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.
Postcards From The Edge No.1: Cherry Cheer
As the beer and hospitality industries adapt to the new reality, there are some inspiring examples around. We joined The Cherry Tree crew as they launched their home deliveries by bringing cheer to the streets of Richmond.
Keeping Local Alive
The restrictions on social gatherings and movement imposed in the fight against COVID-19 will have serious impacts on the beer, hospitality and events industries, among others. We look at how we can try to help them survive.
Sparkke To Fire Up In Melbourne
The female-led Sparkke Change will be bringing their unique brand of social activism through alcoholic drinks to Melbourne later in 2020. As they prepare to launch two new beers, we chatted about their grand vision.
Latest News From The Crafty Cabal - March 2020
We know it's only three weeks since the last of these but we've been busy, not least in launching the long-mooted new look Crafty Cabal homepage. We've also added a stack of events and giveaways so high time for an update.
The Galaxy's The Limit
Demand for Aussie hops shows no sign of slowing, with Hop Products Australia this week opening a new processing facility in the Victorian High Country yet already looking at further expansion well into the future.
The Matchmaker Of Deliciousness
It's rare to come across a chef eager to praise beer's qualities over wine, let alone one operating at the level of Rob Kabboord, now back in Melbourne at the pop-up Lekker! after four years helming Quay in Sydney.
Brew & A: Sow & Piglets
It's named after an iconic tourist spot, is found in a hostel, and the Sow & Piglets team are already working on a new brewery venture in regional Victoria. We sat down with the German brewer behind their traditionally-minded beers.
Hawkers To Build A Brewery Bar
As they prepare to turn five, Hawkers are setting out to build a bar at their Reservoir home. The intention is to use the proposed 170-capacity venue to showcase more experimental releases.
Australia's First Airport Brewery Takes Off
The Stomping Ground brewpub at Melbourne Airport – Australia's first airport brewery – is up and running, with the first beer to go through the brewery their version of the Resilience Beer for bushfire relief.
Unfinished Mead Business
Having moved from beer writing to brewing, Willie Simpson is planning another change of tack as he turns 70: a return to mead. And kayaking. And sourdough baking. And astronomy. And...
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Through The Looking Glass III
After a hiatus in 2018 (for reasons I can't recall) we're back with our New Year's Day look ahead at what the future might hold for the local beer world: what to look out for and where we might be headed.
Crafty's Advent Calendar
If you'd like to check out our look back at the 2010s in Advent Calendar form, here's all 25 entries gathered in one interactive PDF. Open it in Acrobat to see who's behind each door and click each one to be taken to that day's entry.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Phil Sexton
He kicked the contemporary craft beer scene in WA in the early 80s and recently announced his return to Matilda Bay on a mission to reclaim its lost iconic status. We close out of end-of-decade series with Phil Sexton.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Wheaty Jade
From within the four walls of a corner pub in Thebarton, Jade Flavell, her colleagues and staff have not just blazed a trail for beer and beer venues in Australia but inspired and influenced thousands too.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Will Feral
He was a crap sales rep but turned out to be a bloody good brewer and these days leads the weay for Feral following the WA brewery's sale to CCA. He's also a goose's best friend; on day 23 of our Advent Calendar it's Will Irving.
Best New Victorian Beers Of 2019
Whether you're hot for hazies or have a passion for the puckering, there was much to enjoy from Victorian brewers in 2019. Such beers dominate our list, joined by a couple of lagers and a rich stout.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Steve & Guy
They met across a St Kilda bar in the early years of the century and have gone on to help shape the local beer industry through venues, festivals, a brewing company and more. Behind door 22 are Steve Jeffares and Guy Greenstone.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Kris Miles
From a bottleshop in Brisbane to hop-infused spirits in Melbourne then MONA and finally a pub and brewery, Kris Miles has taken on many roles in the local beer world. Here he is on day 21 of our end-of-decade Advent Calendar series.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Sam Füss
If you've been involved in the local beer industry over the past decade or two, you'll have a story or three to tell involving Sam Füss. The multiple trophy-winning brewer from Philter joins us for day 19 of out Advent Calendar.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: OJ
Owen Johnston was head brewer at Moo Brew when it launched and now works for HPA, helping get Aussie hops into the hands of brewers across the world. Here he is as we reach day 18 in our Advent Calendar.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Scotty Hargrave
Along with his Balter co-founders, Scotty Hargrave has been part of the biggest story at the end of a big year. Here's what the head brewer has to say about the past decade and his thoughts on the industry now and to come.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Kate & Shev
They're the dictionary definition of work hard, play hard and continue to make an indelible mark on the Melbourne and wider Australian beer community. Behind door 16, it's the irrepressible Kate and Shev.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Mick Cameron
After careers that took in bars, brewing and distribution here and overseas, Mick Cameron, son Jack and his best mate Red Proudfoot launched Pirate Life, a brewery that had instant impact before selling to AB InBev.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Pia Poynton
She's worked in bars, repped for breweries, helps run the Pink Boots Society in WA, ran one of the country's most prolific beer blogs. But Pia Poynton is also one of those people who just makes the beer world better.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Corey Crooks
He was raised in a family of publicans and has taken what's in his blood to help turn his hometown of Newcastle into a craft beer city. We chatted to Corey Crooks of the 100 percent independent Aussie beer venue The Grain Store.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Peta Fielding
Long before the Gold Coast became nationally recognised as a home of good beer, there was a couple trying to sell their beers to locals. Thirteen years on, here's Burleigh co-founder Peta Fielding reflecting on the change.
