Uraidla Brewery Brewer
The Adelaide Hills region is a treasure trove of quaint, quirky towns that typically boast little more than a pub, a general store and a post office. These popular towns ooze a certain quiet country charm capable of luring travellers and day-trippers from near and far. One such place is Uraidla,…
Coldstream Brewery Brewer
When Coldstream Brewery launched in 2007, the size, shape and character of the local beer world was a long way from where it is today. And, like the roads that lead to the their home in the Yarra Valley, the Coldstream story since then has followed a far from a straight path. Originally brought to…
Murray's Brewer
Starting out as the brewery that gave the Pub With No Beer its beer, the Murray's operation moved to Port Stephens, a short drive up the coast from Newcastle, once word of its high quality brews meant they could no longer be contained by a pub in regional New South Wales. These days, the ever-expanding…
Alice Springs Brewing Co Brewer
Alice Springs might be a small and isolated town, even by Australia’s exacting standards, but as the gateway to the Red Centre it’s always possessed a unique appeal capable of luring people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life to stop in while enjoying an outback pilgrimage. With Uluru a…
Boatrocker Brewers & Distillers Brewer
Regular readers of The Crafty Pint will know all about Boatrocker already. Launched as a brewing company back in 2009, with its beers brewed at Southern Bay, its co-founder Matt Houghton has written a series of features about the trials, tribulations and excitement of starting a brewery (read them [here](/features/post/starting-a-brewery-the-boatrocker-story-pt-iv/)).…
Hard Road Brewing Brewer
At one point during our chat at their brewery taproom in Melbourne’s east, Lein Jenkins points out how surprised he and wife Angie were to discover the name “Hard Road” hadn’t already been taken by another brewing company. If you’ve spent time in and around the beer world, you’ll understand…
Mismatch Brewing Co Brewer
Bringing together a bunch of seemingly mismatched people to start a business might not seem the smartest of ideas. But take a look at where Mismatch Brewing Company – and its associated operations – sits today and you’d have to conclude the founders were onto a good thing. Mismatched they might…
Wayward Brewing Co Brewer
For several years Peter Philip was one of Sydney’s most archetypal gypsy brewers. He’d brew small test batches at his house, hoard homebrew, fine-tune recipes then head to a local brewery to borrow a bit of tank space and release a commercial batch under the Wayward Brewing label. He certainly got…
Aunty Jacks Brewer
Thanks in large part to the gold rush, Ballarat is a city with a long connection to beer and brewing. As one of the wealthiest places on Earth for a period, it became not just a grand city, but one awash with pubs; at one time, you’d have found hundreds of watering holes scattered throughout the booming…
Pikes Beer Company Brewer
The Pike family's story begins a long time ago; indeed, the brewery’s foundations were laid long before any of us were even born. Theirs is a tale of long distance ocean travel, all in the hope of starting life anew in Australia and creating a long lasting legacy. It all began in 1878, when a 41-year-old…
Van Dieman Brewer
A few years back, Will Tatchell departed Tasmania to take up a brewing job at Guinness in Ireland. He never made it, the dream position dashed by an email that landed in his inbox while he travelled through Nepal with his dad telling him the job had gone. Undaunted, he continued on to the UK, sent emails…
Atomic Brewer
Atomic is a name that will be familiar to many in the local beer world – and with good reason. An American style pale ale bearing that name was debuted by Gage Roads so long ago in craft beer years it predates almost the entire modern day industry in Australia. And, like the Australian beer world that…
Bandicoot Brewing Brewer
As if launching the first genuine brewery in decades in the popular riverside town of Echuca wasn't enough to catch people's attention, the couple behind Bandicoot Brewing had a unique trick up their sleeves. At a time when Australian craft breweries were starting to look tentatively at cans, Tracey…
CBCo Port Melbourne Brewer
The CBCo story is one that can be neatly viewed in two parts – parts that are equally neatly centred on each coast of Australia. Part one began in the West, way back in 2004 when "craft beer" wasn't even a phrase used by those brewing it, while part two has at its heart this brewery and venue in Port…
Fox Hat Brewing Brewer
Fox Hat launched in 2015 as a sibling brand to Vale Brewing. The craft beer industry was really starting to come into its own, with a growing number of drinkers after more "off the chain" beers – the sort of creations that didn't really fit Vale’s more mass market DNA. Thus Fox Hat was designed…
La Sirène Brewing Brewer
