festivals

Sydney Beer Week To Return In 2024

​Sydney Beer Week is to return in 2024, bringing to an end a six-year beer week drought for the city's beer lovers. We spoke to the duo behind its comeback about their plans to breathe fresh life into the city's beer scene next October.

Festive Cheer?

Summer brings with it a raft of beer festivals of all shapes and sizes. But there are concerns about how they will fare this time around as consumers continue to tighten their belts and the costs of staging major events rise.

The Spirit Of Oztoberfest

Oktoberfest celebrations have long been a fixture in the beer calendar but 2022 has seen such events go into overdrive. We chatted to some of those behind the feast of fests to find out what they love about this time of year.

Carving Out A Niche: Small Festivals. Big Ideas

It's been a tough couple of years for beer festivals but events both large and small are roaring back. We chatted to the folks behind Juicy Fest, Rauchbier Festival and Lagerland to hear how breweries are carving out a niche in the festival space.

GABS: Making A Stand

Brewery stalls at festivals have gone from spill-spattered trestle tables to interactive experiences as brewers look to cut through the noise. Ahead of the first GABS of 2022, we asked 2021's Best in Show winners how they made a stand.

The Big Issue: The Future Of Beer Fests II

Six months ago, we asked what beer festivals might look like in the new COVID-altered landscape. As events start to make their comeback, we revisited the topic to see what else has been learned and what might lie ahead.

A Summer Of GABS

The pandemic has ensured 2020 became a year of cancellations but the team at GABS is hoping 2021 will look a fair bit different with the festival organisers announcing two new Queensland events for January.

The Big Issue: The Future Of Beer Fests

How will beer festivals look in a post-COVID world? We chat to the organisers of those still going ahead in 2020 and others who've had to adapt about the future of major events in the local beer world.

Stepping Out From InCider

The Beer InCider Experience combined killer band lineups with scores of breweries (and ping pong) to become one of the country's biggest festivals. George Levi sat down with founder Marty Keetels to find out why he's moving on.

Back To The Future - The Rise Of Small Festivals

There's a new breed of beer festival on the rise, one that combines elements of those from craft beer's earlier days with a more tightly-curated program of beers and brewers.

AIBA 2024 dinner B2 BONUS
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Kate & Shev

They're the dictionary definition of work hard, play hard and continue to make an indelible mark on the Melbourne and wider Australian beer community. Behind door 16, it's the irrepressible Kate and Shev.

Making A Stand

From trestle tables and pull-up banners to 50s themed diners and entire breweries made of cardboard, brewery stands at beer festivals have come a long way. Mick Wust asks why it's important to stand out.

A Day In The Life Of: A Festival Volunteer

Volunteers are often the unsung heroes of the beer festivals that bring joy to beer lovers across the country. But why do they do it? And what makes a good one? We chat to one of the best to find out.

Craft Beer Heroes: Marty Keetels

He announced his intentions in the most comically unlikely of manners and has gone on to create one of the country's leading beer festivals while helping build Brisbane's beer community. So we invited Marty Keetels to tell us more.

The Beer Festival Six-Pack

As beer festival season hots up, we chat to the BeerFest team running no less than six major events across the country to find out more about the people behind the festivals and how they're navigating an increasingly busy market.

Australian Beer Festivals 2018/19

For beer lovers, there's never been more opportunity to enjoy beer in the company of thousands with all manner of beer festivals taking place across the country. Here's our guide to where and when to find them.

Festival Beers

Major music events used to be the preserve of industrial lager and RTDs at music festivals, but things are changing. Music festivals are even looking to create their own craftier beer offerings, as Mick Wust discovers.

Get Fresh

It's hop harvest time across Australia. And this year's offers more chances than ever to get up close and personal with the little green flowers, not least thanks to a pair of festivals celebrating the harvest and fresh hops beers.

A Year Of The Crafty Cabal

Just before the end of 2015, we launched The Crafty Cabal, a beer lovers bonus scheme that offers readers the chance to help The Crafty Pint grow in return for heaps of beery benefits. Here, we take a look back at its first 12 months.

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.


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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.

Australian Beer Festivals 2016/17

There are few times of the year when a beer lover can't find a festival or beer week in some part of the country. To make it easy, we've gathered together the major events and beer weeks in one handy guide.

Setting The Gold Coast Free

The Gold Coast is set to welcome its first ever craft beer focused festival when Free The Hops lands at bars over ten days next month. James Graham spoke to some of those involved to find out more.

SCBW 2015 Launches

The program for the fifth Sydney Craft Beer Week has been released and sees international guests joining locals as 130 events unfold over nine days.

Rise Of The Beer Fest

The beer festival scene is booming in Australia. In a few short years, we’ve gone from next to no dedicated beer festivals to an absolute smorgasbord, with more being added every year. From November…