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Crafty's Advent Calendar: Dave Bonighton
Would the beer scene in Melbourne look like it does today without Mountain Goat? Highly unlikely. In day three of our end-of-decade Advent Calendar series we feature one half of the duo that helped build a beer city.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Jayne Lewis
For day two of our end-of-decade Advent Calendar, we turn to a trailblazer of the local beer world. Jayne Lewis is one half of the duo that founded Two Birds Brewing and has an influence that spreads far beyond that brewery's Nest.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Brad Rogers
As a momentous month for beer in Australia comes to a close, we look back and forward with 25 people who've helped shape the industry in our spin on a beer advent calendar. First up, Brad Rogers of Stone & Wood.
Behind Bars: Beer Cartel At Ten
What started as two guys hand-packing boxes of beer to put in the mail has grown into one of Australia's largest online beer retailers. It's fair to say Beer Cartel have come a long way in ten years.
Sailing On A Black Flag
When the 75th Sydney To Hobart Yacht Race takes place this summer, the local beer world will have skin in the game. Gold Coast brewery Black Hops are sponsoring 114-year-old spinnaker Katwincher.
Crafty Crawls: Adelaide's Small Bars
They may not offer bars lined with taps – or lengthy bottle and can lists – but, since a 2013 law change opened the door for them, many of Adelaide's small bars have been leading the way with craft beer, with enthusiastic staff serving well curated offerings.
Wildflower Top The First Drink Easy Awards
A beer from Wildflower has been voted Best Drink In Australia at the inaugural Drink Easy awards. It was judged the finest entry from around 1,250 entries spanning beer, cider, wine, spirits and soft drinks.
Philter Find A Home In Marrickville
Three years on from launching their first beer, Philter have found a site for their own brewery. It's in Marrickville, the home suburb of the brewing company's founders, and will add to the area's vibrant indie brewing scene.
Margs' Mermaid Megsy Gets A Makeover
They've become a much-loved part of the Margaret River food and drink scene and now, three years after launching, Brewhouse Margaret River have unveiled a new look and new cans as they look to spread their vibe across WA.
Brew For Dipper & Land A Head Brewer Role
A local brewer or homebrewer could land a head brewer role at a new Victorian brewpub after starring on a Channel 7 show with AFL legend Dipper. The second series of his Backyard BBQ Wars show is seeking applicants before shooting starts next year.
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Artisan Brewing: Five Years In Five Beers
They're one of the smallest brewing operations in Australia but Artisan and their Belgian-inspired ales punch well above their weight. As they celebrate a half decade of brewing, we look back over those five years via five beers.
Beer Travel: Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie might be best known for its pristine beaches, surrounding natural beauty and koalas. But there's three breweries that call the town home too. Will Ziebell called in at them all – plus Port Mac's other beery outlets.
Behind Bars: East of Everything & Rosalita's
Gen and Michael Cotter started bringing good booze to Melbourne's eastern suburbs a decade and a half ago. As they prepare to open Rosalita's – a third venue in the same building – we caught up with the team.
Liberty Triumph At NZ Beer Awards
It was a huge night for Liberty Brewing as they collected a swag of trophies, including Champion Exhibitor. Fork Brewcorp and Lion went back to back as champion breweries too, as Steam Brewing went five for five too.
Balter Top Australia's Biggest Craft Beer Survey
Balter have been voted Australia's best brewery in the biggest ever survey of craft beer drinkers. More than 23,000 people took part in Beer Cartel's annual survey, which is now in its fourth year.
Aussie Beerstagrammers: beerstagram_au
As users explore the possibilities within Instagram, beer-loving users are becoming ever more creative. A fine example is Sergio Montenegro, who has started bringing beer labels to vivid live at @beerstagram_au.
Supermarket Success At The World Beer Awards
One of Coles' beer brands has picked up a trophy in the World Beer Awards in London. Tinnies Pale Ale was one of two Aussie category winners, with Sydney's Redoak collecting the other for their Chateau Sour.
Three Cheers For Shepparton
Shepparton is a regional Victorian city that hasn't had its own brewery for a hundred years. So what will it look like now three new breweries are set to come to town within 12 months of each other?
Beeries Winners 2019
Brisbane's beer community gathered at the Showgrounds last night for the third annual Beeries. The celebration of the local beer scene was just that: a celebration.
Karma Kegs For The Climate
Ahead of the Global Climate Strike, the Good Beer Co have announced they’ll be bringing people together over beer to help raise money for the Great Barrier Reef. Will Ziebell spoke to brewing company founder James Grugeon.
The Blackhearts Family Story
The success of local producers is regularly lauded on these pages and elsewhere. But the achievements of Paul and Jess Ghaie in the world of good booze retail are as worthy of recognition as any indie brewer or winemaker.
Alive And Swell In McLaren Vale
He was supposed to join his dad at DogRidge making wine, but an epic 18-month surf trip changed everything. Alexis Buxton-Collins joined Dan Wright at the Swell brewery venue to trace his journey from grape to grain.
Cancer Dads Come Together For Bear Beer
A group of WA cancer dads have started working with Whitelakes Brewing to create Bear Beer, an annual release that raises awareness and funds for families whose kids have cancer. We chatted to the man behind it.
Ghosting Back To His Roots
Five Barrel founder Phil O'Shea started out as a homebrewer and remains connected to the local brewing community in Wollongong, even creating a unique series of beers with a homebrewer and their own sour culture.
Fixation, 3 Ravens & Dainton Top 2019's Indies
Dainton took out their second Champion Beer trophy in three years at The Indies 2019. Fixation also celebrated a second major trophy in three years, claiming Champion Large Brewery, with 3 Ravens and All Hands also winning big.
