News & Feature Stories
Beers From The Otherside
Ideas for brewing companies can come from anywhere. In the case of Otherside, the aim was to create beers and cider for major events in WA. Guy Southern chats to the two guys charged with bringing Sunset Events plan to life.
Aussie Beer Blogs: Food Grog Blog
It was only supposed to be a means of sharing recipes, but a beer filled trip to Wellington saw one Brisbane beer geek's blog become morph into something else. A year on from its launch, we ask Jamie to tell us all about Food Grog Blog.
The Crafty Dozen – November 2016 Mk II
As suspected, we've had such a flurry of new brewery, venue and bottleshop listings to add to the site in the past few weeks that we've got a second dozen to round up before November is out. Here they are...
Cabal Update - 18.11.16
WA Beer Week is coming to its finale, one that includes a trio of The Crafty Cabal events. And there's plenty happening for our supporters elsewhere too, with a ballot just opened for a birthday tasting with Old Wives Ales.
Behind Bars: Mane Liquor at 10
On November 14, Mane Liquor celebrated ten years in business. In this extended Behind Bars article, owners Elliot Moore and Josh Daley talked to Guy Southern about witnessing a decade of craft beer evolution from behind the counter.
Who Brews Hairyman Beers?
Craft beer's forays into every corner of New South Wales continue apace. Hairyman Brewery is the latest to join the party in Sydney's south, brewing out of Caringbah. Here's founder Andy Orrell on what inspired him to launch his brewery.
BentSpoke Shifts Up A Gear
Canberra brewpub BentSpoke is getting closer to opening its second production facility. Already the canning line there is up and running. Patrick Baggoley caught up with co-founder Richard Watkins at the launch of the first two canned beers.
Events Wrap 11.11.16
In the final lull before brewers start frantically trying to produce enough beer for the summer and venues start preparing for Christmas festivities, November has seen fit to serve us up a merry melange of excellent events...
Who Brews Sauce?
The concentration of breweries in Sydney's Inner West is set to increase again as Mike Clarke prepares to join the fray. In our latest Who Brews he shares the secrets of Sauce Brewing, launching as a gypsy brewer before opening its own warehouse venue.
WA Clubs Together Again
With WA Beer Week imminent, Guy Southern takes a look at some of the highlights from the many beer collaborations spawned at this time each year by an extremely tight beer community. They involve more than brewers, with spirits, coffee, chefs and more getting involved.
Get more Crafty!
Sign up to our newsletters and get the latest craft beer news delivered free to your inbox. Choose from our Friday Roundup of the week, the quick-read, social feed-like Crafty Cuppa – or both!
Crafty Crawls: Freo Beer-Ho!
The Fremantle BeerFest returns in a few days at the start of the 2016 WA Beer Week. So what better time to run a Crafty Crawl on the place where the modern Australian craft beer world was spawned. Graham Frizzell took a tour of his old stomping ground.
Cabal Update - 4.11.16
It's all eyes to the West this week, as The Crafty Pint lines up a long-mooted WA launch party at the Dutch Trading Co, while new offers abound in South Australia, Queensland, and Victoria, where we've got a couple of exclusive new events coming up too.
Beer Food: A Feast For The Saison
Following our saison blind tasting last month, food and beer expert Paul Kasten has put together a few dishes perfectly matched to saisons for you to try at home, including two featuring the top two beers from that blind tasting: Boatrocker Saison du Bateau and Saison Dupont.
The Crafty Dozen – November 2016
As in the past, whenever we've added another dozen new listings for breweries, venues and bottleshops, we round them all up in one place in case you missed them first time around. We should have another 12 before the month is out too.
Events Wrap 28.10.16
For the latest events roundup we're going coast to coast as major beer festivals bookend events involving hops, hot sauce, live art, Russian folk-ska-swing-punk, a GoPro mounted keg, plus a bunch of offers you won't find anywhere else...
