Sustainability
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Showcasing the individuals and businesses making the beer world a more sustainable place.
Episode 016: Making A Positive Impact With Beer
What does it mean to be a sustainable business or to brew in a sustainable manner? How can beer businesses have a positive impact on the world around them? We sat down with sustainability expert James Perrin.
Going Green: Frogs Hollow's Off-Grid Brewery
After a night of being sung to sleep by frogs, Benedict Kennedy-Cox headed to Frogs Hollow to check out the off-grid brewery tucked into the yawning hills south of Bega.
"Better Every Day" – Jervis Bay Become A B Corp
"It helped us become a better business." Jervis Bay Brewing Co have been certified as a B Corp business, telling The Crafty Pint the process has helped them make their corner of the world a better place.
Episode 006: Hamish Coates From Rocky Ridge
In mid-September, Rocky Ridge will open their Brunswick brewery, giving the Jindong brewers a substantial East Coast home. We sat down with co-founder Hamish Coates at the former Thunder Road site the day before he signed the deal.
The Staying Power Of Mountain Rye
What if we could harvest grain crops for five years instead of having to re-plant them every year? It would be better for farmers and the environment. That's the promise of mountain rye, a perennial grain that could be a game-changer.
Zevero's Mission To Help Breweries Cut Emissions
You can't solve what you can't understand and few problems are as complex as climate change. Zevero is a platform built to help breweries slash their emissions and to help their mission locally, they've hired Tom Delmont.
Episode 001: Chris & Gab Moore of Sailors Grave Brewing
The Crafty Pint Podcast is officially up and running. And we've got two great guests to kick things off: Chris and Gab Moore, the creative geniuses behind the unique Sailors Grave Brewing.
Closing Loops And Brewing Shrooms – Australia's Most Sustainable Beer?
Breweries love to collaborate and many are putting greater focus on brewing more sustainably. Now a new project in SA is exploring just how green brewing can be.
Can Beer Help Regenerate The Planet?
Regenerative farming and the grain grown by such methods have been gaining more attention in recent years. Now, the Good Grain initiative aims to raise awareness and support for both much further, with beer as the vehicle.
Changing The World One Bag Of Regen Malt At A Time
“We wanted to use beer as a catalyst for change.” We examine how one ingredient – malt made from regeneratively grown barley – can make all the difference, and why Stone & Wood are so eager to showcase it to punters and brewers.
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Crafting A Certifiably Sustainable Beer Industry
From individual beers to malt and hops, Certified Sustainable is a name and logo that's become an increasingly common sight in the beer industry. But what does the seal mean and where does it come from?
Bodriggy Become Carbon Neutral
Bodriggy Brewing have joined the small number of breweries in Australia to become climate neutral. It makes the Abbotsford-based brewery the first indie brewer in Victoria to gain certification from the Climate Active program.
Ryefield Hops' Certifiably Sustainable Growth
Ahead of this year's hop harvest, we paid a visit to Ryefield Hops, the family-run hop farm in the south of New South Wales, to see firsthand how they're putting sustainable practices at the heart of everything they do.
Chilling Their Way To More Sustainable Brewing
Frigid.Cloud only launched last year but their innovative software has been embraced by breweries across Australia and they've made inroads in America too. We chatted to them to find out about their sustainable brewing solution.
Spangled Drongo Match Good Brews With Great Deeds
Spangled Drongo is a new Northern Rivers brewery with a story that's worth telling before you even think about the beer. We chatted with some of the team about doing good, brewing good, tuk-tuks and kitesurfing.
The Beer Gear of Tmorrow
Band and brewery t-shirts have much in common; now thanks to a Sydney-based business, they're becoming more sustainable too. Learn how Tmorrow are turning clothing waste and plastic bottles into excellent tees.
Local Brewing Co Lay Waste To Waste
Over the last few years, Local Brewing have been working closely with Coles Liquor and local farmers to turn excess fruit into beer. As they prepare to launch the fourth Surplus Series release, we chatted to the brewery and retailer about how it all works.
BinaryBeer Make Waves In Europe
Wollongong-based BinaryBeer has been building an international presence for several years and has just announced their smart keg tech has been picked up by Asahi in Europe.
Brewing A More Sustainable Future
A conversation over beers at Russian River in California sparked a multifaceted collaboration between businesses big and small that has led to the production of Certified Sustainable malts on both coasts of Australia.
Beer Grows Here: The Devilbend Farm
The paddock-to-plate philosophy runs deep on the Mornington Peninsula and myriad wineries let you enjoy a glass while looking at the vines that were the source of your enjoyment. Devilbend Farm Beer is a new brewery that is growing its own grains, hops and plans to make estate ales.
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Going Green: Bearhug Pallet Wrap
Plastic is often a necessary evil in the beer world: it can help keep beer safe but often ends up in landfill. It's an issue being tackled by Bearhug Pallet Wrap, a startup looking to move beer safely while cutting out single-use plastic.
Going Green: The Common Good Company
What if every single thread of your beer merch was made from recycled cotton and recycled drink bottles? We caught up with The Common Good Company for a chat about their high quality apparel with a low impact on the planet.
Revolution In The Riverina
There are many people who have changed the nature of beer and brewing in Australia over the years. Yet what's happening in the Riverina region of NSW feels as transformative as anything else happening in the industry right now.
