"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 [https://craftypint.com/news/4165/inner-west-brewers-rally-as-future-fight-for-their-future] 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 [https://craftypint.com/brewery/bracket-brewing], 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 [https://craftypint.com/news/3373/snappy-n-hoppy-the-rise-of-west-coast-pilsner-and-cali-ipa] 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 [https://craftycabal.com/], or the way you experience The Crafty Pint and our sibling publication, The Full Measure [https://thefullmeasure.com.au/], on socials.

We look back at our deep dive into nitro stouts [https://craftypint.com/news/4209/drinking-in-style-nitro-stouts], features on a brewer who’s returned to the family winery [https://craftypint.com/news/4163/brew-and-a-abby-heslop] in Queensland and a young gun in the West [https://craftypint.com/news/4212/jake-loader-slays-beer], the latest new listings on the site – Long Point Brewing [https://craftypint.com/brewery/long-point-brewing] and Bottle Keg Can [https://craftypint.com/bottleshop/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 2

To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint or The Full Measure, contact craig@craftypint.com.

From West Coast To Inner West ft Future Brewing

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.

THE NEW HOP ORDER: Hop Breeding Company: The House That Citra® Built

"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 [https://craftypint.com/bar-and-bottleshop/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 [https://thefullmeasure.com.au/]. We discuss Moon Dog’s plans to take their Wild West concept to Geelong [https://craftypint.com/news/4202/moon-dog-to-bring-the-wild-west-to-geelong], the sad news that much-loved High Country brewery King River has gone into liquidation [https://craftypint.com/news/4204/king-river-brewing-enters-liquidation-future-uncertain], Woopi Brewing’s fifth anniversary [https://craftypint.com/news/4174/woopi-brewing-co-five-years-in-five-beers], and the launch of Detective Nic Amaro – a collab brew between Molly Rose, Proud Mary Coffee and our Crafty Cabal beer club [https://craftycabal.com/] members.

Start of segments:
 * 0:15 – The Week On Crafty
 * 13:29 – Grainstock 2026 [https://www.grainstock.com.au/]
 * 14:17 – Jack & Josh Part 1
 * 34:15 – Get a free Packpal sample [https://packpal.com.au/products/sample]
 * 35:19 – Jack & Josh Part 2

To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

Connections, Community & The Guest Experience – Mr West / Bar Spontana

“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 [https://craftypint.com/brewing-company/coconspirators-brewing].

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 [https://craftypint.com/news/4193/the-crafty-pint-and-full-measure-founder-honoured-at-2026-mfwf-legends-and-trailblazers-awards] into the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival Legends hall of fame, Village Days moving into Wildflower’s [https://craftypint.com/news/4196/indie-beer-to-return-to-wildflower-as-village-days-move-in] old home, Mildura’s new brewery Sunneva [https://craftypint.com/news/4189/brew-and-a-sunneva-brewing], our listing for Last St Brewery [https://craftypint.com/brewery/last-st-brewery] and some upcoming events and special offers for our Crafty Cabal beer club [https://craftycabal.com/] 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 [https://thefullmeasure.com.au/], which comes with its own podcast [https://thefullmeasure.com.au/podcast].

Start of segments:
 * 0:00 – The Week On Crafty
 * 15:03 – Get a free Packpal sample [https://packpal.com.au/sample]
 * 16:08 – Price Screen & Digital [https://pricescreen.com.au/get-a-quote/]
 * 17:09 – Tim Martin & Jacqui Sacco (plus Bingo)
 * 39:33 – Bintani [https://bintani.com.au/] Brewery Boosters – Simplifying The Brew Day
 * 43:21 – Deon & Maggie Smit

To find out more about partnering with The Crafty Pint or The Full Measure, contact craig@craftypint.com.

