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WA's Brew Moon Rises Again
A unique COVID era collab between 21 breweries and a distillery in WA has borne fruit for a second time. Four years after dozens of kegs were turned into a fundraising spirit, Brew Moon Rising reappears as a whiskey.
Lone Gum Farmhouse & BeerNoEvil Find Common Ground
Their brands and their beers shared little in common, which the founders of Lone Gum Farmhouse and BeerNoEvil felt made them perfect housemates. We got a sneak peek of their long-awaited shared venue ahead of its opening.
Abbl: For Local Brewers From A Local Brewer
Typically, brewers like to make beer but, day-to-day, running a brewery can involve doing everything else. Abbl is a new brewery management software designed to help cut down on paperwork, designed by a small brewery.
Spicy, Beery & Barrelicious
Craft beer and hot sauce share a surprisingly close bond and now one former head brewer has collaborated with his old workplace to break the barrier down further. Check out The Village Pickle's collaboration with Brisbane Brewing Co.
The Collaborators: Candy Warhol's Colouring Cans
If a colouring book featuring 148 beer cans from breweries across Greater Sydney appeals to you, then you're in luck – ex-graphic designer Connor Dempsey has made one to scratch his own creative itch and support good mental health.
Found Further Afield: FOUND. Lab
With construction on their ambitious Perth Girls School project pushed back, the team behind FOUND. are set to launch a new venture in the meantime. FOUND. Lab will open south of Perth in early 2023, and could become their "wild workshop".
The Collaborators: Deep Liquid's AI Recipe Designs
We live in an age of unlimited limiteds in which new releases are never-ending. Into this landscape steps Deep Liquid, an artificial intelligence program that aims to use customer feedback to help brewers design and brew better beer.
The Collaborators: South West Hops
It's not just the brewing scene that's expanding apace in WA's South West – there's a growing number of local producers supplying brewers too. Among them is South West Hops, who significantly stepped up their output in 2022.
The Collaborators: Chilled Solutions
Chilled Solutions are dedicated to helping bartenders pour perfect pints but their essential role tends to be hidden from beer drinkers. We caught up with the founders of the small Melbourne business to find out why they launched and how they become the beer techs of choice for indie bars and breweries.
Hops 'n' Robbers
It's not uncommon for brewpubs to have a stack of games for anyone looking to settle in but no there's a card game with breweries at its heart. We caught up with the creators of Hops ‘n’ Robbers to find out more.
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Dean Can Draw – Bringing Crushed Cans To Life
To some, a crushed tinnie is a piece of rubbish ready to be recycled. To artist Dean Spinks, it's inspiration for a 30-hour photorealistic drawing.
The Collaborators: Freestyle Hops
If you love limited release hazy beers, you might have spotted the name Freestyle Hops on a can from your favourite brewery. We caught up with the managing director of the NZ grower to find out what the Freestyle life is all about.
The Collaborators: Flavour Logic
Taste is highly subjective but if you work in the beer industry or are passionate about beer, recognising off-flavours can be essential. Which is where sensory analyst Briony Leibich – AKA Flavour Logic – comes in.
The Collaborators: Mogwai Labs
Wollongong and surrounds already have a vibrant local beer scene; now adding to its crafty credentials is a new liquid yeast manufacturer, Mogwai Labs. We spoke to founder Josh Allen about foraging yeast and his plans for the business.
An Alliance Forms In The South West
South West WA has long been home to one of Australia's most vibrant craft brewing scenes. And now many of the region's brewers have come together to form an Alliance with the aim of achieving even more as a collective.
The Collaborators: Denver & Liely
You may already own too many beer glasses but Carwyn Cellars hope to entice you to buy one more. They've teamed up with the glass designers at Denver & Liely to create a specialty beer glass for craft beer's finest.
The Collaborators: Mind And Strength Support
David Spargo is a Melburnian with a background in hospitality and social work who's decided to combine his two careers to provide better mental health support for managers and owners in small venues and breweries.
The Collaborators: Mortlock Malt
After studying brewing at ECU and gaining brewing experience at Little Creatures, Rex Rowles moved back to the family farm to combine his love of brewing with his experience growing barley to create Mortlock Malt.
Chappy's Crafty Chippies
It started as a side hustle in the food truck at Thunder Road and has since outgrown two kitchens and become a popular snack – and beer pairing item – in Melbourne's crafty venues. We meet the man behind Chappy's Snacks.
The Collaborators: Vertek Innovations
Is that decal really moving or is it time to head home? If you're in a bar featuring decals from Perth's Vertek Innovations, don't worry: they really are moving. We chatted to the couple bringing beer brands to life on the bar.
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The Collaborators: Grain Totes, Totes Great
Matt Lawrence wants to see repurposed malt bags replace single use bags across the beer industry. We got in touch to find out how he’s making it happen one tote bag at a time.
The Big Issue: Private Label Beers
Initial, Zytho, Tinnies, Colossal, Algorithm, Culture House, Gogo Fish – all the names of brands behind pales, IPAs, stouts and sours. And all brewed for the country's major drinks retailers. We look at the renewed rise of "homebrand" beers.
Something To Braggot About
With his latest collaboration with a local brewer hitting shelves – a braggot brewed with Seasonal Brewing Co – we caught up with the passionate homebrewer turned meadmaker Sean Johnson, of WA-based Erosion Meadery.
