brews Hairyman Beers?
Craft beer's forays into every corner of New South Wales continue apace. Hairyman Brewery is the latest to join the party in Sydney's south, brewing out of Caringbah. Here's founder Andy Orrell on what inspired him to launch his brewery.
BentSpoke Shifts Up A Gear
Canberra brewpub BentSpoke is getting closer to opening its second production facility. Already the canning line there is up and running. Patrick Baggoley caught up with co-founder Richard Watkins at the launch of the first two canned beers.
Events Wrap 11.11.16
In the final lull before brewers start frantically trying to produce enough beer for the summer and venues start preparing for Christmas festivities, November has seen fit to serve us up a merry melange of excellent events...
Who Brews Sauce?
The concentration of breweries in Sydney's Inner West is set to increase again as Mike Clarke prepares to join the fray. In our latest Who Brews he shares the secrets of Sauce Brewing, launching as a gypsy brewer before opening its own warehouse venue.
WA Clubs Together Again
With WA Beer Week imminent, Guy Southern takes a look at some of the highlights from the many beer collaborations spawned at this time each year by an extremely tight beer community. They involve more than brewers, with spirits, coffee, chefs and more getting involved.
Crafty Crawls: Freo Beer-Ho!
The Fremantle BeerFest returns in a few days at the start of the 2016 WA Beer Week. So what better time to run a Crafty Crawl on the place where the modern Australian craft beer world was spawned. Graham Frizzell took a tour of his old stomping ground.
Cabal Update - 4.11.16
It's all eyes to the West this week, as The Crafty Pint lines up a long-mooted WA launch party at the Dutch Trading Co, while new offers abound in South Australia, Queensland, and Victoria, where we've got a couple of exclusive new events coming up too.
Beer Food: A Feast For The Saison
Following our saison blind tasting last month, food and beer expert Paul Kasten has put together a few dishes perfectly matched to saisons for you to try at home, including two featuring the top two beers from that blind tasting: Boatrocker Saison du Bateau and Saison Dupont.
The Crafty Dozen – November 2016
As in the past, whenever we've added another dozen new listings for breweries, venues and bottleshops, we round them all up in one place in case you missed them first time around. We should have another 12 before the month is out too.
Events Wrap 28.10.16
For the latest events roundup we're going coast to coast as major beer festivals bookend events involving hops, hot sauce, live art, Russian folk-ska-swing-punk, a GoPro mounted keg, plus a bunch of offers you won't find anywhere else...
A New Breed Of Bottleshop
Sydney's Inner West has been increasingly well served by breweries and bars in recent years, less so bottleshops. Not so now with two new ventures each bringing something new to the scene, as Marie Claire Jarratt discovers.
The Collaborators: Not For Horses
The rise of craft beer has spawned all manner of related businesses. Among them are small malting operations dedicated to providing malt for microbreweries. They include Not For Horses. Bert Spinks caught up with the man behind the Launceston business.
Behind Bars: Nick Pogonoski
There was a time when Tooheys was pretty much all you could hope for in Newcastle, but today venues such as the Grain Store are bring craft beer to the people. For our Behind Bars series, the venue's manager Nick Pogonoski tells us where tastes are at in Newy.
Mashing In Anew
As it prepares to launch into its second decade of brewing, WA's Mash is starting afresh. Inspired by one of the newest members of the brewery team, they've unveiled a new look and are set to release some of their beers in cans too.
Crafty Crawls: Sydney's Inner West Breweries
Sydney may still be proving a tricky market for craft beer to truly penetrate but its Inner West is packed with delights. It's home to myriad breweries (with more coming); here's how to crawl your way around there.
Cabal Update – 21.10.16
With Sydney Craft Beer Week kicking off, look out for Cabal offers and bar shouts at Pint of Origin venues, while if you're out west we've got a massive few days lined up for Crafty Pint supporters too.
Who Brews Brewtal Beers?
Who Brews is usually the home for new breweries and brewing companies. With Brewtal Brewers, we somehow let them slip through the net a while. But Tim from the sort of Scratch side project is here to tell all now.
Aussie Exports: Tracy Gan
Our Aussie Exports series has so far featured Australians who have gone overseas and are working in beer. This month, we change tack slightly to bring you Tracy Gan, a Hong Kong native by way of Queensland who now spends her days importing Aussie beers to her craft beer store. Literal Aussie Exports, if you will.
Star Crossed Clubbers
As the Australian beer landscape becomes ever more crowded, brewers are seeking innovative ways to get beer to market and rise above the noise. Club Brewing is one such operation – one that comes with added star power.
The Finer Things: Beer and Fine Dining
While craft beer has snuck its way onto growing numbers of beer lists in pubs and bars, the realm of fine dining is still primarily dominated by grape rather than grain. But, in certain pockets of Australia, beer is beginning to be treated with equal reverence.
Events Wrap 14.10.16
With tap takeovers and funky beers galore bookended by homebrewing and beer for a very good cause, the latest round-up of events ought to leave you feeling entirely fulfilled with the state of beer in Australia...
Pint of Origin's Sydney Debut
Pint of Origin has been one of the most popular features of Melbourne's Good Beer Week for the past five years. And now it's coming to Sydney Craft Beer Week. Here's the lowdown on venues, buses, prizes and more.
