News & Feature Stories
The Year In Beer: NSW
This year appears to be the one in which the sleeping giant of NSW began to stir. Sure, the Lord Nelson has been banging the craft beer drum for a quarter century, The Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst has…
The Year In Beer: VIC
What a year it’s been. While much of the rest of the world has been at war, suffering from natural disaster, rioting or waiting for its economy to implode, craft beer in Australia has gone from strength…
A Very Beery Christmas
Less than two weeks to go and, if you’re anything like those of us at Crafty Towers, you won’t have made too much progress with Christmas prezzie buying. So, if you’ve got a beer-lovin'…
Hoppy Days
With their big new brewery just a couple of months away from being up and running, the brewers at 4 Pines have been planning for the future of the little system that brewed the beers that kick started…
Happy Birthday To True
True South’s mission to irrigate the Bayside beer desert with craft beer marks its second anniversary today. The brewery and restaurant opened in a converted mechanic’s garage on the beachfront…
A Craft Beer Dive
It wasn’t too long ago that there were plenty bemoaning the narrowing of choice for craft beer lovers in Brisbane with the loss of some tap freedom at the city’s Platform bar. Since then, Nectar bottleshop…
From the Australian Real Craft Brewers Association
A couple of weeks ago we published an open letter to the craft beer community from the people behind Craft Beer Limited, an association created with the aim of bringing together craft brewers and other…
Joining The Pack
Last weekend, another brewery joined the swelling ranks of Aussie micros. The Black Dog Brewery held its South American-themed launch at Taminick Cellars, a winery in Victoria’s north, at which founder…
The Liquid Lounge
A few months back, when we were putting together the concept for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival’s first ever beer and cider MasterClass sessions, we took a call asking if we’d be interested…
Home Sweet Home
Sweetwater is on the move. The microbrewery in the Victorian Alps has been based at the Annapurna Estate winery since opening in 2009, with the brewhouse located in one of the wine sheds and the bar nestled…
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Take Two
So, after 27 years without a national body to represent them, Australia’s craft brewers now have two. In the week that we reported on the launch of Craft Beer Limited (CBL) – an organisation that had…
An Open Letter to the Craft Beer Community from Craft Beer Limited
Since publishing this comment piece on the current situation regarding the formation of a national association for craft brewers in Australia, we have been contacted by Craft Beer Limited. They were planning…
Good Beer Week's Back!
OK, so it’s still six months away, but they say time flies when you’re having fun so it’ll be upon us in no time at all. Returning to Melbourne from May 12 to 19 for another massive celebration of…
What's Up, Doc?
Eagle-eyed dwellers of the more esoteric realms of Australia’s craft beer world may have noticed something missing amid the flurry of spring releases: there was no beer from Doctor’s Orders. The absence…
Gimme More More More
The craft beer revolution in Australia has been keeping plenty of Canadians busy in recent months. Brewery manufacturer DME has had its hands full keeping up with orders from Down Under, with the new brewhouses…
Crafty In The Press II
Blimey. How time flies. Turns out it’s more than a year since we presented a wrap up of some of the beery articles we’d had published in other publications on The Crafty Pint. So, given there’s…
Blog of the Month: Ambersandwich
Many Aussie beer drinkers across numerous states will know Kris Miles. One of the founders of the sadly-no-more Nectar bottleshop in Brisbane, then hop spirit-infusing cocktail creator at Beer DeLuxe and…
Together We're Heavy
A full 27 years after Phil Sexton and friends poured the first ales at the Sail and Anchor in Fremantle, Australia has a national craft brewers association. Craft Beer Limited has been launched this week…
Brew & A: The Monk
As the birthplace of the Sail and Anchor, Matilda Bay and Little Creatures, Freo will forever warrant a special place in the hearts of Aussie beer lovers. Today, with the likes of Clancy’s Fish Bar and…
Up Close & Personal
In the red corner, a legend of the Melbourne craft brewing scene. In the blue corner, one of the most exciting talents from the world of beer. In the middle, 30 of you, seated at a table in the shadow…
Opening The Gates
More than a year after its owners hoped to be up and running, Temple Brewing is on the verge of opening its brewery, bar and brasserie in East Brunswick. The sparkling new brewhouse is in place, the stonetop…
Uncle Sam Wants YOU!
Every couple of years, the Brewers Association of America holds the World Beer Cup, a competition that attracts thousands of entries from hundreds of breweries in dozens of countries. The next one takes…
And. They're. Off!
