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The Year In Beer 2025 – The Territories
2 Playsin 5 hours
“The whole craft beer industry is built around community.”
We wrap up The Year In Beer 2025 series with a look at what’s been going on in the Canberra region and the Northern Territory.
The episode kicks off with James and Will joined by Mat Farrington from CanBEERra for a discussion about openings and closures in and around the capital, some of the festivals large and small he’s enjoyed in 2025, the growing prevalence of terpenes in beer and more.
Sticking in Canberra, James is then joined by Paul Docherty from craft beer and pizza joint To All My Friends at the end of a year in which he and the team have created a number of collabs with some of their favourite brewers.
The final stop for the series is at Purple Mango, a brewery and café set in bushland just over an hour from Darwin on the way to Kakadu. Co-owner Adam Asanovski reflects on their ongoing expansion, use of local ingredients, and the challenge of trying to secure tap points in the Top End.
We also reveal the final winner of the year in our Bluestone Yeast Brewery of the Month campaign, with the podcast now taking a break until the second half of January. Thanks to everyone that’s watched and listened; if you’ve any feedback, we’d love to hear from you via this survey.
Start of segments:- 2:45 – Mat Farrington
- 20:09 – Paul Docherty
- 34:07 – Bluestone Yeast Brewery of the Month
- 37:36 – Adam Asanovski
To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.
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Transcript
Introduction to Year in Beer 2025
00:00:05
Speaker
Hello, James from The Crafty Pint here and welcome to the final instalment in the Year in Beer 2025, our podcast series casting an eye over the Year in Beer in Australia. We've visited every single state to date and now just just ahead of Christmas we have our final episode which focuses on the
Regional Beer Highlights and Future Plans
00:00:22
Speaker
territories. um First up we have Matt Farrington from Kanbira. um he joins us again to i guess look back at the last 12 months not just in canberra but also the wider canberra region so a bit of a discussion of some stuff going on on parts of the south coast of new south wales as well as the snowy mountains region uh we stick within canberra uh for the second guest it's paul doherty from to all my friends one of my favorite beer bars in the country we featured paul on the website earlier in the year and we have a good chat with him about what's been impressing him in the region his hopes for the future um and future plans for the the venue there as well and from there our final guest for 2025 we head all the way up to the northern territory to have a chat with adam at purple mango brewery and cafe if you've not been it'd be one of i guess the most remote uh breweries in the country they also have accommodation there it's um kind of midway between darwin and kakadu um they've They've been expanding since they took over the business a few years ago. and they've been a lot of fundraising as well, which we'll hear about. So, and you can tell um that he's up in the Northern Territory, given Adam's there in his in his vest. um And then that'll be the final chats of the year. So please enjoy after the break. Thank you for joining us for this series and for the podcast over the year. And we'll see you um mid to late Jan. Cheers.
Royal Queensland Beer Awards
00:01:44
Speaker
The entries are flying in for the Royal Queensland Beer Awards, supported by King Street and the Star Brisbane, where winning a medal or a trophy can really benefit your brewery.
00:01:55
Speaker
Here's Gavin Croft of Slipstream Brewing, reigning grand champion beer brewer on just what it can mean to take home a trophy. Winning a trophy is a phenomenal feeling. you know That's a large part of yeah why we're going into it. We want to win. We want to be yeah known as the best beer in Queensland. Apart from the warm and fuzzies, I think it allows our customers to have a confidence in in our product. you know With the cost of living crisis that's going on, and People just have a bit less money in their pocket at the end of the week.
00:02:25
Speaker
If they're going to spend good money for good craft beer, that kind of certainty that that it is a really good craft beer, it's not lost on only our consumers. you know where We've had ah a really good year off the back of the results.
00:02:38
Speaker
Don't miss your opportunity to be part of the Royal Queensland Beer Awards. Enter today at rqa.com.au.
Canberra Brewing Scene Evolution
00:02:44
Speaker
dot com dot a you Matt, thank you for joining us. How's the year been in Canberra, the ACT and the region? You know, one one gets the feeling of something pretty pretty mature and steady state at the moment, I think.
00:03:00
Speaker
And in in terms of you know in terms of so new arrivals, opens, expansions, but what's caught your eye in 2025? We've seen um ah Rowley Brewhouse ah earlier in the year taking on the reins at Camel Rock, which is another venue in the region that last year ah up until last year had had been a brewery in itself.
00:03:28
Speaker
And we're seeing a lot of posts and activity from them in the opposite direction, south of Tumut in the snowy valleys in the town of Tumbarumba.
00:03:42
Speaker
ah The union hotel, which had ah been running quietly for a while as the only pub in town that's that's had a change of ownership and it's been relaunched as the re-reunion. There's been a soft, soft opening ah a couple of months ago.
00:04:03
Speaker
got the chance to head down there with the family just a couple of weeks ago. and uh their uh their their craft beer offering is uh is is there they they they could add a few more but i i don't think that's their focus at the moment there uh there's there's still building works going on but uh but it's lovely to see a um a pub come back in a regional town like that and there's a there's a few other interesting um offerings in Tumbarumba there's a little gin distillery there called Ladbroke and it's also making its own beers we we might talk about them later um there's some some stuff that you've you've covered you've you've covered the Goulburn Brewery just north of us here in Canberra there's there's there's been that opening and also you've covered the recent recent announcement of Capital opening there their their Lager House and
00:05:03
Speaker
um And the Gorban one's pretty significant as well, isn't I mean, that was a pretty, you know, it's a pretty historic site and yeah quite exciting to see something like that being brought back to life.
