barrel
Down The Barrel Hole With Fox Friday
Winter's chill makes it a perfect time to enjoy barrel-aged beers. Ahead of Fox Friday releasing beers from their first ever foray into this field, we spoke to the team – no strangers to working with oak – about their approach.
Who Brews Wild Barrel Beers?
Small batches, single barrels, slow processes, sustainable businesses. Mick Wüst took a look at Wild Barrel, based in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, for our long-running Who Brews...? series.
Su Legno: Something New From Something Old
As the craft beer industry develops, there can be a tendency to feel like too many breweries are following the same hoppy and hazy path. Su Legno are a new Adelaide outfit forging their own path with a passion for wood.
Eagle Bay Leap Through Hoops... Slowly
Eagle Bay have launched Hoops, a years-in-the-making series celebrating wild ferments, barrel-ageing and patience. We chatted to brewer Keegan Steinbacher about the passion project launched with a little help from 3 Ravens.
Who Brews & Blends Barrel Shepherd Beers?
Wollongong has always been a manufacturing city but these days it feels like much of that production is beer. The Barrel Shepherd has joined the city's thriving beer scene, bringing with it a unique tale and love for barrels, local fruit and yeast.
Future Mountain's Reservoir Brewpub Up For Sale
Future Mountain have listed their Reservoir brewery and venue for sale – but it's not what it seems. The founders plan to move to different parts of Victoria with their families and create a new Future Mountain with two rural bases.
Sobremesa Scoop Top Beer At Drink Easy Awards 2022
The small, family-run Sobremesa scored the top beer at the 2022 Drink Easy Awards, finishing third overall in the competition that features all forms of drinks. Brick Lane, Mismatch and Molly Rose all made the best beer list too.
Tar Barrel: Old Dog, New Tricks
After three years, the links between Tar Barrel and Mornington Peninsula Brewery are no more. As owner Matt Bebe makes a fresh start where he began, we chatted to him about staying local and the lessons learnt along the way.
Akasha To Open A Sydney Barrel Room
They're best known for their mastery of hops, but the team at Akasha are set to showcase a rather different side to the brewery. We called into the soon-to-open Akasha Barrel Room in Leichhardt to get the lowdown.
The Story Of: Lark Imperial JSP
It's not hard to find barrel-aged beers in winter but Wolf of the Willows' Lark Imperial JSP still manages to stand out. As brewer and distiller celebrate the fifth vintage of their collaboration, we take a deep dive with Wolf co-founder Scott McKinnon.
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Ministry Of Beer Welcomes A New Congregation
In five years, Brett Reimann has gone from brewing with a single barrel in a shed on his farm to opening an impressive cellar door in the Barossa Valley. Matt King called in to sample from its 16 taps.
The Wild Ones: Van Dieman
The Wild Ones is a series showcasing Australian brewers creating spontaneously fermented ales. Following our launch piece last week, here we head to a farm in Tasmania to catch up with Van Dieman founder Will Tatchell.
BecauseWeCAN Vol.4: Barrel-Aged Imperial Stouts
The colder months tend to bring out the beasts inside brewers, beasts that often take the shape of barrel-aged imperial stouts. Here, we take a look at three of the biggest and most unusual to hit Aussie fridges this winter.
Black Hops Go AWOL
The Gold Coast has added another notch to its brewing belt with the opening of the region's first barrel room. AWOL sits behind Black Hops' original home in Burleigh Heads and is already home to more than 100 barrels.
Brew & A: Five Barrel Brewing
From bushfires to COVID, closures, cans, quarantine and a Kiwi, it's been a full-on year at Wollongong's Five Barrel. As they launch their new look lineup, we chat to founder Phil and his new head brewer, imported via hotel quarantine from NZ.
Ten Years Of Crafty: The Time Barrel
We've spent most of this series looking back over the past decade. Now it's time to look at the here and now. We're going to create a time capsule – well, barrel – that represents beer now ready to be opened in 2030.
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.
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.
Black Arts: Brand New. Kinda.
The beer scene in Melbourne's west – and the country's cluster of barrel-ageing and blending specialists – is set to grow again this week with the launch of Black Arts. Luke Robertson called in.
Boatrocker: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
April 2009 sees Melbourne brewery Boatrocker celebrate ten years of brewing. They've gone from early gypsies to barrel-ageing innovators, so we asked them to reflect on what their first decade has taught them.
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Future Shock
Australia's family of barrel-ageing and blending breweries gained a new member in autumn 2019 with the opening of Future Mountain in Reservoir. We called in ahead of launch date to chat to founders Ian and Shane.
Who Brews Left Barrel Beers?
Brad Bown is on a mission to bring more farmhouse style beers to the Australian beer scene from his brewery home in the Adelaide Hills. Matt King caught up with him to find out more for our Who Brews...? series.
Spirituous Away
The rise of craft brewers and distillers is creating ever more chances for cross-pollination. As Wolf of the Willows launches its Barrel Exchange Program with Lark, we speak to them as well as the small Gippsland operation blending boozes in house.
The Collaborators: The Barrel Dealer
The demand for barrels from craft brewers and small distilleries has grown to such an extent, being a barrel dealer is a viable business. We got in touch with one to find out more.
