Articles by Will Ziebell

Grain And Grape To Close In May

After more than three decades of supplying the local industry with homebrewing equipment, John Preston is set to retire. It means Grain and Grape will close its doors in May but before it does, we spent some time reflecting with the local beer hero behind it.

Deeds Enter Voluntary Administration

Deeds Brewing have become the latest brewery to enter voluntary administration, with the Melbourne brewery appointing Deloitte Financial Advisory as administrators this week but with the founders remaining at the helm.

Brew & A: Madi Bruce

For the third year running, the women of Bright Brewery created Fred's Beer: a collab named in honour of the brewery's late co-founder. We chatted to the brewer behind the 2024 beer about why it matters.

Snappy 'n' Hoppy: The Rise of West Coast Pilsner & Cali IPA

Leaner, crisper styles of hoppy beer are growing in popularity. We spoke to some of those exploring West Coast pilsners and California IPAs to find out where they've come from and where they're going.

Diversifying The Pathways Into Brewing

With applications for this year's Young Henrys Brewing Scholarship for female, female-identifying and non-binary people closing soon, we chatted to two brewers about their experiences since ditching corporate jobs.

Bracket Brewing Forced To Find A New Home

Sydney's much-loved and small-scale Bracket Brewing have been forced to search for a new home after facing a significant rental increase. We chatted with cofounder Mike Meletopoulo about their difficult search for a new home.

Turning Towards Terpenes

Hops are loaded with terpenes: aromatic compounds that drive much of what appeals to beer drinkers. As brewers look to use them to enhance aromas in their beers, we chatted to some of those exploring this new territory.

Chilling Their Way To More Sustainable Brewing

Frigid.Cloud only launched last year but their innovative software has been embraced by breweries across Australia and they've made inroads in America too. We chatted to them to find out about their sustainable brewing solution.

Melbourne's Multitude Of Missing Kegs

Over several months, kegs have been continually disappearing in Melbourne, with breweries, venues and Konvoy expressing concern about the scale of what's occurring. We spoke to some of those impacted about how it's harming the local beer industry.

Bitter Phew: Ten Lessons From Ten Years

From lockout laws to lockdowns, running a Sydney bar has presented plenty of challenges over the past decade, yet Bitter Phew continues to stand tall. As the institution turns ten, we chatted to co-founder Aaron Edwards.

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Bondi Brewing Launch New Home Brewing For Good With Famous Locals

Bondi Brewing have had a presence in their home suburb since 2018, and have now launched a brewery inside an Asian restaurant. To mark its arrival, they've asked well-known locals to brew with them to raise money for charity.

Spangled Drongo Match Good Brews With Great Deeds

Spangled Drongo is a new Northern Rivers brewery with a story that's worth telling before you even think about the beer. We chatted with some of the team about doing good, brewing good, tuk-tuks and kitesurfing.

Brew & A: Matt Ives

Beers brewed by Matt Ives won silverware at the Australian International Beer Awards and pipped Corona and Balter in our Mexican lager blind tasting. We chatted to him about a beer career that began pulling pints in Wagga.

The Best Of Beer 2023: The Territories

It's time to bring down the curtain on our look back at the year in The Best Of Beer 2023. For the final instalment, we cast an eye over goings-on in the NT and ACT.

The Best Of Beer 2023: Tasmania

Following our trip to Queensland, we're moving to Australia's southern island for the fourth entry in our Best Of Beer 2023 series to take a look back at the moments, beers and people that stood out over the year.

Dainton Emerge From Administration With Family Still In Control

Less than a month after appointing administrators, Dainton Beer is again controlled by its management team after creditors approved a financial restructuring. We spoke to CEO Dan Dainton about what it means for the business.

TWØBAYS: Five Years In Five Beers

Since 2018, TWØBAYS have been on a mission to broaden the beer offering for people who can't consume gluten. On their fifth anniversary, founder Richard Jeffares walked us through some of his favourite beers to date.

The Best Of Beer 2023: Victoria

It's time to kick off our annual jaunt around Australia to see who and what has stood out from the crowd in 2023. We start in Victoria with a selection of standout moments, beers, breweries and bars.

Emily Usher Slays Beer

Slays Beer is a new series shining a light on younger members of the beer world: who they are, why they're in beer, how they think the industry could do better. Kickstarting our celebration of beer's next gen is Emily Usher from Deeds.

Burnout And Beer: Paying The Passion Tax

Craft beer is often driven by passion but love for the industry can leave people burnt out and exhausted. We spoke to people who've experienced burnout: what caused it and how the industry can become a better place to work.


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The Catfish: Ten Lessons From Ten Years

The Catfish is Melbourne's one and only home of cheesesteaks, blues and craft beer, each delight made better when enjoyed together. As the iconic Fitzroy bar turns ten, we walk down Memory Lane with founders Kieran and Mike.

Former CUB Boss Leads Group Buying Jetty Road From Mighty Craft

A group including publicans, rugby players and comedian Mick Molloy, which is headed by former CUB CEO Peter Filipovic, has bought Mornington Peninsula-based Jetty Road from ASX-listed Mighty Craft.

AMSAT: Adelaide's New, Locally-Focused Maltster

AMSAT Character Malts is a new malting company based in South Australia which has just launched a range of specialty malts for craft brewers and distillers. But it's also steeped in malting history.

Crafty Crawls: North Melbourne

North Melbourne has never been short of boozers, but it didn't offer as much for the craft beer drinker as many of the city's other inner 'burbs. That's all changed now – there's even a small brewery – as Will Ziebell discovered.

Who Brews Village Days Beers?

