White Bay Brewery has announced a three-year deal to become the official beer of the Sydney Swans, with investors showing faith in Australia’s craft beer industry by investing a further $1m into the business. As well as the Swans partnership and added investment, White Bay, along with equity partner and brand adviser Richards Rose, has also unveiled a new brand direction which is anchored by the brand’s iconic W logo. As part of launching the new W brand direction, White Bay has made its Extra Pale Lager a permanent part of its core portfolio, with a larger 375ml red can. White Bay Co-Founder ..read more

The tag of ‘legend’ does get thrown around a lot these days, but when it comes to Chuck Hahn and brewing the mantle of ‘beer legend’ is deserved, so it is exciting to see Chuck come out of retirement to launch Chuck and Son’s Brewing Company, with his son Scott. The new brewery is scheduled to open in St Peters next weekend, with four beers on the roster, with those beers having been carefully considered by the brewing team to bring nostalgic, refreshing and sessionable beers back to Australia’s beer-loving consumers. Scott Hahn told Beer & Brewer that while they understand times are incre ..read more

PakTech has announced the launch of its local manufacturing in Australia, as well as a partnership with Endeavour Group to increase the reuse and recycling of its products. The announcement follows PakTech’s multipack beverage can handles being assessed as recyclable through the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) ARL program. PakTech products are made with high-density polyethylene (HDPE), also known as number two plastic, the same recyclable material used in products such as milk bottles, detergent bottles, and toys. Through Paktech’s recycling partnerships, the products will b ..read more

Following a successful launch last year with Sierra Nevada, Sydney’s International Brewers Collective gala dinner will return in 2024, with a guest speaker from the “world’s oldest brewery”, Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan. Australian and international brewers will meet on 30 May at ICC Sydney’s Parkside Ballroom for the gala dinner, with a keynote address from Weihenstephan’s Vice President Sales Export, Marcus Englet. With almost 1,000 years of brewing history, Weihenstephan continues to impress, winning gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2023 World Beer Awards. Since joining the ..read more

The Independent Brewers Association (IBA) welcomed five new members to its Board of Directors at its 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) this week. The newly elected Directors include Tom Champion, Felons Brewing Co (QLD), Annelise Nijskens, Madoke Brewing Co (QLD), Glen Brasington, Hawkes Brewing Co (NSW), Helen Black, The Coastal Brewing Co (NSW), and Paul Maley, Shelter Brewing Co (WA). They join Callum Reeves (Kaiju! Beer) and Evin Craney (Bright Brewing) who will continue on the Board. Richard Watkins has stepped down from his position as Chair of the Board, a position he has held since 202 ..read more

What makes an international beer competition truly global? Lotte Peplow, Brewers Association American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe looks at the latest World Beer Cup. There are many international beer competitions around the globe today all purporting to find the best beers in the world. This is a bold claim to make if the competition itself does not attract a truly international list of entries or is not judged by an international jury with eclectic palates and different perspectives.     The World Beer Cup, organised by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trad ..read more

Though Better Beer continues to show promise, Mighty Craft is in a difficult position, with a decrease in revenue and currently unsustainable levels of debt. Mighty Craft’s Q3 FY24 report indicates that revenue fell by 22 per cent compared to the prior corresponding period, with an unaudited total revenue of $19.8m. This revenue includes approximately $6.1m sales from discontinued operations. However, the like-for-like decrease in revenue is lower, at 11 per cent, which is adjusted for the impact of asset sales over the last financial year, such as Jetty Road Brewery, Hills Cider, and Slipstre ..read more

Fermentis is delving into all things lager in the latest instalment of its live Homebrew Hangout events, which will be held on Friday 3 May. With a growing interest in lagers among craft brewers, the webinar will cover the history of the style, its market positioning, and insights into lager brewing. Fermentis will also tease the release of its new, lager-optimised yeast strain, SafLager E-30. Hugo Picard, Home Division Manager at Fermentis, will lead the panel, with Technical Project Manager Eduardo Liza-Diaz and Southern USA Regional Sales Manager Mohsen Saade joining as guest speakers. Liza ..read more

Following his success at the Queensland Royal Beer Awards, Slipstream Brewing’s Daniel Thomsen spoke to Beer & Brewer about his passion for craft beer and his dedication to learning that earned him the accolade. Thomsen, who was recognised with the Emerging Queensland Brewer award, is originally from Darwin and says he was initially drawn to home brewing because of his love for craft beer. “Good craft beer was pretty hard to find in Darwin, but for whatever reason, I was always drawn to drinking something different than everyone else. On the rare chance that a craft beer would come up, I’d ..read more

To celebrate the annual Australian hop harvest, breweries from across Australia are creating fresh brews, bringing the farm-to-glass experience into their breweries and into the glasses for consumers to enjoy responsibly. In Sydney’s Inner West 10 breweries have joined forces for the Inner West Hop Festival which takes place from 24 to 28 April. Over 100 kg of fresh hops were rushed from the Victorian high country straight to the brew kettles of each brewery to create unique beers showcasing the just-picked flavours and aromas. Hop lovers are invited to pick up a passport from any of the parti ..read more