Brick Lane Join The B Corp Brigade
Brick Lane Brewing have joined the tiny but growing number of Australian breweries with B Corp certification. The accreditation can only be achieved by businesses whose environmental and social actions meet a high standard.
The Collaborators: South West Hops
It's not just the brewing scene that's expanding apace in WA's South West – there's a growing number of local producers supplying brewers too. Among them is South West Hops, who significantly stepped up their output in 2022.
Capital Become A B Corp Business
Capital Brewing have secured B Corp accreditation, making them just one of three Australian brewing companies to secure the status in acknowledgement of their positive social and environmental impact.
Capital Claim Carbon First As Aussies Brew A Greener Future
A number of Australian brewers are leading the way when it comes to sustainability, with Capital becoming the first Climate Active certified carbon neutral brewery, Rocky Ridge and Big Shed winning sustainability awards, and others going carbon neutral too.
Beer, Algae & Cow Burps
Young Henrys and researchers at UTS have been researching the potential certain algae have to turn CO2 created during brewing into oxygen since 2020. Now The Algae Project is looking to reduce harmful emissions from livestock too.
Going Green: KlippaKan
Plastic can holders might be ubiquitous in craft beer but a local company has developed another way to keep your tinnies together. Johnston Packaging and Grifter have just unveiled the KlippaKan, which has been in the works for a year.
The Collaborators: Grain Totes, Totes Great
Matt Lawrence wants to see repurposed malt bags replace single use bags across the beer industry. We got in touch to find out how he’s making it happen one tote bag at a time.
NSW Government Boosts For Indie Brewers
Following the establishment of the NSW Independent Brewers Action Plan and an Independent Brewers Working Group in 2020, NSW brewers are reaping benefits from grants and other government support.
Blasta Secure $1m Government Grant
The good news keeps coming for Perth brewery Blasta after the trophy-winners secured a $1 million Federal Government grant to help fund the construction of a second brewery.
Capital's B Corp Journey
Capital Brewing are on track to become the latest Australian brewing company to achieve B Corp status. We chatted to the man driving the process for the Canberran brewery.
Going Green: Brew Rocket Launches
A new grant designed to encourage new brewing companies to put an environmental and/or social enterprise focus at the heart of their business has just launched. We spoke to the woman behind Brew Rocket to find out more.
Trash To Treasure
Each year, Australia wastes a gargantuan amount of food. But breweries across the country are finding ways to try reduce this waste and, in the process, are building further value into our agricultural system.
Going Green: Bright Bins
Bright Brewery have long put sustainable practices at the core of their business and are now looking to take a recycling initiative nationwide.
Rocky Ridge's Greener Pastures
Three years on from our first article on Rocky Ridge's sustainable approach, the WA brewery is carbon neutral and heading towards carbon positive. With more eco-minded plans in the works, Jono Outred paid a visit.
Ryefield Hops: Securing A Future
At the start of last year, the small-scale Ryefield Hops' entire harvest was destroyed by drought and the subsequent bushfires. We caught up with co-founder Jade McManus to talk about the year that was and their plans for the future.
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.
Going Green: switcH2
Breweries produce a lot of wastewater, so what if they could use it in beneficial ways, such as creating heat or power for their brewery? Sydney-based tech startup switcH2 aims to help them do just that.
Insect The Unexpected
Craft breweries are no strangers to innovation. But BentSpoke Brewing have arguably set a new standard by making a beer with local yeast, a hangover relief drink, crickets and fly larvae.
Karma Kegs For The Climate
Ahead of the Global Climate Strike, the Good Beer Co have announced they’ll be bringing people together over beer to help raise money for the Great Barrier Reef. Will Ziebell spoke to brewing company founder James Grugeon.
No Beer On A Dead Planet
On September 20, people across the planet will join young campaigners for #ClimateStrike. The Crafty Pint will be one of the local beer businesses taking part and hope more people in the Aussie beer world will join us.
Going Green: Ocean Friendly Brews
What would it take for breweries to go plastic free in their tap rooms? Not much, apparently. We spoke to Surfrider to see how they've helped some of Australia's biggest craft brewers say no to single-use plastic.
Going Green: One Drop's Box
As part of their mission to inspire change, young Sydney brewery One Drop have designed unique environmentally friendly packaging for their cans. Marie Claire Jarratt got in touch to find out more.
Going Green: SolaBrew
When Scott Shomer designed Helios Brewing in Brisbane with his business partners, the aim was to produce the most energy efficient brewery he could. Under the SolaBrew banner, he's keen to help other brewery owners do the same.
Hopping Into The Wild
The burgeoning beer scene in the South West of WA grew again this week with the opening of Wild Hop. Jono Outred joined the team on their family farm to find out more about one of the most highly-anticipated new operations in the state.
Going Green: Carbon Reduction
Brewing beer is intensive in many ways, from the amount of energy required to the use of water. Hannah Louise Grugel caught up with the team at Batch to find out how they're working to be a more sustainable brewery.
Going Green: Grants
In an article on the business of beer, an expert raised the issue of government grants and how few breweries were taking advantage. Here, a specialist on cutting the cost of business explains just how easy it could be for brewers to cash in.
Going Green: 24 Hour Power
In the second article in an occasional series looking at sustainable practices in brewing, Will Ziebell looks at the growing use of batteries to allow breweries to become less reliant on the grid.
