Articles by James Smith
James Smith launched The Crafty Pint in 2010, two years after moving to Australia from the UK. He was taken to Mountain Goat within weeks of landing in Melbourne, joined their indoor cricket team, and is still navigating the rabbit hole that is craft beer to this day.
The beers that turned you on to good beer:
- Watching pints of McEwan's 80 Shilling settle when visiting family in Edinburgh.
- Pints of flat Bass from the jug at the Cap & Stocking in Kegworth.
- A first Paulaner Hefeweizen when working in Munich in 1998: “This smells of bananas!”
- Castle Rock Harvest Pale – how could a 3.8 percent ABV beer be so good? (It turns out it was an early example of the three Cs – Cascade, Centennial and Columbus – in an English bitter).
- Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA poured through hops at the Sunset Grill in Cambridge, MA, in the company of a man who turned out to be the Beer Nut (while we were both covering a double murder case at the time).
- Ordering a Mountain Goat Hightail on my first day as an Aussie resident as it was local and I’d never heard of it; “A dark Australian beer; well I never…”
- Murray’s Icon 2IPA at Beer DeLuxe Fed Square, recommended by a guy I’d not long known who's now the main man at Fixation, served by Mik Halse, now head of sales at Hawkers. How could an Australian beer smell as good as that?!?
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
- Any really good, fresh and balanced West Coast style IPA. Punchy hop aromatics are the most obvious way to capture someone's attention and these IPAs, done well, present the key components in beer (if you're sticking to just water, malt, hops and yeast) in harmony yet with the volume turned up.
- Saison Dupont. Arguably a selfish choice here as I bloody love the broad saison style and dearly hope it will finally take hold in Australia one day. Given a choice, I'd probably crack one enlivened with Brettanomyces like Molly Rose Matilde for myself but, when it comes to turning on someone new, you've got to go with the classic.
- Rodenbach Caractère Rouge. Because if you don't enjoy or can't appreciate this beer, I'll never win you over. And because Filip, the fruit and wood specialist at Rodenbach that designed it, is a beautiful human.
The last beer you enjoyed:
Fixation IPA at The Incubator.
Three things that represent you:
- The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Golden Plains
NB All articles written by James in the first eight years of the site appear as By Crafty Pint. Today, that's used for collaborative efforts by the wider team.
Local Beer Day: Join Us For A Nationwide Celebration
Who's up for injecting some joy into the local beer world? We sure are, so we've created Local Beer Day and hope breweries, bars, bottleshops and beer lovers will join us and make it the biggest ever celebration of Aussie beer.
Cheeky Monkey Buy Sound Brewing From Administrators
There's been another significant move in the local beer world with Cheeky Monkey acquiring fellow WA operation Sound Brewing Co, two months after the Rockingham-based brewpub entered administration.
Beerfarm Claim The 2024 WA Beer Of The Year Crown
Beerfarm's IPL, a WA craft beer icon, has been named Beer of the Year at the 2024 WA Good Food Guide Awards. It finished ahead of Phat Brew Club's Culture of Good Times and Rocky Ridge's Rock Juice V12 in this year's top 25.
Dainton Beer Enter Voluntary Administration
Dainton Beer have today become the latest brewing company to file for voluntary administration, citing the need to "deal with financial losses the business has accrued from ill-timed expansion in the face of declining consumer demand."
Bad Shepherd's Founders Emerge From Administration Still In Control
Less than a month after appointing administrators, the founders of Bad Shepherd are out of administration, as of today, and remain in control of their business after their proposal was approved in a creditors' meeting.
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.
Getting Blind With Crafty: Mexican Lagers
For our Mexican lager blind tasting, we veered a little from our usual approach and included some of the biggest names in the world alongside the Aussies. The big question: could a local hero claim the crown...?
Sydney Beer Week To Return In 2024
Sydney Beer Week is to return in 2024, bringing to an end a six-year beer week drought for the city's beer lovers. We spoke to the duo behind its comeback about their plans to breathe fresh life into the city's beer scene next October.
Brew & A: Marcus Cox
Marcus Cox marks 20 years in brewing this year. We chatted to him about a career spanning the earliest days at 3 Ravens, launching breweries both sides of the Pacific, major trophies, and rescuing a brewery from floodwaters.
Bad Shepherd Enter Voluntary Administration
Bad Shepherd have this week entered voluntary administration as they undertake a financial restructuring of the business. But the founders say it remains business as usual for customers and employees.
