nt

A Day In The Life Of A Barrel Room: Goose Island

From one of the largest barrel programs in the Southern Hemisphere to one 50 times its size... Here we step inside Goose Island's Barrel House in Chicago, home to 15,000 barrels and the legendary Bourbon County Stout.

Strait Forward

In the grand scheme of things, Tasmania isn't that far from the mainland. Yet the Bass Strait has proven a challenging hurdle for most of the state's small brewers. Change could be at hand, however, as Will Ziebell discovers.

The Story Of: La Sirène Saison

Traditionally, saisons were brewed to be consumed in the warmer months. As we (allegedly) head in that direction in Australia, we caught up with the man who has put farmhouse style ales at the heart of everything he does.

Goat At 20 – Part II

Time to bring the story up to date. In part II of our look back at two decades of Mountain Goat, we tell the last 11 of the 20 stories of people, moments and beers that helped build the Melbourne legend.

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.

Big In Japan

Three Victorian breweries are celebrating collecting multiple medal hauls in one of Asia's biggest beer competitions at the weekend. Holgate led the way with four medals at the International Beer Cup in Japan as Mountain Goat and Edge won two each.

A Brewer Walks Into A Winery...

Ahead of the launch of Molly Rose Brewing, young brewer Nic Sandery has been immersing himself in beer cultures across the world and writing about them for us. More recently, he immersed himself in wine too.

Beer Travel: Much Ado About Pliny

Russian River Brewing Company - the home of Pliny the Elder - is one of the world's most admired breweries. Kerry McBride caught up with its owners to hear the lengths they go to so in keeping their fans sated and asks: "Will their beers ever make it to Australia?"

Another Prize For Pirate Life

There was more awards joy for Pirate Life overnight as it was named Brewer of the Year at the International Beer Challenge in London. The Adelaide-based brewery was one of three Australian breweries to collect gold alongside Prancing Pony and Hawkers.

Beer Nuts: Rosemarie Ensink

There are few characters more colourful in the Australian beer community than Rosie Ensink – and not just because of her neon chameleon like hair. Here, Graham Frizzell delves deep into her beery obsession as she becomes our latest Beer Nut.

CBCo Goldy
Black Bad Boy Bao 2024 B
The Collaborators: More Craft Malt

Hops tend to grab most of the craft beer world's attention when it comes to beer's core ingredients, but as more maltings – big and small – open across Australia, giving brewers new malt varieties to play with, the much-loved flowers may soon be sharing a little of the limelight.

Craft Beer Heroes: Liam Pereira

Within the Australian craft beer community, there is a handful of characters almost everyone seems to know – or at least knows of. Liam Pereira is one of those characters. We caught up with him as he prepares to oversee his first Sydney Beer Week.

Roll Out The Barrels

This week sees Hawkers Beer release not one, not two, but four different barrel aged imperial stouts at the same time. With even grander plans for its barrel program in the future, we find out more from CEO Mazen Hajjar.

Craft Beer Awards Winners 2017

Dainton Family Brewery, 4 Pines, Fixation and the Wheaty Brewing Corps were the big winners at the 2017 Craft Beer Awards, collecting the major trophies at the Independent Brewers Association's big night in Adelaide.

Podcast People: Bounty Hunter Banter

Having first launched a gypsy brewing company to channel their love of pop culture, the team behind Bounty Hunter Brewing has added banter to beer, as we discover in the latest entry in our occasional series of Podcast People.

Tap Contracts Here To Stay

Small, independent Australian brewers didn't get the news they were hoping for today. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released the results of its multi-year investigation into tap access and declared the status quo was here to stay.

Events Wrap – 23.06.16

With the Winter Solstice just gone and Independence Day coming, there's plenty of themed events taking place across the country. Plus we've got a FODMAP friendly pub tour, showcases galore, luscious dinners and free beers for Crafty supporters.

Brew & A: The Innovative Goat

Little did we know until recently, but a chance meeting with Alana Rees set her on the path to becoming a brewer. In a short space of time, she's gone from homebrewer to Innovation Brewer at Goat to AIBA trophy winner.

A Sporting Chance?

If you were to name one facet of Australian life small breweries are least likely to crack in a hurry, the nation's sporting citadels would be up there. But, asks Will Ziebell, do small wins here and overseas suggest there's hope?

Is The Tide Turning On Tax?

In today's increasingly polarised society, it takes something special to bring opposing factions together. Maybe craft beer can be the answer. This week saw Labor and Liberal politicians unite to call for fairer treatment of and greater support for craft brewers.

Beer Travel: The Other High Country Beer Trail

The High Country Brewery Trail in North East Victoria is one of the most popular and rewarding trips an Aussie beer tourist can take. The region is also home to some fine craft beer supporting pubs. And here are the best of them.

Our Man In NZ: Kiwi Hops

The New Zealand hop industry produces some of the most sought after varieties in the world. Jono Galuszka spent time with NZ Hops and one of the lead scientists behind the development of new hops to find out more.

Australian International Beer Awards Winners 2017

Last night's beer awards in Melbourne put the seal on an incredible first year for Balter as the Gold Coast brewery took out three major trophies. They were among several multiple winners, which included several locals and Dagon from Myanmar.

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?

Independence Day

Today, Australia's small and independent brewers voted to remove large breweries from national trade body. What was the Craft Beer Industry Association (CBIA) is now to be known as the Independent Brewers Association.

