News & Feature Stories
Episode 028: Innovative Off-Grid Brewing On The Limestone Coast
We return to normal programming – temporarily at least – for this week's main podcast episode. We call into the fascinating Loophole Brewing on SA's Limestone Coast for a chat with head brewer Tom O'Reilly.
Hawkers And White Bay Merge To Form Social Drinks Group
Two of Australia's best-known indie brewers have joined forces. Hawkers and White Bay have merged to form the Social Drinks Group.
Who Brews Subculture Beers?
Brunswick has no shortage of breweries and the latest is Subculture Brewing. To find out more about it, we asked founder Luke Forster to join us for our Who Brews? series.
Bridge Road Brewers Land At Melbourne Aiport
Melbourne Airport's beer offering is set to improve, with Bridge Road Brewers opening an airport bar in early February. We spoke to brewery founder Ben Kraus about their latest venue.
Episode 027: Welcome Back For 2025
After a most welcome break over the festive period, The Crafty Pint Podcast is back for 2025. For the first show, we reflect on the news of the year to date and look forward to a busy few months of travel and events.
More Moorebeer: Brewer Buys Brewery
The owners of Moorebeer quietly sold the Port Macquarie brewery at the end of 2024. But the brewery's future looks bright as the new owner is long-term Moorebeer brewer Mark Connors who joined the team in 2019.
Behind Bars: Purple Palate & Maleny Brew Crew
Maleny might be a small town in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, but for many years Purple Palate has been providing locals with plenty of beer choice. As their Maleny Brew Crew celebrates 14 years, we caught up with the team.
Ten Lessons From Ten Years: Cupitt's Estate Brewery
Late last year, the beer side of Cupitt's Estate marked ten years of brewing. To celebrate the milestone, we asked head brewer Liam Jackson and Wally Cupitt to join us for our Ten Lesson In Ten Years series.
KAIJU! Beer Enter Voluntary Administration
KAIJU! Beer have become the latest brewery to enter voluntary administration, appointing DBA Reconstruction and Advisory to oversee a restructure of the business.
Dash & Smash: Inside The World Of The Aussie Beer Milers
Weighing up a post-festive season health kick? Then how about a story on running to keep you on track? Admittedly, it also involves chugging beers and sprinting with eskies, but it's a start of sorts...
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Year In Beer 2024: ACT & NT
The final episode of The Crafty Pint's Year In Beer 2024 series is a double-header with a triple dose of guests. After completing the full set of states, it's the turn of ACT and the Northern Territory.
Year In Beer 2024: Queensland
For our penultimate Year In Beer 2024 episode we head to Queensland. We kick off with Crafty writer Mick Wüst before joining Josh Donohoe of Sunshine Coast Craft Beer Tours then Hiker Brewing founders Phil Sharp and Daniel Venema.
The Beer Slingers: Sweet Nectar Inn
Sweet Nectar Inn is a brand new bar and bottleshop in Melbourne's north that has quickly been embraced by locals. Step in and chat with Devon or Sam, enjoy their work and you'll quickly understand why.
Year In Beer 2024: New South Wales
We head to New South Wales for our final podcast episode before Christmas to reflect on the year in beer with Meesh Dale-Cully from Wildflower, Nick McDonald from Bucketty's and Crafty writer Jason Treuen.
Beer By Design: The Digital Can Printing Revolution
Ever wondered how those eye-catching cans filling bottleshop fridges come to life? In Beer Dy Design, we'll examine the people and processes involved every step of the way, starting at the end on the cutting edge of can printing.
Year In Beer 2024: Tasmania
Our Year In Beer 2024 series heads across the Bass Strait to find out what's been happening in Tasmania in the company of Matt from Science Made Beerable and multi-brewery venue operator Scott Seymour.
No BrewCon Or Indies In 2025; IBA Announces New AIBA Trophies
The Independent Brewers Association has revealed neither BrewCon or The Indies will run in 2025 due to the ongoing challenges faced by the industry. The organisation also announced they would support two new AIBA trophies.
Evil Mega Corp's No-Scale Ambition
As many brewers moderate their output or bemoan loss of growth in the face of tough market conditions, one brewer is celebrating immoderation and always plans to be his sole employee. Meet the one-man Evil Mega Corporation.
Year In Beer 2024: Victoria
The fourth instalment of our Year In Beer 2024 series finds us on home turf as we turn our attention to Victoria. Joining Will and James are Cherry Murphy and Good Land Brewing's Jimmy Krekelberg.
Dangerous Ales: Five Years In Five Beers
After travelling the planet as a bodyboarder and chef, Damien Martin decided to open a brewpub back home in Milton. Ahead of Dangerous Ales' fifth birthday, we invited him to share five key beers from the brewery's first half-decade.
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Year In Beer 2024: Western Australia
Time to head west for the second instalment of our Year In Beer 2024 series. Our Western Australia show features Crafty writers Guy Southern and Jono Outred plus Phat Brew Club and indie retailers Copper & Oak.
Sailors Grave's Dunetown Home Opens This Week
Sailors Grave are set to open Dunetown this week, more than three years after they unveiled plans for a farmhouse-style brewery at their East Gippsland home. We chatted to co-founder Gab Moore about what lies in store for visitors.
Year In Beer 2024: South Australia
We kick off our state by state by territory reviews of 2024 in South Australia, where we sat down with longstanding Crafty contributor Matt King, brewer-turned-malt man Steve Brockman, and sensory guru Briony Liebich.
Year In Beer 2024: The National Picture
Roll up, roll up! Christmas is coming so it's time for us to launch our end-of-year review series. We start with a look at the major trends of 2024 nationally before switching to state by state by territories podcasts.
