postcards from the edge
Back To The Bar, Melbourne
Today, after making it through a world record number of days in lockdown, Melbourne is open again. James Smith and Will Ziebell spoke to brewery and venue owners and returning customers to assess the vibe.
Lockdowns, Locals & Future Mountain
As Melbourne emerges from another long lockdown, it's worth remembering how much local support has meant to many brewers. In Future Mountain's case, they've found a unique way to pay tribute to those who helped them survive.
The Overland Corner Hotel Flowers Anew
There have been many heartwarming and inspirational tales to come from the beer world during the pandemic, but few as colourful as this. Here's how a Sydney family went from hitting the road to a houseboat to an historic pub.
Help #emptythekegs
Much of Australia has faced lockdowns through 2021, making it difficult for breweries and venues to sell kegs. In response, one beer lover has launched the social media campaign #emptythekegs to help keep tap beer moving.
Postcards From The Edge Revisited
We hoped we wouldn't have to resurrect this series, but with most of Australia back in some form of lockdown or restrictions, we chatted to two Sydney brewers who've pivoted back into action since the weekend.
Postcards from the Edge No.60: Distilled Good Times
Left with kegged beer that no longer had a home when the pandemic hit, both Sparkke Change and Stone & Wood decided to turn it into something else.
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.
Back On The Craft Beers Pt II
Many of Melbourne's historic pubs have been closed this year longer than they were during even the world wars. Among them is the Rainbow Hotel in Fitzroy. As they prepare to reopen after 180 days closed, we ask how it's been.
Back On The Craft Beers Pt I
As Melbourne's venues prepare to reopen, we return to the pub with which we kicked off our Postcards from the Edge series on March 23. We joined Cherry Tree staff and a local to see how they've survived two lockdowns.
Postcards From The Edge No.57: Back In The Van
Beer tourism was hit hard during the COVID-19 shutdowns, but now venues are open and borders are closed, local customers are keeping Hop On Brewery Tours busy. We chatted to them about beer tourism in a pandemic.
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Postcards from the Edge No.58: #ShoutAVicADrink
With Melbourne's venues finally set to open as restrictions ease significantly across Victoria, the team at an Armadale bar and bottleshop have launched a campaign enabling people to shout people exiting lockdown a drink.
Postcards From The Edge No.56: Duking It Out
While many beer venues have struggled during the pandemic, the Thorpe Hospitality Group managed to increase their revenue, tripled their staff, and have now acquired a new pub, The Duke of Enmore.
Postcards from the Edge No.55: Check Yourself
Venues across the country have implemented COVID-Safe plans to let punters inside and now the Night Time Industries Association is calling on customers to do their part too.
Postcards from the Edge No.54: So Long, Farewell...
Among the thousands of Aussies stranded overseas are Ben and Maria Kraus and their kids. A planned year long stay has been extended by flight cancellations, so Ben is now helping commission a new brewery in Innsbruck.
Postcards from the Edge No.53: Monkey Brews
The couple who brought craft beer to Dubbo put the COVID-19 lockdown to good use: taking the skills learned over ten years of homebrewing to follow through on a long-held plan to brew their own beers for their regulars.
Postcards from the Edge No.52: Live & Loud
The live music industry has been hit just has hard as beer – if not harder – by COVID-19. As it starts to return in new COVIDSafe fashion, long-time good times supporters Young Henrys are back supporting gigs in Sydney.
Postcards from the Edge No.50: Pivoting Properly
While they await the day they can open again, the team at The Cambrian in Bendigo have been keeping busy. Once they finished renos they embarked on a course to understand how to make their business better post-COVID.
Postcards from the Edge No.49: Wombating COVID
Three years ago, KAIJU! founders Nat and Callum Reeves chatted about collaborating with a New York brewery. When the pandemic shut the world down, instead of putting an end to such talk, it sparked Mortal Wombat.
The Big Issue: Coping with COVID-19 Part II
Many of us face mental health challenges at the best of times. With the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacting the beer and hospo industries, we look at the difficulties people are facing and the support they can seek.
The Big Issue: Coping With COVID-19 Part I
Many of us face mental health challenges at the best of times. With the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacting the beer and hospo industries, we look at the difficulties people are facing and the support they can seek.
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Postcards from the Edge No.48: A Hustling Hand
The speed at which beer businesses adapted and the rise of the growler were two of the standout features when the first lockdown hit. Now, a new family-run operation sparked by the unique challenges of that time has launched.
Postcards from the Edge No.47: Interstate Mates
During the first lockdown, everyone in the beer industry was faced with similar challenges. Now, with some states rolling back restrictions while Victoria is suffering again, the brewing industry is rallying to help mates in need.
Postcards from the Edge No.46: Lockdown Life
Streets are emptier, bottleshops and cellar doors are quieter, masks – and a greater sense of fear – are everywhere. Midway through the scheduled six weeks of Lockdown Mk II, we chat to two reps about life in Melbourne's beer world.
Postcards from the Edge No.45: Mr Frothy
Growlers played a huge role #keepinglocalalive during the first lockdown. Now much of Victoria is closed again, they're back, with one brewery even set to delivery them from the High Country to Melbourne homes.
Postcards from the Edge No.44: The Million Dollar Tip Jar
As soon as Lockdown Mk II hit, the team behind Tip Jar, a fund launched to support the hospitality sector, ramped up their efforts again. We chatted to them about their fundraising beer and cocktail and hopes for the future.
Postcards from the Edge No.43: Bingo – It's A Gas
Watching customers pull into and out of a servo in Wagga Wagga might sound like an odd way to spend a Tuesday night. But the Servo Bingo concept, launched by the Thirsty Crow during lockdown, is proving a hit.
