The Crafty Pint Podcast

The Crafty Pint
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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.

  1. 1d ago ·  Video

    Mazen Hajjar | Independence | Beer Travel | Birthdays

    "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 craig@craftypint.com.

    Mazen Hajjar | Independence | Beer Travel | Birthdays

  2. 3d ago ·  Video

    Be Brave: The Art of Beer & Food Pairing

    “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.

    Be Brave: The Art of Beer & Food Pairing

  3. Sep 30 ·  Video

    New Beginnings, Italian Adventures & Trans-Pacific Collabs

    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 craig@craftypint.com.

    New Beginnings, Italian Adventures & Trans-Pacific Collabs

  4. Sep 23 ·  Video

    When We Play, We Learn ft Whisky & Alement

    “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 craig@craftypint.com.

    When We Play, We Learn ft Whisky & Alement

  5. Sep 16 ·  Video

    From West Coast To Inner West ft Future Brewing

    "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 craig@craftypint.com.

    From West Coast To Inner West ft Future Brewing

  6. Sep 16 ·  Video

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

    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

  7. Sep 9 ·  Video

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

    "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 craig@craftypint.com.

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

  8. Sep 2 ·  Video

    Ten Years Of CoConspirators

    “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 craig@craftypint.com.

    Ten Years Of CoConspirators
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About

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.

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