The Crafty Pint Podcast

It’s a jam-packed Weekly News show this time around, one that spans the decades as well as The Ditch, comes with a hearty dose of upbeat indie news, and includes a smattering of awards updates too.
We kick off in Victoria with Will’s visits to Bright’s newest Taphouse in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Croydon – they’ve taken over the former home of The Public Brewery and more recently Dainton – and The Woodlands in Coburg, where they’ve taken the decision to remove the last of their multinational-owned taps and have been reaping the rewards.
Then there’s a trip back in time as we add context to Will’s feature on Doug and Matt Donelan, brothers from Sydney who started brewing together at home in the 70s, have worked almost exclusively in beer since, and made the decision to retire at the same time.
We’ve got an update on two past podcast guests, with Sunday Road Brewing looking forward to a major venue expansion as they turn ten, and Jervis Bay Brewing Co scoring back-to-back golds in the NSW Tourism Awards.
Also on the awards front, submissions for the Royal Queensland Beer and Distilled Spirits Awards open next week. And if you fancy treating yourself to a celebratory night out at our second Crafty Cheer event, get in quick as tickets for the event on December 2 are already more than half sold.
A PSA too: If you’re watching rather than listening, we recorded this episode in a different studio, which means you’ll have to deal with James’ knees on full display…
Start of segments:
0:27 – Stompo Street Fest
1:21 – Bright, Woodlands & The Donelan Brothers
14:35 – CIBD 2027
15:37 – Jervis Bay, Sunday Road, RQAs & Crafty Cheer
To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

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 BarthHaas Technical Manager of Brewing Solutions Mark Zunkel and Haas Brewing Solutions Specialist Alejandro Cortés González about the teams at the epicentre of continuous hop product and brewing process improvements.

"We're always looking for improvement; I don't think you can ever learn enough."
On a road trip through New South Wales at the start of 2026, we’d hoped to stop at Jervis Bay Brewing Co to record a podcast. Sadly, the planets refused to align, but we were able to land our man at Grainstock instead, where brewery co-founder and head brewer Oisín Sweeney joined us in the pop-up Lallemand-sponsored studio.
It proved a nice narrative touch, as we discovered during the chat that Oisín’s connection with Voyager and the Riverina goes beyond using the former’s malt in their beers. Their partnership with the craft maltsters is just one element of Jervis Bay’s mission to operate as sustainably as possible too – an ethos and approach we explore in this episode.
We also trace Oisín’s story back to his first experiences of the NSW South Coast as a backpacker, the brewery’s origin story to the junior sports pitches of the Shoalhaven region, and the way in which brewer, brewery and their beers have evolved since they poured their first pale ales for customers four months before COVID shut down the country.
The episode is a bit of a return to the recent past too, with a wrap of the week’s news kicking off proceedings. This features Will’s recent feature on the mixed-ferment brewers at Caldera in the Northern Rivers as they prepare to open a joint taproom with Spangled Drongo, Hobart Brewing Co’s new digs, and updates on a trio of upcoming festivals: Pint of Origin’s venue applications closing next week; Crafted’s upcoming Melbourne debut; and the dates for GABS’ return in 2027.
Start of segments:
0:18 – Beer30 ft Your Mates Brewing
1:22 – The Week On Crafty
12:18 – Oisín Part 1
33:36 – Stompo Street Fest
34:42 – Oisín Part 2
To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

On this episode of The Crafty Pint Podcast, Will’s joined as co-host by Luke McCarthy, editor of our fledgling sibling publication, The Full Measure.
It’s a fitting week for Luke to join too, given we ran a story on Steve Brooks’ decision to retire and sell Captain Bligh’s, which makes whisky and other spirits alongside beer in Hobart.
Will and Luke also thoroughly enjoyed Neil Richardson’s story about Newcastle’s legendary local, Jaci Lappin, who took over the Carrington Bowling Club in 2008 when it was $300,000 in debt and turned the space into a community hub with a wholehearted embrace of craft beer.
We’ve also reveal the dates for next year's Pint of Origin Festival, look ahead to the excellent Made In The Inner West Festival in Sydney next week, and reflect on the decision by the team behind Crafted to call off the Newcastle leg of their 2026 series due to slow ticket sales as they switch focus to their Melbourne debut on November 21.
Also on the show, Will chats about meeting the team behind Elwood Brewing and the EBCo Taproom, who have turned a longstanding tiki bar into a craft venue. Looking ahead, Crafty Cheer will return to Molly Rose on December 2, when the Crafty and Full Measure crew will be joined by Victorian brewers and distillers to kick off the festive season. Grab your tickets here.
Start of segments:
0:16 – Stompo Street Fest
1:10 – Weekly News Part 1
9:57 – Beer30: Your Mates
11:00 – Weekly News Part 2
To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

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