Far from the new year bringing new hope, the beer and hospo industries face arguably their toughest period of the pandemic – and without government support. We spoke to business owners across the country as Omicron runs rampant.
Today, after making it through a world record number of days in lockdown, Melbourne is open again. James Smith and Will Ziebell spoke to brewery and venue owners and returning customers to assess the vibe.
As Melbourne emerges from another long lockdown, it's worth remembering how much local support has meant to many brewers. In Future Mountain's case, they've found a unique way to pay tribute to those who helped them survive.
With the winter 2021 lockdowns spreading and looking likely to stick around in some places for a while, we've rebooted the resources section of the Keeping Local Alive campaign to help people wanting to support their locked down locals.
We hoped we wouldn't have to resurrect this series, but with most of Australia back in some form of lockdown or restrictions, we chatted to two Sydney brewers who've pivoted back into action since the weekend.
Following on from our look at the impact of COVID-19 on the brewing industry, we switch our focus to hospo, retail and beer lovers – one year on from the day the country was closed for business.
It was a year nobody could foresee and nobody wanted, yet the worst fears of March 2020 haven't been realised. Over two features, we take on in-depth look at the local beer industry 12 months on from the nationwide lockdown.
Beer Swag Day was a day of celebration that ran as part of the Keeping Local Alive campaign in the early weeks of the national lockdown. And now it's back – on the anniversary of the lockdown so we can mark that dark day with a smile.
Well, who saw that coming? We kick off our end of 2020 coverage with a look back at some of the biggest trends and standout moments of the past twelve months.
Left with kegged beer that no longer had a home when the pandemic hit, both Sparkke Change and Stone & Wood decided to turn it into something else.