The Crafty Pint

For more than a decade, Steve Brooks has opened the doors of his brewery one Friday a month to welcome drinkers inside the historic Tasmanian Brewery Building. Those days are coming to an end, with the owner of Captain Bligh's set to sell the Hobart brewery so he can sail into retirement.

A little more than 18 years ago, Jaci Lappin took over the Carro Bowlo, a slice of Newy history that was $300,000 in debt. In the years since, Jaci’s tireless efforts have turned the bowlo into a thriving social hub. We caught up with the “Old Duck Award” winner to chat about about change.

Stomping Ground are on the move right now, with the brewery preparing for a major tenth birthday bash in Collingwood next month while officially announcing their Geelong beer hall is on its way. Ahead of Stompo Street Fest, we asked Guy Greenstone and Justin Joiner to walk down memory lane with us.

“The first few brews have gone incredibly smoothly - which surprises me, as this build has definitely turned me into a pessimist.” After many delays Black Match are finally using their production brewery. We spoke to head brewer Calum Fowler about what’s been slowing them down.

Watts River Brewing opened their doors in Healesville a decade ago and, in the years since, they’ve been steadfast in their approach to supporting and brewing for their community. We asked owners Ben and Hanna Hamilton to let us know what they’ve learnt running a regional brewery.

Tallboy & Moose are turning ten and they're marking the occasion with an impressive lineup of collabs with mates from near and far. Ahead of this Saturday's birthday celebrations, we caught up with the Tallboy himself to talk about staying local, refocusing the brewpub and his optimism.

Black Hops Brewing have been bought by Tribe Breweries, which owns Stockade Brew Co, Mornington Peninsula Brewery and Wilde Beer Co. The news follows Black Hops going into voluntary administration in July, which was the second time in two years that the Gold Coast brewers called in administrators.

On our latest podcast ep, we're joined by Rob and Bronwyn Kabboord, who have been serving delicious things to people in many places for decades. The conversation covers food pairing, pioneering dinners, epic beer travels and more.

While best known for wine, the McLaren Vale region has become home to plenty of local beer since 2010. In our latest Crafty Crawl, Briony Liebich from Flavour Logic guides you through the eleven venues with their own beer on tap located there and in the wider Fleurieu Peninsula.

AFL fans attending the first-ever wildcard finals this weekend may spot a dose of Bodriggy at the MCG. Tins of their Speccy Juice will be available for both matchups and they'll have beers at each game held at the iconic stadium throughout the finals. Buy enough and it might end up sticking around.

Selling craft beer has never been easy but between venue closures and the rise of other drinks, life on the road keeps getting tougher. As two veteran craft beer salespeople launch new businesses, we asked the pair to share their thoughts on the market while distilling their rules for success.

Hopsters Co-op Brewery were Australia's first to operate as a co-operative. As they approach both 1,000 members and their tenth birthday we caught up with Mitch Hobbs, member #7 and the main man driving the wonderful, community-focused Hopsters from its Enmore HQ in recent years.

Benchwarmer will close in less than a month, with founder Locky Jones citing the increasing cost of beer and a softening craft market as driving his decision. We chatted to Locky about his highlights from over the years and what's next after the doors at the West Melbourne bar shut.

Barrel-aged beers can be the most esoteric and intriguing styles to pour into your glass, yet have been among the hardest hit by the challenges of recent years. Ahead of the rebirth of WA's legendary Night of the Barrels at Froth Town, we look at what makes such beers so special.

Brewers on the Inner West Ale Trail are rallying behind one of their members, Future Brewing. The 15 breweries are launching a fundraising collab, Love Thy Neighbour, to support the owners of the St Peters brewery currently "fighting for Future's life".

Hobart Brewing quietly opened the doors to their new home late last week and the thirsty locals quickly turned up in numbers. We caught up with the crew to hear about the new space in North Hobart, which previously housed Overland Brewers & Distillers.

The ACCC has opposed Kegstar's proposed acquisition of Konvoy, finding the sale would likely reduce competition in the keg pooling market. The decision comes more than a year after Konvoy entered receivership and follows an earlier rejection of the sale by the ACCC.

"I've found myself driving home in silence so I can decompress." Black Match are inching closer and closer to their first beer releases. Before that day comes, we caught up with the head brewer steering the brewery build to chat about piping, recipe development, problem-solving, and head shaving.

After a lengthy delay, Warrandyte Brewing are finally ready to start work on the site they locked in back in 2023. We spoke to one half - or quarter - of the family business about their plans for the forthcoming Melbourne taproom.

Tasmania’s state government is set to fund Beer Tasmania, with $240,000 going to the IBA and Hospitality Tasmania to establish the initiative. It follows Lion’s decision to close Boag’s and will see a northern beer trail and northern beer weekend developed to drive economic activity in the region.

South West WA has a new brewery – well, kinda new... The team behind Dunsborough's well-regarded Pour House has taken over the former site of Southcamp Brewery and given it a new look, a new team and new beers as Saltline Brewing.

The Sunny Coast’s Blackflag Brewing are expanding north, with the brewery opening a new home in Bundaberg. That space has plenty of brewing history, though, with Blackflag Bundaberg taking over Ballistic Bargara, which once housed Bargara Brewing.

A couple of weeks from now, around 20 venues on Australia's east coast will be tapping a beer from Reckless Brewing Co. From the Sunshine Coast to Melbourne's south-east, they'll start pouring a double IPA that was kegged earlier that day in Bathurst.

