The Crafty Pint Podcast

“You can be more sustainable and make more money at the same time.” Capital Brewing are well established alongside BentSpoke as part of the ACT beer scene’s big two. Despite retaining a tight sales focus on just the Canberra region and New South Wales, they’ve grown to a current capacity of two million litres per year while operating one of the largest hospitality venues – 1,000 people inside and...

“I like to say we’re the only pub in the world that’s a pub, police station and morgue in the same room.” One of the key figures in Sydney’s craft beer boom was Brad Flowers. He didn’t brew beer or run a venue, but through his distribution business he put beers from dozens of Australia’s indie brewers onto taps and into fridges, while also running some seriously ambitious events. Brad, it’s fair t...

“We don’t produce bulk commodity malt; we’re here to create malts that craft brewers and distillers can leverage off.” Here at The Crafty Pint we’ve made little secret of our admiration for the work of Stu Whytcross and Brad Woolner, the founders of Voyager Craft Malt . If we were betting sorts, we’d wager their impact – not just on beer and distilling, but farming and their home region in the Riv...

"We've got big plans and big ideas, and want to have some fun with it along the way.” Canberra’s beer scene has been dominated – in a nice way – by two breweries for the best part of a decade now, but since Cypher Brewing released their first beers in April 2023 the Gungahlin crew have been angling to join BentSpoke and Capital and turn the Big Two into a Big Three. We joined co-owner Jeff Wilson-...

“From very early on, we all agreed that we would play to our strengths.” More than a thousand brewing companies have come and, in many cases, gone since the craft beer era began in Australia, but there’s never been one quite like One Drop . The Botany-based operation make cracking “normal” beers yet have become a byword for the wild and WTF, the experimental and eccentric. They weren’t the first b...

“At the heart of [the beer industry] is the beer drinker who just loves beer, appreciates quality, and wants to share that experience.” Ahead of their biggest event of the year, Ramjet Day, we joined Boatrocker founders Matt and Andrea Houghton at their Barrel Room in Braeside. Given Matt and his brewers have released more beers in different styles than pretty much anyone in Australia since 2009 –...

“These large multinationals aren’t really interested in a diverse portfolio of beer. They would love it to be only two products but their hand is forced by independents." Bridge Road Brewers ’ story is one of the great stories of the craft beer era. It’s centred around a family-founded (and now partially employee-owned) business and features everything from a cross-hemisphere love story, global co...

“People’s tastes won’t go back to where they were before. So, whatever shape it takes in the next few years, we’re still going to see better beer in Australia.” For 30 years and counting, Bintani have played a key role supplying the beer industry with essential ingredients. But more than that, they’ve also been a key pillar of support for brewers and industry events – and an important sounding boa...

“If you don't hustle you haemorrhage." Will Ziebell visited Bright Brewery for their annual Darker Days festival and, while in the High Country town, sat down with their national business development and brand manager Evin Craney. Evin joined the brewery six years ago following a career in sales that saw him move from bottleshop retail to a repping for number of Victorian breweries, and has since...

“I think Seven Sheds was a bit like the Velvet Underground. It’s been said about the Velvet Underground that they didn’t sell many records, but every second person who bought a record went off and started their own band. And I think we were a bit influential… to our own detriment.” Less than a year on from the first episode of The Crafty Pint Podcast, we’ve reached our 50th show, and mark the occa...

"We've done some really hop-forward, Brettanomyces-fermented beers which have been really neat with Vic Secret too, just the way that the Brett biotransforms some of the compounds in Vic Secret is pretty cool." In partnership with HPA, Australia's leading hop grower, we've created a series of podcast episodes – an Aussie Hop Series – looking closely at some of the country's most recognised and imp...

“I think we’re just as surprised as anyone, really. We’ve been blown away by the awards.” Since settling into their Bathurst brewpub in 2022, Reckless Brewing have been on quite the tear when it comes to beer awards. They’ve picked up three trophies for three different beers in three straight years at the Australian International Beer Awards while securing trophies at other beer competitions too....

