Insight & Analysis
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Deep dives, trends, hot topic issues and lessons learned.
Working Inside Beer's Sinking Ships
Former staff at several business that have closed, changed hands, or been through administration over the past couple of years share their experiences, offering an insider's view of the often chaotic life at these sinking ships.
Episode 010: Gillian Letham, Brisbane's Queen of the Suburbs
Gillian Letham never meant to build an empire of suburban bars. But in 11 years, she's gone from not drinking beer to owning three and become a pillar of Brisbane’s beer community. She tells us how it happened on The Crafty Pint Podcast.
Episode 007: Steve Finney & Will Irving of FOUND.
FOUND. is little more than a year old, yet the story of the people driving the brewing company stretches back far longer, and is interwoven with the very fabric of craft beer in Western Australia.
Ten Lessons From Ten Years: Northbridge Brewing Co
Greater Perth is dotted with brewpubs and taprooms these days, with more on the way. Yet when Northbridge Brewing Co opened in the heart of city's most famous nightlife strip a decade ago it felt like an especially confident move.
Ten Lessons From Ten Years: Bendigo On The Hop
Ahead of the tenth Bendigo On The Hop, we got in touch with event founder Trev Birks for the first festival-themed entry into our Ten Lessons From Ten Years series.
Blackman's Brewery: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
Blackman's were the first modern era brewery to bring local beer to Torquay and, in the decade since, they've been embraced by their community. As they turn ten, we asked the Blackmans to share their Ten Lessons From Ten Years.
2024 Mid-Year Report – Shift Happens
The first six months of 2024 have been brutal for beer, putting even the turbulence of 2023 in the shade. Here, we take stock, examining where the industry finds itself and where it's heading.
The Secret Brewer: Voluntary Administration Part II
The people running some of the breweries to have been through voluntary administration over the past 12 months, as well as the CEO of the IBA, respond to concerns raised by The Secret Brewer.
The Secret Brewer: Voluntary Administration
Voluntary administrations have become a defining feature of the beer world over the past two years in the face of unprecedented economic challenges. Here, one brewer discusses the repercussions on the wider industry.
BentSpoke: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
BentSpoke Brewing are celebrating ten years since their story kicked off but the couple behind it, Richard Watkins and Tracy Margrain, have long been involved in the local beer scene. As they mark the occasion, we caught up with the Canberra brewers so they could teach us all Ten Lessons From Ten Years.
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Modus: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
Modus celebrate a decade of beers this weekend. Over that time, they've followed a path that's very much their own. Here, founders Jaz and Grant Wearin look back, sharing some of the lessons learned along the way.
Where To From Here For Local Beer?
With Hawkers – one of the most successful Australian breweries of the past decade – entering administration, we look at the impact of the current climate on the wider industry, and ask what change is needed to turn things around.
The Year Of Living Precariously
A year ago today, news that Ballistic Beer Co had entered voluntary administration sent shockwaves through the local beer world. Here, we take a look back at the carnage that has followed in the 12 months since.
Bitter Phew: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
From lockout laws to lockdowns, running a Sydney bar has presented plenty of challenges over the past decade, yet Bitter Phew continues to stand tall. As the institution turns ten, we chatted to co-founder Aaron Edwards.
The Best Of Beer 2023: The Territories
It's time to bring down the curtain on our look back at the year in The Best Of Beer 2023. For the final instalment, we cast an eye over goings-on in the NT and ACT.
The Best Of Beer 2023: South Australia
And then there were two... Time for the penultimate entry in our Best Of Beer 2023 series, as we cast an eye of the standout moments, beers and openings from the past 12 months.
The Best Of Beer 2023: Western Australia
In the sixth instalment of our series looking at the year in beer for 2023, we cross the Nullarbor as our team there casts an expert eye over the past 12 months in Western Australia.
The Best Of Beer 2023: Tasmania
Following our trip to Queensland, we're moving to Australia's southern island for the fourth entry in our Best Of Beer 2023 series to take a look back at the moments, beers and people that stood out over the year.
The Best Of Beer 2023: Queensland
We continue our trek up Australia's east coast for the third instalment of our Best Of Beer 2023 series, moving on from Victoria and New South Wales to cast an eye over the beer scene in Queensland.
The Best Of Beer 2023: New South Wales
All aboard! It's time to leave Victoria behind and head north to New South Wales to find out who and what stood out from the crowd in the second instalment of our Best Of Beer 2023 series.
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The Best Of Beer 2023: Victoria
It's time to kick off our annual jaunt around Australia to see who and what has stood out from the crowd in 2023. We start in Victoria with a selection of standout moments, beers, breweries and bars.
The Year In Beer 2023
It goes without saying that 2023 hasn't been the year the beer world would have been hoping for, but let's try to make sense of it anyway, shall we?
Burnout And Beer: Paying The Passion Tax
Craft beer is often driven by passion but love for the industry can leave people burnt out and exhausted. We spoke to people who've experienced burnout: what caused it and how the industry can become a better place to work.
The Catfish: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
The Catfish is Melbourne's one and only home of cheesesteaks, blues and craft beer, each delight made better when enjoyed together. As the iconic Fitzroy bar turns ten, we walk down Memory Lane with founders Kieran and Mike.
Brewski: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
"Matt, don’t buy any more barleywines!" just about sums up a decade of Brewski. But for more on watching your intake, sleeping with your business partner and starting fondue fires, here's their Ten Lessons from Ten Years.
The Exploding Cost Of Brewing Beer
To gain a greater understanding of the challenges facing brewers, we broke down the cost of brewing Hawkers' trophy-winning West Coast IPA, and how those costs have exploded in recent years.