A New Breed Of Bottleshop
Sydney's Inner West has been increasingly well served by breweries and bars in recent years, less so bottleshops. Not so now with two new ventures each bringing something new to the scene, as Marie Claire Jarratt discovers.
The Collaborators: Not For Horses
The rise of craft beer has spawned all manner of related businesses. Among them are small malting operations dedicated to providing malt for microbreweries. They include Not For Horses. Bert Spinks caught up with the man behind the Launceston business.
Behind Bars: Nick Pogonoski
There was a time when Tooheys was pretty much all you could hope for in Newcastle, but today venues such as the Grain Store are bring craft beer to the people. For our Behind Bars series, the venue's manager Nick Pogonoski tells us where tastes are at in Newy.
Mashing In Anew
As it prepares to launch into its second decade of brewing, WA's Mash is starting afresh. Inspired by one of the newest members of the brewery team, they've unveiled a new look and are set to release some of their beers in cans too.
Crafty Crawls: Sydney's Inner West Breweries
Sydney may still be proving a tricky market for craft beer to truly penetrate but its Inner West is packed with delights. It's home to myriad breweries (with more coming); here's how to crawl your way around there.
Cabal Update – 21.10.16
With Sydney Craft Beer Week kicking off, look out for Cabal offers and bar shouts at Pint of Origin venues, while if you're out west we've got a massive few days lined up for Crafty Pint supporters too.
Who Brews Brewtal Beers?
Who Brews is usually the home for new breweries and brewing companies. With Brewtal Brewers, we somehow let them slip through the net a while. But Tim from the sort of Scratch side project is here to tell all now.
Aussie Exports: Tracy Gan
Our Aussie Exports series has so far featured Australians who have gone overseas and are working in beer. This month, we change tack slightly to bring you Tracy Gan, a Hong Kong native by way of Queensland who now spends her days importing Aussie beers to her craft beer store. Literal Aussie Exports, if you will.
Star Crossed Clubbers
As the Australian beer landscape becomes ever more crowded, brewers are seeking innovative ways to get beer to market and rise above the noise. Club Brewing is one such operation – one that comes with added star power.
The Finer Things: Beer and Fine Dining
While craft beer has snuck its way onto growing numbers of beer lists in pubs and bars, the realm of fine dining is still primarily dominated by grape rather than grain. But, in certain pockets of Australia, beer is beginning to be treated with equal reverence.
Events Wrap 14.10.16
With tap takeovers and funky beers galore bookended by homebrewing and beer for a very good cause, the latest round-up of events ought to leave you feeling entirely fulfilled with the state of beer in Australia...
Pint of Origin's Sydney Debut
Pint of Origin has been one of the most popular features of Melbourne's Good Beer Week for the past five years. And now it's coming to Sydney Craft Beer Week. Here's the lowdown on venues, buses, prizes and more.
Brew & A: Morrison Brewery
Morrison Brewery turns five this week. It's a family affair based in Launceston that launched with a focus on Old World styles but has since expanded its scope. Here's head brewer Paul in a birthday Brew & A.
Crafty Crawls: Newtown
When it comes to good beer in Sydney, nowhere does it better than the Inner West. So, for his second Crafty Crawl, Judd Owen takes a stroll through the craftier pubs and bars of Newtown.
Who Brews Bounty Hunter Beers?
With inspiration drawn heavily from pop culture, striking artwork and plenty of prowess in the brewhouse, we find out more about Western Sydney's new gypsies, Bounty Hunter Brewing...
Getting Blind With Crafty: Saison Revisited
It's a style that's much loved at Crafty Towers and a favourite of many brewers, as well as one that's broad and complex. So, 40 months on from last time, we assembled another blind tasting panel to assess a lineup of saisons.
Cabal Update – 07.10.16
In this update from The Crafty Pint's beer lovers bonus scheme, we prepare to ramp things up in WA, announce winners, launch new prizes and unveil the latest new offers to go live around the country.