Historic Goulburn Brewery Reopens
00:05:14
Speaker
Yeah, it's got ah it's it's got quite a varied um history of originally back in the 1800s is that they they say that they were the first first brewery. um ah they that And then more recently there was Father Michael, he he was brewing there and I was actually living in the region.
00:05:41
Speaker
at the time when he was still offering beers there and I had a few chats with him back. ken Cambira started back in 2016. So I guess it was sort of around that time, 2015, 2016, talking to him. He yeah he threw through the church there and would ah take, i think I think the English word for it's borstal, but he he he he would take troubled youth and would... some
00:06:15
Speaker
ah ah do some brewing courses and training training with them back then and there there was a shop front and a tap house of sorts back then with a limited offering and then everything went quiet not long after that 2016, 2017 it was all pretty much boarded up and then there was word in 2021 of the sale and yeah now now we see it in its current form with the brewing headed by
00:06:47
Speaker
Neil Cameron who every everyone who watches your podcast should should be very familiar with that name. yet yeah Yeah, there's been plenty plenty of breweries ah relaunched with Neil involved somewhere or launched with Neil involved somewhere along the along the way. um Yeah, and and you any any other sort of new openings you've you but spotted over the last 12 months?
Longstocking Brewery's New Lager Brand Launch
00:07:11
Speaker
So Longstocking Brewery have launched a ah new beer and in fact, a new brewery name, Sapphire Coast Brewery, with the lager as the flagship beer. And I think it's the only offering under Lager.
00:07:30
Speaker
under that brand. hu But rather than launch it at Longstocking, they've launched it at ah the Chura Beach Country Club, which is kind of like an RSL or a lifesaving club. And it speaks to that challenge of trying to get access at some clubs. I believe this is an Asahi CUB venue. And, you know, even though it's a smaller scale thing, it's a sign of what's going on and that overall challenge. People sort of having to innovate adapt to try and find ways into market then, I guess. Yeah. I when we spoke to Nigel Ayling from the South Coast Ale Trail about the opening of the South Coast Tap House in Marimbula, he was saying that, you know, if you go to a lot the towns, if there's no brewery there, there is generally no option for craft beer. There'll be no venue. And, you know, along that whole South Coast region, you might have a whole...
00:08:32
Speaker
tonne of local breweries, but if you're not in their venue, you're actually going to struggle to find craft beer. So maybe this is Longstocking's pitch to try and, you know, leverage their way in somewhere. Yes, yes. And it it' it being an accessible, crisp lager type beer is completely in line with that.
00:08:50
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And I guess sort of away from sort of launch, I know there's a couple of venues.
Canberra's Craft Beer Venue Closures
00:08:56
Speaker
We published a two-part guide to craft beer in Canberra and, know, breweries, venues and bottle shops not that long ago. And then within a few months, sadly, a couple of the venues closed down, sort of in pretty quick succession. Do you want to tell about those? Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:11
Speaker
Yeah, sad news. Two stalwarts of the scene. though They've been real, real craft beer oases on the south side of town. Your um your roving reporter, Benny, covered them covered them both, I think, in those recent crawls that you were talking about. And um ah the Pizza Wings Beer, PWB, under Adam and Tony down in Tuggeron, yeah, the southern outpost of craft beer in Canberra. i don't
00:09:44
Speaker
I'm not sure that there's ah any strong strong offerings down that way on tap, at least since since their closure. ah but um before But before PWB, they they were involved with Ace High ah that I think you you you also covered. And um that they had...
00:10:06
Speaker
I think in that in their time at PWB, it it was you know hundreds hundreds of different unique beers and 70-odd indie breweries were through their four taps.
00:10:21
Speaker
And then there's Meeting Room. they that they've They've been ah around for as long as I've been covering this, 10-plus years. And, yeah, Hamish, Robbie and Phil.
00:10:32
Speaker
There are few more taps. Yeah, all all the good good stuff. Wonderful US style barbecue. And yeah, they're there now no longer operating.
00:10:44
Speaker
Yeah, we were the curse of those two venues. you know we We finally covered ah covered them on the website. Within a few months, they were... They were no more. But I mean, but there but there are still some pretty strong venues um around you know around the city and some and some strong retail outlets, you know, with it within the capital. um And I guess you've also highlighted some major events as well this year that, you know, some have been around a while, but it' some yeah newer stuff as well that really stood out for you.
00:11:10
Speaker
Yes, yes,
Canberra's Multicultural Festival and Local Breweries
00:11:11
Speaker
indeed. I i should but just just quickly mention that there is is someone who's who's taken over, at ah taken up the meeting room venue. So we we should be doing a watch this space there because my my understanding is craft craft is is going to be be an offering.
00:11:29
Speaker
The craft is going to be an offering there. But yeah, gee, yeah. Some other highlights from the year, we've got the National Multicultural Festival. That's ah that's a sort of key keystone event here in Canberra every February. And so there's... I think people outside of Canberra don't realise quite how big it is. my Important celebration is for food and drink offerings. I went years ago and it was really just bent-spoken capital. But there's obviously like a lot of options
00:12:02
Speaker
as well for local beer and that kind of thing. My recollections over the years is some ah is is of it being hot and lots of glowing concrete, but it's it's evolved into something different over the years as as as town has changed. it's It's expanded, it's spread, it's under more trees, it's into the neighbouring parks. And yeah, as as the breweries have... um ah have have have appeared, more and more of them have become involved. And this, the 2025 multicultural festival ah had the highest showing yet. I should say that some the the highlights the of this year's one was that the Canberra Brewers are much awarded amateur brewing club here.
