Insight & Analysis
Deep dives, trends, hot topic issues and lessons learned.
Burnout And Beer: Paying The Passion Tax
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.
The Catfish: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
The Catfish is Melbourne's one and only home of cheesesteaks, blues and craft beer, each delight made better when enjoyed together. As the iconic Fitzroy bar turns ten, we walk down Memory Lane with founders Kieran and Mike.
Brewski: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
"Matt, don’t buy any more barleywines!" just about sums up a decade of Brewski. But for more on watching your intake, sleeping with your business partner and starting fondue fires, here's their Ten Lessons from Ten Years.
The Exploding Cost Of Brewing Beer
To gain a greater understanding of the challenges facing brewers, we broke down the cost of brewing Hawkers' trophy-winning West Coast IPA, and how those costs have exploded in recent years.
Chronically Crafty: Managing Health In The Beer Industry
Chronic medical conditions can be nonstop and balancing self-care with a passion that surrounds you with booze is a fine line to walk. Type one diabetic Will Ziebell speaks to people working in beer with chronic health conditions.
Burnout And Beer: A View From The States
Craft beer is an industry driven by passion but, if that fades, where can workers turn? Katie Muggli took an industry-wide moment of self reflection and decided to build a resource to support those working in American craft beer.
As Beer's Bleak Winter Ends, Is Optimism Starting To Take Root?
Winter is over, which feels like as good a time as any to pause and reflect – and to attempt encapsulate the hundreds of conversations we've had with people across Australia on the present and future of craft beer.
Craft Beer's Next Generation
Is craft beer becoming cringe or cheugy? Listen to many senior figures and you could easily draw the conclusion Gen Z poses an existential threat but is the industry really engaging with Zoomers? We chatted to craft beer's next generation.
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.
Brookvale – Brewing A Beer Paradise?
Brookvale has been hailed as a beer paradise with multiple breweries joining the local scene in recent years. But despite each carving out a niche and being packed to the rafters on weekends, it's not always smooth sailing on the Northern Beaches.
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I'm Growin' Down: Lessons From America's Shrinking Breweries
Late last year, Tomme Arthur did something brewery owners don't often do: talked about shrinking The Lost Abbey to survive. Will Ziebell caught up with him in America to find out what's happening in a country often seen as craft beer's future.
High Country Hop Technical Symposium – The Presentations
Ahead of the 2023 High Country Hop festival, Bridge Road Brewers put on a Technical Symposium sponsored by the Independent Brewers Association. We MC'd and recorded the day, and you can listen to all of the sessions here.
Black Hops Top Beer Cartel's Australian Craft Beer Survey Again
Black Hops have topped the Australian Craft Beer Survey for the second time running, voted Australia's best brewery ahead of GABS Hottest 100 toppers Mountain Culture and BentSpoke by more than 14,000 people who took part.
Under Pressure: A Perfect Storm Brewing For Beer
Today's excise tax hike completes the biggest financial year rise in decades, yet it's just one of myriad pressures on the local industry. We examine the "perfect storm" engulfing a beer world facing a fourth straight year of harsh challenges.
The Best Of Beer 2022: The Territories
They’re far from being neighbours and you wouldn’t draw too many similarities between the ACT and NT either, but once again we’re running the Territories together as our Best Of Beer 2022 series draws to a close.
The Best Of Beer 2022: South Australia
Our Best Of Beer 2022 series heads to South Australia for a look at the highs, lows, twists and turns via the standout moments and beers, the newcomers to the scene, and those who experienced a memorable 12 months.
The Best Of Beer 2022: Tasmania
It's time to head south for the sixth entry in The Best Of Beer 2022 series as we cross the Bass Strait to check in on a busy year of openings – both new and from existing operations – and delicious beers from around Tasmania.
The Best Of Beer 2022: Queensland
The remarkable rise of Queensland's craft beer scene continued apace in 2022, even in the face of floods and the challenges faced by the industry across Australia. Here's our take on the tumultuous 12 months that was.
The Best Of Beer 2022: WA
Join us as our touring review of the year in beer touches down in WA. It's a cracker too, not just looking at the trends and highlights of 2022 in the state but also addressing some of the broader issues at play for beer in Australia right now.
The Best Of Beer 2022: Victoria
It's been a funny old year in Victoria, with pioneers looking to exit the industry and many more battered from all sides. But there's been a whole lot of good beer and beautiful moments too; here we take a look at what stood out.
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The Best Of Beer 2022: NSW
From Bondi to Bangalow, craft beer continued to crop up in more corners of New South Wales during 2022. Join us as we attempt to make sense of it all via the standout moments, beers and new arrivals from the past 12 months.
The Best Of Beer 2022
Christmas is approaching so it must be time for us to look back at the year just gone. And in a change from past years, we're kicking off with a look at the standout themes of 2022 on a national scale.
Beer Cartel To Be Online Only In 2023
Beer Cartel are closing their physical store in Sydney at the start of next year, with the popular beer retailer deciding to move their operation entirely online. We spoke to co-founder Richard Kelsey about the decision and their future plans.
Big Shed: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
Big Shed's story is the quintessential craft beer tale of two homebrewers taking a chance on themselves and their beers. As they celebrate a decade since launching, we asked Jason and Craig what they've learnt over the years.
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.
2022: Craft Beer's Strangest Year Yet?