Chronically Crafty: Managing Health In The Beer Industry
Chronic medical conditions can be nonstop and balancing self-care with a passion that surrounds you with booze is a fine line to walk. Type one diabetic Will Ziebell speaks to people working in beer with chronic health conditions.
Burnout And Beer: A View From The States
Craft beer is an industry driven by passion but, if that fades, where can workers turn? Katie Muggli took an industry-wide moment of self reflection and decided to build a resource to support those working in American craft beer.
As Beer's Bleak Winter Ends, Is Optimism Starting To Take Root?
Winter is over, which feels like as good a time as any to pause and reflect – and to attempt encapsulate the hundreds of conversations we've had with people across Australia on the present and future of craft beer.
Craft Beer's Next Generation
Is craft beer becoming cringe or cheugy? Listen to many senior figures and you could easily draw the conclusion Gen Z poses an existential threat but is the industry really engaging with Zoomers? We chatted to craft beer's next generation.
Festive Cheer?
Summer brings with it a raft of beer festivals of all shapes and sizes. But there are concerns about how they will fare this time around as consumers continue to tighten their belts and the costs of staging major events rise.
Brookvale – Brewing A Beer Paradise?
Brookvale has been hailed as a beer paradise with multiple breweries joining the local scene in recent years. But despite each carving out a niche and being packed to the rafters on weekends, it's not always smooth sailing on the Northern Beaches.
I'm Growin' Down: Lessons From America's Shrinking Breweries
Late last year, Tomme Arthur did something brewery owners don't often do: talked about shrinking The Lost Abbey to survive. Will Ziebell caught up with him in America to find out what's happening in a country often seen as craft beer's future.
High Country Hop Technical Symposium – The Presentations
Ahead of the 2023 High Country Hop festival, Bridge Road Brewers put on a Technical Symposium sponsored by the Independent Brewers Association. We MC'd and recorded the day, and you can listen to all of the sessions here.
Black Hops Top Beer Cartel's Australian Craft Beer Survey Again
Black Hops have topped the Australian Craft Beer Survey for the second time running, voted Australia's best brewery ahead of GABS Hottest 100 toppers Mountain Culture and BentSpoke by more than 14,000 people who took part.
Under Pressure: A Perfect Storm Brewing For Beer
Today's excise tax hike completes the biggest financial year rise in decades, yet it's just one of myriad pressures on the local industry. We examine the "perfect storm" engulfing a beer world facing a fourth straight year of harsh challenges.
The Best Of Beer 2022: The Territories
They’re far from being neighbours and you wouldn’t draw too many similarities between the ACT and NT either, but once again we’re running the Territories together as our Best Of Beer 2022 series draws to a close.
The Best Of Beer 2022: South Australia
Our Best Of Beer 2022 series heads to South Australia for a look at the highs, lows, twists and turns via the standout moments and beers, the newcomers to the scene, and those who experienced a memorable 12 months.
The Best Of Beer 2022: Tasmania
It's time to head south for the sixth entry in The Best Of Beer 2022 series as we cross the Bass Strait to check in on a busy year of openings – both new and from existing operations – and delicious beers from around Tasmania.
The Best Of Beer 2022: Queensland
The remarkable rise of Queensland's craft beer scene continued apace in 2022, even in the face of floods and the challenges faced by the industry across Australia. Here's our take on the tumultuous 12 months that was.
The Best Of Beer 2022: WA
Join us as our touring review of the year in beer touches down in WA. It's a cracker too, not just looking at the trends and highlights of 2022 in the state but also addressing some of the broader issues at play for beer in Australia right now.
The Best Of Beer 2022: Victoria
It's been a funny old year in Victoria, with pioneers looking to exit the industry and many more battered from all sides. But there's been a whole lot of good beer and beautiful moments too; here we take a look at what stood out.
The Best Of Beer 2022: NSW
From Bondi to Bangalow, craft beer continued to crop up in more corners of New South Wales during 2022. Join us as we attempt to make sense of it all via the standout moments, beers and new arrivals from the past 12 months.
The Best Of Beer 2022
Christmas is approaching so it must be time for us to look back at the year just gone. And in a change from past years, we're kicking off with a look at the standout themes of 2022 on a national scale.
Beer Cartel To Be Online Only In 2023
Beer Cartel are closing their physical store in Sydney at the start of next year, with the popular beer retailer deciding to move their operation entirely online. We spoke to co-founder Richard Kelsey about the decision and their future plans.
Big Shed: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
Big Shed's story is the quintessential craft beer tale of two homebrewers taking a chance on themselves and their beers. As they celebrate a decade since launching, we asked Jason and Craig what they've learnt over the years.
The Spirit Of Oztoberfest
Oktoberfest celebrations have long been a fixture in the beer calendar but 2022 has seen such events go into overdrive. We chatted to some of those behind the feast of fests to find out what they love about this time of year.
2022: Craft Beer's Strangest Year Yet?
Lockdowns are a thing of the past yet 2022 is proving to be another grim year for many in the beer industry. We ask why, and look at what can be done to ensure better days lie ahead.
Breaking The Bias
The theme of International Women's Day 2022 is #breakthebias. In this article, MC Jarratt speaks to some of the people doing just that in the beer industry about their experiences and how others can follow suit.
Open And Shut: Omicron Crushes Hospo's Summer Comeback
Far from the new year bringing new hope, the beer and hospo industries face arguably their toughest period of the pandemic – and without government support. We spoke to business owners across the country as Omicron runs rampant.
