News & Feature Stories
Breaking New Ground
The irrepressible trailblazers behind The Local Taphouses and GABS are adding another string to their bow. Later this year, they open Stomping Ground Brewery in Collingwood. Before then, you can have a sneak peek during Good Beer Week.
World Beer Cup Winners
Two of Australia's bigger breweries flew the flag for the country's beer industry at the prestigious World Beer Cup. James Squire and Stone & Wood took gold and silver in the same category and took time out to share their thoughts with us.
Pint of Origin 2016 Preview Pt II
Time for part two of our preview of the biggest Pint of Origin yet. Good Beer Week 2016 will see 12 Melbourne and two Victorian pubs join the fun, while we've got the first hosted PoO buses and the return of the comp with Now Tapped.
Starward Bound
Australian whisky makers are garnering serious attention across the world – and from local brewers keen to lay their hands on used barrels. We visited Melbourne's Starward, best known to beer lovers for its involvement in Boatrocker's Ramjet.
Pint of Origin 2016 Preview Pt I
The ever popular Pint of Origin returns to Good Beer Week for a fifth time in 2016 bigger than ever. As well as a dozen Melbourne venues, there are two regional showcases in Geelong and Bendigo and a PoO Bus, hosted by The Crafty Pint.
New Events Wrap – 06.05.16
It's the penultimate week before the festival so beautiful it could launch a thousand beers, Good Beer Week, kicks off for 2016. If you can't handle the anticipation and need a few warmup events, look no further than this week's wrap.
Bugged Out: GBW's Sour Side
Sour beer may still occupy a niche in the Australian beer world, but its popularity and diversity is on the rise. There's plenty of sour action at Good Beer Week too, with funk aficionado Graham Frizzell picking some of his highlights from the lineup.
2 Brothers 2.0
Melbourne's southeast may be turning into a hub for microbreweries these days, but it was 2 Brothers who were first to set up stall there. With their Beer Hall just redesigned and expanded, we called in to find out what else is new.
Surfing A Rogue Wave
The beer choices along Victoria's Surf Coast are unrecognisable from a few years ago, with many of the beers appearing on tap and in fridges coming from breweries that call the region home. Among them is Aireys' Inlet's Rogue Wave.
Turning Wine Into Beer
The rise of craft beer continues to win over converts. After years on the road taking guests to wineries around his home state of South Australia, Matt Berresford was bitten by the beer bug, as Matt King discovered when they hit the road.
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Ocho's Online Brewery
The flurry of new brewing companies opening in Tasmania continues apace. Yet it's fair to say that Ocho stands out. Not just because it opened with a barrel-aged saison, but because its means of getting beer to punters is rather unusual.
Don't Be A Cult
The Crafty Pint's beer lover bonus scheme, The Crafty Cabal, has grown up a lot since first appearing late in 2015. In advance of its launch party, here's the lowdown on what it's become, what's on offer and how to get involved.
More Brew From The Boys
One of South Australia's longer established microbreweries is expanding as it prepares to mark eight years in business. Brewboys is opening a second site in Adelaide's west as it looks to cope with increasing demand for its beers.
Being Pure
The most famous – and contested – beer law in the world turns 500 at the weekend. To mark the occasion, Ross Lewis spoke to one WA brewer who is a passionate believer in Reinheitsgebot and one Melburnian who certainly isn't.
Aussie Beer Blogs: Brewed, Crude & Bitter
Time to shine a spotlight on another Aussie beer blog: a transglobal double header, no less. Brewed, Crude & Bitter was started by two inhabitants of Brisbane's beer scene but has since spread its wings further afield.
New Events Wrap – 15.04.16
The Crafty Events inbox has taken a hammering in the past week or so, meaning the calendar for April and beyond is now fully loaded with a veritable feast of events across the country.
Colonising the East
When asked to forecast five breweries to watch out for in 2016 for James Halliday's Wine Companion magazine, we included Colonial. The WA brewery has long had the potential to explode; its new Eastern outpost should see that happen.