"I don't think you can really overpower it because it's just such a great hop and pairs really well with a lot of other tropical or fruity hops." In partnership with HPA, Australia's leading hop grower, we've created a series of podcast episodes – an Aussie Hop Series – looking closely at some of the country's most recognised and impactful hop varieties. Over the course of the series, we're speaki...

"In this game, you have to all believe in what you're trying to achieve.” While no strangers to awards success, it’s fair to say the team at Philter enjoyed a night to remember at the 2025 Australian International Beer Awards, taking home four major trophies. After a brief yet raucous chat with them on the night, we reconvened two weeks later for a more relaxed and wide-ranging catch-up with co-fo...

“The purpose of Topaz was really a bittering hop. And then as that craft flavour grew and hit mainstream, it really evolved from simply being a start-of-boil, hot-side hop to something that was used at end of boil to something that's now used in the dry hop as well.” In partnership with HPA, Australia's leading hop grower, we've created a series of podcast episodes – an Aussie Hop Series – looking...

"I’m the one who can have a beer and advertise my endowment. The Edward Teller professor of nuclear physics is not walking around with uranium. And you can join the pet food industry, but on a Friday night you can’t have a few cans of Chum." Charlie Bamforth is a name and voice familiar to many in the beer world. He’s one of beer’s great storytellers and has worked in the industry since 1978, the...

“Incredible. Sticky, glistening, super-intense resin and fruit goodness…” In partnership with HPA, Australia's leading hop grower, we've created a series of podcast episodes – an Aussie Hop Series – looking closely at some of the country's most recognised and impactful hop varieties. Over the course of the series, we're speaking with leading brewers from across Australia and abroad, as well as exp...

"I got the feedback and it was brutal. But I didn’t get upset; I just took it on the chin." Who better to feature on the podcast the week after the country's biggest beer awards than the man whose beers have won more trophies in recent years than any other? Moffat Beach Brewing Co might have had to make do with a clutch of gold, silver and bronze medals at this year's Australian International Beer...

"It's like the most amazing team player of all time." In partnership with HPA, Australia's leading hop grower, we've created a series of podcast episodes - an Aussie Hop Series - looking closely at some of the country's most recognised and impactful hop varieties. We'll be speaking with leading brewers from across Australia and abroad, as well as experts from HPA, discussing their experience with...

There’s a special edition of The Crafty Pint Podcast this week as we come to you from the Australian International Beer Awards. The country’s biggest annual beer competition, which is now into its fourth decade, took place at the Melbourne Showgrounds on May 15, where hundreds gathered to see which beers and brewers would be heading home laden with trophies. As soon as the last trophy had been han...

In partnership with HPA, Australia's leading hop grower, we're delighted to publish a series of podcast episodes - an Aussie Hop Series - looking closely at some of the country's most recognised and impactful hop varieties. We'll be speaking with leading brewers from across Australia and abroad, as well as experts from HPA, discussing their experience with these iconic hops, what they've learned a...

"There's so much more than just drinking a beer. It's about the environment, the culture, and sharing it with friends." Most people in their very early 30s are probably just about working out what they want to do with their lives. In Steph Howard's case, she's already off to start a new career having left an indelible mark on the beer industry on both sides of The Ditch. For many, the young Kiwi h...

“People attract people. It’s that simple. Nobody wants to sit in an empty room.” If you've visited The Lincoln – a 171-years-and-counting-old corner pub on the edge of Melbourne's CBD – at any point in the past decade, there's a good chance you'll have enjoyed the experience. After all, as we like to put it: they do everything excellently, all the time – and the team has a bulging trophy cabinet t...

"The nature of our brewery definitely comes across in our beers. I like to think of our brewhouse and fermenters as the terroir." Bruny Island is quite unlike anywhere else in Australia and, fittingly, Bruny Island Beer Co is a truly unique operation too. The brewery's story began in 2003 when Nick Haddow founded Bruny Island Cheese Co; in the years since, he's become a well-known champion of Tasm...

"A lot of customers are very concerned about their carbon footprint." For all the challenges faced by the beer industry, it’s one that continues to forge ahead in many areas, not least when it comes to sustainability. Whether the focus is powering breweries, recycling or reusing ingredients, supporting organic and regenerative farming practices, or creating new and innovative ways of cutting waste...