News & Feature Stories
Crafty Films: GABS Uncut
Last week’s roundup of the Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular brought you snippets from interviews we carried out with a number of brewers and punters at the St Kilda event. Yet it only seemed fair…
Beer Angels
We’ve always held an appreciation for beer angels, those mystery creatures who watch out for those who’ve had one too many and guide them miraculously back home at the end of the night (even…
Good Beer Week
For a few years now, there’s been a feeling that the craft beer industry has been gaining traction in Australia. But as we approached the end of 2010, there was more than just a buzz surrounding…
Crafty Films: The Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular
Apparently, a picture says a thousand words, so could anything have been more appropriate for the Crafty Pint’s first venture into the world of the moving picture than a film shot at the inaugural…
Crafty Goes Filming
When we came up with the idea for The Crafty Pint, the ultimate aim was the promotion of Australian craft beer in all its many forms. Part of achieving that aim has been to provide a means of bringing…
The Emperor's New Brews
They don’t mess about at Murray’s. If they can ratchet up the flavour another notch or three they will, whether creating one of the best lower alcohol beers to come out of Australia in the…
Feral's UK Takeover
You may already be aware that at some point in the coming months WA’s Feral Brewing will be handed the keys to The Local Taphouses, taking over all 20 taps with its beers. But it seems that taking…
New Brewer At Tooborac
It’s all change at Tooborac Hotel & Brewery, with new brewer Chris Haren making the step from passionate home brewer to professional. James and Val Carlin, owners of the beautiful bluestone hotel…
The Tipping Point For Taps?
With craft beer bucking the overall trend of falling beer sales in Australia and gaining traction in more and more corners of the country, there’s been much talk recently of the industry reaching…
Calling All Beer Bloggers & Writers
As those of you who frequent the interwebs and read the weekly Crafty newsletter may have ascertained, there is in existence a body going by the rather grandiose name of the Australian Beer Writers Guild.…
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Truly SpecTAPular
They came. They saw. They concurred: the inaugural Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular was a soaraway success. The biggest event of its kind held at The Local Taphouses had a queue of 65 people waiting outside…
Calling All Hop Heads
Dry-hopped, wet-hopped, late-hopped, mash-hopped. However beer can be hopped, it’s happening for the third running of the Paddy’s Brewery beer festival. The brewery in Sydney’s west has brought this…
When Worlds Collide
It never rains, but it pours. Yesterday, we had a story about Australia’s first two collaborative brews in Epicure – both to be tapped at GABS on Saturday. And today, we can reveal that the…
The Great Beer Debate
In The Crafty Pint’s short life, we’ve noticed that people like a bit of debate when it comes to beer. Whether it’s just arguing over who makes the best, what is or isn’t craft…
Hobart's Holy Water
We’ve all been to pubs we really like. Often we’ll go back to them. Sometimes we’ll tell our friends to go there too. At a push, we might even write something nice about them for strangers to find.…
Aussie Beer Geek Heaven
The final lineup for next week’s Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular has been announced. And it has to be the most outrageous collection of Aussie-brewed beers ever to appear in the same place at one…
The Interstate Beer Off
Living in Melbourne, it’s easy to believe craft beer’s making huge inroads into the Aussie beer drinking market. But, while it’s an industry that’s growing fast as the major beer…
H100: Beer's The Winner
Well, what a palaver! A light-hearted poll to get people talking about craft beer turns into a spiky bun fight. Who’d have thunk it? While the debate continues elsewhere on this site, with comments ranging…
The Hottest 100 Revealed
Well I never. WTF! Knock me down with a feather. And other assorted idioms. Who saw that coming? That being the news that Little Creatures Pale Ale has been usurped at the top of The Local Taphouse’s…
Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers 2010: The Full Rundown
You’ve seen the top ten, so what about the rest? Here they are from one to 100. You’ll have to agree it’s a pretty colourful selection and, as a snapshot of where the Aussie beer market is today,…
Hopinators Hit Hobart!
A man walks into a bar. And spots a great big towering Hopinator. In Hobart. Crammed with hops and malt. On the bar. For $4.50 a pot. Seriously, who needs a punchline in a situation like that? Not The…
The Rainbow Reborn
Just over a month after the King brothers waved goodbye to the much-loved Lambs Go Bar, their new pub, Fitzroy’s historic Rainbow Hotel, has reopened its doors following extensive renovations. Tucked…
The Latest Flood Appeals
The ongoing efforts to help Queenslanders recover from the floods continue to attract support from the Aussie beer industry. After last week’s fundraising drives from the likes of Stone & Wood…
Happy. Happier. Happiest.
If you live in Melbourne, like going to pubs and have an eye for a bargain, chances are you’ll be aware of The Happiest Hour, a website set up by a pair of students in 2004 with the intention of…
Moovin' On Up
They already have the sexiest beer bottles in the land and produce some exquisite beers with which to fill them – and now Moo Brew has opened a rather splendid bar in which visitors to Tasmania can sample…
H100 Poll Is Closed!