00:12:56
Speaker
ah They, over the years, have poured a lot of beers on behalf of the local commercial breweries, but 2025... was the first time they were able to pour some of their ah own beers in in in the festival. so So that was fantastic being able to see some locally brewed beers from ah some of our Canberra amateurs for the first time.
00:13:19
Speaker
Great. And in the event space, you know, like um Cypher seemed to have picked up that mantle really well. Like they're running all these pretty steady stream of exciting events and they were involved in the multicultural festival as well. But in their own tap room, they're doing some pretty cool stuff.
00:13:35
Speaker
Yes, Cypher at the festival had an interesting in indigenous Indigenous beer ah offering. um Cypher have throughout the year had a number of um cultural contributions.
00:13:53
Speaker
beer and food pairing, I guess you can call them mini festivals corresponding to cuisines from different parts of the world. And ah I guess the highlight of the year, Canberra being being a colder climate, we see a number of duck dark beer festivals and restaurants Bed Spokes birthdays in June, that's obviously that's that's usually dark beer ah heavy with beers like Descent. The Durham usually puts something on as do a few other venues, but butci far Cypher this winter, they their dark beer festival chaos realm m it involved a number of beer collaborations with breweries from
00:14:36
Speaker
the region and breweries from the region being there on taps. There but there but there were 22 taps and beers from Dangerous Ales of Milton, Rube Goldberg Brew Machine from the Illawarra, Futura Brewing from, I think up in Sydney, Bearded be it Bro Brewing, who's ah who's another Canberra brewer, One Drop, Seeker, who's also from the Illawarra. And yeah, ah with two or three of those, there were there was a collaboration beer, deb debuting
Awards and Recognitions in Canberra
00:15:11
Speaker
food. It was over the whole whole weekend. Yeah, that's that that was probably the um ah Canberra Winter Dark Beer Fest of note for 2025.
00:15:22
Speaker
And you you were you were keen to highlight a couple of awards for different sort of Canberra, I guess, institutions or people this year as well. And no one's more of an institution than Rich Watkins who was the Beer and Brewers Lifetime Achievement Award.
00:15:38
Speaker
but Well, I mean, that's that's that's certainly one of them. Rich rich getting the yeah lifetime achievement. he's sir yeah he's so I don't think we need to say any more about his his contribution to the brewing scene in in all its aspects.
00:15:57
Speaker
um And also, um oh and it was a post that resonated very well. One one thing ah that I always do in December as part of Cambria go through all the posts that resonate the most as ah as a way to pick up and remind myself of some of the big things happening. um One of them that was very, very well-readed.
00:16:22
Speaker
ah liked and shared was that the old Canberra Inn, very characterful old old venue, but ah but's under under the leadership of the same c crew who bring you where Dixon Taphouse, they they yeah they picked up a listing in the Time Out Top 25 pubs for all the reasons you'd expect for the old Canberra Inn, the character, the vibe, the rotating, wonderful craft beer, the good good food and so on. so so So that's another one to mention.
00:16:59
Speaker
yeah Yeah, congratulations to those guys. And um in terms of sort of you know trends or notable issues you've seen picked up around your neck of the woods this year? Well, um certainly we've we've seen the terpenes appear in a few beers.
00:17:17
Speaker
ah um ah brew brewed in the region, Dangerous Ales, Jervis Bay Brewing, um the the um ah home, the Bentspoke Mountain Culture Collab, ah Black IPA, brewed at Bentspoke, so sort of but a home match. My understanding is that there's going to be an away match soon where ah some kind of collaborations brewed at
00:17:48
Speaker
Mountain culture, it'd be interesting to see what what style that is, whether Terps get involved again or not. um ah Looking back at ah trends and issues that resonated with our audience, all all of that business about the about the excise tax, the six monthly, ah all of the posts that we shared from the IBA, all the stuff we did on it, yeah, lots of, yeah.
00:18:16
Speaker
Yeah, lots of feedback, lots of talk talk around that. It's really an issue, obviously not not not just a Canberra region thing. but um Well, it seems like, you know, you you started this by saying it's been a fairly steady year, but obviously still plenty happening. I think that's been a bit of a sort of realisation we've had when sitting down to, you know, plan each of these conversations for the various states and territories. It's like, oh, you know, there hasn't necessarily been any wow standout trends, but, you know, there hasn't actually been so so many, you know,
00:18:46
Speaker
noisy closures or whatever, then you actually sit down and go, this this you know there's so much happening. I guess you know the industry is so spread now that once you actually sit down and and pay a bit of attention and look back over the last 12 months, there is plenty plenty happening.
00:18:59
Speaker
Yes, yes. It's ah it's about scale. As you kind of move the magnifying glass in, there's there's there's always something to talk about, I think. And I mean, there's still plenty.
00:19:12
Speaker
Yeah. Matt, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Cheers.
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00:19:21
Speaker
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00:19:36
Speaker
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00:19:47
Speaker
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00:20:00
Speaker
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00:20:10
Speaker
Paul, thank you for joining us on the show.
Craft Beer Scene Post-COVID Recovery in Canberra
00:20:13
Speaker
Absolute pleasure, James. Happy to be here and talk all things beer in Canberra and to all my friends. Yeah, I guess, well, you know, let's start with the second of those to all my friends. um You know, how's 2025 been for you at, you know, one of Canberra's finest, if not the country's finest craft beer bars?
