Awards & Achievements
Celebrating success in its many forms, from trophy-winners to those marking major milestones.
Up On The Hill
The story of Hargreaves Hill is one of the best known and most frequently referenced in Australia. It's the small Yarra Valley brewery that opened to give visitors to the wine region an alternative, established…
Two Decades of Bootlegging
The other day, a young dad was drinking beer at Bootleg Brewery while his child made full use of the playground. Almost two decades earlier, as a 10-year-old, he had been the kid in the playground while…
MO Brewing, No Problems
A three-month-old Sydney brewery has swept the board at the inaugural Craft Beer Awards, taking out four trophies including Champion Australian Craft Beer.
Beer Awards: Perth Royal Beer Show 2014
Mash Brewing continues to follow the golden path through 2014. The Swan Valley-based brewery last night collected the trophies for Best Commercial Brewery, Best West Australian Brewery and Best Ale Draught…
Holgate: A Love Story
In the opening moments of a video shot to mark the 15 year anniversary of Holgate Brewhouse, Paul Holgate points out that it’s 25 years since he and wife Natasha met. "So ours is a love story really,…
World Beer Awards: More Redoak Success
Another week, another set of awards for Sydney's Redoak. Since we last posted articles on their wins at the International Beer Challenge in London and at the Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show,…
Beer Awards: Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show
There are familiar names on the two main trophies at this year's Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show. The medalists and trophy winners were announced last night (19/9/2014) and saw Sydney's Redoak follow…
Australia Reigns Supreme
Australian brewers have taken out the two most prestigious trophies at the world’s largest package beer competition. For the second year running, Sydney’s Redoak won the Supreme Champion beer award.…
The Best Of Aussie Craft
A new competition that will allow Australian craft brewers to pit their beers against each others launches next week. The inaugural Craft Beer Awards: the Best of Australian Brewing is a new venture by…
Copy That
There is an American style India pale ale brewed in the heart of WA’s Swan Valley that took home the trophy for Champion Australian Beer at this year’s Australian International Beer Awards. By name…
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Melbourne's Top Pubs
Several of Melbourne’s top craft beer venues were among those honoured at the inaugural Time Out Melbourne Pub Awards. Pub of the Year went to The Terminus in Fitzroy North, People’s Choice went to…
Barossa Beer Is SA's Best
An IPA from a brewery located in the heart of South Australian wine country has taken out the top beer prize at this week’s Royal Adelaide Beer Awards. The Canis Majoris from Barossa Valley Brewing,…
AIBA 2014 Winners
The state that kickstarted Australia’s craft beer revival and the one that’s doing most to drive it forward are both celebrating following the results of the 2014 Australian International Beer Awards…
Hottest 100 Craft Beers of 2013: The Breakdown
So, for the third year running, the country’s three favourite craft beers, according to The Local Taphouse’s Hottest 100 poll, remain the same. And they’re in the same order as last year too with…
Winners Out West
This year’s Perth Royal Beer Show has thrown up some eye-catching winners alongside the usual familiar faces. There will have been a heavily-laden plane heading back to Sydney too after New South Wales…
A Beer With Real Clout
A couple of weeks ago, Nail Brewing founder John Stallwood signed off an email: “PS Looking forward to beating Brendan in the SRBC.” It was a reference to the Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show and his…
More Gold For Redoak
Just last week, we reported on the success enjoyed by Australian brewers at the UK’s largest beer awards. Hawthorn Brewing Company, 4 Pines and Redoak all picked up golds at the International Beer…
Best Of British
Speak to those recently returned from Beervana trips to New Zealand and you’ll hear evidence that, for all its recent advances, the Australian craft beer industry still trails a little way behind our…
NZ Brewers Guild Awards 2013: The Winners
The 2013 NZ Brewers Guild Awards Dinner took place in Wellington last night and there were some names that will be very familiar to Aussie drinkers taking out trophies – as well as a few lesser known…
AIBA 2013 Winners
Back at the end of 2012, when compiling our 50 Beers of 2012 for James Halliday’s Wine Companion Magazine, we wrote: “The powers-that-be push stablemate Fat Yak but those in the know drink Matilda…
Five Years. Seven Sheds
“It’s been a strange and savage journey,” says Willie Simpson as he marks five years at the helm of Seven Sheds. It’s one that’s seen him move from home brewer to commercial brewer and, as of…
Hop Hog Is Hottest!