Late in 2011, a buzz started spreading around the Melbourne beer cognoscenti that there was a hot new beer in town, a saison that had appeared all of a sudden. Bearing the name La Sirène and packaged in champagne bottles decorated with artwork of an elegance not usually found in the beer world, it was…
Sailors Grave Brewing Brewer
Sometimes, even with hindsight, it's hard to work out why some things catch one's eye more than others. Case in point being Sailors Grave Brewing. The Orbost brewery first came to our attention when we spotted a regional newspaper article on Chris and Gab Moore's plans to open a brewery in an historic,…
Tallboy and Moose Brewer
There’s something special about the part of Melbourne where Thornbury and Preston meet. Whether you want to call it Thornbury North or Preston South, it’s an area that’s become one of Melbourne’s most interesting, with cafés, band rooms, bars and restaurants all making the suburb a place locals…
Woolgoolga Brewing Co Brewer
Hang on… is it called Woolgoolga Brewing, or Woopi Brewing? For anyone not familiar with the coastal town of Woolgoolga on the north coast of NSW, let me save you some confusion: Woopi Brewing is Woolgoolga Brewing. Woolgoolga Brewing is Woopi Brewing. Woolgoolga is called Woopi by just about…
2 Halfs Brewing Distilling Brewer
Good things take time. It’s a well-known piece of wisdom that few of us take to heart. But spend a little time at 2 Halfs Brewing and you’ll see that Kirk and Dragana Bozinovski apply this wisdom to their brewery. You can taste it in the European-style beers they serve up, but chat with Kirk and…
Bruny Island Beer Co Brewer
Bruny Island, in Tasmania's south, is a place famed for fine produce celebrating the region's natural bounty. Among those who have helped build its reputation is Nick Haddow, the founder of Bruny Island Cheese. Evan Hunter is a Tasmanian who has worked with a number of the state's leading booze producers,…
Ocean Reach Brewing Brewer
When Simon Bismire let people know about his plans to bring craft beer to one of Victoria’s most popular holiday locations, he was met with a mixed response. A large proportion of people, both Phillip Island locals as well as frequent visitors, were thrilled. Yet he was met with some hesitancy too. “Some…
Shedshaker Brewing Brewer
Long ago, Castlemaine’s claim to fame was the local abundance of two valuable resources: gold and beer. Despite the town retaining so many of its historical buildings, those particular reasons for being had long since gone; the gold had all been mined and the last brewery closed its doors in 1925. Prior…
Wolf of the Willows Brewer
When launching a brewery, sometimes staring down the barrel of brewing history at the great names that have come before you can be an intimidating task. How to reach those heights when you’re only just stepping away from brewing in your own back yard? But Wolf of the Willows founders Scott and Renae…
Brewmanity Brewer
The diversity in the backgrounds of those getting involved in the craft beer industry in Australia is a sure sign of its growing popularity and reach. Collaborations have seen everyone from chefs to rock stars to radio stations try their hand at making beer. But there are others taking their involvement…
Coburg Brewing Co Brewer
Coburg Brewing Co’s journey to find a home for their brewery has been a long and winding one; so long and winding in fact it took the brewing company’s founders right back to where they started. When you hail from many generations of publicans, it’s hard to even pick a date on which to start,…
SURE Brewing Brewer
“Fancy a beer?” “Sure!” “OK if my mate joins us?” “Sure!” Language is a wonderful thing, capable of expressing so many sentiments, alive with nuance, and so essential to pretty much every element of human life we’d be lost without it. And, as four letter words go, “sure”…
Manky Sally's Venue
When Tasmanian gambler David Walsh and his team first built a brewery at Moorilla in 2005 – atop what was later to become the world-famous Mona – it was on a whim. Inspired by a bottle he’d found on a night out in Europe somewhere, starting a tiny craft brewery to fill it felt like a fun riposte…
Cherry Tree Hotel Venue
The GB Hotel in Richmond was a Melbourne institution, a venue that felt like a living organism that had evolved over the years into something much more than a pub. Then, in early 2014, with the building's owners hiking the lease, a great thing came to an end as Chris and Penny Hodges moved out, taking…
Freddie Wimpoles Venue
In contemplating what you might look for in a craft beer venue, few people would think to put taxidermied deer heads and political references at the top of their must have list, but St Kilda’s Freddie Wimpoles manages to deliver on both so well that you couldn’t imagine it any other…
Hops To Home Bottleshop
The nature of commerce in the 21st century is that people can now get their chosen vice – whether it be shoes, books, scented candles, or even animal shaped onesies – over the internet. That shift does not stop at the threshold of a bottleshop either. As a result, a number of beer stores have extended…
Murray's Brewery Spartacus Imperial IPA Beer