00:20:31
Speaker
and Thank you for saying, James. Look, I mean, we touched base in the middle of the year when we sat down. um the The start of the year was very much chasing our tails from coming out of 2024. I think um a lot of places in Canberra, Canberra I can speak for, I can't really speak for anywhere else. um So it was a little bit chasing our tails, you know, but it's come to the end of the year, especially after, you know, July, August, September.
00:20:57
Speaker
We've seen that our um sales are coming back into line with what it was after, just after COVID. and So last year was very, um, People's pockets were quite tight at Christmas.
00:21:09
Speaker
um And so we've already seen now a big improvement just in the last month. um So all things considered, we started off the year um chasing our tails and now it's sort of come to the end. And it looks like we can see a little bit of sunshine coming out into 2026.
00:21:26
Speaker
We hope so. And did that did that require sort of changing anything you do? i mean, for people that don't know the venue, obviously, you know, you've got a rotating tap list of, you know, great independent beers. You have an excellent bottle and can list. Your pizza are fantastic. You do beer events and other events as well. Like it's, it's kind of like, like everything you'd want from a, you know, well, I say neighborhood craft beer bar, any craft beer bar really, but have you found you've had to sort of evolve in recent years to make sure people are still coming in and spending over the bar?
00:21:59
Speaker
ah Look, again, not so much in Canberra. No, I would say ah really you just have to be um consistent um because we're quite lucky here in Canberra. there's a um There's a slight economic bubble that we have here that other places don't.
00:22:14
Speaker
um So I wouldn't say it was we'd changed anything drastically. It's more we were just doing... um How do I put that? We were doing fewer things better.
00:22:25
Speaker
Okay. that Less mess is more is it as a certain brewery that may have sold half billion dollars. I think we took the um like the really small craft brewery approach, which a lot of them after COVID was kind of doing the same thing, whereas like, okay, we can't be doing 20 limiteds a year, whatever.
00:22:45
Speaker
Let's stick to core and then try and do a few more just so we can get our'll keep our feet in the door, so we can keep above ex size just so we can keep above just above, just for everything like that. So we tried to do the same thing ah i here and you know pulled our socks up, tightened our laces and did fewer things. But the fewer things we did, we um we put our heart and soul into.
00:23:06
Speaker
and yeah and it And it always pays off when you have passion and you treat the business like... um I always say about to all my friends, it's like walking into, um, it's like walking into a living room.
00:23:18
Speaker
Um, I don't think people, I mean, as I said in Canberra, I don't think people really want to go out and, um, go to a craft beer bar that feels like a, a shopping mall, um, kind of vibe, you know, like the hustle and bustle, which, um, and and other places in Australia, that's um quite the norm.
00:23:35
Speaker
But, uh, no, as long as we kept our, uh, uh, homish vibes and that living room kind of, um, um, aesthetic, then no um we've been um we've been quite lucky here. And you know where we are. We're not in the, for those of you who don't know Canberra, we're not in the, what you would call the CBD of Canberra. We're out in the suburbs.
00:23:56
Speaker
So our demographic of people, are um people come in, they're It's like a small country town. Everyone knows each other. you know everyone it's like It's like an episode of Cheers every afternoon sometimes. So it is. yeah I hope that answers your question. Yeah, yeah. And and any sort of standouts for you in terms of you know for the for the venue, for events, or just you know some great beers that you've either been involved in or have gone through your taps that have you know stood out for Come Definitely. I mean, um, our co labs, uh, you know, i'm very passionate about getting into, um, into breweries and making the beer with them. Um, so we've done a few this year. We've done, um, uh, a few with, um, ambush. We've done a few with, um, bridge road.
00:24:39
Speaker
I guess my, my standout was definitely our, um, uh, fest beer I made with, uh, Mark down at East Brunswick village here bri ah with bridge road.
Notable Collaborations in the Craft Beer Scene
00:24:47
Speaker
That was a smashing beer. Um, we made, um,
00:24:50
Speaker
Oh, we made about 24 kegs of that. So that was our beer for, um, for Octoberfest. Now it wasn't quite a fest beer. Um, was about 5%. So it's a little bit under, um, for what a fest beers, but it was a smashing beer. You know, we margaret it for.
00:25:04
Speaker
Oh, about four months, which again is not kind of regulation, but everyone loved it. So i was happy. Um, went to shore, um, with the recipe, how it was going to go. Could be tweaked a little bit.
00:25:15
Speaker
Um, everyone loved it. Uh, so that to me is a standout. Can't wait to um make another Fest beer next year and maybe change it up a bit.
00:25:25
Speaker
With Ambush, we've been um we've been making beer with them for quite a while. on One of the newer breweries in Canberra, actually taking um staff over, getting involved, um having the brewers here because one of them is quite local. I can literally see his house from here, looking out the window of the cafe.
00:25:43
Speaker
um And getting people and like involved in making the beer and then sitting around talking about the beer, having punters being able to address the person that makes it, I think that makes a great um conversation in um in a pub.
00:25:59
Speaker
yeah and I guess this can probably go for your staff as well. I know that you're very big on making sure that all the staff that in there know what they're talking about with any liquid that they have there. Obviously, you know, you had a wine background before your beer background. But I guess does that help sort of going out and taking them to the brewery and getting getting them some sort of buy-in with the process and with what you're serving?
00:26:19
Speaker
Very much so. I mean, not... Not everyone is into craft beer as much as I am. Really? um It's a passion. You better know what it was. But you can see it grow on them like it grew on me.