Meet The New GABS. Same As The Old GABS
As voting opens for the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Beers of 2019, we introduce the man who took over both festival and poll earlier this year, Mike Bray, and find out where he plans to take the two in the coming years.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: David Cryer
It's time for a trip across The Ditch on day ten of our Advent Calendar, not for a New Zealand-themed entry in the series but to catch up with a man whose work will have made it into many of the beers you've enjoyed.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Paul and Tash Holgate
Paul and Tash Holgate recently celebrated twenty years as an independent, family-run brewery. It makes them one of the longest-established brewers in Australia so we asked them to be part of our end-of-decade series.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Stephen Nelsen
Stephen Nelsen has been integral to the rise of the craft brewing industry in his home state of SA and his influence crosses state lines too. We spoke to the former Brewboy for day eight of our end-of-decade Adventy Calendar.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Willie Simpson
Back when there was about one-hundredth as much to write about in the local beer world, Willie Simpson was documenting the country's beers and brewers. Today, he's a brewer and hop grower in North West Tasmania.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Gillian Letham
Time to head to Brewsvegas for day six in our end-of-decade series. We could have picked any number of legends from the city's beer scene but decided Gill formerly from The Mill could speak for them all.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Richard and Tracy
Back before "craft beer" was a thing, there was one man doing cool shit in Canberra. He still is, along with his partner and ever-growing team, and here he is as part of our Advent Calendar end-of-decade series.
CUB Buy Balter
The rumours swirling around the beer industry have turned out to be based in reality as CUB today confirmed they've added Balter to a stable already containing the likes of Pirate Life and 4 Pines.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Joel Beresford
We head west on day four of Crafty's Advent Calendar and into the arms of Joel Beresford, a man who via Cellarbrations Carlisle and The DTC has put wonderful beers and a passion to learn into the mouths and minds of thousands.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Dave Bonighton
Would the beer scene in Melbourne look like it does today without Mountain Goat? Highly unlikely. In day three of our end-of-decade Advent Calendar series we feature one half of the duo that helped build a beer city.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Jayne Lewis
For day two of our end-of-decade Advent Calendar, we turn to a trailblazer of the local beer world. Jayne Lewis is one half of the duo that founded Two Birds Brewing and has an influence that spreads far beyond that brewery's Nest.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Brad Rogers
As a momentous month for beer in Australia comes to a close, we look back and forward with 25 people who've helped shape the industry in our spin on a beer advent calendar. First up, Brad Rogers of Stone & Wood.
Black Hops' Nightmare Before Christmas
Black Hops have announced a product recall like no other. It's the beer they'd brewed for Christmas Day in Beer Cartel's advent calendar and has been sent to thousands of homes this week.
Holgate's New Taproom Opens As They Enter Decade Three
As they enter their third decade of brewing, Paul and Tash Holgate are as busy as ever. As their long-mooted Taproom & Visitor Centre opens, we chatted to Tash about the milestones and future plans.
Sauce To Open Brewpub In Cairns
Marrickville hazemeisters Sauce are heading north. They're to open a brewpub in the heart of Cairns in the middle of 2020, thanks to a new partnership with "craft accelerator" Founders First, who are already invested in Jetty Road and FogHorn.
Balter Top Australia's Biggest Craft Beer Survey
Balter have been voted Australia's best brewery in the biggest ever survey of craft beer drinkers. More than 23,000 people took part in Beer Cartel's annual survey, which is now in its fourth year.
Brew & A: Bright's Reid Stratton
As Bright Brewery prepare to launch their first "Mystery Beer" we caught up with head brewer Reid Stratton. The recent signing from New England Brewing Co has a fascinating past take in Jolly Pumpkin and musical squeaks and farts.
Matilda Bay's Founder To Return
The man credited with kick-starting a revolution in Australian beer is to return to the brewing company he founded. Phil Sexton is to open a Matilda Bay brewery venue in Healesville in partnership with CUB.
Building Moon Dog's World
Melbourne's Moon Dog have helped shape the local beer industry over the past eight years. As they prepare to open their outrageous new brewery venue, Moon Dog World, we joined the founders for a trip down Memory Lane.
Indie Beer's Family Ties
Breweries are just diversifying their offering when it comes to beers and venues. There's a number of independent operations with multiple brands under their umbrella, both bought and birthed.
Indie Beer Gets Its Own National Day
October 26, 2019, is to become the inaugural Indie Beer Day, with supporters of independent Aussie beer encouraged to raise a glass in support of the local industry.
A Sour Taste In Their Mouths
Sour beers have really taken off in Australia in the past couple of years, but what are they? Ahead of Blobfish, a festival dedicated to sour, wild and funky beers, we chatted to four Australian and Kiwi breweries who love them.
Green Beacon Bought By Asahi
Asahi's shopping spree continues apace with today's news that they've acquired Green Beacon. The move comes shortly after last month's announcement they plan to purchase CUB, 4 Pines and Pirate Life from AB InBev.
Gimme Shelter
The buzzing beer scene in South West WA is to gain another new brewery, with construction work beginning this week on Shelter. We caught up with director and head brewer Jason Credaro to find out more.