The Welder's Dog's New Tricks
It's ten years this month since The Welder's Dog team first welcomed guests to their original Armidale craft beer bar. As the anniversary approached, we called into their newest venture.
Former Staff Return Tumut River Brewing To Its Roots
Tumut River Brewing is set to reopen in the coming weeks. Former staff have bought the brewery months after the doors shut with plans to return to its roots as a community-focused brewpub and tourist destination.
FOUND. Subiaco Opens
Just in time for Perth's hot summer, FOUND. have opened their new HQ in Subiaco, with former Phat Brew Club head chef Ian Macintosh joining the team. Guy Southern dropped in before today's official launch.
Episode 019: Fighting For Indie Beer
As an immensely challenging year for indie brewers draws to a close, we invited key figures from the Independent Brewers Association to look back at the highs and lows of the past 12 months and ahead at their plans for 2025.
Crafty Crawls: Fitzroy
Time for one of the most jam-packed, venues-to-distance-covered Crafty Crawls going. Join us for a meander through Melbourne's oldest suburb of Fitzroy, a journey that takes in classic pubs, cocktail joints and boozy dive bars.
That’s A Keeper: Sexton Family Turn Temple Into A Shrine To Pils
The former home of Temple will continue brewing but with a focus on one beer: Keeper Pilsner. Behind the new venture is drinks world legend Phil Sexton, his son Harry, and others from Matilda Bay, which was closed by Asahi in May.
Episode 018: Life's A Beach: Building A Brewery In Bali
We set sail for Bali in this episode to catch up with Sam Füss, one of the beer world's true characters, who moved there from Sydney to help launch Beaches Brewing Co after more than two decades in brewing and hospo in Australia.
The Benefits Of A Pink Boots Booster
Pink Boots was formed to support and empower women in the beer industry and their Leadership Scholarship lives up to that mission. Ahead of it closing, we spoke with some of last year's winners about their experience.
Westside Ale Works Sells But The Future Still Looks Hoppy
Westside Ale Works has sold to a new owner but the South Melbourne brewery will continue to look and feel the same. We chatted to founder Casey Wagner about the last eight years running the brewery.
Who Brews Half-Pace Beers?
The craft beer scene in Sydney's Northern Beaches continues to build with the arrival of Half-Pace Brewing in Warriewood. We spoke to them about their beer, spirits, funky ferments and making drinks with bread.
Vegan a la Beer: The Appetiser
Five years ago, Graham Frizzell stumbled upon a perfect burger and beer match – with a difference: it was a plant-based burger. It sparked an idea that's about to bear fruit: a guide to pairing beer with plant-based cuisine
Seasonal Win WA Beer of the Year With Black Oat Cream IPA Mudi
You rarely see breweries release black oat cream IPAs, but maybe that will change after Mudi from The Seasonal Brewing Co claimed the WA Beer of the Year title as the awards celebrated WA's beer scene for a fifth year.
Episode 017: 25 Years Of Holgate
Few small businesses make it to a quarter-century, let alone in the world of brewing, yet that's the milestone marked by Paul and Tash Holgate in 2024. We joined them at their Woodend pub to hear their remarkable story.
Shaking Up A Whole New Shed
Shedshaker are only moving a few metres but their new home heralds big changes for the Castlemaine brewers. We chatted to the owners about their growth, sustainability ethos, support for live music and community connections.
Crafty Sprawls: The Far South Coast of NSW
The South Coast of NSW is one of Australia's most beautiful destinations and one that's increasingly crafty. Benny Kennedy-Cox took a trip to the southernmost stretch to soak up the beers and the serenity.
Choice Az! The Rise Of Kiwi Hops
Kiwi hops are in fashion like never before on these shores, so Jason Treuen decided to find out why: just what has grabbed the attention of Aussie brewers and fuelled this trans-Tasman takeover?
Back On The Bottle
"We're de-gentrifying everything!" Craft beer comes in cans... doesn't it? Here, three breweries in three states talk about their decision to go back to glass – and, more importantly, why.
Sobah Beverages Put Brewery On Market And Plan To Downsize
Australia's first non-alc brewers, Sobah Beverages, have announced plans to sell their production site. The decision will see them focus on "strategic downsizing" and a return to contract brewing.
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.
Alice Springs Brewing Buy Port Lincoln's Beer Garden Brewing
Alice Springs Brewing Co have purchased Beer Garden Brewing in Port Lincoln. We spoke to brewery founder Kyle Pearson about the decision to expand into South Australia and the brewery's regional focus.
The Beer Slingers: Daz Harry – The Pour House
From live music's glory days at Perth's Grosvenor Hotel in Perth via a decade in major retail and back to hospo in WA's South West, Daz Harry has carved out a unique career. We caught up with him behind the bar of the reborn Pour House.
Ten Lessons From Ten Years: Wolf of the Willows
As the Wolf of the Willows team prepares to celebrate turning ten, we chatted to founders Scott and Renae about their first decade and invited them to share their Ten Lessons From Ten Years.
Episode 015: From Beer Writing To The Brewhouse – Building A Local Brewpub In NZ
In Episode 015 we head overseas for the first time to join a man who swapped a career writing and commentating on beer in Australia for rebuilding a twice-liquidated brewery in his hometown on the South Island of New Zealand.
Brew & A: Charlie Claridge – Esker Beer Co
Balancing salt, sourness and citrus in a beer; balancing technical precision and a creative desire to keep improving; balancing constant changes and consistent quality. Everything comes back to balance with Esker's Charlie Claridge.
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 014: Moon Dog's Marvellous Medicine
This week saw Moon Dog open their third megavenue, Doglands, on the Marvel Stadium concourse. We joined founders Karl van Buuren and Josh Uljans there to trace the evolution of their unique story.