Phew! We don’t have to eat our hat after all… A couple of weeks back, as votes were coming in for this year’s Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2012, we responded to a tweet with something along…
The Hottest 100 of 2012 Analysed
By now, you’ll have had time to take in the latest Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll results. Congratulations to everyone that featured, in particular the team at Swan Valley’s Feral Brewing for…
The Hottests' Hottest
Time is running out for this year’s Hottest 100 Aussie craft beers, being run again by The Local Taphouse, The Crafty Pint and Brews News. The deadline for votes is January 15. As in past years, The…
Perth Royal Beer Show Winners 2012
For the first time, WA Beer Week this year kicked off with the state’s beer industry’s night of nights. Friday night’s Gala Dinner saw trophies awarded for the best beers from both commercial…
Beer Awards: The Royal Adelaide Beer Show
For the second year running, microbreweries dominated the trophies at the Royal Adelaide Beer Show. There was a changing of the guard, however, with McLaren Vale based craft brewery Goodieson (pictured…
Wigging Out
He may have a beer named “The Judges Are Still Old Codgers” in their honour but that hasn’t stopped Richard Watkins, the brewer behind Wig & Pen’s beers, taking home one of the major trophies at…
Feral On Fire
There would be a danger of it becoming boring if it weren’t for the fact that not only are his beers brilliant, but Feral head brewer Brendan Varis is also as unassuming, generous and humble a guy as…
World Beer Cup Winners
Australian brewers have tasted success at the World Beer Cup, collecting two golds and two silvers at the event described as “The Olympics of Beer Competition”. Golds went to Queensland’s Burleigh…
Go Hog Wild!
Hop Hog from Swan Valley brewer Feral has been named Australia’s best beer by a panel of brewers, beer writers, venue operators and retailers. It tops the list in the second edition of The Critic’s…
Islands of Gold
It was a mix of old and new at the recent Sydney Royal Fine Food Show’s beer competition. The old: Matilda Bay picked up its usual trophy for the Alpha Pale Ale (but will it mean they start pushing their…
Hottest 100 Beers Of 2011
Congratulations Stone & Wood on adding this year’s Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers title to the Critic’s Choice award they picked up last year. Is there no stopping the Pacific Ale juggernaut? And why…
Biggest Hottest 100 Yet
Each year that the Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll has been run, it has doubled the number of votes of the previous year. Each year, voting has also usually been open for around 12 weeks. So, it’s…
The Lord Turns 25
In recent weeks, we've had stories on here celebrating 100th brews and the first anniversaries of Aussie craft breweries. And while it's only right to celebrate such milestones, there's an anniversary…
Dripping With Gold
It seems the judges at the World Beer Championships are rather fond of the beers being brewed by Queensland’s Burleigh Brewing. The Gold Coast based brewery has just secured another gold medal at the…
Winning Out West
Clearly not content with taking a swag of prizes home from Melbourne last month, WA’s brewers have been at it again, picking up a host of trophies at the Perth Royal Beer Show. Serial winners Feral and…
Far From Bitter
As his friend and brewing mentor Brendan Varis walked off stage clutching Feral’s third straight Champion Ale trophy at the 2011 Australian International Beer Awards, Jeremy Good heard the presenter…
Plenty To Crow About
Given his brewery had only been operating a month, Craig Wealands thought long and hard about sending a keg of his Vanilla Milk Stout off for judging. Sure, he reckoned it was a pretty good beer, but the…
Beer Awards Winners
It was a night of surprises – and familiar faces – as the winners of the 2011 Australian International Beer Awards were announced in Melbourne at the weekend. Serial winner Feral picked up the Champion…
Brew & A: At the AIBA Judging
More than 1,100 beers have been submitted for the 2011 Australian International Beer Awards. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Melbourne on May 20, in the middle of the inaugural Good Beer…
H100: Beer's The Winner
Well, what a palaver! A light-hearted poll to get people talking about craft beer turns into a spiky bun fight. Who’d have thunk it? While the debate continues elsewhere on this site, with comments ranging…
The Hottest 100 Revealed
Well I never. WTF! Knock me down with a feather. And other assorted idioms. Who saw that coming? That being the news that Little Creatures Pale Ale has been usurped at the top of The Local Taphouse’s…
Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers 2010: The Full Rundown
You’ve seen the top ten, so what about the rest? Here they are from one to 100. You’ll have to agree it’s a pretty colourful selection and, as a snapshot of where the Aussie beer market is today,…
Hottest 100: Around Oz
There’s only a few weeks left for brewers to unleash new beers onto the Aussie public in 2010 if they hope to make an appearance in The Local Taphouse’s third Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll. And,…
Craft Beer H100: The Bars
With Australia’s first beer restaurant, Josie Bones, ready to throw its doors open to the public on Wedneday, this week’s look back at the best beers of 2010 comes with a twist. Instead of brewers,…
H100: Yarra Valley Brewers
The Yarra Valley is known globally for its wine and, in more recent years, has been developing a reputation for beer too. Once home to a single brewery – Buckley’s in Healesville – it now has four:…
Craft Beer H100: Mt Goat
Votes are pouring in for this year’s Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll – and choosing just five does appear to be proving tricky. One friend of Crafty restricted himself to beers he’d tasted for…
Craft Beer H100: Bridge Rd
Voting is underway in the latest Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll as beer lovers across Australia pick the beers that have made the biggest impression on them in 2010. It’s the third time The Local…
Not So Little Creatures
Congratulations are in order as today marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of Little Creatures. On the morning of November 10, 2000, the doors of the Freo brewery were opened to the public for the…
Craft Beer Is Hot!
Not too long ago, the question “What are your favourite five Aussie craft beers?” would probably have illicited one of two responses: “What’s a craft beer, mate?” (with the explanation followed…
