Articles by Will Ziebell
Canned Laughter
It was a punchline that was waiting to happen as the beer world moves inexorably from bottles to cans and brewers strike up partnerships outside craft beer's original stomping grounds. It's Canned Laughter, a beer from Newstead and Brisbane Comedy Festival.
Drink Smarter
Two years on from their launch, the University of Melbourne's courses focusing on beer and brewing have been completed by hundreds, with some students already securing work. University alumnus Will Ziebell returned to the scene.
Beer Nuts: Ode To The Road
Oh, to hit the road with the end game being just that: the road. The couple behind Ode To The Road, Erin and Carmel, have been touring Australia more than a year, sampling as many breweries as possible – growlers and dog in tow.
Crafty Cabal Update - February 2019
Time for a first update of 2019 from The Crafty Cabal, our beer lovers bonus scheme. We've got exclusive events, a bar shout, new giveaways and new deals. Check it!
Join The Club
The wartime munitions still hang on the walls, the old members still share stories on the greens outside, yet at many RSLs and bowlos around Australia craft beer is playing a role in attracting new members and keeping the joints alive.
Crafty Crawls: The Frankston Line
We kicked off our Crafty Crawls series with a public transport route – the 86 tram in Melbourne – and here's another. It's arguably not the most likely, yet it offers access to some of Victoria's best breweries, bars and bottleshops.
Who Brews Hop Hen Beers?
A new year brings a new brewery for the Yarra Valley as a former primary school headmaster switches to brewmaster. Hop Hen opened just ahead of the Australia Day long weekend so we wasted no time finding out more.
Black Hops Set Crowdfunding First
Just six days after opening their equity crowdfunding campaign to the public, Black Hops have reached their maximum fundraising target of $400,000 – and broken a few records in the process.
New Year. Lucky Beer
It's fair to say the Australian beer world isn't the most culturally diverse of places. But, as Chinese New Year approaches, the team at Temple is hoping to showcase aspects of that country's culture through a new "lucky ale".
Locals Heroes
They rarely rise to become big sellers for the breweries that make them and are often lagers or approachable pale ales, yet that hasn't stop a growing number of local brewers launching beers with their locals and locale front and centre.
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Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers Of 2018: The Voters
Voting is underway for the biggest public choice poll in the Aussie beer world. But faced with picking just five beers from thousands, how do you go about voting? And who's going to win? We posed questions of some of the nation's keenest beer lovers.
Beer Nuts: Dave Croft
Dave Croft is a man who likes to travel for beer. While many beer geeks make outrageous detours to drink beer from the source, Dave is truly a persistent pilgrim. We caught up with him to find out how it all started and how he plans to spend his 40th.
Unfamiliar Territory
Slowly but surely, the beer scene in the Northern Territory is coming alive. Two more breweries opened in 2018 and more venues are dabbling too. We spoke to some of the Territory's pioneers and newcomers about the scene up Top.
The Abbotsford Renaissance
In recent times, you were more likely to see FOR LEASE signs going up on Abbotsford's historic pubs. But that's all changing, as new owners have injected life into a trio of pubs, helping turn it into one of Melbourne's best 'burbs for good beer.
Who Brews Mephisto Beers?
It's been a while now since we first spoke to Pete Wellington of Mephisto as part of a look at the next wave of SA brewers. Now, with his beers a regular fixture at indie venues in Adelaide, we went back to find out more.
Who Brews One Barrel Beers?
He's worked in the military, the wine industry, been a private investigator and driven trucks around the country. Now, the Too Many Zooz-loving Mark Prior is focused on his beer operation, One Barrel Brewing.
Crafty Crawls: Hobart – The Breweries
In early spring, we revisited our Crafty Crawl guide to Hobart. The first article focused on the city's best beer venues and bottleshops. Now, in part two, we turn the focus to the small breweries and brewing companies that call the city home.
RateBeer Looks To The Antipodes
Long-running beer rating service RateBeer, now part-owned by the world's biggest beer company, is introducing new features, including in-app retail, and is using Australia as a testing ground.
Beer Nuts: Haydz Sam
One of the more familiar – and unforgettable – faces around the Melbourne beer scene belongs to Haydz Sam. We chatted to him about beer Big and small, inspirations, dream beers and four blankets' worth of t-shirts.
Who Brews Forktree Beers?
It turns out turning an old shearing shed into a brewery can take a fair old while. But with all approvals finally signed off this month and guests now welcome at Forktree Brewery, we got in touch with founder Ben Hatcher to find out more.
Victorian Heritage
Bad Shepherd have plundered a bit of local brewing history in creating their new Victoria Pale Ale. It features the historic Melbourne Ale Yeast, brought back to life recently but dating back to the late 19th century.
Sydney – A Winning Perspective
At this year's Sydney Beer Week awards, two local businesses took out two trophies. We spoke to the man behind Akasha and Dylan Hayes, barman at Bitter Phew, about their triumph and the changing landscape for beer in the city.
GABS Heads To Brisbane
The travelling circus that is GABS is adding another stop to its itinerary in 2019 when it heads to Brisbane for the first time.
Sowing The Seeds Of Hemp Beer
Young Henrys become the latest brewery to launch a hemp beer following law changes in Australia last year. We spoke to brewers using hemp as well as the researchers helping them get the flavours and aromas into their beers.
The Golden Age Of Mids?
There's never been a better time to be in the market for a lower alcohol beer. But why is that? And is demand growing as fast as the quality new releases? We speak to brewers and retailers to find out whether it's the golden age of mids.