Ten Years Of CoConspirators

“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 [https://thefullmeasure.com.au/], 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 [https://craftypint.com/news/4176/back-to-the-future-selling-beer-in-2026] 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 [https://craftypint.com/brewery/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 [https://www.grainstock.com.au/]
 * 9:47 – CIBD Asia Pacific Convention 2027 [https://cibd2027.com.au/]
 * 10:50 – Lindsy Part 1
 * 31:30 – Get a free Packpal sample [https://packpal.com.au/products/sample]
 * 32:35 – Lindsy Part 2

To find out more about partnering with The Crafty Pint or The Full Measure, contact craig@craftypint.com.

Here, There & Every Pair ft Lindsy Greig

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 [https://thefullmeasure.com.au/]: a publication dedicated to the world of Australian spirits. It comes with its own podcast [https://www.youtube.com/@fullmeasuremag] 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 [https://thefullmeasure.com.au/]. It’s worth taking a look at Luke’s article-meets-manifesto, The Case for Australian Spirits [https://thefullmeasure.com.au/news/4154/the-case-for-australian-spirits] too.

Introducing The Full Measure

"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 [https://craftypint.com/brewery/little-bang-brewing], he’s making hot sauces [https://www.electrichead.com.au/]– 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 [https://craftypint.com/news/2932/little-bang-bought-by-sa-pub-group](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 excise [https://craftypint.com/news/4173/iba-renews-call-for-tax-reform-as-ato-announces-crackdown-on-excise-rorts]or the impending closure [https://craftypint.com/news/4172/benchwarmer-to-close-in-september]of cult Melbourne beer bar Benchwarmer. But Will and James do discuss Bright’s taphouse expansions [https://craftypint.com/news/4167/bright-brewery-buy-daintons-croydon-venue-wangaratta-taphouse-to-follow], a feature on the beauty of barrel-aged beers [https://craftypint.com/news/4169/rolling-out-the-barrels-and-turning-back-time], the forthcoming tenth anniversary of unique brewing co-op Hopsters [https://craftypint.com/news/4153/behind-bars-hopsters-mitch], and the imminent unveiling of The Beer Championships finalists [https://craftypint.com/event/14173/the-beer-championships-2026-finalists-announcement].

Start of segments:
 * 0:00 – The Week On Crafty
 * 12:02 – Get a free Packpal sample
 * 13:06 – Crafted Festival [https://www.craftedfestival.com.au/] Brewer EOI
 * 13:54 – Ryan Davidson Part 1
 * 48:42 – Bintani [https://bintani.com.au/] Brewery Booster: Designing Lagers
 * 52:17 – Ryan Davidson Part 2

To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

From Video Games To Beer To Hot Sauce & Beyond

“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 [https://craftypint.com/brewery/210/eagle-bay-brewery] 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 [https://craftypint.com/news/4162/accc-rejects-kegstars-proposed-purchase-of-konvoy] 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 [https://craftypint.com/news/4161/good-land-brewing-five-years-in-five-beers] at Good Land Brewing in Traralgon, as well as the potentially existential threat facing Future Brewing [https://craftypint.com/news/4165/inner-west-brewers-rally-as-future-fight-for-their-future] 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 [https://www.bendigobeer.com/both-2026]
 * 12:07 – Crafted Festival [https://www.craftedfestival.com.au/]
 * 12:55 – Margi Part 1
 * 30:02 – Get a free Packpal sample [https://packpal.com.au/sample]
 * 30:51 – Margi Part 2

To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

Connecting With Consumers On Cape Naturaliste – Eagle Bay Brewing

"Science communication is a very lovely place with lots of lovely people."

This week, The Crafty Pint Podcast heads to Tasmania to catch up with Science Made Beerable. The not-for-profit was launched by Kelsey Picard and Matt Fielding [https://craftypint.com/news/2719/science-made-beerable] in 2020 as a National Science Week event.

In the years since, they've continued to explore the science of beer by inviting different breweries to engage in an annual, always sold-out ExBEERimental Science event. Matt has also joined us a few times to reflect on what's going on in Tasmania as part of our end-of-year roundup series.