00:26:32
Speaker
um And yeah I've had staff here for three, four, five years now. And it's um absolutely great to see them evolve in their own palate. in their vocabulary, how they articulate their own flavor profiles.
00:26:45
Speaker
Because everyone explains, you know, there's a, I guess there's a wheel of flavor that we all um would kind of use to broadly describe things that are happening on the palate. But it's great to see someone start from nothing and then know, three or four years later there, I'm borrowing words from them. i was like, that's a great way to describe a biscuit malt. Like I've never even thought of it that way. is It's just like, oh okay, like Anzap biscuit. I'm going to use that with a West Coast next time.
00:27:09
Speaker
And then taking them to the breweries so they can see um how it's put together because I could, you know, you can explain different brewing techniques, different matching techniques and whatnot, but it's not until you see it and you're involved in it and you're sitting there stirring it or you're putting the hops that it like kind of clicks in their brain and they're like, okay, this is the difference between a, a Nipper and an XBA or a, you know, a Hellas Lager and a Mastin or something like that.
00:27:35
Speaker
So, um yeah, it's great to see um passion happen symbiotically, I guess.
Ambush Brewery's Expansion Plans
00:27:44
Speaker
Yeah. And yeah and when when i when I caught up with you at at the bar earlier in the year, you mentioned that Ambush were looking to get their own place. have they sort of I know we're here to talk about you, but how's that sort of moved on?
00:27:54
Speaker
i We were actually going to go and look at a place this Sunday. Okay. So we were, but both, all of us have to work. So we might have to push it to Monday or Tuesday.
00:28:05
Speaker
It is a place um very close to Canberra. Mm-hmm. just over the border. I can't give too much away at the moment because we haven't actually um gone to look at it. It's still a case of watch this space and you'll ambush me with the good news down the line.
00:28:23
Speaker
It is definitely something that is... ah It's going to happen. yeah it's going it's It is going to happen. It's not a yeah and an if but a when. And we just need to find the the right spot.
00:28:34
Speaker
And um and um when that happens, I'll definitely be letting you know. In fact, I'll bring you down so you can come and check the place out. Next time you're down here, you definitely have to come over and see Ambridge. They make some great beers, James.
00:28:46
Speaker
Yeah, and aside from that, any sort of highlights from ah around the the canberra Canberra region from the year outside of your four walls that have caught your eye? um I always enjoy hops and hooves. That was a great fun this year. so Horse racing and and craft beer together in Canberra. It's always a great day.
00:29:05
Speaker
um Really, really fun. Basically, I can say that the the scene in Canberra is pretty much gravitated by two breweries, which I think we know the um the names of those, right?
00:29:18
Speaker
And they do a really good job of incorporating the smaller breweries to into their festivals, whether that be the multicultural festival or the folk festival.
00:29:29
Speaker
Canberra has so many festivals where craft beer is involved. But um I've been involved with quite a few of those on the on the ambush side, helping them out. And I think that um the one that stands out to me most is definitely yeah the hops and hoops, because you have pretty much every brewery in Canberra there.
00:29:47
Speaker
And then you've got um all the South Coast breweries, I think there's about 20 or 30 breweries there. few gin distillers and it was always it's always a great day. But that's my favorite day of the year. Yeah, very nice. And and I guess so looking ahead, um what's in store for Paul and for to all my friends in 2026? I would want to see us expand.
00:30:07
Speaker
and but it might not be the time and place to do that. ah So we just have to keep doing what we're doing. It's not like we're treading water. I'm not saying that, but we just have to have a bit of patience and know that what we're doing is going to come to fruition at the end at at the end of the um at the end of the line.
00:30:26
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, for sure. And what about on a sort of, you know, hospitality sort of retail sort of front, if is if there was anything you could change for the likes of yourselves or other, you know, venues that do want to support independent or retailers that want to support independent, you know, or smaller breweries, is there anything you'd like to see change other than more punters come through your door and spend What would I like to see changed on that side? I think um halting or really, i mean,
00:30:56
Speaker
buying taps in country pubs. And i it's it's just a a practice that I don't like particularly. um And then that's and on a ah grand scale, but that is something that I would um okay try and tackle head on.
00:31:12
Speaker
ah i mean, I was looking at it on that topic, I guess, you know, from a to all my friends perspective, obviously, you know, not your taps aren't owned by anybody other than yourselves. um What would you, you know, to other people who,
00:31:25
Speaker
are running venues who are maybe wavering, maybe they're in a tap contract and are thinking of going the other way. What would you say, you know, the the benefits are for you as a venue in owning your taps and deciding who pulls through those taps?
00:31:39
Speaker
um I think you just kind of hit the nail on the head. It's because you get to decide and you have the ultimate say. So you can't really fall back and say, well, well, we have to do this because we have a license or everything. You can take onus and and make a business what you want it to be.
00:31:55
Speaker
And the whole craft beer industry is built around community and and and bringing all of that together. Like there's not a craft brewery. i know Like if you can find one, an independent craft brewery that doesn't sponsor some sports team or local.
00:32:09
Speaker
so I mean, um there's so many things I could go into as to why it's important to support local brands. independent breweries. I know not everyone wants to drink that. and I'm certainly not saying that we need to strong arm everyone into um into drinking double IPAs. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm i'm just saying that the the the structure that we have now set up for again, the two big multinational um companies that own good 80% of the market.