Lockdowns are a thing of the past yet 2022 is proving to be another grim year for many in the beer industry. We ask why, and look at what can be done to ensure better days lie ahead.
Breaking The Bias
The theme of International Women's Day 2022 is #breakthebias. In this article, MC Jarratt speaks to some of the people doing just that in the beer industry about their experiences and how others can follow suit.
Open And Shut: Omicron Crushes Hospo's Summer Comeback
Far from the new year bringing new hope, the beer and hospo industries face arguably their toughest period of the pandemic – and without government support. We spoke to business owners across the country as Omicron runs rampant.
The Year Of No Booze
In 2020, Australia witnessed the launch of a number of alcohol-free brewing companies and brands, and in 2021 sales rocketed, quality rose and options blossomed. As 2022 starts, look at why booze-free beer has struck such a chord.
The Crafty Pint's Biggest Stories Of 2021
From brewery sales to the rise of hazy pales, homebrand beers to wild frontiers, and winners to those tackling sinners, here's a look back at some of the biggest stories to appear on The Crafty Pint in 2021.
The Best Of The Territories In 2021
Time to wrap up our state by state by territories wrap of the year in beer that was 2021 with a look back over the past 12 months in the ACT and NT, a time in which the beer scenes in both territories have been expanding.
Best New SA Beers Of 2021
With Christmas approaching, we head to SA for the sixth of our features looking back at the past year in beer. Which beers stood out from the crowd, what impressed readers, and what can we look forward to in 2022?
Best New Victorian Beers Of 2021
For Victorians, 2021 was for too close a carbon copy of 2020 for comfort, but there were beer highlights aplenty. Here we look back on a year of great beer, close shaves, and brave leadership that shone through the lockdowns.
Best New Queensland Beers Of 2021
Borders have opened and shut, lockdowns have come and gone, but the beer scene in Queensland continues to go from strength to strength. Here we look back over 2021 to shine a light on the brightest beer moments of the year.
Best New NSW Beers Of 2021
If you ignore the 107 day lockdown – or even if you can't – there's been much to enjoy and embrace in the NSW beer scene in 2021. Here, Judd Owen looks at the standout beers and highlight moments from the past 12 months.
Best New Tasmanian Beers Of 2021
For most Aussies, Tasmania has been off limits for much of 2021, which has allowed the island states brewers and beer lovers to get to know each other better than ever. Join us as we round up the year's standout beer highlights.
Best New WA Beers Of 2021
Yes, it's that time for The Crafty Pint team and friends to attempt the ever trickier task of encapsulating the best of Aussie craft beer for another year. And once again we kick off our annual Best Of series in Western Australia.
Beer's Diversity And Discrimination Problem
A survey looking at diversity in the Australian beer industry shows there is much work to do for it to become truly inclusive. We spoke to the survey creators, Beer Agents For Change, about their mission to create a better beer world.
Australian Beer Industry Diversity Survey Results 2021
In July, the Beer Agents For Change, a collective of females with more than 60 years experience in the beer industry, launched an industry-wide diversity survey. You can view their findings in an infographic released with the results.
Back To The Bar, Melbourne
Today, after making it through a world record number of days in lockdown, Melbourne is open again. James Smith and Will Ziebell spoke to brewery and venue owners and returning customers to assess the vibe.
Back To The Bar, Sydney
Many businesses across Sydney and New South Wales opened to customers for the first time in more than three months yesterday. Two members of The Crafty Pint team were among those heading back to the bar.
Back To The Bar – For The Last Time?
Venues in much of New South Wales are reopening today, with Victoria set to follow in the coming weeks. Will Ziebell chatted to business owners about their hopes, fears, vaccine passports and excitement at welcoming back guests.
Exclusively Yours: The Rise Of Brewery Subscriptions
Beer clubs and brewery memberships are far from new but recent years have seen such them grow alongside online beer sales. We spoke to Molly Rose, Black Arts and Van Dieman Brewing about their exclusive clubs and why they do it.
Seltzers: Hard Sell Or Easy As?
At the start of 2020, we looked at the arrival of hard seltzers in Australia. With local producers hoping for a summer of seltzer ahead, we chatted to those making and selling them to find out how far they've come and where they're heading.
What Next For Indie Beer?
The sale of the Fermentum Group to Lion raises a number of question, not least what it means for the indie beer sector. We've been speaking to people in the beer industry to see what they make of the move.
What We'll Be Drinking Next
The local beer and hospo world needs a big beer-drinking season like never before. So, with spring approaching and the drinks landscape more complex than ever, we've invited a few experts to peer into their crystal balls.
The Club Life
More sports clubs are making the switch to craft beer and reaping the rewards. Will Ziebell spoke to a golf club in Toowoomba and a smaller bowlo in Brisbane's southwest about their successful recent conversions.
Our Story: The Next Chapter
In the wake of allegations and articles documenting sexual assault, abuse and harassment in the beer world, work is ongoing to make positive, lasting change in the local beer and hospitality communities. We spoke to those driving it.
Two Birds: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
Two Birds Brewing celebrate ten years of beers in 2021, after a decade of blazing a trail through the Australian beer industry. We invited the founders of the country's first female-owned brewing company to reflect on the journey so far.
The Big Issue: Skills Shortage
It goes without saying that the COVID pandemic has created huge problems for the local beer and hospitality industries. One issue it's exacerbated is a skills shortage, both when it comes to brewing and running venues.
