judging

Episode 003: Callum Reeves of KAIJU! & The IBA

Fresh from the star of episode 002 picking up three trophies at the Indies, we sat down with new IBA chair, KAIJU! co-founder Callum Reeves to reflect on the awards, the challenges facing indie brewers and much, much more.

The Indies 2022 Winners

White Bay claimed Champion Beer for their Lager at the 2022 Indies, a night on which Moffat Beach continued their remarkable run of form, and Jade Flavell of The Wheaty won a Champion Brewery trophy and the Services To Industry award.

A Day In The Life Of: A Beer Steward

Ahead of the 2022 Indies awards, we went behind the scenes at judging. While there, Will Ziebell spent time with Joslyn Erickson, the Indies Coordinator, to find out who and what goes into becoming a beer awards steward.

Help Us Get Blind: Lagers

Lagers have been making a comeback in recent years and it turns out it's more than half a decade since we last put them to the test in a blind tasting. Want to help us compile a list as we do it all over again?

Getting Blind With Crafty: Hazy Pales

They're hazy. They're pale. They're all the rage. But who's doing them well? For our first blind tasting of 2021, we got our hands on a stack of Aussie examples, amassed some expert palates, and put them to the test.

Getting Blind With Crafty: How We Judge – 2021 Update

We've been conducting blind tastings at The Crafty Pint since late 2012, both in-house and as pubic events across the country. As we get underway in 2021, we've tweaked the way we source and judge the beers.

Help Us Get Blind: Mid-Strengths

Following our Golden Age Of Mids? feature, we're bringing our blind tastings out of hibernation to see who's doing such beers the best. We're getting a panel together in early November and want your help picking the lineup.

The Golden Handshake

Outgoing Feral sales boss Steve Finney was sent off in fine style last night as the beer brewed as his farewell gift picked up a trophy at the Perth Royal Beer Awards. There was major success for Margaret River Brewhouse too.

A Day In The Life Of: A Beer Judge

Next month sees brewers and beer experts from across the globe gather in Melbourne for the Australian International Beer Awards. But what goes into being a beer judge? Is it the best job in the world. Nick O find out.

Getting Blind With Crafty: Saison Revisited

It's a style that's much loved at Crafty Towers and a favourite of many brewers, as well as one that's broad and complex. So, 40 months on from last time, we assembled another blind tasting panel to assess a lineup of saisons.

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Aussies Win Big In London

Australian microbreweries collected both Supreme Champion trophies at last night's International Beer Challenge in London. Melbourne's Hawkers took out the brewery title with SA's Prancing Pony winning best beer.

Home State Glory In Perth

Most of the silverware stayed at home at last night's Perth Royal Beer Show. Indeed, much of it ended up headed to one place: the joint brewery shared by Feral and Nail, with other winners including Billabong, Gage Roads and Elmar's.

The Big Issue: Gotta Catch 'Em All II

In part I of Gotta Catch 'Em All, we looked at the rise of beer hunting, collecting and rating in the craft beer community. Today, we delve deeper in the company of a diverse panel from the beer world, including Untappd's co-founder.

The Big Issue: Gotta Catch 'Em All

For some, tasting every new, rare and highly rated beer has become an addiction, one that's aided by sites and apps like RateBeer and Untappd. Over two days, Kerry McBride explores whether this is a good thing for beer.

Getting Blind With Crafty: IPA (Part I)

It's been a while, but our blind tastings are back. And, having punished panelists with some less than thrilling lineups previously, here we tackle flavour of the month IPA. With so many now available, we're splitting the tasting over two panels.

The Big Issue: Quality

Is there anything more important when it comes to beer than quality, both when it leaves the brewery and the experience enjoyed by each drinker who buys a beer? For our first Big Issue feature of 2016, six experts share their views.

Getting Blind With Crafty: Pale Lagers

For our final blind tasting of 2015, we looked at a style that's becoming increasingly popular with Australian craft brewers: pale lagers. We lined up 26 different beers (including a few "New World" versions) from brewers big and small. And this is how they fared.

Getting Blind With Crafty: Ownership Special

Part two of our examination of the issue of ownership in the craft beer world is a blind tasting special. In it, we pit beers from the big brewers, major retailers and multinationals against those from small independent Australian brewing companies.

Getting Blind With Crafty: How We Judge

Approximately every couple of months, we host a blind tasting of beers – usually matching the season or a current hot topic. Here's how we carry out the judging and the thinking behind our methods.