Free To Brew What We Want
Greater awareness around coeliac disease and gluten intolerance is leading to more GF products hitting the market, including beers. As a new gluten free brewery in Victoria nears opening, we find out more from brewers and researchers.
Forrest Fells New Ground
Otways brewery Forrest has unveiled ambitious plans for the future. The brother and sister team behind the brewery have secured $1.49m in government funding and plan to create a large brewery and venue in a historic timber mill.
The Patron of Footscray
In one of the more unusual collaborations of recent times, Hop Nation is releasing a new beer created with the Footscray Historical Society. The Patron is a mid-strength featuring the image of one of the suburb's past industrial leaders.
Spirituous Away
The rise of craft brewers and distillers is creating ever more chances for cross-pollination. As Wolf of the Willows launches its Barrel Exchange Program with Lark, we speak to them as well as the small Gippsland operation blending boozes in house.
Time For Change At Rocks
A change in ownership structure at Rocks Brewing in Sydney will see the Alexandria brewery and venue evolve into the Bourke Road Brewhouse in the coming months.
Advancing Beer Education
Matt Marinich has been one of the leaders when it comes to education in the Australian beer world for years. And this month, he's become an Advanced Cicerone, the first in Australia – and, indeed, the Southern Hemisphere.
Who Brews Bucket Beers?
They're bringing local beer to the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, brew in an old powerstation overlooking a river and their name has one heck of a convoluted backstory involving kids and dogs. Meet Bucket Brewery.
Festive Adventage
Since their debut in Australia just a handful of years ago, beer-filled advent calendars have become remarkably popular, with thousands expected to be sold this year. Will Ziebell spoke to some of the people putting them together.
Good Drinking For Gage Roads
Gage Roads is putting of its brands, both those developed in house and those they've acquired, under the new Good Drinks Australia umbrella and looks set to continue to build a family of drinks brands like Tribe and Fermentum.
Beer Springs In Alice
The challenges of establishing a craft beer scene in the Northern Territory are greater than any other region of Australia. But the past few years have seen one start to take shape, with Alice Springs Brewing Co the latest addition.
The Collaborators: The Barrel Dealer
The demand for barrels from craft brewers and small distilleries has grown to such an extent, being a barrel dealer is a viable business. We got in touch with one to find out more.
Going Green: Grants
In an article on the business of beer, an expert raised the issue of government grants and how few breweries were taking advantage. Here, a specialist on cutting the cost of business explains just how easy it could be for brewers to cash in.
The Vinification Of Beer
Barrel-ageing, mixed fermentation and the mimicking of wine in presenting certain beers isn't new. Yet the blurring of lines between beer and wine continues apace. We speak to brewers and somms operating on the frontier.
Crafty Crawls: Fitzroy
Time for one of our most jam-packed, venues-to-distance-covered Crafty Crawls to date. Join us for a meander through the oldest suburb of Fitzroy as we take in classic pubs, cocktail joints and boozy dive bars.
The Collaborators: Big Malt Thinking Small
The rise of craft beer continues to have an affect on the industries surrounding it, with large scale malt producers Joe White and Barrett Burston both introducing new lines designed with small breweries in mind.
Behind Bars: Cambrian Hotel
Bendigo's Cambrian Hotel is a fine example of how to embrace the modern beer world without losing touch with heritage, combining good local beer with good food and warm hospitality in a pub altered little from its gold rush origins.
Barrow Boys Falls. West City Rises.
One Melbourne based gypsy brewer is winding down operations as another makes a comeback. We find out more from Barrow Boys and the new owner of West City Brewing.
Crafty Crawls: Bendigo
Bendigo has come a long way on the beer front in recent years with a growing number of good beer venues, a brewery and festivals including the unique walking affair that is the annual Bendigo on the Hop.
Brew & A: Andrew Robson of The Lord
He first learned about beer at his dad's legendary homebrew store and, after filling in where needed, rose to become head brewer at The Lord. On the back of his recent trophy win, we invited Andrew Robson to be part of our Brew & A series.
Stone & Wood To Open Brisbane Brewpub
Brisbane is set to get another brewery as Stone & Wood eyes up a spot in Fortitude Valley to open a brewpub that will act as a home for its Brisbane team from early 2019.
Behind Bars: The Hive Bar
The Hive Bar has been keeping things local and crafty in Sydney's Inner West longer than most. It makes co-owner Adam Parker well placed to comment on the rapidly changing scene there as the number of breweries continues to grow.
The Business Of Beer: Where To From Here?
The acquisitions of Matso's and Mornington Peninsula Brewery by Gage Roads and Tribe Breweries respectively suggest an industry entering an era of consolidation. We asked a specialist in the business of beer what recent moves could mean.
Chasing Pint Dreams At The Pinny
A bartender at one of Melbourne's iconic pubs, the Fitzroy Pinnacle, has used his workplace as the location for a new web series. Pint Dreams is a six-part show by Ryan Jones and Laura McIntosh and debuts at the pub on August 11.
Beers For Bales
With many Australian farmers experiencing their driest conditions in living memory, a growing number of local beer businesses are banding together to raise money for and awareness of their plight.
Who Brews Three Greens Beers?
From his first homebrew to launching Three Greens with two fellow travellers was a mere 20 years for Nick Copland. As the trio's beers pop up in venues across Melbourne, we find out more for our Who Brews...? series.
