year in beer

Best New WA Beers Of 2018

It's been a phenomenal year for beer in WA in 2018, however you look at it. Here, Guy Southern looks back at the past 12 months and puts together a rundown of the year's best beers as selected by contributors from across the state.

Best Beers Of 2018 – So Far

With the number of breweries continuing to grow and many putting out more limited releases, it's ever harder to keep track of everything. But, with the help of 60-odd contributors, here's our take on the best new releases of 2018 to date.

Best New ACT Beers Of 2017

With new openings, new venues and growth aplenty, it's been a big year in beer for the nation's capital. Here, we sift through around 40 new releases from ACT's brewing companies and try to agree upon the best.

Best New Tasmanian Beers Of 2017

For our roundup of the Best New Tasmanian Beers Of 2017, our inimitable wandering contributor Bert Spinks seeks the thoughts of beer folks across the state and ponders whether, in 2018, he should deliver the outcome in sonnet form.

Best New Queensland Beers Of 2017

We head to the Sunshine State to find out what our panelists thought were the best new beers released by Queensland brewers in 2017. There were so many, the ten became 11 – and even then there's some honourably mentions too.

The Crafty Pint's Top Stories Of 2017

There's no denying 2017 has been a tumultuous year for craft beer in Australia, with multiple high profile sales, the odd closure, masses of new breweries, venues and bottleshops opening and thousands of new beers released. But which stories most caught the imagination of our readers?

Best New NSW Beers Of 2017

With more new releases to try than ever before, we invited contributors from across the state to sift through the buyouts and the startups, the hops and the haze to come up with a list of the ten (or so) best new beers to come out of New South Wales in 2017.

Best New Victorian Beers Of 2017

It's the state with the most brewing companies in Australia, which means there were plenty of new beers to taste in 2017. So, we cast our net wider than ever before seeking input before getting our panel together to select ten of the very best new Victorian releases of the year.

Best New SA Beers Of 2017

We kicked off our annual Best New Beers lists in WA and now move across the Nullarbor to SA where a panel convened to cast their eyes over another big year for beer in the state. Who made their top ten?

Best New WA Beers of 2017

Big beers. Small beers. Hazy beers. Crazy beers. Which new releases from WA's brewers made our Best New Beers of 2017 list? Here, Guy Southern and Pia Poynton present the rundown selected by beer gurus from across the state.

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Best Beers of 2017 – So Far

With so many new releases hitting taps and fridges every week, it can be hard to keep up. So here's a mid-year refresher featuring the thoughts of 40 beer writers, educators and venue operators on the best of 2017 so far.

The Crafty Pint’s Top Stories of 2016

Time for one final look back at the year in craft beer that was 2016. This time, instead of reflecting via the prism of its best new beers, we gather together some of the most read stories on the site over the past 12 months.

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.

Best New Queensland Beers of 2016

As we near the end of the year, we head to Queensland for another look back at the best new beers released in 2016. The result is a list containing debut beers, fruit, barrels and much more besides.

Best New Tasmanian Beers of 2016

It's time for the fifth of our seven roundups of the Best New Beers of 2016. This time, we head south to the state that's enjoyed huge recent expansion in the number of brewing companies, even though half a dozen hog this year's list.

Best New NSW Beers Of 2016

We reach the midway point in our Best New Beers review with a look back at the year in NSW. It features almost entirely younger operations from the state, plus a few beers that may have snuck out in 2015 but hit the big time in 2016.

Best New SA Beers of 2016

As in WA, collaborations make multiple appearances in our panel's selection of the best new beers released in South Australian in 2016. The ten ranges from mid-strength to triple IPA with some root vegetable there for good measure too.

Best New WA Beers of 2016

Part two of our look back at 2016's best new beers heads to the birthplace of modern Aussie craft beer. There our panel finds fascination in collaboration and is impressed by some of the lesser known lights of the local industry.

Best New Victorian Beers of 2016

Each year, we assemble panels of experts around the country to come up with lists of the best new releases to come out of Australian breweries in the previous 12 months. This year, we kick off in Victoria, home to the most brewing companies in the land.

Best Beers of 2016 – So Far

We're not big fans of lists here at Crafty Towers, but with so many new beers released every week we felt we'd make an exception to take stock midway through 2016. We asked contributors to nominate their best new brews and here are the top picks.

Best New Beers of 2015: Queensland

We reach the end of our state-by-state (and territory) look back at 2015's best new beers in Queensland. Darren "250 Beers" Magin sat down with fellow beer gurus to pluck ten of the finest new drops to grace the Sunshine State last year.

Best New Beers of 2015: New South Wales

Time for our penultimate look back on the year in beer. This time our attention turns to New South Wales, where a panel led by Nick O cast their minds back over 12 months and came up with the new releases that impressed them the most.

Best New Beers of 2015: ACT

ACT welcomed a new brewing company into the fold in 2015 as champion home brewer Kevin Hingston took his beers to market as Pact. It gave our ACT panel four local breweries to pick from for their best new releases in the territory this year.

Best New Beers of 2015: Victoria

For the fourth of our Best New Beers of 2015 roundups, we look at the state with the largest number of breweries and brewing companies. Which ten beers did our panel reckon were the best of the year? And do you agree?