A Braumeister's Thoughts
Tobias Zollo is Braumeister at Weihenstephan, the world's oldest brewery. During his fleeting visit to Australia, he collaborated with The Wheaty and also caught up with Matt King to offer his thoughts on beer and brewing.
Cool Times In Tassie
Last year, we wrote about Van Dieman's plans for a 100 percent estate grown ale. Now the Tasmanian brewery has taken another step into the unknown and brewed its first beers in a custom designed coolship.
Gage Roads' New Road
It's been a momentous few months for Gage Roads, with the WA brewery winning Champion Australian Beer and then announcing a split from Woolies. Pia Poynton caught up with one of the men plotting the new course.
The Story Of: Mountain Goat Hightail
This month sees Mountain Goat turn 19, which means its first beer, Hightail, is also turning 19. A year on from the brewery's purchase by Asahi, we spoke to its brewer, Dave Bonighton, about the beer then and now.
Events Wrap 30.09.16
Like a big fruit smoothie, the upcoming month of events contains an enormous mash of flavours; wild stuff out west; dining with the head brewer from the world's oldest brewery; a sweaty birthday beer dinner in Melbourne, and a whole heap more...
What Is Oktoberfest?
As Munich's Oktoberfest comes to a close, and with scores of imitators taking place across Austalia, we look at where the global phenomenon started and how the Bavarian organisers are trying to keep tradition alive.
Behind Bars: Dane Adkins
We've written plenty about the burgeoning SA beer scene. Now, in our second Behind Bars feature, the owner of Sweet Amber Brew Café tells us what's hot at his bar and where he sees Adelaide's beer scene heading.
Who Brews Wandering Beers?
Fancy a bit on the side? Sam Clayman, Matt O’Neill and Scott Reid did, so they started the Wanderer Brew Co on top of their day jobs to see where the road would take them.
All Change At Kooinda
After years of changing ownership, management and brewers – plus concerns over consistency – a new team at Kooinda hopes a brand refresh and the outsourcing of much brewing will see the much-loved brewery rise again.
Glee In Glebe
Almost three and a half years after first announcing plans to open a brewery in Glebe, Steve Drissell has come good on his word as Staves pours its first beers.
Bridge Road's Robust Result
Bridge Road's Ben Kraus is one of the Australian beer world's most innovative brewery owners. Yet it's one of his oldest brews that has brought triumph at this year's Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show.
Brew & A: La Sirène Ben
Costa Nikias is the face of La Sirène, Melbourne's "urban farmhouse" brewery. But, through 2016, a brewer previously at Beavertown has become central to all things La Sirene. He's Ben Turley and is the focus of this Brew & A.
Cabal Update – 23.09.16
We've got more festival VIP packs, hundreds of dollars of tasting tokens for new and existing Crafty Pint supporters and details of new offers in this update from our beer lovers bonus scheme, The Crafty Cabal.
High Hopes
A few lesser known names appeared among the trophy winners at this year's Craft Beer Awards. No one was more surprised at Hope Estate's Champion Brewery win than its brewer, Matt, who spoke to Will Ziebell about his beers and plans for cans.
Aussie Beer Blogs: The Year of Beer
Our latest featured beer blog is The Year of Beer, one fairly recent convert to craft beer on a mission to document his adventures in beer – and convert his mates and missus to the good stuff too.
Beer Food: The Chuck Norris of Collingwood
When you've got a brewery, restaurant, bar and deli under one roof, it makes sense to cross-pollinate. And that's what they're doing at The Craft & Co where the symbiosis between beer and food goes beyond simple pairing.
Who Brews as Mr Banks?
The Mornington Peninsula is becoming quite the craft beer destination and the ranks are swelling again as new kids on the block Mr Banks Brewing Co set up shop in Seaford. Meet them in our latest Who Brews...? feature.
Topping Up At The Billabong
Billabong Brewery's 23rd year in business is turning out to be a pretty good one. Its Wheat Beer collected more trophies, a new bar is up and running and the owners took on the law and they won.
