The Crafty Pint Podcast

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

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

“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 , 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 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 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 9:47 – CIBD Asia Pacific Convention 2027 10:50 – Lindsy Part 1 31:30 – Get a free Packpal sample 32:35 – Lindsy Part 2 To find out more about partnering with The Crafty Pint or The Full Measure, contact craig@craftypint.com.

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 : a publication dedicated to the world of Australian spirits. It comes with its own podcast 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 . It’s worth taking a look at Luke’s article-meets-manifesto, The Case for Australian Spirits too.

"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 , he’s making hot sauces – 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 (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 or the impending closure of cult Melbourne beer bar Benchwarmer. But Will and James do discuss Bright’s taphouse expansions , a feature on the beauty of barrel-aged beers , the forthcoming tenth anniversary of unique brewing co-op Hopsters , and the imminent unveiling of The Beer Championships finalists . Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 12:02 – Get a free Packpal sample 13:06 – Crafted Festival Brewer EOI 13:54 – Ryan Davidson Part 1 48:42 – Bintani 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.

“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 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 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 at Good Land Brewing in Traralgon, as well as the potentially existential threat facing Future Brewing 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 12:07 – Crafted Festival 12:55 – Margi Part 1 30:02 – Get a free Packpal 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.

"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 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 . We also covered Warrandyte Brewing's taproom go-ahead , Black Match's slow but steady move towards releasing their first beers and opening a taproom, Felons' commandeering of the Manly Fast Ferry, and 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 .

"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 and Black Hops' second voluntary administration in two years . We also cover Blackflag's expansion into Bundaberg , the Australian International Spirits Awards , TWØBAYS' trophy success in New Zealand, and Dunsborough's new – kinda – 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.

“I'm still passionate about what I do, I still love what I do, and I still think I'm one of the luckiest people in the world.” In the last Another Round episode of The Crafty Pint Podcast, in which we’re rerunning some of our favourite shows from the past two years while various team members are overseas, we figured why not head overseas here too. What’s more, given it’s winter in Australia and plenty of people are seeking out sunnier climes, why not make our destination Bali? To be precise, we're off to the home of Sam Füss – the award-winning brewer who swapped Australia for the Indonesia island province in 2022. Her main reason for making the change was to set up Beaches Brewing Bali; we joined her in late 2024 with the brewery up and running. Sam takes us inside the experience of getting Beaches off the ground, training locals with no prior experience, and educating people who've never encountered craft beer before, while reflecting on one of the most colourful careers of any brewer in the modern era. With our podcast producer departing Melbourne to visit family in the States on Tuesday, we recorded our review of the week in beer earlier than usual, which means there’s no discussion of the sad news that Sobremesa have decided to call it a day , nor of Black Hops entering voluntary administration for a second time , 28 months after first going through the process. What James and Will do cover is the success of the inaugural Australian NZIPA Challenge last weekend, judging at the first Beer Championships , Reckless Brewing’s ambitious plans for IPA Day, a new offering for brewers from Mogwai Labs, ticket sales opening for Blobfish 2026 , our updated listing for Bendigo’s Cambrian Hotel , and this week’s celebration of dark beers on the Inner West Ale Trail. We're back running fresh interviews from next week, and hope you've enjoyed these trips down Memory Lane. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 13:26 – Brewery Boosters ft Bintani 17:17 – Sam Füss Part 1 40:49 – Maximising Taproom Revenue ft GoTab 46:55 – Sam Füss Part 2 To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