Postcards from the Edge No.43: Open & Shut Case
It's a scenario all venue owners have feared since Australia started to move towards reopening: a second lockdown. And it came to Ascot Vale on the day Jimmy's Tap & Barrel was set to open for the first time since March.
Postcards from the Edge No.42: Good Beer Still Helps
The campaign to provide four-packs of indie beer to thousands of essential workers has entered a new stage with mixed A Good Beer Always Helps packs now hitting BWS and Dan Murphy's stores across the country.
Postcards from the Edge No.41: Let There Be Gin
In the space of a few months, Lee McAlister-Smiley, founder of Brisbane's White Lies Brewing, has gone from having no idea how to make hand sanitiser to producing wasabi gin alongside his beers.
Postcards from the Edge No.40: All Change, Please!
One of Melbourne's best-loved pubs reopens today. The Terminus changed ownership before COVID hit and the pandemic gave the new team the chance to bring forward planned renovations.
Postcards from the Edge No.39: It Ain't Weak To Speak
More than 20 Brisbane brewers plus other industry suppliers have joined forces to create a collaborative beer designed to raise funds and awareness for Queensland mental health charity LIVIN.
Postcards from the Edge No.38: Room At The Inn
Now venues are reopening across Australia, two mates keen to get back to their favourite watering hole have devised a new system that allows customers to find out if there's room for them at their local.
Postcards from the Edge No.37: Band Aid
The live music scene has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, longstanding live music supporters Young Henrys have joined forces with Inertia Music to sell local artists' vinyl with their beers.
Postcards from the Edge No.36: Centralian Care
With venues open again and restrictions eased more than elsewhere in Australia, Alice Springs Brewing Co have been doing their bit to get local hospo businesses going again with their Centralian Care Package.
Postcards from the Edge No.35: Keeping Local Alive Alive
The Keeping Local Alive campaign has been embraced by the beer community as businesses navigate unprecedented times. Some brewers have even put it on their cans, including Boatrocker with their new fundraising Local Lager.
Postcards from the Edge No.34: A Lucky Break
There's never a good time to break your leg, but during a global pandemic while running a regional business is most definitely not good. Yet, with a little help from their friends at Lallemand, Pioneer Brewing turned it into an opportunity.
Postcards from the Edge No.33: Gambling On A Better Future
With venues closed, The PBC not only took the chance to undertake much-needed renos, but the Sydney bowlo's president also took the opportunity to highlight the success they've had since ripping out their pokies.
Postcards from the Edge No.32: Keeping Hospo Alive
An initiative providing meals and support for hospo workers impacted by COVID-19 has already provided more than 6,000 meals since launching in March. Will Ziebell spoke to one of the founders of CoViD-19 EAD.
Postcard from NZ: Good George
Pubs and bars in New Zealand open for the first time since March today. Nick Oscilowski spoke to Brian Watson of Good George about surviving the lockdown and hopes for the future of beer and hospo across the Tasman.
Postcards from the Edge No.31: Once In A Brew Moon
After a detour into making sanitiser from cheap wine, Perth's Whipper Snapper Distillery got stuck into one more project before returning to whisky: turning kegs from 21 WA breweries into a one-off batch of Moonshine.
Postcards from the Edge No.30: Exit Through The Bottleshop
Mixed brewery packs appeared in an instant as the shutdown hit and have kept on coming – in diverse arrangements too. But, with restrictions starting to ease across Australia, will they have post-pandemic staying power?
Postcards from the Edge No.29: Back To The Bar
This weekend has seen venues in some states open for small number of patrons. Jakkii Musgrave was back at Bloodhound Bar – the last venue she'd visited before the lockdown – for its first sitting.
Postcards from the Edge No.28: Pint of Online
You might not be able to partake in a PoO Crawl at Good Beer Week 2020 but that hasn't stopped one group finding a way to join each other on a cross-city Pint of Origin trek while in isolation.
Postcards from the Edge No.27: Bunker Down
For the team at The Welder's Dog in northern New South Wales, the challenges of dealing with COVID-19 have brought them new partners, new customers and a new approach for their business going ahead.
Postcard From The UK: Cloudwater
The UK has been hit even harder by COVID-19 than Australia. Ahead of his virtual Meet The Brewer this weekend, we chatted to Cloudwater founder Paul Jones about life as a brewer in the UK and what he thinks lies ahead.
50 Days Of Shutdown
It will be a long time before we know the full impact of COVID-19. But on day 50 of the momentous decision to shutdown the country's venues, we asked people throughout the industry for their thoughts.
Postcards from the Edge No.26: Hanging On By A Thread
This Postcards series has shown how many businesses connected to beer and hospo have suffered. Guy Southern joined Short Batch as they printed #keepinglocalalive t-shirts and we chatted to CraftyMerch about their roller coaster ride.
On The Frontline Of Online
Since venues shut down, there's been a flurry of new startups looking to offer new marketplace solutions. Will Ziebell spoke to three businesses – one that was already in the works – about their plans for the pandemic.
Postcards from the Edge No 25: Help Yourself
The impact of COVID-19 has left many beer businesses striving to adapt. As part of the #keepinglocalalive campaign, brand designer Jessie Jungalwalla is pulling together a panel of experts to help guide people through.
Postcards from the Edge No.24: Grain Re-Store-d
After a short break to take stock, the Grain Store team leapt back into action last month as a takeaway and home delivery service. They've even reimagined their legendary beergustations for Novocastrians to enjoy at home.
