News & Feature Stories
Big Shed Brewing Appoint Voluntary Administrators
Big Shed Brewing have appointed voluntary administrators, becoming the second Australian brewing company to do so this week, following Hawkers' announcement on Monday.
Where To From Here For Local Beer?
With Hawkers – one of the most successful Australian breweries of the past decade – entering administration, we look at the impact of the current climate on the wider industry, and ask what change is needed to turn things around.
Hawkers Become The Latest Brewery To Enter Voluntary Administration
Hawkers have today become the latest brewery to enter voluntary administration. Their decision continues the steady stream of administrations and closures in the local beer industry over the past 18 months.
Celebrate Your Favourite Local And Win!
As Local Beer Day approaches, we're celebrating some of the people who make the Aussie beer community what it is. And now it's your turn: nominate your favourite local and you could win prizes – for yourself and your local!
For The Love Of Japanese Rice Lagers – Part II
In part two of his look at Japanese rice lager, Mick Wüst chats to some of the brewers playing around with the style and considers just where such beers sit within the contemporary Australian beer landscape.
For The Love Of Japanese Rice Lagers – Part I
“For us, it’s the pinnacle of beer. We’re just trying to do it justice.” Japanese-style rice lagers are showing up all over Australia these days. But what exactly are they? Mick Wüst explores the local appeal.
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.
Celebrate Local Beer On Local Beer Day
The lineup for the inaugural Local Beer Day is live, with events taking place across Australia on February 24. Beer lovers can now search for their nearest event – and there's still time for breweries and beer venues to sign up.
Crafty Crawls: Outer North Brisbane
Brisbane's outer north, much like the city has a whole, has found itself teeming with places in which to enjoy craft beer. Here, Matt Aitken serves as our guide to the craftiest spots to call into in the north and around Moreton Bay.
The Beer Slingers: Travellers Brewhouse
The building may be 150 years old, but Traveller's Brewhouse is all about new flavours, with street food from around the world and 14 taps of local and independent beer. We talked with Cameron James for this instalment in our Beer Slingers series.
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One Drop: Five Years In Five Beers
Few breweries have made their mark quite like One Drop, brewers of some of the most extraordinary beers ever seen in Australia. Here, we invite them to look back on their first Five Years In Five Beers.
Jett Righetti Slays Beer
At just 23, Jett Righetti has finished a brewing course at TAFE, is an assistant brewer at Happy Valley, and has his eyes set on winning awards and opening a brewery. Read on to find out how Jett Righetti Slays Beer.
GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2023: Analysis
We've taken a deep dive into the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers to see what trends and insights the 2023 countdown reveals in our annual analysis feature.
Mountain Culture Status Quo Wins GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2023
The votes have been counted, and of the 1,877 beers to receive votes from the 400-plus breweries that entered the GABS Hottest 100 of 2023, Mountain Culture Status Quo has landed in top spot for a second year running.
Crafty Crawls: Hobart – The Breweries
Tasmania and its capital are wonderlands when it comes to delicious things and that's certainly true for beer. Here, Jono Outred serves as our guide to the breweries of Hobart where you can enjoy a bounty of locally-brewed beers.
The Year Of Living Precariously
A year ago today, news that Ballistic Beer Co had entered voluntary administration sent shockwaves through the local beer world. Here, we take a look back at the carnage that has followed in the 12 months since.
Wayward Brewing & Local Drinks Collective Emerge From Administration
Wayward Brewing and Local Drinks Collective have exited a period of voluntary administration with the existing owners still in charge. We spoke to company director Peter Philip after the DOCA was approved today.
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.
Local Beer Legends
The local beer world wouldn't be the wonderful and diverse place it is without the people responsible for bringing beer to life and into your hands. So, as Local Beer Day approaches, we're shining a light on some of them.
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.
Crafty Crawls: WA's South West Part II
In the second instalment of our Crafty Crawl guide to the beery treats dotting the Margaret River region of Western Australia, we head south, visiting sprawling breweries and diverse venues along the way.
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.
Building A Beer Cellar – On Any Budget
Did you receive the gift of fancy beer for Christmas? Or are you keen to start amassing a beer cellar filled with barley wines and Belgians? Then join us to find out how to start hoarding liquid gold – whatever your budget.
WA's Indie Brewers Aim To Keep The Bird Flying
WA's indie brewers are rallying behind the William Street Bird, an iconic live music venue in Northbridge with an uncertain future, whose Keep The Bird Flying festival kicks off this weekend.
Beer Basics: Lautering, Boiling & Whirlpool
Sparging, vorlauf, iso-α-acids, centrifugal forces and trub... Join us as we take up our Beer Basics guide to making beer once more in the company of Marie-Claire Jarratt, with hops finally making an appearance too.
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.
Wayward Brewing Enter Voluntary Administration
The new year has started much as 2023 ended with another brewery entering voluntary administration. Wayward Brewing have appointed administrators with the intention of restructuring their business and retaining ownership.
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: South Australia
And then there were two... Time for the penultimate entry in our Best Of Beer 2023 series, as we cast an eye of the standout moments, beers and openings from the past 12 months.
Tim's Bucket List Beer Trip For MND
“Life’s too short to drink crap beer.” When Tim Eggert was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, he decided to get out and enjoy the time he has left by visiting breweries and raising awareness of MND.
The Best Of Beer 2023: Western Australia
In the sixth instalment of our series looking at the year in beer for 2023, we cross the Nullarbor as our team there casts an expert eye over the past 12 months in Western Australia.
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.
The Best Of Beer 2023: Queensland
We continue our trek up Australia's east coast for the third instalment of our Best Of Beer 2023 series, moving on from Victoria and New South Wales to cast an eye over the beer scene in Queensland.
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.
The Matchmakers: Festive Season Pairings
For our final 2023 edition of The Matchmakers, the team at Molly Rose has come up with something a little different. No recipe this time, rather a selection of founder Nic Sandery's favourite pairings for classic festive fare.
The Best Of Beer 2023: New South Wales
All aboard! It's time to leave Victoria behind and head north to New South Wales to find out who and what stood out from the crowd in the second instalment of our Best Of Beer 2023 series.
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.
Getting Blind With Crafty: Influencer Beers
For our final blind tasting of 2023, we figured we'd do something a little different: with several new beers on the market associated with bands, brands or other famous figured, we decided to put them to the test.
The Year In Beer 2023
It goes without saying that 2023 hasn't been the year the beer world would have been hoping for, but let's try to make sense of it anyway, shall we?
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.
Netherworld Team To Launch Lost Souls "Theme Park" Karaoke
A new karaoke bar unlike any other is opening next to Brisbane's Netherworld. It features local beer, intricate art design, and "theme park level karaoke". You'll be singing to save your soul.
Who Brews Wild Barrel Beers?
Small batches, single barrels, slow processes, sustainable businesses. Mick Wüst took a look at Wild Barrel, based in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, for our long-running Who Brews...? series.
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.
Brew & A: Gavin Williams of Black Brewing
Black Brewing Co are part of South West WA's vibrant brewing community, and earlier this year took out the Champion WA Brewery trophy at the 2023 Indies. We caught up with the head brewer behind their success.
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.
Who Brews In The Brew Garage?
Another suburb of Perth has a brewpub to call its own with Brew Garage opening in East Victoria Park. Guy Southern dropped in to soak in the charms of a venue that's also an urban winery serving up damn fine pizzas.
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.