Sobremesa Fermentary & Blendery are winding up their business, six months on from securing a site in Melbourne’s north. The brewers and blenders say the decision comes down to issues with that location and declining sales for their unique barrel-aged and expressive beers.

The first-ever Beer Championships are taking place and The Crafty Pint called in to chat with organisers and judges during day one. We spoke with the team about entries and categories, and explored the comp's novel approach to assessing beer and how judges were finding the experience.

Malt Donkey beers have started to appear in bottleshops, bars and restaurants and behind the new label is a near decade-long experiment that started as a hobby. We chatted to the man behind Malt Donkey - and the brewer turning those grains into beer - about fine ales and the hunt for terroir.

Adelaide's Central Market is set to look a whole lot craftier, with Shapeshifter opening a taproom inside the redeveloped icon later this year. The new space will feature a dozen taps which the brewery team have built from the ground up so they can pour each beer with perfect precision.

Six String Brewing have emerged from administration after creditors approved a Deed of Company Arrangement earlier today. It means the brewery's founders, Chris and Sharon Benson, are back at the helm of the Central Coast brewery they founded in 2013.

If you've spent any time reading The Crafty Pint, then you'll be familiar with the words of Mick Wüst. He's just released his third booze book, with Whisky & Cocktails completing something of a trilogy that started with the Beer Drinker's Toolkit.

Otter's Promise have spent nearly a decade serving delicious beer to the people of Melbourne's inner south-east. We caught up with the man behind the beard and the bar to chat about the locals' local and what he and the team are seeing Behind Bars in Melbourne.

A quiet and considered change has been underway at CBco Brewing as the WA brewery connects their farm, food and froths through a regenerative approach. We caught up with the team to chat stocking rates, spent grain, growing citrus, tasty menu specials and much more.

The corridor south of Perth is set to welcome another brewery this weekend as Long Point Brewing Co welcome guests for the first time. Guy Southern spoke to project co-founder Shane Wormall and head brewer Jackson Purser about their plans for the beachside brewpub.

Dry July is a period when many give up booze for a short time. But what's it like to give it up for good when your work revolves around alcohol? We spoke to two business owners who no longer drink about why they quit and what's changed since.

Kegstar has released an update regarding its proposed acquisition of Konvoy. Those in the beer industry who'd like to respond to Kegstar's new submission have until July 1 to do so. The ACCC is scheduled to release a decision on the proposed purchase by August 17.

Woori Yallock is a small town east of Melbourne where a brand-new bar has been hard at work supporting local breweries. We spoke to the man behind the Woori Yallock Taphouse about the community's old video store, his passion for all things indie and the local footy club's love for cocktails.

After lying dormant for many years, the Tasmanian Beer Trail is set to be revived by the IBA thanks to some funding from the state government. We chatted to the people tasked with reviving the tourism guide ahead of summer about how they hope to help visitors discover Tassie beer.

"Ding ding!" As we approach the end of the 86 line, good beer continues to flow deep into Preston and Rezza. Free public transport might be over in Victoria but grab your myki before it's made redundant and join us for Part III of our journey along Melbourne's craftiest tram route.

Visitors to Dark Mofo can enjoy an extra bite of European fare and beer thanks to Hobart's new Bierhalle. Behind the pub is a familiar face in the city’s craft beer scene who’s set up space to showcase European beers and those from independent Tasmanian brewers that lean towards tradition.

Less than 18 months after moving into a larger brewery venue, Central Coast pioneers Six String have entered administration. Co-founder Sharon Benson spoke to The Crafty Pint about their decision and hoped-for outcome.

The Friendly Societies Hotel officially opens the doors this week and behind the historic pub's revival is a family with deep roots in craft beer. Nathan Weston started stocking local beer decades ago and most recently, was running Cremorne's excellent backstreet watering hole, The Cherry Tree.

In her latest guide to enjoying beer to the full, Briony Liebich travels from the bottleshop to your glass, via fridges and cellars. So, if you want to learn more about freshness, best befores and afters, bottle shock, light strike and the dos and don'ts of storage, read on!

There's not a lot of downtime when you're assembling a production brewery, particularly when you decide to throw a still into the mix. In Part III of our Building A Brewery series, we catch up with Black Match to chat about delays, distilling and dialling in their first two beers.

Lion will cease brewing at James Boag in November, with production moving to mainland breweries. The Launceston visitor centre – saved from closure by a $1 million commitment from the Tasmanian government last year – will stay open, with Lion committing to returning the funding to the state.

The Indies will return in 2027 but the beer awards will look quite different to the competition’s most recent run in 2024. The Independent Brewers Association will switch the focus to the people behind indie beer to recognise those who make the industry what it is.

There's added poignancy to this year's Big Freeze fundraiser at Brewmanity following the passing of Fight MND founder Neale Daniher earlier in the week. The brewery, cofounded by former Demons captain, David Neitz, is going ahead with the event, which will now also be a celebration of Neale's life.

"Without the good beer, this doesn't work." Australia's recently-awarded Champion Nomad Brewer is putting down roots. Fresh from taking out the AIBA trophy, Shack Bay have locked in a site in Inverloch, where they will open a family-friendly brewery and taproom for the coastal community.

Zig Zag Brewery opened their doors last week but the beer maker’s story goes right back to 1888. Much like the rail line it shares a name with, Zig Zag has followed an unusual path too, which has taken in much of Lithgow’s history and sees them cement a place in the region’s future.

Almost seven years after launching their first beer, Tim and Hamish Heal opened a home for Mog Brew in Altona at the start of the year. We got in touch with the brothers from the farming community of Moglonemby to find out more for our long-running Who Brews...?