Aussie Exports: From Wollongong to Toronto
From home brewing in Wollongong to barrel aged sours in Toronto, David Everitt is living out quite the dream. In the second of our Aussie Export articles, he tells us how it came to pass and offers insights into the Canadian beer scene.
Two Heads Are Better Than One
It took years for Ty Capaci to convert wife Amanda to the benefits of his home brew. But he did such a good job, they've now opened Double Head Brewing together, adding yet another microbrewery to the Tasmanian beer scene.
Beer Travel: Japan
Nic Sandery is on a worldwide beer tour on which he plans to take inspiration for his new brewing company, Molly Rose. While on the road, he is sending us a series of articles documenting his travels, starting with this report from Japan.
Aussie Exports: Lost and Grounded
Time to launch a new feature series! Aussie Exports tells the tales of Aussies doing great, fun and interesting things in beer overseas. First up, former Little Creatures head brewer turned Bristol based Lost & Grounded founder Alex Troncoso.
The Collaborators: Kracking New Hops
Three years ago, Britt and Colin Butler knew next to nothing about hops. Now, as new owners of Hopswest in Albany, they're expanding their hop farm and providing new ingredients to local brewers, including the hybrid Kracanup.
Starting a Brewery Part II
Thinking of starting your own brewery? Then part two of our series featuring advice from people already in the beer industry is for you. Following last week's top tips from brewers, here are the thoughts of six experts in other fields.
Gold Class Service
The Cicerone program that trains people to become certified beer experts has come to Australia. Ross Lewis spoke to founder Ray Daniels as well as many of those who have just gained Australian Certified Cicerone status
The Rivers Run At Last
After an "amazing, exciting, frustrating, depressing, uplifting, expensive and sometimes ridiculous" journey, a WA couple finally opened Three Rivers Brewing Company an hour south of Perth. Guy Southern paid the family-run brewery a visit.
New Events Wrap – 01.04.16
This week's summary of new events features a little bar with a big bottle list, a Feral festival, BBQ champions, casks, colonials, royals, pirates, boatmen, boatrockers and free beer from us to you.
The Crafty Pint To Expand
Australia's leading beer website is to expand after entering into a partnership with News Limited. This will see a print edition of the site introduced in early 2017 and will see a stronger focus on maximising commercial opportunities.
These Boots Were Made For Brewing
With its latest collab set for launch next week and plans to brew a first ever GABS beer, Pink Boots Society Australia continues to grow. Graham Frizzell caught up with one of its key players, Tiffany Waldron, to find out more.
Starting A Brewery Part I
More people than ever are hoping to open their own brewing company in Australia. But turning a dream into reality isn't easy; in fact, it's bloody hard work. Over two days, we're offering advice from experts, starting with brewers themselves.
A Complete Shambles
The craft beer scene in Hobart continues its dizzying rise. The latest brewpub to open in the Tasmanian capital is also one of the most polished you'll find in Australia. As Ruth Dawkins discovers, it's a case of Shambles by name not nature.
Beer History: The Kingdom of Hops
We've written plenty about the latest goings on in the Australian hop industry. But what of the past? In his first article for The Crafty Pint, beer loving historian Will Ziebell delves into the earliest days of hop growing in Tasmania's Derwent Valley.
The Micro Malting Man
Adelaide Hills brewer Al Turnbull of Lobethal Bierhaus is nearing the end of a decade long dream. He's designed and built his own in-house malting that will him to create his own malt for brewing, becoming the first SA craft brewer to do so.
Educating Molly Rose
Young brewer Nic Sandery is off on a round the world research trip part-funded by a successful crowd-funding campaign. His learnings in the different beer cultures will be brought to bear upon Molly Rose, his new brewing company, on return.
The Future Tastes Bad
The Crafty Pint will soon be starting a series looking at the steps brewers are taking to reduce brewing's environmental impact. Before then, however, Young Henrys is highlighting the impact climate change could have on your beer via beer.
