Advertise on podcast: The Crafty Pint Podcast

“If you don’t want to fail, then don’t do anything.”We've swapped the somewhat risky task of recording our weekly news show from the stage at an awards night for the safe surrounds of our regular podcast studio this week – albeit still playing with the format a little.In the first half of this week's show, Will and James look back on their experiences at Grainstock in the Riverina, as well as what may come from the event. They also discuss the articles to have hit the site since their return – articles full of insight, tips and lessons learned from the folks at two breweries at very different stages of their journeys: Stomping Ground and Black Match.They also shout out some of the "friends of the show", as Will puts it, who received recognition at this year's Beer & Brewer Awards, taking place as part of the ongoing Sydney Beer Week.After the break is a delightful bonus recorded at Grainstock. One of the guest speakers was Matthew Evans, better known as the Gourmet Farmer, who joined James and Luke McCarthy – editor of our sibling publication The Full Measure – for a chat about the ways in which both the brewing and distilling industries can better tell their stories, the story of their product's connection to land, and frog-friendly barley.   Start of segments: 0:18 – Stompo Street Fest  1:12 – Weekly News  12:04 –  The Beer Championships Winners  12:35 – Beer30 Insights 13:21 – Matthew EvansTo find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact [email protected].

We’re back at Grainstock for another special edition of The Crafty Pint Podcast, featuring a lineup of guests offering a cross-section of the topics covered at the Voyager Craft Malt-curated industry gathering. First up in the Lallemand-sponsored podcast studio at the Whitton Malt House is event founder Stu Whytcross, providing an update on all things Voyager, including their altered trajectory, international interest, maturing projects, and their excitement for a new malted rice product. There’s more international flavour next, as Katelyn Grajewski, AKA That Malt Girl from the USA, drops in to share some insights from the world of US craft beer and malting, including how the industry there is trying to remind consumers of why the pint matters. Back on home soil, we have Mark Brain and Matt Stitt from Broulee Brewhouse on the NSW South Coast. The brewpub in the coastal village has been punching above its weight since a few locals decided to give the area a community hub, focusing on the importance of creating an experience for everyone that visits. Before we wrap up, Lallemand technical director Richard Chamberlin enters the host seat straight from his presentation for an update from the studio sponsors. We’ll have more from Grainstock too, including a chat with Gourmet Farmer Matthew Evans on the next weekly news show and an in-depth interview with Jervis Bay Brewing co-founder Oisín Sweeney in the coming weeks. Start of segments: 0:00 – Intro 3:43 – Thanks to Lallemand 4:01 – Stu Whytcross, Voyager Craft Malt 16:32 – Katelyn Grajewski, That Malt Girl 35:12 – Beer30 Insights 35:57 – Mark Brain & Matt Stitt, Broulee BrewhouseTo find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact [email protected].

"It should feel fun, it should feel celebratory, we should all feel a part of it." Welcome to a special edition of our Weekly News show, recorded onstage at The Beer Championships after the final trophies were handed out. We were joined by competition co-founder Jayne Lewis and Renn Blackman, part of a ten-strong contingent from the Torquay-based brewery who collected two trophies on the night. You can read all about the winners and the night itself in the article we published from Brunswick Town Hall as soon as the event was wrapped up. Jayne reflects on the successes – and lessons learned – that she and fellow Beer Championship organisers Justin Fox and Cass Cochrane have taken from year one, as well as sharing their hopes and ambitions for 2027 and beyond. As well as chatting about their latest awards triumph, we ask Renn what's helped Blackman's navigate the past 12 years so successfully, particularly following Black Hops' return from a second spell of VA under new owners last week. With both Moon Dog and now Stomping Ground moving into Blackman's home region – the Melbourne operations are opening venues in Geelong – we find out what that might mean for his brewery and the city's beer scene, while also looking ahead to Sydney Beer Week, where once again the recently-refurbed Union Hotel in Newtown will be a key venue. Given the location and setup for this week's show – not only were people enjoying the post-awards drinks but we were "flash-mobbed" at one point – the sound is a little less perfect than we'd like. But we do like to test ourselves... Start of segments: 1:03 – Jayne Lewis Hops In The Hills Festival 16:32 – Stompo Street Fest 17:21 – Renn BlackmanTo find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact [email protected].