Given the rise in brewing hubs across the city, you'd be forgiven for all parts of Sydney were well covered for local beer. But Village Days found an area in need, opening in Gladesville and leaving North Shore locals glad they did.

The Hop Selectors: Harvest Time In The Pacific Northwest

Some of Australia and New Zealand's top brewers have been in the US, touring hop regions and selecting the hops they reckon will work best in their upcoming beers. We chatted to two of them on their return.

Keeping Live Music Alive

It's been a tough year for many indie breweries and the same can be said for grassroots live music venues. Combined with a rise in "indie washing", the situation has led The Wheaty and other SA venues to band together.

Chronically Crafty: Managing Health In The Beer Industry

Chronic medical conditions can be nonstop and balancing self-care with a passion that surrounds you with booze is a fine line to walk. Type one diabetic Will Ziebell speaks to people working in beer with chronic health conditions.

WSET To Launch New Beer Qualifications In Australia

New beer courses are launching in Australia next year as global training organisation WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) add beer to their repertoire – and bringing Two Birds founder Jayne Lewis to their team.

Scholarships Made Beerable

Looking to learn more about the science of brewing? The founders of Science Made Beerable have launched a scholarship to give people eager to study a science-focused beer-related course a helping hand.

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The Beer Gear of Tmorrow

Band and brewery t-shirts have much in common; now thanks to a Sydney-based business, they're becoming more sustainable too. Learn how Tmorrow are turning clothing waste and plastic bottles into excellent tees.

Local Brewing Co Lay Waste To Waste

Over the last few years, Local Brewing have been working closely with Coles Liquor and local farmers to turn excess fruit into beer. As they prepare to launch the fourth Surplus Series release, we chatted to the brewery and retailer about how it all works.

BinaryBeer Make Waves In Europe

Wollongong-based BinaryBeer has been building an international presence for several years and has just announced their smart keg tech has been picked up by Asahi in Europe.

Sobah Launch Australia's First Non-Alc Brewery

Sobah's brewery features the stainless you'll find in any Australian brewery yet the Gold Coast operation remains entirely unique. We visited Australia's first non-alc brewery to chat with founders Clinton and Lozen Schultz.

Temple Top GABS 2023 Can Design Awards

The winners of the GABS Craft Beer Can Design Awards have been revealed, with Temple Brewing's Hello, My Name Is Amber taking out top spot and joined on the podium by Brick Lane and Aether Brewing.

Who Brews Smiley Beers?

Pakenham welcomed its very first brewery in the shape of Smiley's Brewing following a multi-year journey that involved COVID, planning objections and, ultimately, a lot of local support. Find out more in this Who Brews...?

Burnout And Beer: A View From The States

Craft beer is an industry driven by passion but, if that fades, where can workers turn? Katie Muggli took an industry-wide moment of self reflection and decided to build a resource to support those working in American craft beer.

The Kegmaster Mini Brings Draught Beer Home

It's always been easy to drink beer at home but pouring a draught beer has often alluded drinkers - particularly if they're tight on space. The Kegmaster Mini aims to bring the bar experience into even small homes.

Cryer Malt & Froth Technologies Announce New Partnership

Cryer Malt has announced a new partnership with New Zealand's Froth Technologies, which will see them bring the liquid yeast into Australia.

Creating A Winning Brewery Experience

Breweries have transformed warehouses into social spaces and created new kinds of hospitality experiences. But what makes a good brewery venue and what do founders think about before they start building?

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Growing With Intention

Craft beer is a fast-paced industry in which small breweries tend to be nimble operations. Now, in a time of economic uncertainty, many are adapting and changing, but what's it like to change course? And why do it?

The Beer Slingers: Bendigo's Black Swan

Bendigo's craft beer scene is a vibrant one that welcomed another member when one of the city's oldest pubs switched its focus to regional breweries. We chatted to the Black Swan's new owners about the grand building's new life.

Brewing A More Sustainable Future

A conversation over beers at Russian River in California sparked a multifaceted collaboration between businesses big and small that has led to the production of Certified Sustainable malts on both coasts of Australia.

Craft Beer's Next Generation

Is craft beer becoming cringe or cheugy? Listen to many senior figures and you could easily draw the conclusion Gen Z poses an existential threat but is the industry really engaging with Zoomers? We chatted to craft beer's next generation.

Mighty Craft To Sell Jetty Road And FogHorn

Mighty Craft has announced agreements to sell both Jetty Road and FogHorn. The buyer of either remains unclear with the ASX business stating it is also looking to sell all or part of their stake in Better Beer too.

Festive Cheer?

Summer brings with it a raft of beer festivals of all shapes and sizes. But there are concerns about how they will fare this time around as consumers continue to tighten their belts and the costs of staging major events rise.

The Writer Behind The Beer Drinker's Toolkit

Mick Wüst is one of the most recognisable names on The Crafty Pint; now the award-winning writer is launching his first book. Here he tells us about the Beer Drinker's Toolkit and his longstanding love for the written word.

GABS Acquire More Festivals

The GABS team has expanded its festival reach considerably after buying a number of beer and drinks festivals from the Schwartz Family Company. We spoke to GABS owner Mike Bray about the acquisition and their future plans.

A Full Colour Life: From Brewer To Leader

Most people open a brewery or become brewers because they love making and drinking beer. Yet, as businesses grow and careers progress, brewing can play second fiddle to management tasks requiring very different skills.

Brookvale – Brewing A Beer Paradise?

Brookvale has been hailed as a beer paradise with multiple breweries joining the local scene in recent years. But despite each carving out a niche and being packed to the rafters on weekends, it's not always smooth sailing on the Northern Beaches.