An Elegantly Craftd Renaissance
Craftd brought stylish glassware to many beer lovers' homes. Now, the company is reborn after a pair of mates in WA bought the business from its founders and relaunched it with a new look range.
The Collaborators: The Vanilla Man
With adjunct-laden beers, particularly pastry stouts and sours, consumed in ever greater numbers by Australian drinkers, we met with Natural Vanilla’s Owen Henderson, one of Australia’s largest suppliers, to talk all things vanilla.
Stone & Wood Is The New Beer Of The Wallabies
Ahead of the Wallabies matches with France, Stone & Wood have announced their Green Coast Lager has become the rugby union team's official beer, meaning it will be available at all upcoming tests.
The Collaborators: Good Ale Forever
Eden Brewery have always supported good causes since launching in 2017. These days, that work includes Good Ale, a pale ale launched in partnership with Forever Projects that sends funds to help families in need in Tanzania.
The Collaborators: AC Hops
AC Hops was launched late in 2019 by a couple with little experience in growing hops but a lot of ideas about farming and passion for craft beer. Following their latest harvest, we caught up with Victorian growers.
Thinking Drinking
A trio of uni mates have been bringing skills picked up in their studies to the world of brewing. Now, after honing their talents as part of Monash Uni's Brewlab, they're releasing beers with innovation at their heart to the public.
The Collaborators: This Is My Boomstick!
Boomstick Glassware blend a love for craft beer, pop culture and collaboration into the design of unique creations from which you can enjoy your favourite crafties. We chatted to the small team behind the project to find out more.
No Save Point For Moon Dog
Moon Dog have joined forces with a dozen other breweries worldwide as part of hip hop duo Run The Jewels' No Save Point collab. We chatted to the Melbourne brewery about how the project came into being.
Disco Monks From Outer Space
To celebrate the relaunch of our beer club, The Crafty Cabal, we got together with our good mates at Fixation and Molly Rose to brew a one-off beer. Disco Monks From Outer Space is a members-only release.
Dark Emu – Telling Stories With Beer
Sailors Grave are among the country's most avid and adventurous collaborators and harvesters of all things local to East Gippsland. But the Orbost brewery's latest collab really gets to the heart of the brewery.
The Collaborators: Native Flavours
As they prepare to launch their seventh collaborative Native Series beer together, Jono Outred spoke to the people at Beerfarm and Fervor driving these unique beers and the educational aspect that surrounds them.
The Collaborators: Craft's Can Pioneers
Ahead of the announcement of the first GABS Can Design Awards, we chatted to the people who helped spark the craft beer's move into cans two decades ago, Canada's Cask.
Postcards from the Edge No.49: Wombating COVID
Three years ago, KAIJU! founders Nat and Callum Reeves chatted about collaborating with a New York brewery. When the pandemic shut the world down, instead of putting an end to such talk, it sparked Mortal Wombat.
The Collaborators: KegSwappa
“It seemed like such an obvious thing to do. Why is no one else doing it?” If you've ever used Swap'n'Go gas bottles, then you basically already know how KegSwappa works. Read on to see how this simple idea came about.
The Collaborators: The Post Project
From the first GABS to breweries big and small – more than 50 of them – shooting brand stories, beer launches, collabs and even a beer song, Alister Robbie has helped bring the Aussie beer world to life over the past decade.
The Collaborators: Kaddy
A pair of childhood mates have joined forces to launch a new business they believe will help streamline the relationships between breweries and other small producers and the venues and bottleshops after their beverages.
Postcards from the Edge No.10: Can Together
The craft beer industry has always been one fired by the spirit of collaboration, something which has come to the fore during the COVID-19 crisis. We spoke to two brewers helping get their peers beers into punters' hands.
The Collaborators: Hopping Mad
You can't grow hops in Queensland. But two small operations are giving it a red hot go, with UV lights to extend the days, help from growers and researchers worldwide and goodwill aplenty.
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.
Crafty's Advent Calendar: Richard Adamson
From playing in bands to brewing with native ingredients at Barons, from kickstarting the Inner West's beer revolution in Sydney to becoming an educator, Richard Adamson has brought much to the local beer world.
The Collaborators: Louie SK
There's plenty of common ground between the worlds of craft beer and gaming, both of which collide at Bar SK in Collingwood. Will Ziebell caught up with co-owner Louie Roots about his mission to bring gaming to local beer.
Two Rabbits & A Roo Walk Into An Izakaya
As first collaborations go, it takes some beating. Southern Highlands Brewing, based in regional New South Wales, recently completed a brew with Japan's Two Rabbits. We spoke to both brewers to find out how.
The Collaborators: Bluestone Yeast
From brewing yeast pioneer Chris White to an Aussie startup looking to bring locally produced yeast to Aussie brewers, in this Collaborators feature we find out all about the brothers behind Melbourne's Bluestone Yeast.
The Collaborators: White Labs
Chris White is a hero among brewers worldwide. His White Labs operation has been supplying a growing number of yeasts to brewers (and winemakers) for decades. We caught up with him when he was speaking at BrewCon.
Tasting Notes: Music For Your Mouth
Sonic seasoning is an experimental concept that uses sound to affect perception of flavour. Sydney Brewery joined music artist Hylander in combining a Galaxy-forward beer and spacey soundscape to create music for your mouth.
Our Man In NZ: The Yeast Starters
They've been mates since they were 12 and have brewed together for years. Now Simon Cooke and Ryan Carville are looking to change the NZ brewing industry via Froth Technologies.
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.