00:32:39
Speaker
um I think it needs to be explained to the, um, the other owners and the other licensees that, uh, supporting local, uh, independent brewers who employ, um, local people is, um, not something to be shunned at or to be, uh, pissed at, um,
00:33:03
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's a touchy subject, but yeah it's one that needs to be touched, James. Yeah, but essentially it means that, you know, you can look at who your clientele is or what you want it to be. You can evolve with time. You know you have everyone's truth. Yeah, you can mold it into what you want rather than being what, as I said, I'm not going to mention their names, but what the um what the ah bigger um multinational brewery.
00:33:27
Speaker
yeah amount like co-ops want want you to do. No, that's great. now well Well, thank you so much for taking time out. It sounds you've got a busy va and venue next door you need to get back to. We've got trivia starting in a about half an hour. I'm just seeing everyone kind of pull in now. So that I'm getting out of here, I'm going to go and um have dinner with my family. ah Very nice. So you you go and do that. um I hope you have a great summer. I look forward to catching up next year and you know following the the story of Paul and to all my friends into the future.
00:33:56
Speaker
All right, cheers, James. Thank you for the chat, mate. It's always a pleasure sitting down and talking beer with you and the Crafty Point crew. So um have a Merry Christmas, mate. Thank you. I'll see you in the new year, mate. Cheers.
00:34:07
Speaker
Bye-bye. When it comes to helping breweries shine, Bluestone Yeast are the folks to talk to When you want to brew a quality beer, you need the best yeast. Bluestone have over 100 liquid yeast strains ready to go and can even work with you to create a custom strain. Visit bluestoneyeast.com.au today. Hey listeners, Will and James here with another Bluestone Yeast Brewery of the Month. This is where people write in to let us know what breweries they love at the moment. And James, we've got one from Rich here.
00:34:37
Speaker
Yes, it's a brewery that we've celebrated in the past. I believe they've been a past breakthrough brewery of the year and one of our annual Victorian wraps. But when we did that, before we switched to the the podcast format, um Rich has nominated Love Shack Brewing in Castlemaine. Fantastic place. Makes some lovely beers. They've had Really great year as well. They've expanded a little. I've been having some fun with with some of their releases as well. Rich says, when it comes to the idea of a brewery being the social hub of a community, these guys absolutely understand the understood the assignment.
00:35:10
Speaker
Founded by a couple of young ex-Stomping Ground brewers and making their home in Castlemaine, their beers are high quality, straightforward and honest. I love an honest beer. Exactly. um He says ah their their venue is a loving homage to the glorious country of yesteryear, a 1970s vibe in a modern world.
00:35:28
Speaker
Their branding and marketing is also some of the best in Australia, with a recent highlight being a one-shot video featuring rock band Tropical Fuckstorm causing mayhem in the kitchen, while Connor, which is one of the founders, scrambles to find some cash to pay them gold.
00:35:42
Speaker
Yes, yeah I did watch that. I saw that collab as well, and I was like... If ever a ban if band sort of was turned into a brewery, Tropical Fucksdale would be turned into a Love Shack. And coincidentally, we at the time of recording, I had my street party, Christmas party last yesterday. And one of my neighbours said that they recently had a pint of Love Shack Pale Ale at Norton's, which is a great pub in Melbourne. And they said it was just it just hit them. It was the perfect beer. He did say it might have been the moment. It was a nice afternoon. But he just was like, that is one of the greatest beers I've ever had in my life.
00:36:15
Speaker
Well, there you go. So congratulations, Love Shack, Connor and the team. um One of our final Bluestone Yeast Brewery of the Month winners for 2025. If you want to get a nomination there's still time for yeah to get one more in before the end of the year. Please head to craftypint.com slash Bluestone. Will, can you tell us what um the Love Shack will be winning from the lovely folks at Bluestone Yeast?
00:36:40
Speaker
You better believe I can. is this month's winner, Love Shack will score a box of Bluestone's Zinc Booster, which is from their booster range. This Zinc Booster, it's a coal side edition of sterile zinc, which replaces that zinc, which is lost in the boil.
00:36:55
Speaker
And as i've found out over the course of this journey, zinc is essential for optimal yeast health and performance. Well, and quite a journey. You've got better and better at outlining the prize that so each each winner wins, each time will. So, ah you you know, um shows that practice can make perfect. um Anyway, congratulations to those guys. Thanks again to Bluestone East for getting behind this campaign. And head now back to the show. Cheers. Cheers.
00:37:21
Speaker
Our thanks to Bluestone Yeast for their support. If you're looking for the very best liquid yeasts, great service and speedy shipping, you'll want to give Derek and the team at Bluestone a call.
00:37:32
Speaker
Check them out at bluestoneyeast.com.au.
Purple Mango Brewery's Growth and Community Engagement
00:37:37
Speaker
Adam, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for having me, James. Now, i guess for um not I guess not too many of our listeners or um viewers will have been as lucky as I've been to actually visit Purple Mango. Do you want give us a bit of a potted history about you know who you are and and and where you are?
00:37:55
Speaker
Yeah, no problem, mate. so Well, we moved up from Canberra seven years ago now, and so we moved up to beautiful Darwin, great part of the world, and and after about a year, we stumbled across the Purple Mango, so we've then we took over ownership of the purple mango of only six years now so i've just gone through birthday yeah and i mean and there was there was a small brewery on site at the time but you've made quite a number of changes not just to the beers but expansion like you it's all been fairly one way onwards and upwards since you came in yeah absolutely we've just sort of had continual growth in the brewery year on year we started with uh
00:38:31
Speaker
two 50-litre fermenters and a 50-litre Braumeister. Last year we portr purchased our fourth large fermenter, so we've got a 1,000-litre one now, three 600s, and the 500-litre Braumeister, and were we're still pushed to capacity during this dry season, which was really good. yeah So, yeah, definitely really happy with how everything's going and the quality and everything that comes with that too, yeah.