"When I first moved to Australia, I felt Australian beer was so far behind... I think we're at least on par with the US right now." When we switched The Crafty Pint Podcast to a dedicated weekly news show (plus fortnightly extended interviews), we promised we might invite on the occasional guest. Doing that has taken precisely one week – and what a special guest we have for you. Mazen Hajjar will be known to many in the beer industry as the face and voice of Hawkers Beer. Following the Melbourne brewery's merger with White Bay early last year to form the Social Drinks Group, Mazen moved to Dubai for love, and to be closer to his family, and stepped back from day-to-day operations. In March, however, he returned to the role of CEO, since when he's been overseeing the business from Dubai. On one of his regular trips to Melbourne, we enticed him to join James Smith and Will Ziebell in The Crafty Pint studio to chat about life in Dubai, Hawkers, White Bay, independence, and his – and many others' – perennial bugbears: excise tax and tap contracts. The trio also talk about beer travel, inspired by Briony Liebich's Crafty Crawl around McLaren Vale and the Fleurieu and Jono Outred's update of Wild Hop Brewing's page on The Crafty Pint. Victoria is also amidst a rush of milestone birthdays, with Tallboy & Moose and Watts River celebrating ten years on the same weekend and Stomping Ground throwing a major street party (for which you could win tickets) to mark their decade next month. We'll be back with another special edition of the weekly show next week. We're recording it as soon as the winners have been announced at The Beer Championships awards night, for which ticket sales close this Friday. For now, if you've any feedback on the new format, or anything else you'd like to share with us, get in touch! Start of segments: 0:26 – Ryefield Hops 2027 Harvest Pre-Sale 1:22 – Mazen, Social Drinks Group, Fighting For Independence & Helles 17:14 – Stompo Street Fest 18:04 – Beer Travel, Milestone Birthdays & RezzaTo find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact [email protected].

“The freedom in beer pairing is much, much bigger than with wine.”Rob and Bronwyn Kabboord have been responsible for some of the most enjoyable – and often spectacular – beer and food pairings I’ve experienced. And I’m pretty sure there will be plenty of others out there who can say the same.During their time running Merricote in Westgarth, they combined Rob’s incredible dishes and a legendary cheese trolley with Bron’s award-winning wine list and an adventurous, expansive approach to beer rarely found in restaurants, whether here or overseas.With Rob opening Rühe, a 24-seat bistro in Kyneton, with sommelier Daniel Saligari in August, and Bron now eight years into her time alongside Annie Smithers at Trentham's iconic du Fermier, we invited them into the studio for a warm and wide-ranging chat.The conversation spans the breadth of drinks and food pairing, beer’s position in the hospitality and fine dining worlds, their careers and beer epiphanies, pioneering beer dinners, beetroot hotdogs in the gardens of New York’s legendary Stone Barns, vintage Orvals at the world’s best beer restaurant in Belgium, chocolate cigars and Cantillon.For anyone keen learn more about pairing drinks and food, there’s also plenty to be gleaned when we surprise them with a couple of beers and let their creative juices flow.If you missed the previous episode, we’ve tweaked the format of our podcasts. From now on, Thursdays will be Weekly News shows, still featuring the occasional guest, and every other Tuesday we’ll publish long-form interviews, panel discussions and other more timeless shows.

It’s all change at The Crafty Pint Podcast. Well, if not all change, then certainly a fair bit of it in terms of format, scheduling and frequency. From this week’s episode onwards, you can look forward to 50 percent more shows as we instigate an evolution that’s been on the cards for some time: splitting the opening “Week On Crafty” segments into one show, and the giving the long-form interviews and panel discussions their own space. Thursdays will now be a Weekly News show focusing on the ups, downs, ins and outs of the beer world, while every other Tuesday – starting on October 6 – we’ll run extended features. Will and James explain the rationale in the opening half of this week’s show, but it’s a format we’ve trialled with sibling podcast, The Full Measure, and found makes a lot of sense. As for the “news” part of this week’s show – after we’ve heard about Will’s honeymoon in Italy, of course – we reflect on King River’s rebirth and upcoming plans, Young Henrys’ move into Mountain Goat’s former Newtown brewpub, the launch of a new brewery in the Northern Beaches, some trans-Pacific collabs, and a follow-up of sorts to last week’s election pledge in Victoria. Make sure to look out for / mark your diaries so you don’t miss Tuesday’s chat with the delightful Rob and Bron Kabboord, and we'll be back with the next Weekly News – possibly with a guest host – on Thursday. Start of segments: 0:24 – Ryefield Hops‘ 2027 Presale 1:21 – Weekly News Part 1 12:13 – The Full Measure 12:48 – Weekly News Part 2To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact [email protected].

