News & Feature Stories

Going Green: BrewDog's Big Ideas

The beer industry is responsible for generating a lot of carbon dioxide but BrewDog are on a path to change that. We caught up with their top dog in Australia to talk about carbon offset plans as they mark one year here.

Postcards from the Edge No.55: Check Yourself

Venues across the country have implemented COVID-Safe plans to let punters inside and now the Night Time Industries Association is calling on customers to do their part too.

Who Brews Bracket Beers?

Bracket Brewing opened the doors to their Alexandria brewery a little after the City of Sydney began to enjoy an easing of COVID-19 restrictions. We caught up with the father and son team to ask Who Brews Bracket beers?

GABS Canned For 2020

After two postponements and the earlier cancellation of their Auckland event, the GABS team has been forced to defer their remaining 2020 events. Instead, they're now looking ahead to their traditional dates in 2021.

Crafty Crawls: The Barossa

It's known globally for its wine, but over the years the offering from local breweries has grown. With a few venues supporting local beer and even a craft maltster in the region, the Barossa has plenty to offer beer tourist now too.

Budget Delivers Little For Indie Beer

The Independent Brewers Association (IBA) has welcomed some aspects of the Federal Government "recession-busting", jobs-focused budget, but many of the industry's request do not appear to have been ​addressed.

Dollar Bill's Dream Edges Closer

The family behind Dollar Bill Brewing is hopeful they'll be able to open their unique cellar door experience in spring 2020 after reaching the advertising stage for their "Invermay Beer Farm" in Ballarat.

Running With Thieves

With their cans now landing in the fridges of WA retailers, Guy Southern caught up with the team behind Running With Thieves for a chat about the development of their South Fremantle venue, brewery and distillery.

More Sober, More Often

As Ocsober kicks off, the choices for anyone wanting an booze-free beer, wine or spirit in their hand is bigger than ever before. Heck, there's even a new online retailer specialising in them.

Postcards from the Edge No.54: So Long, Farewell...

Among the thousands of Aussies stranded overseas are Ben and Maria Kraus and their kids. A planned year long stay has been extended by flight cancellations, so Ben is now helping commission a new brewery in Innsbruck.

AIBA 2024 dinner B2 BONUS
The Collaborators: Native Flavours

As they prepare to launch their seventh collaborative Native Series beer together, Jono Outred spoke to the people at Beerfarm and Fervor driving these unique beers and the educational aspect that surrounds them.

Postcards from the Edge No.53: Monkey Brews

The couple who brought craft beer to Dubbo put the COVID-19 lockdown to good use: taking the skills learned over ten years of homebrewing to follow through on a long-held plan to brew their own beers for their regulars.

Postcards from the Edge No.52: Live & Loud

The live music industry has been hit just has hard as beer – if not harder – by COVID-19. As it starts to return in new COVIDSafe fashion, long-time good times supporters Young Henrys are back supporting gigs in Sydney.

Beer Basics: Malt, Malt, Malt

A couple of years back, we launched a new series aiming to teach people about the basics of beer and brewing. It slipped through the cracks but is now back, ready to boost your beer knowledge and enjoyment.

Atomic Beer Project Opens In Redfern

After months of delays due to COVID-19, Atomic Beer Project's new brewery and venue is ready to open in Redfern. It represents a major East Coast move for the Good Drinks group formed by WA's Gage Roads.

All Change At All Hands Again

A joint venture between 4 Pines and Signature Hospitality Group will see the home of All Hands Brewing House, reigning Indies Champion Australian Brewpub, become part of The Sporting Globe chain of sports bars.

Crafty Cabal Update – September 2020

Time for our monthly update on goings-on with The Crafty Pint's beer club, The Crafty Cabal. And what a busy month it's been...

Postcards from the Edge No.51: Wide Open Roads

Today sees venues across Victoria open for the first time in weeks after restrictions were eased on their second shutdown. We chatted to two of the businesses eager to welcome guests back.

Modus' Norty Little Number

A new non-alcoholic beer hits the market next week as Modus Operandi launch NORT. We chatted to Modus co-founder Jaz Wearin about a project that started with a middle of the night epiphany just ten weeks ago.

Who Brews Common Ground Beers?

In 2019, Aether Brewing co-founders Jimmy Young and Dave Ward decided to go their separate ways. The former can now be found at the helm of Common Ground Brewing, located in the former Aether brewpub in Milton.

Victorians To Take To The Streets

Victorians could be heading to the streets (and rooftops and parks) as part of the state government's plan to bring the hospitality industry back to life in a COVIDSafe manner. But questions remain over what the future holds.

Ten Years Of Crafty: The Time Barrel

We've spent most of this series looking back over the past decade. Now it's time to look at the here and now. We're going to create a time capsule – well, barrel – that represents beer now ready to be opened in 2030.

Ten Years Of Crafty: In Ten(ish) Beers

It took The Crafty Pint's founder eight years to put his name on an article, but now we've forced him to open up about some of the beers and stories that have guided his time in the beer world.

Ten Years Of Crafty: Changing Tastes

Styles have come and gone, limited releases are a growing focus, and there's never been more choice for drinkers. Here, we look at just how far and fast tastes have changed since we launched The Crafty Pint.

Who Brews In The Happy Valley?

Happy Valley is a brewery built for locals in the Brisbane suburb of Stafford, with a name stemming from the locale's original name. We caught up with the team to ask Who Brews Happy Valley beers?

