As an immensely challenging year for indie brewers draws to a close, we invited key figures from the Independent Brewers Association to look back at the highs and lows of the past 12 months and ahead at their plans for 2025.
Few small businesses make it to a quarter-century, let alone in the world of brewing, yet that's the milestone marked by Paul and Tash Holgate in 2024. We joined them at their Woodend pub to hear their remarkable story.
Kiwi hops are in fashion like never before on these shores, so Jason Treuen decided to find out why: just what has grabbed the attention of Aussie brewers and fuelled this trans-Tasman takeover?
Former staff at several business that have closed, changed hands, or been through administration over the past couple of years share their experiences, offering an insider's view of the often chaotic life at these sinking ships.
Yes, May 2025 is still seven months away, but Pint of Origin waits for nobody. So, if you'd like your venue to be part of the one-of-a-kind festival when it returns to Melbourne for a thirteenth time, now's the time to let us know!
Getting paid to drink beer - that's the dream, right? "It can be very tough, I tell you, to do beer evaluation in a cage for one hour..." See what sensory analysis is really like with Gabriela Montandon, head of sensory at Fermentis.
Traditional beer styles have been enjoying a revival so, in the midst of the busiest Oktoberfest season we can recall, we invited a man who's been brewing them since launching his brewery in 2016 onto the podcast for a chat.
Terpenes are hot property in the brewing world right now, providing brewers with another tool as they set about creating new beers. But what are they, where do they come from, and why the excitement around them?
While spending time as a stay-at-home dad, medical researcher Derek Lacey had a "Eureka!" moment that inspired him to launch Bluestone Yeast. As he puts finishing touches to his new yeast production facility, we invited him for a chat.
Innovation within the world of hops has been in hyperdrive *checks that's not a trademarked term* with heaps of advanced hop products with funky names firing up your beers. So let's attempt to demystify this fragrant new world.
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What if we could harvest grain crops for five years instead of having to re-plant them every year? It would be better for farmers and the environment. That's the promise of mountain rye, a perennial grain that could be a game-changer.
Few people in Australia have put as much craft beer into as many venues as Tom Delmont. Mountain Goat's first sales rep and the co-founder of Fixation joined us in the studio for the fourth episode of The Crafty Pint Podcast.
Dan Osper didn't plan to spend five years making a documentary about the craft beer industry. But Brewed In Queensland just kept evolving, from the first interviews in 2019 to the YouTube launch of the 12-part series in 2024.
Fourteen years after we set out on a mission to cover the Australian craft beer scene, The Crafty Pint is launching a podcast. You can view a trailer now, with the first full weekly episode published in late July.
Breweries love to collaborate and many are putting greater focus on brewing more sustainably. Now a new project in SA is exploring just how green brewing can be.
In June, brewers given a new yeast to play with called LalBrew Pomona. To find out how new yeasts like this hybrid come to life, we chatted to one of its creators at Escarpment Laboratories in Canada.
The people running some of the breweries to have been through voluntary administration over the past 12 months, as well as the CEO of the IBA, respond to concerns raised by The Secret Brewer.
Voluntary administrations have become a defining feature of the beer world over the past two years in the face of unprecedented economic challenges. Here, one brewer discusses the repercussions on the wider industry.
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.
Tradition dictates that coolships should be used to create spontaneously-fermented beers in the cooler months in cool climates. So Working Title decided to give it a go in subtropical Queensland. Judd Owen joined them.
Pint of Origin 2024 is in the bag. Before we start looking ahead to the next one, we'd love to hear from those of you who took part: What did you enjoy the most? Did you grab a Passport? What could we do better in the future?
Pint of Origin 2024 is set to enter its final weekend after enjoying a sparkling opening so, to get attendees into the mood for more, we've rounded some of the best clips from when the festival hit the major networks.
As Pint of Origin returns for a 12th time from May 10 to 19, we take a look behind the scenes at the huge amount of time and effort that goes into bringing the world of beer to Melbourne for ten days every year.
Pint of Origin kicks off on May 10 with beers from 225-plus breweries on four continents pouring at 21 venues. To help you make the most of your adventures, we've created Passports and Mini-Crawls with epic prizes up for grabs.
Australia's biggest, longest, most delicious and diverse pub crawl returns to Melbourne next month. The full website is now live, meaning you can apply for your 2024 Pint of Origin Passport, ready for another beer-filled adventure.