A few years back, in the earliest days of The Crafty Pint, we were notified, rather excitedly, of a beer that was to make its debut at Beer DeLuxe in Fed Square as part of a Murray's tap takeover. The NSW brewery that had given Australia its first widely available double IPA – Icon 2IPA – was set…
Alice Springs Brewing Co Smashing Mango Sour Beer
It's fair to say Alice Springs the place has endured a rough start to the year, and many of the businesses there have been suffering as a result. It's also fair to say that Alice Springs the brewery has been doing a fine job of bringing positive vibes and fun beers to the town since launching – we…
Atomic Beer Project Hazy Beer
Atomic’s Redfern digs have a new flagship beer, and true to the brewery’s hop exploring intent, it’s hazy. It also happens to be sessionable, juicy, and is built around Yakima Chief’s *de rigueur* Cryo Pop blend – not too shabby for a new core range beer. Pouring from cans wrapped in the…
Black Arts West Coast Bière de Coupage & Red Wild Ale with Fresh Orange Beer
As part of my personal #keepinglocalalive mission – and fondness for such beers – when I spotted Black Arts were releasing a couple of fascinating sounding barrel-aged blends, I leapt onto their site and placed an order. This was followed by a message to brewery co-founder Joshua Murnane to check…
Boatrocker Brewery Ramjet 2014 Beer
The all-conquering Ramjet is back! The first vintage of the barrel-aged imperial stout from Boatrocker wowed all beer lovers whose path it crossed, won over by its luscious blend of roast characters, chocolate, vanilla, oak and whisky. And now the 2014 vintage, which was offered to punters as a sneak…
Tallboy & Moose Goop Troop Part Deux & Mochaccino Beer
Advanced hop products like Cryo, Incognito and Spectrum have found a lot of favour among brewers for the way they get expressive hop notes into beer. **Tallboy & Moose** obviously can't stop at one either, having decided to showcase not one, but a trio of those hop liquids in one hazy IPA, Good Troop…
Bright Brewery Darker Days India Brown Ale (with Moo), Compost Cookie & Stubborn 2022 Beer
Bright Brewery aren’t ones to let the cold weather pass them by, with the High Country brewery greeting their surrounding snow-capped mountains with multiple beers. Starting with their **Darker Days India Brown Ale**, the collaboration was made with Tassie’s Moo and launched at Bright’s wintery…
Boatrocker Brewery Coffee Ramjet 2016 Beer
Earlier this year, at the first Ramjet Day at Boatrocker's Barrel Room, one of the treats served up to guests was a coffee version of the brewery's much-loved barrel-aged imperial stout. And now Coffee Ramjet is being made available to a wider audience. As with straight Ramjet, the beer spent time…
Boatrocker Brewery Braeside Crown Cola Beer
As the opening of the Boatrocker Barrel Room nears, the number of barrel aged beers from the Braeside brewery is increasing in frequency. Following closely on the heels of [Adventus](http://craftypint.com/beer/3619/boatrocker-brewery-adventus) and [Roger Ramjet](http://craftypint.com/beer/3651/boatrocker-brewery-roger-ramjet-2015)…
Shapeshifter Acid Raindrops Mango, Time Flies, Nothing Ventured & Party Bag Beer
It's fourth birthday time at Shapeshifter, which means four new beers – and a host of collaborators. Starting off with the lightest of the four, **Acid Raindrops Mango Edition** puts Kensington Pride mangoes into their ever-evolving core range sour. The fruit provides the juiciness, while the Philly…
Starting a Brewery Part II News
Thinking of starting your own brewery? Then part two of our series featuring advice from people already in the beer industry is for you. Last week, we brought you the top tips from five brewers at different stages of their brewing careers: two who have just started, one gypsy brewer and two with…
Starting A Brewery Part I News
More people than ever are hoping to open their own brewery or brewing company in Australia. But turning a dream into reality isn't easy; in fact, it's bloody hard work. What's more, there are so many things to consider aside from whether you can brew a good beer and come up with a cool name for…
Starting A Brewery: The Early Days News
Are you thinking of starting out in brewing or already in the process of setting up? Are you keen to learn more about the realities of chasing that dream: the highs, the lows, the hidden surprises? Here, we ask the owners of four Australian brewing companies what they've learned in their first…
Starting A Brewery: The Boatrocker Story Part II News
At the start of the month, we kicked off a mini-series featuring Boatrocker Brewing and the tale of how founder Matt Houghton and his wife Andrea have set about moving from home brewing to owning a brewery. With more people opening breweries or considering that step, the aim is to offer some insight…
Starting A Brewery: Brisbane's New Kids News
At this year's Australian International Beer Awards, much like last year's, one of the big winners of the night was Queensland. Gold Coast based Black Hops Brewing and Brisbane's Green Beacon took out Champion Small Australian Brewery and Champion Medium Brewery respectively while a truckload of…
