history

Brewed In Queensland: A Documentary Five Years In The Making

Dan Osper didn't plan to spend five years making a documentary about the craft beer industry. But Brewed In Queensland just kept evolving, from the first interviews in 2019 to the YouTube launch of the 12-part series in 2024.

The Riverland Brewer & Publican Rewinding Time To Make A Beer From 1859

What does a 165-year-old beer taste like? That's the mission the teams at the Overland Corner Hotel and Woolshed Brewery set themselves in recreating the first beer ever to pour at the iconic Riverland pub.

WA's Beer History To Star In New State Library Exhibition

A new exhibition exploring nearly 200 years of brewing history in WA opens this weekend. Crafty writer Guy Southern, who conducted ten interviews covering the modern era, took us behind the scenes of Liquid Gold.

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.

Doors To Dunnies Part II: Meet Me At The Bar

In his ongoing mission to find out what makes a great boozer great, Luke Robertson moves from the doorway to the bar, heading back in time to Pompeii and back again to the modern era of polished timber and glazed lava.

Doors To Dunnies Part I: Let Me In

What makes a great boozer great? In a unique new series, award-winning beer writer and podcaster Luke Robertson sets out to find the answer, breaking down the experience of going out in Australia in the company of experts.

Brewer Be-Guiled

Since launching his first book on historical homebrewing recipes, Peter Symons has continued scouring the world for more. As he returns with Guile Brews, we got in touch to find out where his research took him this time.

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.

Billson's Brews From The Archives

The new owners of a brewery with a history stretching back a century-and-a-half are bringing old beers back to life. Already Billson's have released an ale and a stout with origins in the late 19th century with more to follow.

Help Recreate Brewing History

The author of two books bringing old Australian beer recipes back to life is embarking on another. Peter Symons is keen to fill the gaps in the country's brewing past and is after your help in doing so.

S&W Big Pale B2
Podcast B2
Kveik – Something Borrowed, Something True Blue

In part one of this mini-series, Mick Wust took a journey into the history of Norwegian "super-yeast" kveik. Here, he speaks to some of the early adopters in Australia to find out more about its unique appeal.

Kveik – Something Old, Something New

There's a new yeast in town. Actually, it's not new at all, but it is extraordinary. Here, Mick Wust delves into the romantic history of Norwegian kveik before speaking to Australian brewers and bar owners who've fallen for its charms.

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.

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.

The Story Of: Hop Hog At Ten

When the story of this crazy period in Australia's beer history comes to be told, there will be a special place for Feral and its flagship beer, Hop Hog. As the beer turns ten, we go back in time with the two men behind it.

St Patrick & The Black Stuff

As Irishmen and women – genuine and honorary-for-the-day – prepare to celebrate St Patrick's Day across the planet, we look back at the day's origins, how it become synonymous with Guinness and how it was and is celebrated in Australia.

Mountain Goat At 20 – Part I

Mountain Goat wasn't the first craft brewery to launch in Australia but for many beer drinkers, especially those from Melbourne, it has a special place in their heart. As it turns 20, we head back across the two decades in the company of owners and staff, past and present.

Gone To Pot

The search for new techniques, flavours and experiences in the beer world continues apace. At The Craft & Co in Collingwood, brewer Heath McVeigh has been brewing with the sort of clay amphora used for beer and wine in the Roman Empire.

Infographic: American & Australian Craft Beer Timeline

There's been much talk of how far the Australian craft beer industry lags behind that of the US. Here, tied in with our look at the state of play, we present a graphic timeline of the rise, fall and rise of the two countries' craft beer industries.

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.


Want to know more?


The Story Of: Mountain Goat Hightail

This month sees Mountain Goat turn 19, which means its first beer, Hightail, is also turning 19. A year on from the brewery's purchase by Asahi, we spoke to its brewer, Dave Bonighton, about the beer then and now.

What Is Oktoberfest?

As Munich's Oktoberfest comes to a close, and with scores of imitators taking place across Austalia, we look at where the global phenomenon started and how the Bavarian organisers are trying to keep tradition alive.

The Story Of: Bridge Road Brewers Chevalier Saison

It's Australia's longest brewed saison, a style that's becoming increasingly popular, and continues to charm drinkers and judges alike. Will Ziebell brings us the story behind Bridge Road's Chevalier Saison.

Beer In Australia: An Introduction

This is a slightly shortened version of one of the chapters in The Great Australian Beer Guide, written by The Crafty Pint's founder James Smith and published by Hardie Grant in 2016.

Being Pure

The most famous – and contested – beer law in the world turns 500 at the weekend. To mark the occasion, Ross Lewis spoke to one WA brewer who is a passionate believer in Reinheitsgebot and one Melburnian who certainly isn't.

Beer History: The Kingdom of Hops

We've written plenty about the latest goings on in the Australian hop industry. But what of the past? In his first article for The Crafty Pint, beer loving historian Will Ziebell delves into the earliest days of hop growing in Tasmania's Derwent Valley.

Drinking History

After researching the Australian Sparkling Pale Ale style for America's Brewing Network, Peter Symons began to delve further into historical Australian beer. The result is Bronzed Brews, a book blending history with 42 home brew recipes for historical beers.

Respect

Stone & Wood has kicked off a series of beers that pay tribute to the people that helped create the beer scene we enjoy in Australia today. We chat to Forefather number one: Phil Sexton.

Throwing Open Their Robe

South Australia's newest microbrewery sees historical brewing return to Robe Town as a Latvian couple open the doors of one of the country's most unlikely breweries.

The Original Craft Brewer

In the week that Coopers launched its 2015 Vintage Ale, we look at how the 153-year-old family business continues to plough its own furrow as the country's longest established craft brewery.

Holgate at 25
Krush HPA bonus
Beer In Their Blood

A South Australian brewery that first made beer 130 years ago has started brewing once more as Henry Pike's descendants open a new brewery and cellar door in Clare Valley.

Past. Present. Future?

He’d already spent long weekends in Victoria’s State Library digging up every piece of information he could find on the history of brewing in Australia – and even employed a PhD student to help with…