Articles by Will Ziebell
How Moon Dog Brought The Wild West To Footscray
After an unexpected last-minute delay, Moon Dog Wild West opens in Footscray today. We chatted to brewery owner Josh Uljans as well as the man tasked with creating its uniquely madcap vibe.
Brewing Up Brilliance
Four very different breweries have brewed a champions collab for the Australian International Beer Awards. Ahead of the awards night, we joined them at Mountain Goat to find out how the beer was designed and why collaboration matters.
Crafting A Certifiably Sustainable Beer Industry
From individual beers to malt and hops, Certified Sustainable is a name and logo that's become an increasingly common sight in the beer industry. But what does the seal mean and where does it come from?
Two Rupees' Founder Distils His Passion For Spirits Into Dutch Rules
Spend time with Two Rupees' co-founder Danny Perera and you'll soon discover he loves spirits as much as beer. That passion has found its way into another business for the Sri Lankan-born Melburnian: Dutch Rules Distilling.
Mighty Craft To Sell Mismatch & 78 Degrees To Group Led By Former CUB Boss
Mighty Craft plan to sell Mismatch and 78 Degrees Distillery to a group led by former CUB boss Peter Filipovic. The announcement follows multiple divestments from the business founded to support craft breweries and distillers.
Aussie Exports: Mike Roberts - Cru Brewing Systems
Mike Roberts has spent more than a decade brewing in Australia and Canada, currently working for Cru Brewing Systems. After running into him at a distillery, Will Ziebell caught up with the former Mountain Goat brewer for a chat.
Bodriggy Become Carbon Neutral
Bodriggy Brewing have joined the small number of breweries in Australia to become climate neutral. It makes the Abbotsford-based brewery the first indie brewer in Victoria to gain certification from the Climate Active program.
Black Hops Enter Voluntary Administration
Black Hops have become the latest brewery to enter voluntary administration; the Gold Coast-based operation appointed Deloitte today. The news follows Akasha and Deeds making similar moves over the last couple of weeks.
Craft Beer Heroes: Scott Overdorf
Scott Overdorf has been an integral part of Hobart Brewing Co since its launch, but his involvement in beer and brewing goes back far further. Following his retirement, we caught up with the American expat for a chat.
Akasha Go Into Voluntary Administration
Akasha Brewing have become the latest independent brewery to go into administration, with the brewery appointing Vincents to oversee the business as they restructure debt and look to agree terms with creditors.
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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.
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.
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?