After a lengthy career in beer writing – publishing books as well as a regular column in the Sydney Morning Herald – Willie Simpson swapped pen for mash paddle. Here, he returns to his former profession to look back at his time growing hops.
We're only a week into March but it's always good to have something to look forward to – so here's the 21-strong lineup for Pint of Origin. The festival returns to May for a 12th time from May 10 to 19.
Ahead of this year's hop harvest, we paid a visit to Ryefield Hops, the family-run hop farm in the south of New South Wales, to see firsthand how they're putting sustainable practices at the heart of everything they do.
From chemical engineer via Ale Star and avid #PoO Crawler to brewing student, brewer and now owner of his own beer brand, Ben Weereratne has enjoyed quite the path into brewing.
The local beer world's community spirit will come to the fore this Saturday as the NT's brewers unite for a fundraiser in support of a local brewery owner diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.
Hops are loaded with terpenes: aromatic compounds that drive much of what appeals to beer drinkers. As brewers look to use them to enhance aromas in their beers, we chatted to some of those exploring this new territory.
The building may be 150 years old, but Traveller's Brewhouse is all about new flavours, with street food from around the world and 14 taps of local and independent beer. We talked with Cameron James for this instalment in our Beer Slingers series.
We've taken a deep dive into the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers to see what trends and insights the 2023 countdown reveals in our annual analysis feature.
A year ago today, news that Ballistic Beer Co had entered voluntary administration sent shockwaves through the local beer world. Here, we take a look back at the carnage that has followed in the 12 months since.
Beers brewed by Matt Ives won silverware at the Australian International Beer Awards and pipped Corona and Balter in our Mexican lager blind tasting. We chatted to him about a beer career that began pulling pints in Wagga.
It's time to bring down the curtain on our look back at the year in The Best Of Beer 2023. For the final instalment, we cast an eye over goings-on in the NT and ACT.
Craft beer is often driven by passion but love for the industry can leave people burnt out and exhausted. We spoke to people who've experienced burnout: what caused it and how the industry can become a better place to work.
AMSAT Character Malts is a new malting company based in South Australia which has just launched a range of specialty malts for craft brewers and distillers. But it's also steeped in malting history.
The Crafty Pint's annual celebration of the wide world of beer, Pint of Origin, returns to Melbourne from May 10 to 19 next year. If you'd like your venue to be involved, we're currently taking expressions of interest.
Some of Australia and New Zealand's top brewers have been in the US, touring hop regions and selecting the hops they reckon will work best in their upcoming beers. We chatted to two of them on their return.
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.
As he and his team prepare to embark on a multi-day fifth birthday celebration, we chatted to Alice Springs Brewing Co founder Kyle Pearson about a half decade in which "a bit of a hobby" has become an NT destination.
Having looked at the world of common brewer's yeasts and what they do to beer in Part I of this Beer Basics feature, here Nic Sandery of Molly Rose helps us get funky.
The rise of craft beer has changed the landscape in many ways, and the launch of Dexter Malt today highlights many of those. It's a project involving collaboration, innovation, sustainability, provenance and, of course, beer.
The Bellman family has a long association with Mount Beauty, from working on the mountain to regular family holidays. Now, their association runs deeper than ever after they took over the local pub and built a brewery there too.
When Bridge Road Brewers first released their B2 Bomber in 2010, the imperial Belgian black IPA was unlike anything else. It remains an oddity to this day so, as Mach 13.0 lands, we asked brewery founder Ben Kraus how it came to be.
Pint of Origin 2023 appears to have been another success, as we brought beers from across the planet to some of Melbourne's best beer venues. But how was it for you? And how can we make it even better in the future?
Pint of Origin kicks off for an 11th time this Friday, bringing almost 1,000 different beers to 20 of the city's best pubs and bars from May 12 to 21. In our second preview, we take a look at what to expect from the Aussie venues.
As they release their 2023 crop report, we spoke to Australia's largest hop grower, Hop Products Australia, about their faith in their latest commercial variety, Eclipse, what's on the horizon, and the wider world of hops.
Pint of Origin returns to Melbourne from May 12 to 21, with almost 1,000 different beers from across the planet set to hit taps at 20 Melbourne pubs and bars. And now festival fans can get their hands on the first ever official merch.