beer styles
Getting Blind With Crafty: Mexican Lagers
For our Mexican lager blind tasting, we veered a little from our usual approach and included some of the biggest names in the world alongside the Aussies. The big question: could a local hero claim the crown...?
Cerveza: Is The Next Big Thing In Beer ... Beer?
You've probably heard the word "cerveza" more than usual in recent weeks, and you'll hear it more in the coming months. But what exactly is it? And why are some brewers predicting a summer of cerveza?
Sobah Launch Australia's First Non-Alc Brewery
Sobah's brewery features the stainless you'll find in any Australian brewery yet the Gold Coast operation remains entirely unique. We visited Australia's first non-alc brewery to chat with founders Clinton and Lozen Schultz.
Eagle Bay Leap Through Hoops... Slowly
Eagle Bay have launched Hoops, a years-in-the-making series celebrating wild ferments, barrel-ageing and patience. We chatted to brewer Keegan Steinbacher about the passion project launched with a little help from 3 Ravens.
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.
No Alcohol: All Choice
There's a multitude of reasons why people seek out alcohol-free beers and the good news is that the choice has never been broader. Ahead of Dry July, we caught up with some of the people behind the more interesting non-alc beers.
Fourteen Years Of Fresh Hop Beers
The hop harvest is underway in Australia, which means fresh hop beers are on their way. One brewery has been brewing them longer than most: Bridge Road Brewers, so we chatted to co-owner Ben Kraus about 14 years of harvest ales.
Australia's Generation XPA
From humble beginnings – and no little confusion as to what they actually are – XPAs have made a pitch to be regarded as the modern Australian pale. We examine their rise from obscurity to uniquity.
The Wild Ones
A spontaneously fermented beer won Champion Australian Beer at this year's AIBAs, and a number of Australian brewers are creating beers inspired by the lambics of Belgium. In The Wild Ones, we join them down the rabbit hole.
Something To Braggot About
With his latest collaboration with a local brewer hitting shelves – a braggot brewed with Seasonal Brewing Co – we caught up with the passionate homebrewer turned meadmaker Sean Johnson, of WA-based Erosion Meadery.
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The Lager Renaissance
Once shunned by many in the craft beer world, lagers are enjoying something of a quiet renaissance. Graham Frizzell takes a look at why, and asks what makes a great lager for the discerning contemporary drinker?
A Hazy Shade Of Pale
Hazy pale ales look set to be one of the styles of 2021 as more and more breweries add them to their core offerings and drinkers embrace their juicy, fluffy, fruity sessionability. But just what are they?
Ten Years Of Crafty: Changing Tastes
Styles have come and gone, limited releases are a growing focus, and there's never been more choice for drinkers. Here, we look at just how far and fast tastes have changed since we launched The Crafty Pint.
Hard Seltzer: The Alcopopalypse Cometh?
Hard seltzer has taken the US by storm in the past few years and early examples are starting to appear here. But what is it, why has it exploded Stateside, and will it have the same impact with Aussie drinkers?
Down With The Sweetness?
From pastry stouts to milkshake IPAs and fruity cream sours, there's an argument to be made for 2019 being the year of the dessert beer. Mitch Wilkins spoke to people brewing and serving them about their sugary appeal.
Brisbane's Lithuanian Baker Boys
Kveik might be hogging the headlines for many but one Brisbane brewing team has taken inspiration from another Northern European beer style – one that involves baking the mash first: Lithuanian keptinis.
A Sour Taste In Their Mouths
Sour beers have really taken off in Australia in the past couple of years, but what are they? Ahead of Blobfish, a festival dedicated to sour, wild and funky beers, we chatted to four Australian and Kiwi breweries who love them.
Saison D'Être
Many brewers love them, their characteristics are ideal for Australia's climate, they offer diversity and are wonderful with food. So why are saisons proving a harder sell than most in today's beer world?
Golden Days Before They End
A few years ago, as the Australian craft beer scene started to move into overdrive, golden ales looked like being one of the driving forces. Today, they're rarely found on tap or in fridges. So, what's changed?
Hard Times
Ginger beers have enjoyed some time in the sun in recent years, but what of hard lemonades? Avowed fan Hannah Louise Grugel spoke to two local producers, asking where such drinks sit in relation to beer and how far they might go.
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What's Wrong With Wheat Beer?
Australia's beer judges seem to love them, they're great with an array of cuisines and they have a fascinating history. Yet traditional European wheat beer styles remain unloved. Will Ziebell speaks to brewers, retailers and consumers to find out why.
Brut D'état: IPA's Grand Usurper
If you've not heard of Brut IPAs yet, you soon will. The style was only born in San Francisco late in 2017 but the first Australian versions are already out. So, will this replace NEIPAs as IPA's style du jour? We chat to some of the early adopters.
The Big Issue: Weird Beers
It's that time of year when more new beers hit the market than at any other thanks in part to GABS. A good percentage will be highly experimental or outright odd, with the oddest tending to gain the most media hype. But is all news good news?
X Marks The... Something
It's been three years since Wolf of the Willows launched its XPA and the number of beers bearing that name is growing fast. But does anyone agree on what an XPA should be? We ask some XPA brewers about the X factor.