Starting A Brewery: The Boatrocker Story Pt III News
Over the past few months, we’ve been bringing you the story behind the development of the forthcoming Boatrocker Brewery. Many of you will know Boatrocker’s beers, such as Alpha Queen and Hoppbier, that have to date been produced under contract. The contract route was always a temporary measure for…
Starting a Brewery: The Boatrocker Story Pt IV News
Well, we were expecting to be running this article well before now – as the owners of Boatrocker Brewery would have been, no doubt. But, as seems to be the way with even the best planned brewery, it took a little longer than expected to get over the finishing line. But, as of this week, the first…
Starting a Brewery: The Boatrocker Story News
Ever wondered what it’s like to undertake the journey from home brewer to commercial brewer? As he stands on the verge of commissioning his own brewery, Matt Houghton, co-founder of the Boatrocker Brewing Company, is about to complete a journey started a quarter of a century ago. And he’s agreed…
Starting A Brewery: If I Could Turn Back Time News
Over the years, we've run various articles looking at the trials and tribulations involved in establishing and running a brewing company. Two years ago, there was a two-parter featuring the thoughts of five brewery owners at different stages of their careers followed by people from other parts of the…
Creating A Winning Brewery Experience News
Visit enough breweries and the experiences can start to blur into one. Sure, there's always going to be stainless steel and taps but there also tends to be a lot of old furniture, easy-to-move tables, and food trucks. It's an experience many beer drinkers enjoy, with warehouses across the…
Australian International Beer Awards Winners 2018 News
It was clear from early on that some of Australia's smaller brewers could be in for a good night at the Australian International Beer Awards. The likes of Black Hops, Beerland and Hope Brewhouse were racking up gold medals like they were going out of fashion, even if many of the early trophies went…
Aussies Win Big In London News
The International Beer Challenge in London has once again proved to be a happy hunting ground for Australian brewers. Last night saw both Supreme Champion trophies awarded to local brewers. Supreme Champion Beer went to Prancing Pony's India Red Ale while Hawkers Beer was named Supreme Champion Brewery. The…
A Full Colour Life: From Brewer To Leader News
When craft beer was beginning to bloom, there were precious few places in Australia in which budding brewers could learn their trade but as the industry has developed so too have the educational opportunities. At the same time, while wannabe brewers now have access to brewing courses in much…
Three Cheers For Shepparton News
“I think any centre, whether it be a capital city or a small country town, is only as vibrant as the food and beverage scene is… and the sky’s the limit with the scene here.” - Jade Burley, Shepparton Brewing. Over the past decade or so, it's become increasingly easy to find a local brewery…
Beer Travel: High Country Part II News
Earlier this week, we ran the first part of Kerry McBride's jaunt through the Victorian High Country, calling in on the members of the region's Brewery Trail. Today, she completes the trip at the three remaining breweries. You can catch up on Part I here. The team at Bridge Road Brewers doesn't…
Aussie Exports: Newfoundland Nardia News
Back in 2010, we spoke to then Bridge Road brewer Nardia McGrath about her favourite brews, beer styles and how she got into the world of craft beer. Fast forward to present day and you’ll find Nardia in Newfoundland, Canada, on the verge of launching her brand new brewery, Pig &…
Boatrocker: Ten Lessons From Ten Years News
This weekend sees Matt and Andrea Houghton mark ten years since they founded Boatrocker. Back in the company's earlier days, as they were moving from contract brewing to their own brewery in Braeside, we worked with Matt on a series looking at the challenges of starting a microbrewery. So, as…
Aussie Exports: Zac From Zenith News
The global beer network never fails to throw up pleasant surprises. There we were, on the Saturday morning of this year's Fresh Hop Festival in Launceston, sitting down to an Ocho-hosted beer brunch and looking forward to an afternoon sampling fresh hop beers. Among the diners outside The Sebel…
A Year On The COVID Roller-Coaster – Part I News
On March 23, it will be a year since Australia was closed for business. It's been a remarkable year of heartbreaking lows and inspirational highs, of sad losses and unexpected gains. In the beer industry, it's being marked with the second Keeping Local Alive Beer Swag Day, turning the dark day of 2020…
Aussie Export: Dave Rooney News
The tourism pull of small breweries, whether they're in the inner suburbs or regional centres, is an oft-repeated mantra among those who tout the benefits of craft beer. Tour companies with the sole purpose of guiding drinkers to good beer venues and bars can be found across Australia and, when…
