The Crafty Pint

Just in time for Perth's hot summer, FOUND. have opened their new HQ in Subiaco, with former Phat Brew Club head chef Ian Macintosh joining the team. Guy Southern dropped in before today's official launch to chat to Steven Finney and head brewer Will Irving while checking out their radical reworking of the Golden West brewpub site.

In positive news for the beer world, Tumut River Brewing Co is set to reopen in the coming weeks. Will Ziebell spoke to Michael Cichocki and Mary Richmond, two of the former staff who bought the regional New South Wales brewery from liquidators months after the doors shut. Their plan is to return the brewery to its roots as a community-focused brewpub and tourist destination.

The former home of award-winning Redoak brewery is on the market. The deal for the business in Sydney's outer southwest includes DAs to expand brewing capacity and run a taproom and event space. Expressions of interest are open until December 18.

As an immensely challenging year for indie brewers draws to a close, we invited Independent Brewers Association CEO Kylie Lethbridge and head of industry development Sabrina Kunz to join us on the show. With the beer and hospo worlds fighting battles on so many fronts, there will be no surprise that it's a wide-ranging conversation as they look back at the highs and lows of the past 12 months and ahead at their plans for 2025. You can watch or listen here – https://lnkd.in/gi8itn5S – or via YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms. Don't forget to like and subscribe!

We set sail for Bali in this episode to catch up with Samara Fuss, one of the beer world's true characters. Sam moved to the island's northwest to help launch Beaches Brewing Co after more than two decades in brewing and hospo in Australia. As anyone who knows her would expect, it was a hugely enjoyable episode to record, equal parts insight, reminiscences, and laughter. You can watch or listen via the link here or on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts and other platforms. Don't forget to like, subscribe, rate and review too!

Entries are now open for the 2025 Royal Queensland Beer Awards, with a new category added recognising the rising popularity of craft ginger beers. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2025.

Five years ago, Graham Frizzell stumbled upon a perfect burger and beer match – with a difference: it was a plant-based burger. It proved to be an epiphany for the vegan beer writer, sparking an idea that's about to bear fruit: a guide to pairing beer with plant-based cuisine. Here, he explains how Vegan a la Beer came to be, and serves up some samples of what awaits inside.

The tables were turned recently when The Crafty Pint's founder was invited onto The Do Landers Podcast. If you'd like to hear how James first got into journalism in the UK then found himself rather serendipitously in the midst of Australia's craft beer scene as it started to explode – and learn about ikigai (it was new to us too) – listen via the link below or on your usual podcast platforms. https://lnkd.in/geCeUvkT

You rarely see breweries release black oat cream IPAs, but maybe that will change after Mudi from The Seasonal Brewing Co. claimed WA Good Food Guide Beer of the Year. The beer pipped Whitelakes Brewing's Dark Lager and Eagle Bay Brewing Co's 90 Day Pilsner as the awards celebrated the state's beer scene for a fifth year. Head judge and Crafty writer Guy Southern said of the winning beer: "It really shouldn’t work as well as it does!”

A slice of upbeat news from the local beer world... It's been a long time coming, but Shedshaker Brewing have finally welcomed guests into their new, larger, greener brewpub. The Castlemaine brewers have only moved a few metres but it heralds big changes, so Will Ziebell got in touch with owners Jacqueline Brodie-Hanns and Doug Falconer to hear about their locally-fired growth, sustainability ethos, and support for live music.