Ten Years Of Crafty: Beer In The Media

For most people, the idea that beer writers even exist is a hard one to conceive. Yet there's an evolving media landscape dedicated in one way or another to the beer world. Here we look at how it's changed over the years.

Ten Years Of Crafty: Meet The Team II

In part two of the midway feature in our Ten Years Of Crafty series we again hand the mic to some of the people who've been part of the growth of the site over the past decade.

Ten Years Of Crafty: Meet The Team I

We've been blessed to have some wonderful people contribute to The Crafty Pint in various ways over the past decade. Here we kick off a two-parter featuring some of them and their highlights of the past decade.

Ten Years Of Crafty: The Big Ones

Lists. Bad news. Controversy. That's all people want, right? Thankfully, a perusal of the most read stories of the past decade on The Crafty Pint suggests you're a more discerning audience.

Ten Years Of Crafty: Infiltrating And Taking Over

The beer industry today is far bigger, far better in many ways, far more colourful and far more competitive. It's also changed plenty with independence now declared with the same gusto once applied to craft. Here's a look at how.

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Postcards from the Edge No.50: Pivoting Properly

While they await the day they can open again, the team at The Cambrian in Bendigo have been keeping busy. Once they finished renos they embarked on a course to understand how to make their business better post-COVID.

Ten Years Of Crafty: In Pictures

If a picture says a thousand words, then many millions have been spoken over the past decade in beer. Here's a collection of beers from the past decade. We could have run many, many more...

Ten Years Of Crafty: The Wobbly Boot

Today we kick off a series of features looking back over the ten years since The Crafty Pint launched. And where better to start than the start. Or, more accurately, before the start...

Little Bang Top The GABS Can Design Awards

Little Bang claimed the inaugural GABS Can Design Awards title for their Face Inverter beer, designed by Matt O'Connor. Moon Dog and Fixation completed the podium with our designer Jessie Jungalwalla landing two in the top ten.

The Collaborators: Craft's Can Pioneers

Ahead of the announcement of the first GABS Can Design Awards, we chatted to the people who helped spark the craft beer's move into cans two decades ago, Canada's Cask.

Father's Day 2020 Gift Guide

Father's Day is approaching fast and that means heaps of gift ideas for dad from Australia's beer world. We're compiling all those we hear about in one place for you.

Mid Strength, Max Satire

Jason Mangelsdorf is a Brisbane local who's regularly hosted art shows at legendary bar The Scratch and has also combined his love for MAD Magazines and XXXX to create MID Magazine. George Levi sat down with him to find out more.

A Crafty Pint AppDate

As breweries and venues began to reopen across Australia, we realised one of the best ways we could help beer lovers #keepinglocalalive was to make the free Crafty Pint app as comprehensive as possible. Now we'd love your help filling any gaps.

Ya Wee Blasta!

Blasta cleaned up at the 2020 Perth Royal Beer Awards, claiming four trophies including Champion Small Brewery and Champion Beer. It was a great night for home state brewers, with WA taking out almost every title.

Brewers Celebrate Keg Theft Result

Late last year, a spate of keg thefts was brought into the public eye by WA's brewers. With two men now sentenced, they're hoping it serves as a warning to people unaware of the serious and costly impact of such actions.

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Bintani- Updated Behind The Brew- E
Modus Of The Merewether

Modus Operandi are set to build a second brewery. They've been granted approval for a site in Newcastle, where they're planning a sustainable venue close to where co-owner Grant Wearin's grandfather used to run the corner store.

Pirate Life Perth Takes Shape

Just under a year after the plans were unveiled, construction begins today on what will become Pirate Life's Perth brewery venue. The 1,000 capacity venue will house what will be Pirate Life's third brewery.

The Big Issue: The Future Of Beer Fests

How will beer festivals look in a post-COVID world? We chat to the organisers of those still going ahead in 2020 and others who've had to adapt about the future of major events in the local beer world.

Postcards from the Edge No.49: Wombating COVID

Three years ago, KAIJU! founders Nat and Callum Reeves chatted about collaborating with a New York brewery. When the pandemic shut the world down, instead of putting an end to such talk, it sparked Mortal Wombat.

Who Brews 27 South Beers?

Brisbane's busy beer scene is located along the 27th parallel; it's a fact one of the city's newest brewing companies is keen to shout about. We caught up with 27 South Brewing as part of our Who Brews? series.

The Big Issue: Coping with COVID-19 Part II

Many of us face mental health challenges at the best of times. With the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacting the beer and hospo industries, we look at the difficulties people are facing and the support they can seek.

Gage Roads To Build New Freo Home

Gage Roads have today announced plans for a brewery and venue at Fremantle's Victoria Quay. The family-friendly destination overlooks the stretch of ocean that inspired the brewery's name.

The Big Issue: Coping With COVID-19 Part I

Many of us face mental health challenges at the best of times. With the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacting the beer and hospo industries, we look at the difficulties people are facing and the support they can seek.

Postcards from the Edge No.48: A Hustling Hand

The speed at which beer businesses adapted and the rise of the growler were two of the standout features when the first lockdown hit. Now, a new family-run operation sparked by the unique challenges of that time has launched.

Crafty Cabal Update - August 2020

As the beer world returns to something approaching normality in most of Australia, we've been adding plenty of new deals, giveaways and events for members of our beer club, The Crafty Cabal.