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La Sirène's Reservoir Renaissance
Just 371 days on from opening Bar La Sirène in Alphington, Costa and Eva Nikias opened Bar La Sirène in Reservoir after a wild year of sudden closures, existential crises and, ultimately, a desire to keep the dream alive.
Cerveza: Is The Next Big Thing In Beer ... Beer?
You've probably heard the word "cerveza" more than usual in recent weeks, and you'll hear it more in the coming months. But what exactly is it? And why are some brewers predicting a summer of cerveza?
The Matchmakers: Pairing Food With Dark Ales
Drink good beer? Enjoy good food? Then you're going to love The Matchmakers, our new monthly series exploring beer and food pairing in the expert company of Nic Sandery and Ittichai Ngamtrairai at Molly Rose.
Alice Springs Brewing Co: Five Years In Five Beers
As he and his team prepare to embark on a multi-day fifth birthday celebration, we chatted to Alice Springs Brewing Co founder Kyle Pearson about a half decade in which "a bit of a hobby" has become an NT destination.
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 Consolidation Continues As Otherside & Nowhereman Become One
Consolidation within the local beer world continues apace with the news today that WA breweries Otherside and Nowhereman are to become one. We spoke to the key players about the decision to share more than values.
Carwyn Cellars Bought By Fox Friday
Two of the best-loved names in Australian craft beer have agreed to join forces, with the team behind the fast-growing Fox Friday Craft Brewery buying pioneering retailer and venue Carwyn Cellars.
Marvel-ous Moon Dog To Open Vast Docklands Brewpub
It turns out Moon Dog’s plans for Franco Cozzo’s Footscray site and Frankston are just part of their grand vision. The fun-loving drinks producers are also set to open a vast brewpub next to Marvel Stadium in Melbourne’s Docklands.
Dollar Bill Bling It At The Indies With Their Gold Teeth
Tiny Ballarat-based brewery Dollar Bill completed a remarkable double, claiming Champion Australian Independent Beer at the Indies just months after winning Champion Australian Beer at the Australian International Beer Awards.
Who Owns Your Beer? Updated
Ahead of the return of BrewCon on the Gold Coast, we've updated our guide to the ownership of craft beer brands in Australia. Much has changed in the past year or so, notably in the space we christened Indie Families in 2019.
Want to know more?
Dexter-ity – Crafting A Greener, Leaner, Local Malt
The rise of craft beer has changed the landscape in many ways, and the launch of Dexter Malt today highlights many of those. It's a project involving collaboration, innovation, sustainability, provenance and, of course, beer.
Moon Dog Get Green Light For Franco Cozzo Site
The on-off saga of Moon Dog's attempts to move into the former Franco Cozzo site in Footscray is back on. Following further discussions, the City of Maribyrnong confirmed the brewery has the green light to move in.
Grainfed Get There In The End
More than a decade after releasing his first Sneaky One, Lachlan MacBean finally opened the doors to Grainfed Brewing's brewpub in June. We chatted to him about the long, laid-back journey.
4 Pines & Mountain Culture Star At Sydney's Beer Awards
Hometown brewery 4 Pines starred at the 2023 Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show, claiming both Champion Packaged Beer and Champion Draught Beer as well as Champion NSW Beer. The other beer trophy went to Mountain Culture.
Getting Blind With Crafty: Budget Busters
Looking for a crafty drop to fill your fridge that isn't going to break the bank in these straitened times? We lined up a bunch of budget-busting beers for a blind tasting with a difference.
Meet The New Crafty
Today, we’re delighted to unveil something we’ve been working on for a number of months: a vastly reworked and enhanced version of The Crafty Pint. We hope you like it!
Ale Stars: 15 Years & Still Going Strong
It's an achievement to keep anything going for 15 years, let alone a midweek event at a pub, so hats off to all involved in Ale Stars, the beer appreciation night at The Local Taphouse. Take a trip down Memory Lane with some of them.
Fury & Son Decide To Quit While Ahead
The father and son behind Fury & Son have ceased brewing and put their assets up for auction, citing the challenges currently facing the beer industry. But they're retaining the brand and IP as they sign off with: "Never say never."
Who Brews Cypher Beers?
Mention Canberra and brewing to most Aussie beer lovers and BentSpoke and Capital are most likely to come to mind. There's more to the capital's beer scene than the big-hitters, however, not least now Cypher's brewpub is open.