Best New Beers of 2015: Western Australia

We're (almost) at the halfway mark in our look back at the new beers released across Australia in 2015. This time we move to WA, where two of our regular contributors joined a pair of local beer experts to select their pick of the year.

Best New Beers of 2015: South Australia

The beer scene is booming in South Australia. Recent years have seen an explosion of new brewing companies and there's now a growing number of venues supporting them. Matt King gathered a panel to pick the best new beers to come out of the state this year.

Best New Beers of 2015: Tasmania

We kick off our end of year best of roundups in Tasmania. A panel of beer gurus gathered at Saint John Craft Beer to chew the fat and come up with their top 10 from all the new releases in the state in 2015.

Beers of 2014: ACT

Our final look at the best new brews of 2014 visits ACT where Adrian Moran selects the five beers that impressed him most.

Beers of 2014: South Australia

What were the best new craft brews of 2014 in South Australia? For our sixth state by state rundown we turn to the gurus at The Wheaty for answers.

Best of 2014: New South Wales

As the year nears its end, time for the fifth of our state by state looks at the best new beers released by Australian brewers in 2014: New South Wales.

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Beers of 2014: Queensland

The fourth of our state-based picks of some of the best new craft beers to be released in Australia comes from Queensland, courtesy of Darren from 250 Beers.

Beers of 2014: Victoria

Which new brews from Victorian breweries tickled our fancy the most in 2014? The third of our state-by-state top tens focuses on the state where The Crafty Pint began.

Beers of 2014: Western Australia

What were the best new beers of 2014 in WA? We asked Pia "girl plus beer" Poynton, who also masquerades as Crafty Pint WA to select her 10 top tipples.

Beers of 2014: Tasmania

Who brewed the best new beers in Tasmania in 2014? We asked beer expert and owner of Saint John Craft Beer, Luke Dempsey. to pick his top ten local brews.

The Year in Beer 2013: Victoria and Western Australia

For our final look back at the year that was we posed questions to some faces old and new in the country’s two craft beer big hitters, Victoria and WA (although NSW is coming up fast on the rails…). Among…

The Year in Beer 2013: New South Wales & South Australia

The second of our end of year roundups heads to New South Wales and South Australia, where the thoughts and hopes of Crafty Pint’s men in each state are joined by those of the folks behind Newcastle’s…

The Year in Beer 2013: Queensland & Tasmania

It’s been another huge year for craft beer in Australia. But you don’t need us to tell you that – we do it pretty much incessantly day in, day out. So, as in previous years, we thought we’d invite…

James Halliday Article: The Year In Beer 2012

Upon launching in 2011, James Halliday’s Wine Companion Magazine asked The Crafty Pint to pen an article on the story of Australian craft beer. Since then, they’ve continued to support the local craft…

Crafty's Year In Beer

We’ve been around the houses, gathering the reflections of brewers, beer sellers and writers from around Australia, for our Year in Bear 2012 review. So that means there’s just one place left to look:…

The Year In Beer 2012: Tasmania

As anyone who’s spent time in the bars and pubs of Hobart, in the company of the state’s band of brewers of attended any of the many festivals with craft beer either at their heart or with a prominent…

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The Year In Beer 2012: NSW

Is the sleeping giant finally waking? It might seem a churlish thing to say when New South Wales has been home to the Lord Nelson’s brewery for a quarter century (pictured above) and counts the likes…

The Year In Beer 2012: WA

Western Australia: it’s to craft beer in Australia what Iraq is to human civilisation. Home to dozens of craft breweries, including some of the country’s very best, as well as some spectacular bottleshops…

The Year In Beer 2012: Queensland

It’s not too long ago that, during one of our regular discussions with the founder of Australian Brews News, we were admonished for the use of the phrase “craft beer revolution”. Being a generally…

The Year In Beer 2012: Victoria

Where else to start our end of year round up for 2012 than in the place where The Crafty Pint started just over two years ago – not to mention the place that has taken the craft beer baton and run with…

Year In Beer: WA & QLD

So, just time for the final look back on 2011 before you all go and crack something special for Hogmanay. And as a festive treat, it’s a two states in one bonanza. OK, so we did pose the questions to…

The Year In Beer: TAS

With the Tasmanian Beerfest, the most southerly state lays claim to the biggest-by-numbers beer festival in Australia and, with the Tasmanian Micro Brew Fest, it has events that continue to shine a focus…

The Year In Beer: SA

As the end of the year draws ever closer, time for another look back on 2011, this time in the company of some of the movers and shakers in the South Australian craft beer scene.First up is Al Turnbull,…

The Year In Beer: NSW

This year appears to be the one in which the sleeping giant of NSW began to stir. Sure, the Lord Nelson has been banging the craft beer drum for a quarter century, The Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst has…

The Year In Beer: VIC

What a year it’s been. While much of the rest of the world has been at war, suffering from natural disaster, rioting or waiting for its economy to implode, craft beer in Australia has gone from strength…

Crafty's Ten for 2010 Pt II

So the end of the year is here and with it the final five beers in The Crafty Pint’s look back at 2010 through ten beers that combine quality with being representative of the current state of affairs…