Time to welcome some newcomers to the Crafty fold as the fruits of our travels from coast to coast over the past few months start to appear on the site. As readers of the Friday newsletter will know, between late 2011 and early 2012, we were on the road almost constantly, checking out breweries, bars and bottleshops old and new across the country. Heading out on the road allows us to get to know personally as many people as possible involved, sample their beers at source, get to understand the personalities of individual venues and breweries and, ultimately, to put together the listings you find in our Breweries, Bars and Bottleshops directories.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be adding new listings regularly, starting today with a selection drawn from New South Wales, Victoria and WA. Joining our collection of most of the best craft breweries and venues in the country are:
Illawarra Brewing Company – The former Five Islands Brewery has been tearing up trees since its rebranding, with the tallest brewers in the land, Ashur and Shaun, collecting top gongs at major beer awards.
Tramway Hotel – Eighteen months ago this was an inner Melbourne corner pub in need of love. New owners have given it love and have had it returned in spades by punters drawn in by a welcoming, unpretentious atmosphere, Aussie craft beers, great wines and some of the best burgers in town.
Cellarbrations at Carlisle – Something of a WA institution and home to some of the keenest beer geeks in the land, on hand to guide you expertly through their huge and ever-expanding selection of beer whether informally or during their regular Grain Cru events.
Colonial Brewery – One of Margaret River’s many breweries, Colonial brews beers predominantly inspired by the traditional styles of Europe within a sleek, contemporary home set amid acres of sprawling farmland.
Harvest Wine & Liquor – A Melbourne bottleshop with the ability to satisfy your needs, whatever you fancy drinking, be it a craft beer from pretty much any corner of the world or a top notch cider, wine or something harder.
Mash Brewing – From its inception as a brewpub in Swan Valley, the Mash empire has grown to include a couple of classy venues in Bunbury and Rockhampton. Its original home is where you can sample its beers – regulars and seasonals – in the shadow of the brewhouse where they are born.
Sail & Anchor – What needs to be said about the Sail & Anchor? It’s where Aussie craft beer started back in the early 80s when Phil Sexton and friends started pouring their own beers over the bar there and, nearly 30 years later, it’s still being voted Australia’s Best Beer Venue.
Look out for more new additions to the site in the coming weeks…