Rocky Ridge Go Back-To-Back At The Perth Royal Beer Awards
For the second year running, Rocky Ridge have claimed the Champion Beer trophy at the Perth Royal Beer Awards. And, again, they've done it with a rarely-seen style: their barrel-aged barleywine Jindong Balling.
Dollar Bill Triumph At The Australian International Beer Awards Again
Tiny Ballarat operation Dollar Bill, who specialise in barrel-aged and wild ales, have claimed Champion Australian Beer at the Australian International Beer Awards just two years on from their first triumph.
The Australian International Beer Awards At 30 – Part II
In part two of our mini-series marking 30 years of the Australian International Beer Awards, we invite some of those with long and significant involvement to share their memories and photos, and trace just how much it's changed.
Blackflag's GABS Beer Raises A Red Flag
The name and branding of a new release from Blackflag Brewing has come in for criticism from inside and outside the beer industry.
The People Of Pint Of Origin
In one sense, Pint of Origin is all about the beer, the brewers and the venues hosting them. But it's also about bringing people together to go on shared adventures. Here, we celebrate some of the people of #PoO.
Pint of Origin 2023: Meet The Aussies
Pint of Origin kicks off for an 11th time this Friday, bringing almost 1,000 different beers to 20 of the city's best pubs and bars from May 12 to 21. In our second preview, we take a look at what to expect from the Aussie venues.
Pint of Origin 2023: Meet The Internationals
Pint of Origin returns to Melbourne for an 11th time on May 12, bringing almost 1,000 different beers to 20 of the city's best pubs and bars over ten days. In the first part of our preview, we roundup the highlights at the international venues.
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.
Exit To Exit The Beer Industry
Nine years on from announcing themselves to the world with the first of many saisons, Exit Brewing are exiting the beer industry, stating they're no longer in a position to be competitive or viable in today's challenging market.
The Beer World Pays Tribute To Pops
The beer world has been paying tribute to one of its "special men", after brewer and mentor Neil "Pops" Whittorn lost his battle with cancer. We spoke to some of those who knew him best.
Meet The 2023 Pint of Origin Beer
After a few rounds of voting and much discussion within The Crafty Pint team, we have a name for the 2023 Pint of Origin beer. Congratulations to Tim Brady for his winning suggestion – which turned out to be the very first entry too.
Fox Friday To Open Perth Brewpub
Fox Friday are set to open a brewpub in Perth, taking over Blasta's current site when the latter moves to a bigger venue in the coming months. It means the Hobart-based operation will have bases in three states by the end of 2023.
Tribe Breweries Goes Into Administration
Tribe Breweries has become the latest brewing company to enter administration. The company operates one of the country's largest production breweries, a $35m facility in Goulburn, NSW, and produces its own brands and others under contract.
Founder Jayne Lewis To Leave Two Birds
Jayne Lewis, who founded Two Birds Brewing with long-time mate Danielle Allen in 2011, is set to leave the game-changing operation in the coming weeks.
Good Drinks' Acquisition Of Stomping Ground Called Off
In a surprise announcement, Good Drinks and Stomping Ground have said they won't be going ahead with the proposed acquisition announced last year.
Newstead To Leave Their Doggett St Brewpub
Next month marks the end of an era for one of Brisbane's pioneering craft breweries, with Newstead moving out of their Doggett Street brewpub to focus on their Milton brewery venue. We chatted to the team about their future plans.
Hottest 100 Craft Beers Of 2022: Analysis
Mountain Culture have scored an incredible top spot with their Status Quo in the 2022 GABS Hottest 100 Craft Beers poll. Here, we dig deeper into the top 100 to see what it can tell us.
Mountain Culture Storm The GABS Hottest 100 Craft Beers Of 2022
We have a new winner in the GABS Hottest 100 Craft Beers poll for 2022, with Mountain Culture achieving a staggering result and blasting straight into top spot. Balter XPA finished second ahead of BentSpoke's Crankshaft.
La Sirène Back In Business – For Now
After a tumultuous seven weeks that would make a roller-coaster feel queasy, the team at La Sirène are set to reopen the doors to their bar today. However, the future of the popular "urban farmhouse" brewery remains unclear.
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.
Future Mountain's Reservoir Brewpub Up For Sale
Future Mountain have listed their Reservoir brewery and venue for sale – but it's not what it seems. The founders plan to move to different parts of Victoria with their families and create a new Future Mountain with two rural bases.
