Articles by Crafty Pint
Best New ACT Beers of 2016
We may have crossed the threshold into 2017, but we've still got one final blast from the year just gone. Completing our around-the-country best new beers review comes our panel's pick from ACT's burgeoning beer scene.
Through The Looking Glass
While 2016 was a monumental year in many pretty terrible ways globally, for craft beer in Australia it was another in which we witnessed huge growth and ever greater diversity. So surely we're set for even greater things to come.
Raising The Stakes
The Hobart craft beer scene continues to expand. After a period spent brewing at Belgrove Distillery, T-Bone Brewing has opened the doors of its NoHo brewery to the public. Ruth Dawkins caught up with its owners.
The Crafty Dozen – December 2016
Our latest roundup of the latest breweries, venues and bottleshops added to our directories is actually more of a baker's dozen as we got a little ahead ourselves. So here's the last 13 of the 73 new additions to the site in 2016.
Best New Queensland Beers of 2016
As we near the end of the year, we head to Queensland for another look back at the best new beers released in 2016. The result is a list containing debut beers, fruit, barrels and much more besides.
Best New Tasmanian Beers of 2016
It's time for the fifth of our seven roundups of the Best New Beers of 2016. This time, we head south to the state that's enjoyed huge recent expansion in the number of brewing companies, even though half a dozen hog this year's list.
Aussie Beer Blogs: offthetap
He loves beer, he loves travel, and he loves to hunt down new beers when he travels. So Matt Johnson decided to start capturing his passions via another one: photography, creating offthetap and attracting Instagram followers in the thousands.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Brew & A: Morrison Brewery
Morrison Brewery turns five this week. It's a family affair based in Launceston that launched with a focus on Old World styles but has since expanded its scope. Here's head brewer Paul in a birthday Brew & A.
Getting Blind With Crafty: Saison Revisited
It's a style that's much loved at Crafty Towers and a favourite of many brewers, as well as one that's broad and complex. So, 40 months on from last time, we assembled another blind tasting panel to assess a lineup of saisons.
Cabal Update – 07.10.16
In this update from The Crafty Pint's beer lovers bonus scheme, we prepare to ramp things up in WA, announce winners, launch new prizes and unveil the latest new offers to go live around the country.
Cool Times In Tassie
Last year, we wrote about Van Dieman's plans for a 100 percent estate grown ale. Now the Tasmanian brewery has taken another step into the unknown and brewed its first beers in a custom designed coolship.
The Story Of: Mountain Goat Hightail
This month sees Mountain Goat turn 19, which means its first beer, Hightail, is also turning 19. A year on from the brewery's purchase by Asahi, we spoke to its brewer, Dave Bonighton, about the beer then and now.
Bridge Road's Robust Result
Bridge Road's Ben Kraus is one of the Australian beer world's most innovative brewery owners. Yet it's one of his oldest brews that has brought triumph at this year's Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show.
Brew & A: La Sirène Ben
Costa Nikias is the face of La Sirène, Melbourne's "urban farmhouse" brewery. But, through 2016, a brewer previously at Beavertown has become central to all things La Sirene. He's Ben Turley and is the focus of this Brew & A.
Cabal Update – 23.09.16
We've got more festival VIP packs, hundreds of dollars of tasting tokens for new and existing Crafty Pint supporters and details of new offers in this update from our beer lovers bonus scheme, The Crafty Cabal.
Aussie Beer Blogs: The Year of Beer
Our latest featured beer blog is The Year of Beer, one fairly recent convert to craft beer on a mission to document his adventures in beer – and convert his mates and missus to the good stuff too.
Topping Up At The Billabong
Billabong Brewery's 23rd year in business is turning out to be a pretty good one. Its Wheat Beer collected more trophies, a new bar is up and running and the owners took on the law and they won.
Australian Beer Festivals 2016/17
There are few times of the year when a beer lover can't find a festival or beer week in some part of the country. To make it easy, we've gathered together the major events and beer weeks in one handy guide.
Be Part of Pint of Origin
Pint of Origin is a longstanding highlight of Good Beer Week and is starting to appear at other beer weeks too. Ahead of GBW 2017 registrations opening, we're inviting Melbourne venues to apply to become a PoO venue next year.
Cabal Update – 09.09.16
There's plenty of new stuff – both front and back of house – for us to tell you about in the latest fortnightly update from The Crafty Cabal, the beer lovers bonus scheme for our supporters.
Aussies Win Big In London
Australian microbreweries collected both Supreme Champion trophies at last night's International Beer Challenge in London. Melbourne's Hawkers took out the brewery title with SA's Prancing Pony winning best beer.
Gage Roads' Return To Independence
With many observers of the local beer world awaiting news of the next significant brewery buy out since Asahi took control of Mountain Goat, WA's Gage Roads is going the other way and buying back shares from Woolworths.
Cabal Update – 26.08.16
Plenty of new offers for Crafty Pint supporters this week, including some coming up this weekend. Updates on forthcoming events and a reminder that deadlines are approaching in some giveaways too.
Now Is The Sour
While some might have forecast the renaissance that beer has been enjoying globally, would many have predicted the rise of sours? Award-winning writer Michael Donaldson laps up the tsunami of sours breaking on Kiwi shores.
Brewed With Balls
There's little left for brewers to put into beer. Locally, we've seen squid ink, belly button fluff and whale vomit used, while elsewhere there's been much more besides, as showcased in the new Brewed With Balls book.
Storming the Beaches
4 Pines is to further stamp its claim to be a Northern Beaches brewery with the opening of three new venues over the coming months. They include a restaurant, speciality barrel-aged beer venue and a bakery.
Who Brews Valhalla Beers?
For our latest Who Brews...? feature, we head to the Surf Coast where crowd-funding helped Valhalla get off the ground. Their second release is coming soon, while are plans for a taproom on the coast too.
Cabal Update – 12/08/16
We've got a whopper of an update for you from inside The Crafty Cabal, featuring winners, VIP passes, a special sign up incentive, more events and a pile of new deals and offers at venues and breweries.
What Drinkers Want
The biggest ever survey of Australian craft beer drinkers has been carried out by Sydney bottleshop Beer Cartel. The results of what they plan to turn into an annual survey are out today.
Back In Black
A new brewery has risen on the site of Duckstein's former Margaret River location, with the man who built the original brewery returning at the helm. Ross Lewis spoke to Paul Gasmier about being back in Black.