In, ooh, approximately 13 hours and 34 minutes from the posting of this update, voting for the 2010 Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers will close, leaving the staff at The Local Taphouse with the joyous task…
H100: Behind The Pale
Tick tock. Tick tock. In the world of Aussie craft beer, we’re almost at the point where Bruce Willis (or Leslie Nielsen, depending on your personal preference) bursts into a small room in the basement…
H100: The Hightail Tale
As the deadline for voting in this year’s Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers draws ever closer, we’ve just got time for a look at the stories behind a couple more of the beers that have proved extremely…
Flood Relief Appeal Roundup
As the full scale of the floods in Queensland and Northern New South Wales becomes apparent, a number of fundraising drives have been kickstarted throughout the Australian beer industry. We’re going…
Bruthen = Brewthen
It seems the title “Victoria’s newest brewery” is becoming ever more hotly contested. On Monday, we ran a story about Forrest Brewery in the state’s west, which is just days away…
Beer Under The Stars
Given the weather currently battering the East Coast, the chances of enjoying beer in the great outdoors might seem somewhat limited. But if you’re in Sydney and find a gap in the clouds, the roof…
Brew Forrest, Brew!
Before the month is out, the first beer brewed at Victoria’s newest microbrewery will be poured as the patience of brother and sister team Matt and Sharon Bradshaw finally pays off. More than eight…
Aussie's Top Craft Beers
Voting for The Local Taphouse’s third annual Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers closes in just over a week, making it the perfect opportunity to look back at some of the beers that have proved popular with…
Brew & A: Otway Estate
Kickstarting Crafty’s Q&As for 2011 are the brewers responsible for one of the widest ranges of beer in Australia. Luke and recent recruit Hendo knock out Prickly Moses, Otway Organic and Otway Estate…
New Year, New Beer
While most of us were kicking back over the festive period, two of Australia’s most established and highly-regarded craft brewers were beavering away on a new brew. It’s a brew with a difference…
Quick Christmas Roundup
It’s been a little quiet on the Crafty front this week as Christmas approaches, so a quick heads up on a few happenings. First up, Biero’s holding its Christmas party on the 23rd, where the…
Our Man In: America II
On-road Goat Tom Delmont spent a month touring some of America’s finest craft breweries earlier in the year. His first article for The Crafty Pint compared the scenes here and there. Today, he reveals…
Crafty's Ten for 2010 Pt II
So the end of the year is here and with it the final five beers in The Crafty Pint’s look back at 2010 through ten beers that combine quality with being representative of the current state of affairs…
H100: Around the Bay
The year’s almost out, meaning there’s little opportunity for brewers to launch beers in time for the 2010 Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll. That said, at True South they’re giving…
Bright's Bright Idea: MiniKegs
We all like our beer to be as fresh as possible and, in most cases, prefer to taste it straight from the keg – as evidenced by the popularity of growlers*. And now the good folks at Bright Brewery are…
Great Aussie SpecTAPular
Details of next year’s Great Aussie SpecTAPular have been announced, including the full list of brewers taking part and some of the one-off beers they’re making for the event. Highlights include a…
Crafty's Ten for 2010
First thing’s first: this is not a top ten or “Best of…” list. There will be plenty of those flying around and, as a site that doesn’t rate or review beers, it would seem a little odd to…
Hottest 100: Around Oz
There’s only a few weeks left for brewers to unleash new beers onto the Aussie public in 2010 if they hope to make an appearance in The Local Taphouse’s third Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll. And,…
The Beer Ashes
While Australia’s cricketers head back to the drawing board and try to work out where it all went wrong, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon for those seeking victory over the old enemy. Because…
Josie Bones Opens
The TV shows were fun, but for Chris Badenoch the real thing starts today. Alongside fellow Masterchef contestant Julia Jenkins, he will open the doors of Josie Bones – the beer-centric restaurant…
Getting Flighty
A new monthly event can be added to Victorian beer lovers' calendars with the launch of Atticus Finch’s Beer Flights. Each will feature nine craft beers alongside a tasting plate – plus folks…
The Women of Beer
As quality, flavoursome craft beer makes ever greater inroads into the old order of bland, fizzy lagers, the world of beer is becoming less and less a male preserve. Cast your eyes over the Australian…
Craft Beer H100: The Bars
With Australia’s first beer restaurant, Josie Bones, ready to throw its doors open to the public on Wedneday, this week’s look back at the best beers of 2010 comes with a twist. Instead of brewers,…
Christmas Comes Early
When you’ve grown up in the Northern Hemisphere, hot Christmases take some getting used to. It seems strange to have spangly decorations hanging above high streets and wrapped around lampposts; stranger…
Hop Rocking The Boat
It’s almost two years since Alpha Queen from Boatrocker first appeared in Aussie bars and bottleshops and turned heads with its highly hopped aromas and full flavours. For a debut release by a new brewing…