Looking For New England – The Haze Craze
New England style IPAs are appearing with ever greater frequencies on these shores. Frontiersman Guy Southern dove deep into their swirling, muddy pool in the company of four local proponents to find out more.
Here Gose
Perhaps nothing should surprise in the contemporary beer world, yet the rise of gose is still an unexpected development. We chat to a couple of gose brewers and also look back into the history of the style in Germany.
Mead Made Modern
A tiny number of Australian brewers have played with mead and braggots, but there's now a small yet growing number of people specialising in these ancient beverages. Marie Claire Jarratt spoke to some of them in her debut article for the site.
Now Is The Sour
While some might have forecast the renaissance that beer has been enjoying globally, would many have predicted the rise of sours? Award-winning writer Michael Donaldson laps up the tsunami of sours breaking on Kiwi shores.
Drinking In Style: IPA
In advance of publishing the results from part II of our IPA blind tasting, our Resident Beer Scholar returns with a look at the style. Busting myths and telling the IPA's tale from the 18th century through to today's frenzied hop obsession.
Drinking In Style: Pale Lagers
Love lager or keen to know a little more about the world's most popular style? Before we publish the results of our pale lager blind tasting, here's Resident Beer Scholar Chris Brady with another colourful journey into beer's multifarious past.
Tall Story
A noble goal, unfettered ignorance, vitriol, unpleasantness, dismay and, ultimately, rebirth and redemption. The remarkable story of Tasmania's Two Metre Tall.
Big Beers
With winter closing in, here's an article The Crafty Pint's founder originally wrote for James Halliday's Wine Companion Magazine looking at big, hearty beers.
Drinking In Style: English Ales
They may not have the sex appeal of many US-inspired contemporary beers, but classics are classics for a reason. Here our resident scholar looks at some of the most popular English ale styles.
Drinking In Style: Porter
After a rather lengthy break, we reconvened the Crafty Pint Blind Tasting Panel at the weekend for a look at porters. As ever, before publishing the results, here we have our Resident Beer Scholar, Chris…
Drinking In Style: Christmas Beers
On the eve of our final Blind Tasting of 2013, resident Beer Scholar Chris Brady has taken another delve into the past so he can deliver another sermon of style. This time we’re looking at Christmas beers because, well, because it’s Christmas.
Drinking In Style: Golden Ales
With summer approaching, we decided to look at the lighter end of the beer spectrum for our next Blind Tasting. As such, we opted for a rather loose collection of beers that fall under the Golden / Summer…
Drinking In Style: Imperial Stouts
In conjunction with our blind tasting of imperial stouts, we return to our resident beer scholar, Chris Brady, to find out more about the historic style that is embraced my growing number of Aussie brewers each winter.
James Halliday Article - Stout Advice
With our next piece for James Halliday’s Wine Companion Magazine sent off to the publishers today, it seems a good time to dust down another of our features for the mag. What’s more, our latest dip…
Drinking in Style: Brown Ales
After a brief post-Good Beer Week hiatus, the Crafty Pint Blind Tasting Panel returned this week and with it our regular series looking at beer styles is back. Crafty Towers' resident beer scholar (he’s…
Drinking in Style: American Pale Ales
With Good Beer Week imminent, we figured we should do a Pint of Origin style face-off for the next Crafty Pint Blind Tasting Panel. So later today, the motley crew of brewers (amateur and professional),…
Drinking In Style: Saisons
Want to know a little more about the beers you love? Then read on, as Crafty’s resident “beer dork” Chris Brady (his words, not ours) kicks off what will be regular features looking at the beers of the world. Kicking it off is a look at saisons.
James Halliday Article: Brighter Shade Of Pale
Towards the end of the month, the next edition of James Halliday’s Wine Companion Magazine will feature an article by The Crafty Pint looking back at what has been an incredible year for craft beer in…
The Saisonnières Return
Just before Christmas last year, we brought you news of a brand new brewing company in Australia that was preparing to release its first beer into the world. Since then, the La Sirène Saison has gone…
Taken To Cask
When the Lambs Go Bar in Fitzroy closed earlier this year, mourning was kept to a minimum with owners Jason and Adam King popping up just a few streets away at the refurbished Rainbow Hotel. One thing…
A Right Fruity Harvest
For the past few weeks, this year’s hop harvest beers have been flying out of breweries across the land. There’s been a fair bit of variety too: Red Hill’s velvety Hop Harvest Ale uses its homegrown…
Really Real Ale
Up until now, if you wanted to taste genuine real ale on tap in Australia – real ale as defined by the UK"s Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) – you had one choice: head to the Wig & Pen in Canberra. That…
Pint of Pumpkin, Please
Either The Crafty Pint timed this East Coast trip remarkably fortuitously or there’s so much innovation going on in Australia’s craft breweries these days that there are unexpected treats waiting around…
Braggots
Hands up who’s heard of a braggot before? Not many, I’ll wager. And not surprising, really, given it’s a mead-ale hybrid with origins in Medieval England. A few homebrewers out there may have tried…