“I can kind of do whatever I want and two or three weeks later send the beer out and see what happens.” In the third of our Another Round episodes, in which we dip into the 100-plus past shows of The Crafty Pint Podcast throughout July while various team members are overseas, we return to our chat with Rhys Lopez, founder of one-man-band Evil Mega Corp . He takes us into the thinking behind his unique operation, one that allows him to explore any avenue that piques his interest , and move more nimbly than pretty much any brewing operation on the planet. We also delve into the pre-EMC – and pre-beer – career of one of the most loquacious and thought-provoking characters in the industry. This week’s intro sees James rejoin Will as he prepares to fly back from the UK, with the former recapping his brushes with the beer and whisky worlds in England and Scotland. It’s been something of a back-loaded week in terms of articles on Crafty, with news of Six String’s return from administration landing as we were chatting, and articles on Malt Donkey’s “Fine Ales” and Shapeshifter’s exciting plans for Adelaide Central Market potentially not landing on the site until after this episode enters the ether. We also look ahead to this weekend’s NZIPA Challenge at Rocky Ridge and upcoming events we’re involved with at Bracket Brewing in Marrickville and CoConspirators in Brunswick. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 18:17 – Special Deal from Price Screen & Digital (use code PINT) 19:18 – Rhys Lopez Part 1 43:59 – Industry Insights with American Canning Machines 45:06 – Rhys Lopez Part 2 To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

With some in The Crafty Pint Podcast team spending much of winter travelling, we’re tapping into a few past episodes for July. For round two of Another Round, we head back to the Riverina to revisit our chat with Brad Woolner and Stu Whytcross from Voyager Craft Malt . The best mates and business partners have helped pioneer small-scale malting in Australia, including through the launch of Grainstock , Stu’s passion project. The industry event returns in October, so we felt it was a fitting time to highlight where the idea came from as well as Voyager’s wider story, which we recorded at the Whitton Malt House last year. Before that conversation, Craig and Will caught up to chat about the week’s news. They discussed Jono Outred’s story on CBCo’s paddock to plate to pint approach in Margaret River, Will’s piece on the delightful Otter’s Promise , and Mick Wüst’s latest book , Whisky & Cocktails. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 12:25 – Industry Insights with American Canning Machines 13:31 – Voyager Part 1 45:14 – A Special Deal From Price Screen & Digital 46:13 – Voyager Part 2 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 Customer Solutions Expert Christina Schönberger and Jopen’s Head Brewer Daniel Schappert about using Prysma™ to craft hop flavour that lasts a shelf lifetime.

Something a little different from The Crafty Pint Podcast this week – and for the rest of July too. As flagged in recent episodes, we’re taking a short break from running new full-length interviews. All three key players in the production of the show are on back-to-back overseas trips and a major new project is coming to fruition soon. The beer news keeps coming, however, so we’re still recording fresh reviews of the week in beer. And, given we’ve got so many great chats to dip into from the past couple of years, we’re taking the opportunity to go another round with some of our favourites. First up is Jade Flavell from The Wheaty in Adelaide. Few will need any introduction to Jade, given the pioneering role she has played in defining high-end, craft beer-focused hospitality at the Thebarton pub, then more latterly turning it into an award-winning, ever-innovative brewpub . Jade is as passionate about supporting independent arts and live music as she is about indie beer – and whisky for that matter – and has plenty of insight to offer on those topics and many more. Before we revisit the chat recorded at The Wheaty , James joins Will from Oban on the West Coast of Scotland, where he’s combining visits to small breweries and historic distilleries with a family adventure. They look back over seven days in which Will has spoken to two people working sober in beer and hospitality , and we preview the opening of an ambitious new brewery in WA as well as the latest evolution of Prancing Pony in the Adelaide Hill. Beer travel of two kinds – a new Crafty Crawl in South Sydney and a champion brewer’s exploits in South Korea – also hit the site, while hop fiends can also look forward to the inaugural Aussie version of the NZIPA Challenge coming to Melbourne later this month. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 13:57 – Industry Insights with American Canning Machines 15:06 – Jade Part 1 41:34 – The NZIPA Challenge 42:18 – Jade Part 2 To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com .