The biggest and best opportunity yet for Sydneysiders to indulge their love of craft beer – and for newcomers to find out what all the fuss is about – is underway. The inaugural Sydney Craft…
Woodlands Wonderland
We first heard noises that someone was planning to bring craft beer to outer suburban Melbourne a few months back. Soon afterwards, we heard that they were doing it with a venue that was rather different,…
Meet The New Brewers
The Victorian Microbreweries Showcase kicks off at Fed Square later today, with one of the biggest lineups of exhibitors yet. As in the past, entry costs $25 per person, which gains you entry and 20 tasting…
The Danish Invasion
Beer is set to enjoy its most prominent role yet at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival when it celebrates its 20th anniversary next March. Having tested the water with the Beer & Cider House Rules session…
Crafty Films: Festival of the Frothy 2011
For those of you lucky enough to attend, here’s a chance to relive Saturday night’s return of the Festival of the Frothy. For those of you that didn’t, here’s what we got up to…
Newcastle Craft Beer Week
Thanks to the passion and hard work of two beer lovers, Newcastle is to host its first Craft Beer Week in November. Corey Crooks, from the Albion Hotel, and Mark Mead, manager of the Warners at the Bay…
Past. Present. Future?
He’d already spent long weekends in Victoria’s State Library digging up every piece of information he could find on the history of brewing in Australia – and even employed a PhD student to help with…
Info For Wannabe Punks
A while back, everyone’s favourite Scottish crazies BrewDog announced a second opportunity for punters to invest in their business. Equity For Punks allows you to put your money into one of the most…
Five Days Til Frothy
The planets are aligning for what looks like being a rather large night. The Festival of the Frothy kicks off on Saturday, technically in celebration of The Crafty Pint’s first birthday, although…
The Lord Turns 25
In recent weeks, we've had stories on here celebrating 100th brews and the first anniversaries of Aussie craft breweries. And while it's only right to celebrate such milestones, there's an anniversary…
Ninkasi's Return
Ninkasi is a pretty important lady when it comes to beer. One of the oldest known documents relating to beer is a prayer from a Sumerian poet entitled “Hymn to Ninkasi”, which was found on…
Join The Club
A month on from the last additions, we’re delighted to welcome half a dozen newcomers to The Crafty Pint. As of today, you’ll find listings for Hix Brewery, who some of you will recall picked…
Taken To Cask
When the Lambs Go Bar in Fitzroy closed earlier this year, mourning was kept to a minimum with owners Jason and Adam King popping up just a few streets away at the refurbished Rainbow Hotel. One thing…
Brew & A: Moon Dog
It’s been a while since the last one, but better late than never we bring you another look at the people behind the beers you know and love. What do they drink when they’re not brewing? What turned…
Getting Back To Basics
A few years ago, a group of students in Hobart started the Tasmanian Beerfest, an event designed to celebrate their local brewers. As it gained in popularity, it reached a point where it had outgrown their…
Ballarat's Beer Bash
Back in the day, Ballarat Bertie was one of the Victorian beer industry’s iconic characters, a cheeky chap with bushy ‘tache and apron who beamed out from cans of Ballarat Bitter. That beer…
New Hope On Excise?
A fresh call for changes to the tough tax regime faced by the country’s craft brewers was put in front of politicians this week. Greens Deputy Leader Christine Milne raised a motion in Parliament calling…
Sydney Craft Beer Week
For the past couple of years, one of the most enjoyable – and eye-catching – events surrounding the Australian International Beer Awards in Melbourne has been the Hair of the Dog Breakfast.…
Ready For The Off
The program has been finalised for Newcastle’s first Craft Beer Week, with 17 events taking place across 11 venues between November 21 and 27. The Hunter Beer Co, based nearby in the Hunter Valley,…
Grab Your Lederhosen
Aussies seem to have a weird fascination with Oktoberfest. When the original hits Munich, there are tents you can hit up where the Bavarians appear to be outnumbered by the Antipodean contingent, while…
Beer Travel: Bendigo
When British beer writer Pete Brown visited Bendigo a few years ago while researching Three Sheets to the Wind – his quest for the meaning of beer – he had what can perhaps be best described as a mixed…
One Year. 100 Brews.
Mornington Peninsula Brewery doesn’t celebrate its first birthday until October 1 yet today, when brewer Andrew “AG” Gow pours grain into his mash tun, he’ll be embarking on the brewery’s 100th…
Tooborac's New Brews
A few months ago, we brought you word that a new brewer had taken over the reins at Tooborac Hotel & Brewery. And it seems that Chris Haren has wasted little time putting his own stamp on the beers…
Spring Has Sprung
So, another winter has passed, one in which we were sustained by the finest array of big, dark beers ever to come out of Australia’s breweries. Now, we wait to see what treats the brewers have in…
Blog of the Month: Frozen Summers
We’ve been a little slack on the featured blog side of things recently, with a couple of months passing since the last. So how about making up for lost time by featuring a man who not only writes a blog,…
We Are One!
One year old, that is, in case you thought this was going to be some sort of Maharishi-inspired cry of universal love. Yes, 12 months have passed since we received word that the full site was live, leading…
Ton Up In Tassie
For more than two decades, he was best known as the country’s foremost beer writer. Then, in 2008, Willie Simpson joined the ranks of those he writes about by opening Seven Sheds in northwestern Tasmania,…
Showing Off - Updated!
Updated September 7, 2011 following changes to schedule. October’s Fed Square Victorian Microbreweries Showcase is set to expand out of the Atrium, although plans to hold a third, late night session…