“Sometimes the most unsuspecting whisky can turn out to be the best boilermaker you’ve ever had.” We take another trip inside the world of hospitality this week with the couple behind award-winning whisky (and beer and boilermakers) bar, Whisky & Alement. Brooke Hayman and Julian White are hospo lifers (albeit with a past dalliance in circus acrobatics for good measure), who have been at the forefront of introducing Australians to whisky and boilermakers since they fell in love with them while running Chez Regine, the Melbourne CBD bar Brooke launched a decade-and-a-half ago after spotting an ad in the newspaper (remember them?) which they later transformed into what it is today. We cover their travels, the highlights from thirteen years of Whisky & Alement (and how it was named by a regular of theirs), Pint of Origin, an inspirational day with Bill Lark, the evolving bar scene, the curse of excise and more – including surprising them with a boilermaker challenge. Prior to the main interview, Liz O’Brien is back as guest host as we cast an eye over the past week in beer. It’s included a $3m election pledge from Victorian Labor, the launch of a new campaign celebrating independence from Bridge Road Brewers, the Sydney Royal awards, our latest Crafty Crawl, and a hint about a story that did end up dropping in time: a new era on the way for King River Brewing. If you enjoy the show, please like and subscribe, rate and review, tell your mates, and help us build our audience so we can get more people excited – and educated – about great beer and hospitality. Start of segments: 0:19 – The Week On Crafty 17:53 – Ryefield Hops 2027 Harvest Pre-sale 18:46 – Brooke & Jules Part 1 46:49 – The Full Measure Podcast 47:24 – Brooke & Jules Part 2To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact [email protected].

"We're just trying to make really bright, clean, aromatic beer every time." Future Brewing have been at the centre of some wholesome beer world camaraderie in recent weeks, with the Inner West Ale Trail – and others – rallying behind them with a Love Thy Neighbour fundraiser and beer to assist the brewery as they battle ongoing challenges to their existence. It made co-founder Brady Hannett’s visit to Melbourne very timely, as we invited him to join us in the studio ahead of the St Peters brewery’s third birthday. As well as discussing the heartwarming support they’ve received and the benefits they’ve found from being part of the country’s most prominent beer trail, we spread our wings wider too. The chat takes in Brady’s early epiphanies inspired by Feral’s beers in WA, his defining decision to learn brewing in California, his kindred spirits at Kicks and Bracket, the importance of events, and the brewing ethos that has put Future at the forefront of the rise of West Coast pilsners and Cali IPAs in Australia. There are two special guests on this week’s show, as James is joined by Liz O'Brien for a review of The Week On Crafty. Liz joined the team in early 2025 and has played a crucial role in the developing our community engagement, whether through Pint of Origin, The Crafty Cabal beer club, or the way you experience The Crafty Pint and our sibling publication, The Full Measure, on socials. We look back at our deep dive into nitro stouts, features on a brewer who’s returned to the family winery in Queensland and a young gun in the West, the latest new listings on the site – Long Point Brewing and Bottle Keg Can – and the latest events and offers for Cabal members. Start of segments: 0:33 – The Week On Crafty 20:29 – Introduction to The Full Measure Podcast 21:01 – Brady Hannett Part 1 36:22 – Register for CIBD 2027 37:25 – Grainstock 2026 38:16 – Brady Hannett Part 2To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint or The Full Measure, contact [email protected].

In this exclusive series - The New Hop Order, presented by HPA - The Crafty Pint Podcast explores what’s happening on the cutting edge of hop innovation from breeding and processing to brewing. In this episode, we’re talking with Haas Director of Hop Breeding Michael Ferguson and Haas Sensory Manager Jeff Dailey about sustainable replacements for classic hops that are highly susceptible to climate change.