The Big Issue: Cracking The Code
A number of well publicised cases has brought the role of ABAC in setting the standards for alcohol advertising to the fore. We speak to ABAC's chair and industry figures to find out how businesses can avoid running into trouble.
The Great British Beer Writer
Pete Brown started out in beer marketing before becoming one of Britain's best-loved writers on beer and wider booze and pub culture. We caught up with him in London ahead of his keynote address at BrewCon.
A Sour Taste In Their Mouths
Sour beers have really taken off in Australia in the past couple of years, but what are they? Ahead of Blobfish, a festival dedicated to sour, wild and funky beers, we chatted to four Australian and Kiwi breweries who love them.
Staves & Wayward Top Sydney Royal Beer Awards
Tiny Glebe brewpub Staves took out Best NSW Beer for their Pale as well as Champion Draught Beer at the 2019 Sydney Royal Beer Awards, with Wayward claiming Champion Packaged Beer for their Raspberry Berliner Weisse.
Behind Bars: Copper & Oak
The brothers behind Copper & Oak have been selling booze to the people of Perth for more than 15 years. Guy Southern called in for a chat to see what they make of the fast-changing beer scene that surrounds them.
The Besk Comes To Those Who Wait
It's taken rather longer than planned to get here and is a different beast to that originally envisaged by the founders, but ambitious Perth venue Besk is finally open. Guy Southern caught up with the team to find out more.
Best New Beers Of 2019 – So Far
With so many beers released across Australia every week, there's arguably never been more need for a mid-year wrap of the best to date. So, which new releases have impressed the most in the first six months of 2019?
Modus Operandi: Five Years In Five Beers
Modus Operandi have reached their five year mark, and are showing no signs of slowing down. Mick Wust talks with owners Grant and Jaz Wearin about the five beers that have shaped Modus into the brewery it is today.
The Collaborators: Rockstar Brewing
His trophy-winning brewing company BrewCult might have folded but Steve "Hendo" Henderson is now involved in making more beers than ever. We caught up with him to find out about his diverse Rockstar Brewer operation.
Royal Adelaide Beer Awards Winners 2019
Most of the trophies at the 2019 Royal Adelaide Beer, Cider & Spirit Awards are staying in SA. Prancing Pony, Woolshed and Pirate Life, each won multiple awards, while Smiling Samoyed's Dark Ale won Most Outstanding Beer again.
Behind Bars: Big Ears
Big Ears is one of the bars working hard to bring better beer - along with tasty meatballs - to the people of Geelong. Ainsley Killingback is chief beer proselytist and here tells us about Geelong's crafty credentials.
Melbourne Airport Lands A Brewery
Melbourne Airport is to get its own brewery, with Stomping Ground set to open their third venue there this coming summer. It's part of a revamp of the airport's offering designed to showcase Melbourne's food and drink scene.
Have Your Say On Australian Beer
The fourth edition of Beer Cartel's annual Australian Craft Beer Survey kicks off today, seeking to create a snapshot of trends within the local beer world. It's the biggest survey of its kind and you're invited to take part.
Drink Easy – A New Breed Of Award
Central to the craft beer revolution has been a tearing up of rule books and challenging of norms. Now, a new awards competition covering beer, wine, cider, spirits and non-alcoholic drinks plans to do the same.
Aussie Export: Dave Rooney
After a midlife crisis led Dave Rooney to Buenos Aires, he soon found himself falling for the city's craft beer venues and local breweries. Now he runs tours for those who want to discover Argentina's good beer scene.
3 Ravens, Feral & Innate Win Big At Perth Awards
3 Ravens, Feral and Innate Brewers took out the top trophies at the 2019 Perth Royal Beer Awards on Friday night. The Thornbury brewery claimed Champion Beer as Feral and Innate took out Champion Large and Small Brewery respectively.
Something For Cait
Drinkers in Wollongong can knock back a local pilsner for a good cause after a bartender at His Boy Elroy and Five Barrel Brewing created a beer to raise money for a cancer charity in honour of the former's mum.
Behind Bars: Old Faithful Amos
He's one of the beer world's most colourful of characters – most passionate advocates too. For this Behind Bars feature, we get some insight on the Perth and WA beer scene from the inimitable Amos at Old Faithful.
Saison D'Être
Many brewers love them, their characteristics are ideal for Australia's climate, they offer diversity and are wonderful with food. So why are saisons proving a harder sell than most in today's beer world?
Australian International Beer Awards Winners 2019
Familiar faces were among the big winners at the 2019 Australian International Beer Awards, with Balter, Green Beacon and 4 Pines adding to their swollen trophy cabinets and Blackman's claiming a big one too.
The Collaborators: Binary Beer II
Missing or stolen kegs can be a major pain for brewers, both in terms of cost and lost time. A Wollongong operation, Binary Beer, hopes it has the solution.
Crafty Crawls: Melbourne CBD – South
The beer offering in Melbourne's CBD has come a long way since we ran our first Crafty Crawl guide. So it's time to rework it into a two-parter. Here, we kick off in the city's southern half.
Bridge Road Splits From Australia
Bridge Road Brewers have issued a Declaration Of Independence, forming a micronation on the grounds of their brewery under the name Brewland.
Brew & A: Ken Friend
He went from homebrewing in the Air Force to trainee brewer to head brewer in just a year. Now settled in at the helm of 4 Hearts in Ipswich, we invited Ken Friend to be part of our Brew & A series.
Even More Monkey Business
Margaret River-based Cheeky Monkey this week unveiled a new look as they look to step things up following the opening of a $4m production brewery. Guy Southern dropped in to find out more.
