indies

Brew & A: Gavin Williams of Black Brewing

Black Brewing Co are part of South West WA's vibrant brewing community, and earlier this year took out the Champion WA Brewery trophy at the 2023 Indies. We caught up with the head brewer behind their success.

Dollar Bill Bling It At The Indies With Their Gold Teeth

Tiny Ballarat-based brewery Dollar Bill completed a remarkable double, claiming Champion Australian Independent Beer at the Indies just months after winning Champion Australian Beer at the Australian International Beer Awards.

The Making Of A Champion Hazy

There's a lot of beer available and a lot of it's good but what separates a good beer from a great one? And what exactly goes on at beer judging? To find out, we spent three days tracing the judging of the Juicy-Hazy category and spoke to the brewer behind the overall winner to find out what makes a Champion Hazy Beer.

The Story Of: Moff's Summer Ale

How does a session IPA designed for easy beach drinking beat out both session beers and bigger IPAs for beer awards? None of us, including the brewer, seem to quite know the answer. But read about the beer that does it in The Story Of Moff's Summer Ale.

From Cask Ale To The Beerfarm: Young Gun Emma Locke

Emma Locke's first brush with beer came while pulling pints of cask ale to help fund a uni degree in the heart of England. Now, having switched British pubs for WA's Beerfarm, she's been named Indies Young Gun of the Year for 2022.

The Indies 2022 Winners

White Bay claimed Champion Beer for their Lager at the 2022 Indies, a night on which Moffat Beach continued their remarkable run of form, and Jade Flavell of The Wheaty won a Champion Brewery trophy and the Services To Industry award.

A Day In The Life Of: A Beer Steward

Ahead of the 2022 Indies awards, we went behind the scenes at judging. While there, Will Ziebell spent time with Joslyn Erickson, the Indies Coordinator, to find out who and what goes into becoming a beer awards steward.

IBA Unveils New Look Indies Awards

Last year, an audit of recent Indies awards saw a number of state trophies change hands. It led to a review of the entire judging process, which has now concluded with significant changes including new categories and a mentoring program.

Indies Trophies To Change Hands Following Audit

Four state champion trophies from the Indies awards in 2020 and 2021 are changing hands following an independent audit of results. Wildflower, Future Mountain and Mismatch are the new recipients as the audit continues.

Blasta, Moffat Beach, Stomping Ground & Future Mountain Triumph At Indies 2021

WA's Blasta are once again toasting their awards success, with the brewery's wheat beer named Champion Beer at The Indies. The perennial award winners at Moffat Beach also had a huge night, as did Stomping Ground and Future Mountain.

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Hepburn Springs A Surprise

Hepburn Springs Brewing Co's trophy triumph at the 2020 Indies was one of the highlights of the night. We got in touch with the tiny family-run operation to find out more about their inspiring win.

Range Win Big At 2020's Indies

Range had an impressive night at the Indies 2020, taking out four trophies including Champion Australian Independent Beer. Perennial award winners Dainton and Moffat Beach also added to their considerable collection of silverware.

Postcards From The Edge No.59: The Indies Reinvented

Most major beer events have been cancelled in Australia this year. But, having had to cull most of theirs, the IBA was determined the Indies awards would survive. We found out how they reworked it for our COVID times.

Beer Nuts: The Indies Lovers

We've featured some impressively keen beer lovers in our Beer Nuts series over the years, but never any quite like Jess and Locky. Marie Claire Jarratt got in touch with the couple who got engaged onstage at indie beer's biggest night.

Fixation, 3 Ravens & Dainton Top 2019's Indies

Dainton took out their second Champion Beer trophy in three years at The Indies 2019. Fixation also celebrated a second major trophy in three years, claiming Champion Large Brewery, with 3 Ravens and All Hands also winning big.

BrewCon 2019 Program Announced

The Independent Brewers Association (IBA) have lined up some big names from overseas for this year’s BrewCon, which is taking place at the Melbourne Exhibition and Conference Centre in the first week of September.

Brew With A View

From brewing shit beer to champion brewery in three years and from taking two months to shift a keg of IPA to seeing an entire batch of double IPA disappear in a week, the Moffat Beach Brewing Co story is quite the ride.

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.

Indies Winners 2018

Mismatch, Modus Operandi, Boatrocker and Moffat Beach were the big winners at the 2018 Indies awards in Sydney, taking out the champion trophies at Paddington Town Hall.

BrewCon 2018 Program Announced

There's a new name, new location, new categories and new entries for this year's craft brewers conference and craft beer awards. Now called BrewCon and The Indies, they take place in Sydney in June and the program and tickets are out now.


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Retro Philter

The Craft Beer Awards have had a tendency to turn the spotlight on new brewing companies. And that was no different in 2017 as four-month-old Philter took out Champion Pale Ale. We chat to the well travelled brewer at the helm.

High Hopes

A few lesser known names appeared among the trophy winners at this year's Craft Beer Awards. No one was more surprised at Hope Estate's Champion Brewery win than its brewer, Matt, who spoke to Will Ziebell about his beers and plans for cans.

Sweet And Sour

A sour beer has been named Australia's best craft beer of 2015, while there was more champion glory for Two Birds and Modus Operandi, as well as Freo's Monk at last night's Craft Beer Awards in Sydney.

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.

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…