"That's what it's about at the end of the day: connections, community and people.” What is the essence of good hospitality? What is its purpose, and how do you give people what they want in 2026? As they set out to reimagine Mr West in Footscray – complete with transforming the downstairs bottleshop into a new drink-in space called The Cave – we invited Josh Hodges and Jack Roebuck on to the show to find out what they’ve learned across their careers in beer, bars and beyond. We delve into the reasons behind their decision to refresh Mr West, their belief that the guest experience is all, the soaring success they’re enjoying at Bar Spontana in Brunswick, and their respective backstories: Josh taking inspiration from parents who played a key role in giving craft beer a foothold in Melbourne; Jack’s journey from First Choice Liquor to Left Handed Giant in Bristol then back to Melbourne. For The Week On Crafty, James is once again joined by Luke McCarthy, editor of our just-launched sibling publication The Full Measure. We discuss Moon Dog’s plans to take their Wild West concept to Geelong, the sad news that much-loved High Country brewery King River has gone into liquidation, Woopi Brewing’s fifth anniversary, and the launch of Detective Nic Amaro – a collab brew between Molly Rose, Proud Mary Coffee and our Crafty Cabal beer club members. Start of segments: 0:15 – The Week On Crafty 13:29 – Grainstock 2026 14:17 – Jack & Josh Part 1 34:15 – Get a free Packpal sample 35:19 – Jack & Josh Part 2To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact [email protected].

“It’s still fun. That’s the best part.” CoConspirators are in the midst of a year of tenth anniversary celebrations – and approaching five years at their Brunswick brewpub – so we figured it was a fine time to invite the two couples behind the brewery on the show. It gave us the chance to do things a bit differently too: interviewing the couples separately – while aiming to keep the questions as distinct as possible. James chatted to Jacqui and Tim, Will to Maggie and Deon, and between them they painted a rich picture of their story to date. We go back to early beers as homebrewers and their Merri Mashers days, cover their transition from brewers without a home to owners of an ever-evolving brewpub, delve into their favourite beers and events, the challenges they’ve faced along the way, and their plans for the next decade of CoConspirators. With Will in Italy on his honeymoon, Luke McCarthy from our new sister publication, The Full Measure, stepped into co-hosting roles for The Week On Crafty, which covered James’ entry into the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival Legends hall of fame, Village Days moving into Wildflower’s old home, Mildura’s new brewery Sunneva, our listing for Last St Brewery and some upcoming events and special offers for our Crafty Cabal beer club members. If you enjoy the show, please like, subscribe, rate or review – and if you’re into spirits, make sure you take a look at The Full Measure, which comes with its own podcast. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 15:03 – Get a free Packpal sample 16:08 – Price Screen & Digital 17:09 – Tim Martin & Jacqui Sacco (plus Bingo) 39:33 – Bintani Brewery Boosters – Simplifying The Brew Day 43:21 – Deon & Maggie SmitTo find out more about partnering with The Crafty Pint or The Full Measure, contact [email protected].

“I hope everybody snacks. If you don't snack, fix that. Lindsy Greig’s career in craft beer saw her depart New Orleans for New Zealand before jumping across The Ditch to brew in Australia. After arriving on these shores, Lindsy brewed for Stomping Ground then worked in brewery management software with Beer30. These days, she is HPA’s sales rep for New Zealand. It’s a role that sees Lindsy travel frequently to New Zealand to help brewers become better acquainted with hops from Australia's largest grower. As well as discussing her career in beer – right back to its earliest days – and her take on the world of beer marketing, the Certified Cicerone shares her love for beer and snack pairing, something she does online, as part of her job, at beer festivals and, as of now, on The Crafty Pint Podcast. Before the main interview, Will and James chat about the launch of The Crafty Pint’s sibling publication, The Full Measure, which has set out to cover the Australian spirits world in the manner we’ve now been covering beer for 16 years. They also discuss Will’s article on two new sales businesses in Australia, in which he picked their brains on the current state of sales and the golden rules that never change, as well as a couple of listings fresh on the site: Saltline Brewing in Dunsborough and the gluten-free The Freehouse from TWØBAYS in Collingwood. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 8:59 – Grainstock 2026 9:47 – CIBD Asia Pacific Convention 2027 10:50 – Lindsy Part 1 31:30 – Get a free Packpal sample 32:35 – Lindsy Part 2To find out more about partnering with The Crafty Pint or The Full Measure, contact [email protected].