00:38:53
Speaker
And where's the beer going? Is it just around Darwin? Are you selling a lot of it through um you know through through people coming through your space? yeah And just to give people contact, guess you guys are kind of midway between Darwin and Kakadu, I guess, on the drive-through?
00:39:05
Speaker
Yeah, so we're on the way out to Kakadu. It's about an hour, maybe an hour and a quarter from Darwin CBD, I suppose, if you like. It's quite a busy tourist highway, but we're not right on the highway, so we're just a couple of kilometres off. So we've got a lot of passing tourists come through, but by and large, they're out.
00:39:21
Speaker
biggest demographic is people who've been here then bring their visitors and family and friends when they come to visit in Darwin because that's the time to come and visit when it's cold down where you are. Come up and see us when it's nice. So we get a lot of customers like that.
00:39:33
Speaker
We've probably experienced some good growth in the campgrounds. I've had more overnight visitors this year than we but did last year and our cafe and retail trade stayed fairly steady. So wholesale's coming up. If you're going to visit a brewery where you can stay, why would you not stay overnight, you know?
00:39:48
Speaker
Yeah, you'd think it'd be obvious, but I guess with some of the mod cons of the other places and ah people looking for other things, we're not too busy, but we certainly had a good season in the campground, yeah, absolutely.
00:40:01
Speaker
I think if you're travelling through to Kakadu and you're after mod cons, then you maybe you need to rethink your travel plans anyway. You've hit the wrong button, absolutely, yeah. all i And just back to the beer, this i mean yeah so you is your market focused pretty much around sort of Darwin pubs and bars around there, I'm assuming, or do you send anything a bit further afield?
00:40:19
Speaker
um No, we're all in Darwin at this stage. We've had beer out at Kakadu as well. We've done fairly well in Darwin this year. It did push our capacity limits. Probably got around about eight to ten taps in in Darwin, and we've got packaged out around the joint too, so... So that's enough at the moment. We probably need a bit more expansion to go too much further, but we haven't gone interstate or anything yet. Yeah. And and and how's 2025 gone for you and Kylie? Obviously, there's you know the fundraising you guys have been doing, and awareness raising has been a big part of that. How's that been going?
00:40:52
Speaker
Yeah, really well. We didn't have the out-and-out Pints for Purpose function, which was sort of run for us, I suppose. So in lieu of that, Kylie organised the Pink Ribbon Breakfast and just our little community out here, and we still managed to raise... $3,500 just to donate back for cancer research. So it's something that's always front of mind and and as we try and move forward and she heals and and all of that.
00:41:19
Speaker
For those don't know, we've obviously gone through breast cancer battle. I suppose you should yeah yeah throw that in. ah It's been a good opportunity to give a little bit back what people gave to us, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I was amazing seeing the support when, you know, when, you know, the news first came out of the Kylie, you know, was, it was in need treatment, just the, yeah the way the, the beer or hospital community seemed to rally around, um, straight away.
00:41:41
Speaker
Yeah. It was great, mate. I never felt more at home. Yeah. yeah Yeah. Well, I suppose, all I guess, you know, and just a bit of background as always coming from camera, were you, had you brewed before or has it all been sort learning on the hops since you came up there? Never touched it in my life. So, We drove past to look at another property out this way. As a said, it's an hour out of town. There's a lot of bush blocks. And we looked at the property next door and this one had a full sail sign at the front. So we thought we'd come in and have a look. And yeah, it's a great little place. So as seen, this little sort of piece of paradise in the middle of nowhere.
00:42:14
Speaker
The brewing was challenging initially, it probably not up to standard. And then we built from there. And obviously have Jamie, our brewer now, and hope sort of training and got the equipment we needed to get the quality up. We're really happy with what we put out now. it's been a good journey. It's taken some time, but yeah, definitely. So you you went from looking for somewhere to buy to brewing, making pizzas and making that delicious, um, chili mango, uh, sauce as well.
00:42:38
Speaker
Crazy, crazy, crazy. Our life turns around sometimes it's, um, It was a big change in our lives to sort of hit 40 and make ah make a different ah future for ourselves, I suppose.
00:42:51
Speaker
And what what a place. We've still got plenty more good stuff on the horizon for this year coming as well. Yeah. yeah i also So, yeah, so what what is, you know, looking ahead, what's next for you guys?
00:43:02
Speaker
Yeah, we'll continue to push out wholesale market and look to get some better distribution, a packaged product. The penetration is probably quite low, so we're going to actually move further into that space and and still push into the whole sub, maintain the core business out here while we we look for other avenues. It's very broad and varied when you've got accommodation and camping and little bit of catering and Kylie's chili mango sources have started to hit the shops as well. So it's just more about expanding our core business, I suppose. Yeah.
00:43:37
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And what about the so the wider NT or you know the the top top end beer scene? Obviously, you know you're very much a central part of that now. How's that looked in 2025? Yeah, well, we've had Darwin Brewing Co come along as well. So it's sort of picked up another venue.
00:43:54
Speaker
we We feel we're getting some traction. and We still find the same issues as everywhere else that obviously a lot of taps are contracted and new venues don't think about. independent and craft brewing in the right format. But we're out there swinging from the hip, I suppose, and still showing that we've got good product and actually very competitive pricing and stuff that people want to drink.
