Articles by Mick Wust
The Brewer Who Can See Flavour
When Ian Watson tastes beer, he sees colour. He has synaesthesia, and this condition shapes the way he tastes beer – and the way he brews it. We caught up with one of the country's most experienced brewers to find out more.
Shut Up And Drink Your Dessert: Pastry Beers Part 2
Pastry beers are everywhere now, like it or not. In part two of our deep dive, we explore their appeal: who's drinking them, the brewers' intentions and why they're still "real beer" – as well as the cost to your wallet and waistline.
Shut Up And Drink Your Dessert: Pastry Beers Part 1
Sweet, thick beers that taste like dessert used to be few and far between, but now it feels like they're everywhere. In the first of this two-part deep dive, we look at what pastry beers are, where they came from, and how they're made.
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 Mateship Tour: Shouting Beer In The Remotest Spots
There are worse ways to make new mates than to spend three months touring around Queensland giving away free beer... so Hep from Your Mates Brewing decided to do just that. Welcome to the Mateship Tour.
Who Brews at Principle Brewing?
How do you focus on both quality of your beer and the local community? How do you both fit in with other breweries and stand out from the crowd? You follow your principles. Meet the team at Principle Brewing in another Who Brews...?
Who Brews As The Boys?
From embarking on a project to stay sane during COVID to dreams of brewing with Shaq, we get the lowdown on The Boys and Scott Wyatt and Tim French's brewing journey in this instalment of Who Brews...?
Stomping Ground Enjoy More Awards Success In Queensland
Stomping Ground enjoyed another fine beer awards today, claiming Grand Champion Beer in Queensland. There were big wins for Ballistic, Black Hops, Felons and Moffat Beach, with the last of these claiming another swag of trophies.
Floods Hit The Breweries Of SEQ And Beyond
The floods in South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales have caused all kinds of devastation. Here are some of the beer businesses that have been affected.
Breheny Bros Bring Aussie Brewing History Back To Life
The "most influential family in Australian brewing history" is making beer again – from 100-year-old recipes. We got in touch with the team at Breheny Bros to find out about their plans.
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Who Brews at Auckland House?
What's green on one side, blue on the other, and shiny and pastel in the middle? Auckland House, that's what. Meet brewer Cam McMillan and hear the story of Gladstone's first microbrewery in this instalment of Who Brews...?
Reckless To Set Up Home In Bathurst
After a couple of years building a brand via the contract brewing route in Sydney’s Inner West, Reckless Brewing have found a home – in a heritage-listed flour mill in Bathurst that formerly housed Two Heads Brewing.
Who Brews Parched Beers?
Carl Hallion's dream of owning a small bar blew up into the reality of a two-storey brewpub in Brisbane's West End. Here, we find out all about the beers and the brewpub from Carl himself in this instalment of Who Brews...?
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.
The Odd Culture of Newtown
Sour beer, natural wines, a fine dining menu, European opening hours and a prime spot on Newtown's King Street. The new Odd Culture venue may be difficult to categorise, but it's not difficult to enjoy.
Ballarat Notches 50 Years Of Teaching Brewers
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first postgraduate brewing course offered in Ballarat - and there's no sign of the course slowing down. We chatted to a few of the key figures from the past half century about its past, present and future.
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.
Who Brews For Kicks?
What does it look like when good beer marries good design? Get to know the husband and wife team behind Kicks Brewing in this instalment of our Who Brews...? series.
Craft Beer Heroes: Adam Trippe-Smith
He started a GABS Hottest 100 winning brewery and two of the keg rental companies that drive the Aussie craft beer industry, but still Adam Trippe-Smith is unknown to many. We caught up with Adam to get his story.
NSW Government Boosts For Indie Brewers
Following the establishment of the NSW Independent Brewers Action Plan and an Independent Brewers Working Group in 2020, NSW brewers are reaping benefits from grants and other government support.
The Dark & Disgusting Minds of The Scratch
No one's ever accused the folk at The Scratch of being normal. Their festivals have cult followings, and the videos they make to promote them can be downright disgusting. We sat down with manager Becca King to find out more.
2020: The Year In Beer - Queensland
Take a break from complaining about 2020 to celebrate with the annoyingly optimistic Mick Wust as he looks over a year of beer in Queensland.
Who Brews As Springside Brewing?
A new baby birthed a new hobby. A new hobby attracted a new community. A new community led to a new brewing company. This is the story of Springside Brewing.
Who Brews As Manly Hops?
Many brewers want their beer distributed as far as possible. But if you want to drink Manly Hops' beers, you'll have to go to Manly. Here's the story of this exclusive brewing company making "bullshit-free beer".
How Do You Build A Brewery?
What do you do if you want to start a brewery, but can't find the information you need? If you're Chris Hayton, you interview brewers and other industry professionals, make a podcast, and share it with the world.