Excuse us while we interrupt our usual programming for an important announcement... As the eagle-eyed and hawk-eared among you will have ascertained from hints dropped in recent weeks, we've been working on a major new project. And that project is now live. Sixteen years on from launching The Crafty Pint, we've created The Full Measure: a publication dedicated to the world of Australian spirits. It comes with its own podcast too – a blend of weekly shows covering the latest spirits news and fortnightly feature interviews – but first up is a chance to find out all about this new chapter in Australian spirits. Regular Crafty Pint hosts, James Smith and Will Ziebell, joined The Full Measure editor Luke McCarthy in the studio for a chat about the local spirits industry and our plans to do justice to the amazing people, places and products that have made it one of the most exciting on the planet. To find out more, check out The Full Measure here. It’s worth taking a look at Luke’s article-meets-manifesto, The Case for Australian Spirits too.

"We shifted the needle so hard in so many ways.” If you can point me in the direction of anyone in Australia who ticks more of the stereotypical “craft beer guy” boxes than Ryan Davidson, I’m all ears. He went from a nerd making video games to a nerd making beer in the garage of fellow video-gaming-beer-nerd-mate Fil Kemp, and now that he’s no longer part of the brewery they founded, Little Bang Brewing, he’s making hot sauces– well, “condiments for a post-condiment world” – with a psychedelic aesthetic. That he sports a hearty, if greying, beard goes without saying. The Little Bang story pretty much encapsulates the modern craft beer era too. After starting out making beers they loved but couldn’t find elsewhere – typically with daft names and labels featuring equal parts social commentary and silly humour – the founders (with their wives both working in the business) expanded once, then again, sold to a larger business(a pub group rather than another brewing company), and now watch their baby’s evolution from the outside. With the passage of time allowing fresh perspective, it gives us the chance to go deep into what it was like being inside a brewery as craft beer exploded – the highs and the lows – as well as the emotions and mental toll that comes with going from brewery owner to employee to beer-buying punter. As anyone who knows Ryan will expect, it’s a chat laced with humour and flights of fantasy, but also one full of hard-earned and heartfelt insight too. With our producer making his way back from the States this week, the intro was recorded early so doesn’t address the ATO’s latest announcements on exciseor the impending closureof cult Melbourne beer bar Benchwarmer. But Will and James do discuss Bright’s taphouse expansions, a feature on the beauty of barrel-aged beers, the forthcoming tenth anniversary of unique brewing co-op Hopsters, and the imminent unveiling of The Beer Championships finalists. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 12:02 – Get a free Packpal sample 13:06 – Crafted Festival Brewer EOI 13:54 – Ryan Davidson Part 1 48:42 – Bintani Brewery Booster: Designing Lagers 52:17 – Ryan Davidson Part 2To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact [email protected].

“People just want connection.” We head to WA’s South West in this week’s episode to catch up with Margarita Wallace, who’s been working on brand and marketing for Eagle Bay Brewing since the brewery’s earliest days. Very much part of the Eagle Bay family – not least now she’s married to one of the siblings on whose family farm in Cape Naturaliste the brewery is located – we chat about creating memorable experiences, collaboration, community, and staying true to who you are as a business. Prior to the main interview, we add more context to the ACCC’s decision to reject Kegstar’s proposed acquisition of Konvoy after taking a dive into their 50-page ruling, and chat about the colourful first five years of beers at Good Land Brewing in Traralgon, as well as the potentially existential threat facing Future Brewing in Sydney’s Inner West. If you enjoy this or any of the other episodes we've recorded, please like and subscribe, comment, rate and review, as it will help us reach more beer lovers. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 11:15 – Bendigo On The Hop 12:07 – Crafted Festival 12:55 – Margi Part 1 30:02 – Get a free Packpal sample 30:51 – Margi Part 2To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact [email protected].