For this episode, Will was joined by Matt and fellow Science Made Beerable board member Reid Barry to preview this year's event and learn all about their love of science communication.

It turned out to be quite a Tasmanian-heavy beer week too: ahead of the main interview, Will and James chatted about the state government's funding for Beer Tasmania [https://craftypint.com/news/4152/state-government-to-fund-beer-tasmania]. We also covered Warrandyte Brewing's taproom go-ahead [https://craftypint.com/news/4159/warrandyte-brewing-get-green-light-for-taproom], Black Match's slow but steady [https://craftypint.com/news/4151/building-a-brewery-iv-all-systems-go] move towards releasing their first beers and opening a taproom, Felons' commandeering [https://craftypint.com/news/4150/felons-board-the-manly-fast-ferry] of the Manly Fast Ferry, and King Tide Brewing [https://craftypint.com/brewery/684/king-tide-brewing] taking up residence in The Crafty Pint directory.

Start of segments:

 * 0:00 – The Week On Crafty
 * 13:31 – Free Samples From Packpal
 * 14:37 – Science Made Beerable Part 1
 * 35:10 – Bintani Brewery Boosters
 * 39:02 – Science Made Beerable Part 2

To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

Deciphering The Science Of Beer

"All these things, from branding to product, come back to your identity."

After a few weeks spent exploring the annals of The Crafty Pint Podcast, we return to our regular programming this week, as Clint Weaver joins us the studio.

Clint has spent close to a decade running Pocketbeagles, a graphic design business that focuses on making craft beer (and other beverages) look better. If you've looked at or enjoyed beers from the likes of CoConspirators, Brewmanity, Bright Brewery or One Drop, you'll be familiar with his work.

Ever up for a laugh, Clint hosted a "Fun-eral" for Pocketbeagles at CoConspirators last weekend to mark the redesign and evolution of his  business. Ahead of the gathering, Will Ziebell caught up with the designer to chat about the decision, as well as Clint's love of craft beer and his early work on Froth Magazine.

Beyond his own history with the booze world, we  examine how graphic design has changed over the last decade in beer, recent trends, and Clint's advice for brewers when it comes to branding and thinking about who they are.

Ahead of the chat, Will and James talk through  the past week or so in the beer world, including the sad news that Sobremesa are calling it a day [https://craftypint.com/news/4130/sobremesa-call-it-a-day] and Black Hops' second voluntary administration in two years [https://craftypint.com/news/4140/black-hops-brewing-enter-administration-for-the-second-time]. We also cover Blackflag's expansion into Bundaberg [https://craftypint.com/news/4147/raising-a-blackflag-in-bundaberg], the Australian International Spirits Awards [https://craftypint.com/news/4146/melbourne-royal-australian-international-spirits-awards-winners-2026], TWØBAYS' trophy success [https://craftypint.com/news/4145/twobays-enjoy-more-overseas-trophy-success-at-20th-nz-brewers-awards] in New Zealand, and Dunsborough's new – kinda – brewery [https://craftypint.com/news/4148/saltline-breathes-fresh-life-into-dunsborough-brewery].

Start of segments:

 * 0:00 – The Week On Crafty
 * 18:30 – A Deal From Price Screen & Digital
 * 19:31 – Clint Weaver Part 1
 * 44:47 – Free Samples From Packpal
 * 45:53 – Clint Weaver Part 2

To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

The Life And Death Of Pocketbeagles

The Crafty Pint (@craftypint) · Zencastr

The Crafty Pint (@craftypint)

The Crafty Pint is the home of craft beer in Australia.

The online magazine and resource has been crafting beer's best stories since 2010 and, in July 2024, launched The Crafty Pint Podcast.

Hosted by the editorial team behind Australia's leading craft beer media publication, the show features curated discussion of industry news, as well as an ever-changing lineup of guests sharing perspectives from all corners of the craft beer world.

Subscribe now and delve into the fascinating stories shaping beer.