“I don't see any ceiling for non-alc beer.” It’s fair to say there were plenty of skeptics when non-alcoholic beer first started to appear in earnest in the local beer scene. Yet, in the half-decade-plus since we ran a blind tasting featuring early entrants to the market, the sector has grown and grown. While some brands have come and gone, there’s a growing number of established brands and many other breweries for whom their non-alc range forms a significant part of their sales. What’s more, Bridge Road Brewers and, more recently, Heaps Normal have started putting non-alc beer on tap . To assess where the market sits, where it could be heading, and why it’s come so far already, we pulled together a panel from different facets of the beer world. Molly Rose founder Nic Sandery is the brewer behind both Molly Rose and Hiatus non-alcs, Sam Bethune is a former brewer who’s now a technical sales specialist at Bintani , and former Fixation main man Tom Delmont brings a sales and brand perspective from his role at Hop Nation , who produce a broad range of alcohol-free beers. We look at advances in technology, processes and ingredients, the dos and don’ts of non-alc brewing, take lessons from overseas, and attempt a spot of crystal ball-gazing. This week’s opening is a global affair with James recently landed in London amid a European heatwave that looks a lot like Australia in January – albeit without aircon... We discuss two venue openings in the Yarra Valley and the Sunshine Coast , the relaunch of the Tasmanian Beer Trail , and our plans for a hiatus of sorts of our own. Throughout July, we’ll still be reviewing the week in beer on the show, but instead of featuring new longform interviews we’ll be running some of our favourites from the past two years. With James in the UK and our producer heading to the US soon – plus a major new project coming to a head – we didn’t want to risk breaking ourselves any more than we already do! Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 16:21 – Price Screen & Digital 17:26 – Non-Alc Panel Part 1 39:08 – Industry Insights With American Canning Machines 40:15 – Non-Alc Panel Part 2 To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

“Year one for us is proof of concept.” In January, we unveiled plans for a new form of beer awards being conceived by industry titans Justin Fox and Jayne Lewis. Five months on and submissions are now open for The Beer Championships , so we invited them to join us on the show to find out more. We delve into the genesis for this new approach to assessing and celebrating greatness in beer, their reasons for heading down this path after years spent judging across the world, and their desire to achieve significant commercial benefits for finalists and champions. We also tease from them the Oscars-inspired name for the trophies they’ll be handing out in October. It would be remiss of us to have two such respected individuals, with rare breadth of knowledge across many facets of the beer community, on the show and not ask more of them. So, in the second half of the main chat, we invite Justin and Jayne to tell us what they’re seeing and hearing about the beer world’s health and prospects, and to share their personal feelings on where the industry sits as we approach the midpoint of 2026. Talking of that, we’ll be taking a short break from running new extended interviews from the end of June. We’ll still publish weekly news updates; however, throughout July, these will be paired with some of our favourite shows from the past two years. Fresh long-form interviews will return at the end of July. We’re working on a major new project that’s launching in the second half of 2026, and Will, James and Matt will all be overseas for stretches between now and September, hence the short change in transmissions. In terms of this week’s news, we cover a VA on the Central Coast , the opening of a European-style beer hall in Hobart, the final leg of our 86 tram Crafty Crawl, and the launch of our competition to find the dream Aussie Beer XI now the World Cup is underway. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 12:30 – Industry Insights with American Canning Machines 13:40 – Justin & Jayne Part 1 38:47 – Enter The Beer Championships 39:39 – Justin & Jayne 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 human component sometimes goes beyond the beer component of working in this industry.” Tito Orellana arrived in Australia from Chile with his interest in beer already piqued. Upon arriving in Melbourne in the midst of craft beer’s explosion – with signs blaring: “GOOD BEER WEEK” plastered on walls across the city – his interest soon became a full-blown passion. In the decade-plus since those early days, he’s moved from basic hospo roles through some of the country’s best beer bars and breweries to become an Advanced Cicerone and judge at major beer competitions on both sides of the equator. Today, Tito is the beer ambassador at Carwyn Cellars – an incredibly rare role in hospitality and retail that speaks volumes of both employer and employee – and one of the most respected beer educators and event hosts in the country. He’s also launching a new project, Edubeer , designed to make life easier for any Aussies wanting to understand how beer styles are supposed to look, taste and smell. He’s a wonderfully charismatic guest who touches upon his travels and love for music as well as his specialist subject, and offers some lovely insights into his first experience judging at the World Beer Cup in Colorado earlier this year. Before we get to this week's main chat, we cast an eye over the week's news: a new collab in WA designed to keep the beer gas tax conversation going ; the crafty rebirth of an historic Melbourne corner boozer; entering the Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Awards ; and our latest guide to enjoying beer at its best . Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 13:52 – Tito Part 1 40:51 – Industry Insights from American Canning Machines 41:57 – Tito Part 2 To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