The Story Of: Boatrocker Ramjet
For the second in our series looking at the story behind some of the coolest, most iconic or most sought after beers in Australia we showcase Boatrocker's Ramjet. The imperial stout even has its own day, with the first Ramjet Day on April 9, 2016.
The Collaborators: Where There's Hope, There's Hops
An American couple who have been growing hops for their home brew for years have launched a hop farm in Margaret River. Karridale Hop Farm has enjoyed a successful first harvest and is looking to bring an old variety back to life.
New Events Wrap – 11.03.16
As the first whiff of fresh hops from this year's harvest wafts across the land, we turn attention to some of the celebratory events held in the name of hops. Then it's onwards to beer dinners, tap takeovers, festival action and craft of a slightly less beery persuasion.
Bruny Island Brews
A young Tasmanian brewer who spent time at Moo Brew, Seven Sheds and Lark Distillery is back brewing. This time around, Evan Hunter has partnered with Nick Haddow of Bruny Island Cheese Co to launch a brewery focused on creating authentic Tasmanian beers.
Burleigh Brewing 2.0
Burleigh Brewing has been flying the flag for microbrewing in Queensland for close to a decade. And today the Gold Coast brewery officially opens the doors to its new venue. James Graham caught up with head brewer Brennan Fielding to find out more.
Beer Travel: Orange
If you're looking for evidence of the growth of craft beer in Australia, you need only look at Orange in Central West NSW. There, as Tim Hanlon discovered, within a 25km radius of Orange's city centre you'll find three microbreweries, with more on the way.
March's Crafty Dozen
It looks like we've added another dozen new brewery, bar and bottleshop listings since last time we did a roundup. So, if you missed them, here's the latest additions to the Crafty directory from QLD, NSW, VIC, SA and WA. More very soon!
'Bo Hop Selecta
The owner of Oscar's Ale House in Belgrave is embarking on a long held dream to run a brewing company. Yellingbo comes with a difference though: Brad Merritt and wife Gypsy are using hops from the farm planted on their land first.
Aussie Beer Blogs: The Beer Healer
When he left his job with Lion, Chris Lukianenko was still keen to have an outlet for his passion for beer. So he launched The Beer Healer blog in the middle of 2015, a blog that has been developing very nicely ever since.
One For The Road
Newcastle Craft Beer Week is returning after a two year hiatus. We met up with the man bringing it back, Shannon Kearnes, the Novocastrian behind the One for the Road walking tours that take guests around his beloved hometown.
Trials and Fermentations
Former Moo Brew head brewer turned Australian hop guru Owen Johnston has returned to brewing. Hop Trial is his way of trying to educate people about the much-loved ingredient via beer. Ruth Dawkins met him to find out more.
New Events Wrap – 26.02.16
This week's cross-country collection of new events balances brand new beer with historical themes, a host of opportunities to meet brewers – including one of the most well known gypsies – and plants the seeds of your Easter plans.
Brewsvegas III Is Coming
Of all the beer weeks in Australia, Brewsvegas has a strong claim to be the most fun and community-minded. Launched by a group of venue operators, it's about to celebrate its third year. We get the lowdown from one of its founders.
Who Brews Beaten Track Beers?
You can find breweries off the beaten track in Australia these days, but few, if any, in as remote a location as Beaten Track itself. For our latest Who Brews? we find out the story behind the Boulder brewery six hours drive inland from Perth.
New Events Wrap – 19.02.16
From casks to Champagne ale to birthdays and farewells, this week's roundup of new events provides a colourful snapshot of how diverse the local beer scene has become. And how you can enjoy being part of it.
The Big Issue: Hops
There have been shortages in the supply of certain hops in past years but 2016 promises to be the first in which there is a significant impact on Aussie brewers. We speak to four key growers and suppliers to find out why – and how to prepare.