Postcards From The Edge No.57: Back In The Van
Beer tourism was hit hard during the COVID-19 shutdowns, but now venues are open and borders are closed, local customers are keeping Hop On Brewery Tours busy. We chatted to them about beer tourism in a pandemic.
Postcards From The Edge No.56: Duking It Out
While many beer venues have struggled during the pandemic, the Thorpe Hospitality Group managed to increase their revenue, tripled their staff, and have now acquired a new pub, The Duke of Enmore.
Atomic Beer Project Opens In Redfern
After months of delays due to COVID-19, Atomic Beer Project's new brewery and venue is ready to open in Redfern. It represents a major East Coast move for the Good Drinks group formed by WA's Gage Roads.
Ten Years Of Crafty: In Ten(ish) Beers
It took The Crafty Pint's founder eight years to put his name on an article, but now we've forced him to open up about some of the beers and stories that have guided his time in the beer world.
The Big Issue: Coping with COVID-19 Part II
Many of us face mental health challenges at the best of times. With the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacting the beer and hospo industries, we look at the difficulties people are facing and the support they can seek.
The Big Issue: Coping With COVID-19 Part I
Many of us face mental health challenges at the best of times. With the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacting the beer and hospo industries, we look at the difficulties people are facing and the support they can seek.
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.
Postcards from the Edge No.41: Let There Be Gin
In the space of a few months, Lee McAlister-Smiley, founder of Brisbane's White Lies Brewing, has gone from having no idea how to make hand sanitiser to producing wasabi gin alongside his beers.
Who Brews 7th Day Beers?
It all started with the hunt for a good craft pilsner and grew from there. From footy dads in a garage to a crowdfunding campaign to a brewery in Brookvale, you have to ask: Who Brews 7th Day beers?
Crafty Crawls: Sydney's Northern Beaches
Whether you're going for a beach weekend or a beer weekend, Sydney's Northern Beaches has plenty to offer - you just need to know where to look.
Behind Bars: Harts Pub At Ten
Inside a 130-year-old building in The Rocks, Harts Pub is a ten-year-old bar that's won the gratitude of Sydney beer drinkers and Australian independent breweries alike as one of the city's earliest adopters of craft beer.
Best New Queensland Beers Of 2019
The beer industry in Queensland keeps growing and changing, and even the drinkers are changing. But the more things change, the more they stay the same: great beer came out of the Sunshine State again in 2019.
Crafty Crawls: Canberra's Breweries & Brewpubs
If Canberra's a good place from which to run the country, it must be a good place to brew beer. (That's how they choose a location, right?) So, here's our guide to where you can drink beer at the source in our nation's capital.
Behind Bars: Beer Cartel At Ten
What started as two guys hand-packing boxes of beer to put in the mail has grown into one of Australia's largest online beer retailers. It's fair to say Beer Cartel have come a long way in ten years.
Insect The Unexpected
Craft breweries are no strangers to innovation. But BentSpoke Brewing have arguably set a new standard by making a beer with local yeast, a hangover relief drink, crickets and fly larvae.
Who Brews Wild Polly's GF Beers?
Can brewing with ancient grains win you the title of Australian Father of the Year? Probably not. But Tim Sides is having a fair crack at it with Wild Polly, one of the newer brewing companies found in ACT.
Who Brews Reckless Beers?
From homebrew in the bathtub to brewpubs in Portland then gypsy brewing in Sydney's Inner West, the story of Reckless Brewing is one of three friends who could have their own sitcom.
Aussie Exports: Brent Soutar
In this Aussie Exports, we chat with globetrotter Brent Soutar about his brewing journey, and peek voyeuristically behind the curtain at his current employer, the world renowned Firestone Walker.
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.
Three Cheers For Shepparton
Shepparton is a regional Victorian city that hasn't had its own brewery for a hundred years. So what will it look like now three new breweries are set to come to town within 12 months of each other?
Ballistic Beer To Open Springfield Brewpub
Ballistic Beer will soon open their third venue in three years: a brewpub in Brisbane's western suburb of Springfield Central in addition to their Salisbury brewery and West End Alehouse & Kitchen.
Who Brews BrewiColo Beers?
Ocean Grove is a relaxed coastal town, but BrewiColo are keen to take things even further, encouraging people to slow down and enjoy a taste of island life. Find out more as part of our Who Brews...? series.
Going Green: Ocean Friendly Brews
What would it take for breweries to go plastic free in their tap rooms? Not much, apparently. We spoke to Surfrider to see how they've helped some of Australia's biggest craft brewers say no to single-use plastic.
Sydney's State of Brews Rises Again
When Sydney Beer Week collapsed earlier in the year, a few of the city's venues saw it as an opportunity. The first fruits of their partnership kicks off today as State of Brews launches as a standalone venture.
Modus Operandi: Five Years In Five Beers
Modus Operandi have reached their five year mark, and are showing no signs of slowing down. Mick Wust talks with owners Grant and Jaz Wearin about the five beers that have shaped Modus into the brewery it is today.