The Vinification Of Beer
Barrel-ageing, mixed fermentation and the mimicking of wine in presenting certain beers isn't new. Yet the blurring of lines between beer and wine continues apace. We speak to brewers and somms operating on the frontier.
Brew & A: Justin Corbitt
Three years ago, his brewing was confined to his home. Now Justin Corbitt finds himself as head brewer at one of the fastest growing breweries in Australia. We caught up with him with Hawkers in the midst of releasing ten barrel aged beers back to back.
Brew & A: Ben Simmons
When the family that owned the Clifton Hill Hotel decided to move it from being an Irish pub with TAB to inner-city brewpub, we doubt they envisaged it would lead to the development of a sour beer program. We caught up with the brewer that started taking it in that direction.
The Gang Of Sour
A Brunswick warehouse that initially housed Himmel Hünd's brewery has been turned into an incubator of sorts for small brewing companies playing with barrels. Will Ziebell finds out more.
Best New SA Beers Of 2017
We kicked off our annual Best New Beers lists in WA and now move across the Nullarbor to SA where a panel convened to cast their eyes over another big year for beer in the state. Who made their top ten?
Bottling The Farm
Van Dieman have released the first of their "estate ales" – beers brewed with ingredients grown and sourced entirely on Will Tatchell's family farm south of Launceston. Bert Spinks joined him for a tasting and tour of the farm he's finally bottled.
Confusion Deposit Scheme
New legislation designed to tackle litter in New South Wales is set to go live this Friday. Yet there are serious and growing concerns throughout the craft beer industry that the scheme is flawed and is set to affect small brewers disproportionately.
I'd Buy That For A Dollar
Wu-Tang Clan, Papua New Guinean bank notes, Norwegian farmhouse brewing, truffle cheese, German techno DJs and pseudo-Lambic ales... It's fair to say Ballarat based Dollar Bill Brewing isn't your common or garden brewing company. We caught up with the couple behind it.
Price Wars Revisited
Back in May, we ran a two-part Secret Brewer feature looking at the price war going on in parts of Australia. Six months on, it's intensifying and spreading, according to a number of brewers we've spoken to.
A Day In The Life Of A Barrel Room: Goose Island
From one of the largest barrel programs in the Southern Hemisphere to one 50 times its size... Here we step inside Goose Island's Barrel House in Chicago, home to 15,000 barrels and the legendary Bourbon County Stout.
A Day In The Life Of A Barrel Room: Boatrocker
In May, Boatrocker and Goose Island came together to create a barrel aged beer together. Given they're at the forefront of barrel ageing in their respective countries, the release of October Beer seemed a perfect opportunity for us to run side-by-side features on life in their barrel rooms.
The Story Of: La Sirène Saison
Traditionally, saisons were brewed to be consumed in the warmer months. As we (allegedly) head in that direction in Australia, we caught up with the man who has put farmhouse style ales at the heart of everything he does.
Beer Travel: Much Ado About Pliny
Russian River Brewing Company - the home of Pliny the Elder - is one of the world's most admired breweries. Kerry McBride caught up with its owners to hear the lengths they go to so in keeping their fans sated and asks: "Will their beers ever make it to Australia?"
Who Brews at the Ministry Of Beer?
While the state's bigger names tend to grab the headlines, South Australia has seen a large number of smaller operations come to life in the past couple of years. One of them is the experimental, farm based Ministry of Beer.
The Collaborators: Binary Beer
A homebrewer is working with a team at the University of Wollongong to create a keg tracking device that could offer brewers real-time information their kegs. Binary Beer is currently being trialled with Five Barrel Brewing and the Headland Hotel.
Roll Out The Barrels
This week sees Hawkers Beer release not one, not two, but four different barrel aged imperial stouts at the same time. With even grander plans for its barrel program in the future, we find out more from CEO Mazen Hajjar.
The Story Of: Moon Dog Black Lung
With the seventh iteration set to leave the brewery this week, we chat to Moon Dog co-founder Josh Uljans about the only special release to be released annually. This is The Story Of: Black Lung.
Brew & A: Mornington's Barrel Man
Earlier this month, Mornington Peninsula Brewery released the first beer from its barrel program, the luscious Old Pumping Station. Overseeing the program is young brewer Kristian Martin. Here, we find out more about him.
Boatrocker's Kindred Spirits
Boatrocker is to merge with award-winning gin and vodka producer Hippocampus Metropolitan Distillery. The West Perth distillery will move in its entirety to the Boatrocker Barrel Room in the coming months.
Wildflower Blooming
Dozens of breweries will open their doors across Australia in 2017. They will come in all shapes and sizes, but we doubt any will be quite like Wildflower. Nick O spent time with the blendery's driving force, Topher Boehm.
Best New NSW Beers Of 2016
We reach the midway point in our Best New Beers review with a look back at the year in NSW. It features almost entirely younger operations from the state, plus a few beers that may have snuck out in 2015 but hit the big time in 2016.
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.
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.
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.
South Australia's Next Wave Pt II
Last Wednesday, we showcased three of the new brewing companies set to launch in SA in the coming months. Here, Matt King gets the lowdown on four more that hope to have their first beers out soon.
Mead Made Modern
A tiny number of Australian brewers have played with mead and braggots, but there's now a small yet growing number of people specialising in these ancient beverages. Marie Claire Jarratt spoke to some of them in her debut article for the site.