00:44:16
Speaker
So it is always that challenge, but we're out there nibbling away. And I think as a unit, we're probably, we're going pretty well. Yeah. Yeah. And what about any, any standouts from the year, any highlight events or any beers you've put out of your own that you've been like, yep, we've, we've nailed that one. Um,
00:44:33
Speaker
Yes, good call out. We we made a yeah German beer for the first time this year, dedicated. to Jamie made a Schwarz beer, a Dark Lager, and it's been really well received. So it's good to put something completely new out. We sent it to Beaver Brewery, our mates up the road in Darwin, and have at the German festival. It was really well received there, and we've had it on tap here too.
00:44:53
Speaker
um Outside of that, probably the Mango Sour was one I was a bit nervous about, whether we had the right clientele, but we actually developed a a sour beer but we used real mango picked from the farm down the road and actually flavoured it with real mango and we shifted the whole batch we're we're busy now checking more mangoes to get into the next season so we can get our next mango sour out it was um really impressive that they're probably the two highlights well i think we'll see the mango sour push out again hopefully into a mango lager into next year using real mango It's a pretty tedious process. I don know not other people probably aren't doing it that way, but we're pretty happy to use the natural resources we have here. Well, I was going to say, that's probably one of the biggest advantages you've got. Like you're in such a you know incredible food bowl. You know, it's so many things that grow there that don't grow many other places or something that don't grow to the same extent they do. So it's almost like, you know, you could sort of line up a smorgasbord and decide what you're goingnna play with next.
00:45:50
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I've got four greats of mangoes sitting right here ready to start checking when we turn up. But, The brewer gets the cheek mangoes here as well. Our season provides sort of all this really good stuff with citrus and mango and berries and things like that. We we don't grow that much in the wet, actually. ah Our summer is not a growing season. So it's just that the mangoes finish up about now. But we work really hard to use the natural stuff that we have. If it grows here, we we'll put it on pizzas and everything as well, yeah.
00:46:19
Speaker
Yeah, and that's great. And I guess looking ahead, any sort of you know hopes, dreams, whether from a sort of Purple Mango perspective or the wider sort of Darwin and t sort of beer scene? ah We definitely want to continue to grow here and sort of solidify our business. It's still tough out there. It's not um small business not and the cost of living crisis. sand It's not easy to just keep sort of growing and expanding, but we want to solidify our main business, grow as much as we can, but also get into the community. We don't hit a lot of events in town. so
00:46:53
Speaker
we' We're looking to do that a bit more. We missed out on a big Pints for Purpose function and a beer festival, so we'd like to get that up and running again next year to see if we can keep pushing the craft community as a whole.
00:47:04
Speaker
It's not just about us or Howlis or One Mile Bee or anyone. we yeah We do try and sort of work in with everyone and and grow that whole culture and industry and show that we've got really good stuff, yeah.
00:47:16
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's it's it's great great to hear. And I guess when you say you've missed on some big events, like not but not much of a team there, is there really? It's like, do we stay and man the fort or can we afford to go and do do an event in town?
00:47:28
Speaker
Yeah, generally speaking, we can't go. That that would be a nice element for this year to build our sails so that we can man the place without having to do absolutely everything here. But again, it's my business. You've got to do what tasks are required. So that that would be a great,
00:47:47
Speaker
target for next year to be able to actually get out of here and get to the events and and push out beer and everything in town as well. Yeah. Yeah. No, well, best of luck with that. Sounds great. nor Thanks so much for your time. um Do look forward to getting back there at some point, pulling the caravan into onto your property again um as soon as we can. Yeah, no problem. Kids might be getting in the way so somewhat, but we'll do what we can. But um yeah. We're always here.
00:48:10
Speaker
Yeah, send my best wishes to Kylie. um Best of luck for, you know, surviving the the wet season and getting ready for the next dry one. Yeah, thanks, James. Thanks very much for your time. No worries. Cheers, mate.
Supporting the Beer Industry through Partnerships
00:48:23
Speaker
Do you have a product to sell to the Australian brewing industry? Maybe it's hops or malt, hoses or equipment, or is it a new beer sales software package? No, wait, you've got the perfect pair of gumboots that every Aussie brewer absolutely needs. Whatever it is, there's no better way to reach that audience than promoting it through the crafty pint.
00:48:41
Speaker
We've been covering the Australian beer industry for nearly 15 years and have the biggest audience of brewers and brewery owners of any media publication in the country. Even better, our ads work. We'd like to get creative and help you make a meaningful connection with your target market.
00:48:56
Speaker
So if you want to drive sales, make the Crafty Pint your first call. Contact Craig at craig at craftypint.com. The Crafty Pint podcast is produced and edited by Matt Hoffman.
00:49:07
Speaker
You can get all your beer-related news and reviews on the Crafty Pint website, craftypint.com, and can stay up to date on future podcast episodes via our socials. We wouldn't be able to produce the podcast or the website, the events or festivals we run without the support of the beer industry, whether that's suppliers, bars, breweries or bottle shops.
00:49:26
Speaker
If you'd like to support the show or partner with The Crafty Pine in other ways, please reach out to Craig via the details in the show notes. And if you're a beer lover who'd like to support what we do, you can join our exclusive club for beer lovers, The Crafty Cabal.
00:49:39
Speaker
Visit craftycabal.com for more. And until next time, drink good beer.