GBW PoO Crawl: South

At this year's Good Beer Week, Pint of Origin has spread its wings further outwards across Melbourne than ever before. To help you navigate all the awesome beers and brewers on offer, we've created three PoO Crawls complete with maps.

GBW PoO Crawl: North

At this year's Good Beer Week, Pint of Origin has spread its wings further outwards across Melbourne than ever before. To help you navigate all the awesome beers and brewers on offer, we've created three PoO Crawls complete with maps.

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.

Craft Beer Rides North

For all the talk about microbreweries bursting into life across Tasmania, the north has been lacking supportive retailers. That's steadily changing, with new venues opening and old ones enjoying a new lease on life.

Events Wrap – 14.04.17

Such is the splendour of the local beer world these days, there’s no time for idle sitting; new beers must be launched, birthdays must be celebrated, legends must be toasted.

Holgate at 25
Premium Machinery D2
Brew & A: Thirsty Crow

Craig Wealands wasted little time putting Wagga's Thirsty Crow on the map, winning an AIBA trophy for his Vanilla Milk Stout within months of opening. With his new, bigger brewpub firing on all cylinders, he fielded questions in our latest Brew & A.

The Secret Brewer: Gypsy Brewing Pt II

Yesterday, we launched a new series, The Secret Brewer, in which an unnamed brewer laid out their concerns about gypsy and contract brewing. Today, brewers from here and overseas respond to the points raised in the article.

The Secret Brewer: Gypsy Brewing

The Secret Brewer is a new series in which a local brewer lets off steam about an issue that's troubling them. First up: gypsy brewers. Tomorrow, we'll present responses to the points raised by our mystery brewer in part two.

The Breeder

Washington State based Select Botanicals Group has developed some of the hops most beloved of craft brewers. We met head breeder Jason Perrault when he was in Melbourne to talk torture, promiscuity and limitless possibilities.

The Biggest Week In Beer Is Coming

Good Beer Week has grown into a happening of global stature, encapsulating 270 events, the Australian International Beer Awards and the ever-growing beast that is GABS. The 2017 version promises to be the biggest yet.

Brewing Up Excellence

The Victorian State Government recently announced it was contributing half a million dollars towards the development of a Centre of Excellence for beer in Ballarat. Will Ziebell finds out more from the man driving the project.

Cabal Update – 16.03.17

We're a day early with our fortnightly update, but that's because we've got stuff going on this weekend and news related to Good Beer Week and GABS, which are now on sale. Plus other new news too...

Brew & A: Brendan O'Sullivan of 3 Ravens

As sour beers continue to grow in popularity, one man well set to reap the rewards is Brendan O'Sullivan. The 3 Ravens head brewer has been exploring that realm with success since long before he became a commercial brewer.

Our Man In NZ: Spontaneity

In his latest article on the New Zealand beer scene, Jono Galuszka talks to two of the men exploring beer's "final frontier". They are two of a growing number of brewers turning their attention to spontaneous fermentation.

Cabal Update - 3.2.17

It might be Autumn, but the beer calendar is still hot, with events and festivals going strong, especially as fresh hop season gets closer. Cabalistas can make the most of it, thanks to a bumper crop of special events and new offers.

Cryer E
Lallemand 1
The Collaborators: Spark Breweries & Distilleries

We know plenty about the Aussie brewers, hop growers, venues and festivals helping the local industry grow. But did you know there's a local business designing and installing innovative breweries? Meet Spark.

1,000 Brews And Counting

Mornington Peninsula Brewery recently brewed the 1,000th batch of beer at its original site. So we chatted to the man at the helm for them all, a brewer who's been making beer since the early days of Mountain Goat.

Get Fresh

It's hop harvest time across Australia. And this year's offers more chances than ever to get up close and personal with the little green flowers, not least thanks to a pair of festivals celebrating the harvest and fresh hops beers.

Beer Travel: 12 Hours In San Diego

When Aussie beer lovers head to the States, they usually give themselves several weeks to explore the beer scene. What if you've only got 12 hours? In San Diego for a conference, Marie Claire Jarratt discovered the answer is: plenty.

The Crafty Dozen – February 2017

With a handful of other directory listings waiting in the wings, time to round up the most recent dozen to be added to the site. It's the usual mixture of breweries, venues and bottleshops, this time from WA, NSW, TAS and VIC.

Events Wrap – 10.02.17

Whether you need something for your sweetheart, a massive hit for you hoppy heart, or want to get to the heart of what the beer community is about, the smorgasbord that is the world of Australian beer events has everything you need.

Beer Travel: High Country Part II

Earlier this week, we ran the first part of Kerry McBride's jaunt through the Victorian High Country, calling in on the members of the region's Brewery Trail. Today, she completes the trip at three more breweries.

The Big Issue: Exploitation

The official line is that craft beer is a resoundingly good thing. And that working in the industry means you're the luckiest person alive. Yet what happens when someone's goodwill or eagerness to be part of it is exploited beyond all reasonable limits?

Beer Travel: High Country Part I

The High Country Brewery Trail has expanded to stretch hundreds of kilometres and include seven breweries. Over the course of a three day weekend, Kerry McBride stopped in at each and every one.

Best New ACT Beers of 2016

We may have crossed the threshold into 2017, but we've still got one final blast from the year just gone. Completing our around-the-country best new beers review comes our panel's pick from ACT's burgeoning beer scene.