“Be kind to people and treat your beer well.” It’s been an emotional few days for Nemesia Dale-Cully – or Meesh as she’s known to most. For almost half a decade, she’s been running the venue at Wildflower in Marrickville, where they bade farewell to their last customers on May 31. We took the opportunity to chat to Meesh ahead of the closing weekend, not just to reflect on her time at Wildflower but also to find out what she believes goes into creating a great hospitality experience – both for staff and customers. Her insights have been earned over a period in which she swapped running events at libraries for bar shifts at Sweet Amber in Adelaide, which led to working at Pirate Life as the brewery swapped its OG Hindmarsh home for its Port Adelaide behemoth, then being headhunted by Shapeshifter as they set up home, before swapping Adelaide for Sydney’s Inner West. Her advice ranges from the importance of respect, kindness and “meeting people where they are”, to cleanliness and theatre. And we go deeper too, with Meesh one of the most respected voices in the beer community on diversity and inclusivity, not least when businesses or individuals – on either side of the bar – fail to meet even basic standards of civility. There was big news in the world of big beer this week, with Lion announcing they’re to cease brewing at James Boag Brewery in Launceston, while in the world of indie beer, the IBA revealed they‘re switching the focus of their Indies awards from liquid to people , and our Building A Brewery series returned for a third chapter . With Pint of Origin wrapped up, we’ve lined up a bunch of new specials for members of our Crafty Cabal beer club, so if you’d like to boost your beer experience while supporting us on our good beer mission, feel free to sign up . And, of course, feel free to like, subscribe, rate and review the show so we can reach more people. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 13:48 – Meesh Part 1 35:35 – Driving Footfall & Loyalty with GoTab* 41:24 – Meesh Part 2 To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com. *To book a demo with GoTab, email nathan@gotab.io.

"People use it to learn English, and I think that's spectacular." Em Sauter is an American drinks communicator, international beer judge, podcast host and writer who specialises in visual education. To Australian beer fans and those working in beer, she's best known as as the person behind Pints and Panels , an award-winning website focused on "Visual Drinks Education" which launched in 2010. Em returned to Australia earlier this month to judge at the Australian International Beer Awards – and to enjoy the country's XPAs, Cherry Ripes and coffee culture. We caught up with her at Carwyn Cellars, where she held a pop-up stall during Pint of Origin, for a chat diving into the history of Pints and Panels. It covers the rise of AI, her experience travelling the world as a beer judge, and Em’s take on the state of beer in the US. There's a bit to get through in this week's show before we get to the main event too – not least as it's the 100th full episode of The Crafty Pint Podcast. We look back on the biggest Pint of Origin to date , discuss features on newly-crowned AIBA Champion Nomad Brewers Shack Bay and Goons Brewing , who opened their brewery venue on the Central Coast right at the end of 2026, and revisit one of the topics from Episode 099 that's been attracting a lot of attention on socials: container deposit schemes. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 15:56 – Australia's Biggest Beer Fan 17:06 – Em Sauter Part 1 42:35 – 100 Years of Roasting at Joe White Maltings 43:32 – Em Sauter Part 2 To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

“It's so great to see that people care, that there is still interest in the movement.” Fresh off the back of the Australian International Beer Awards and both the federal and Victorian state budgets, we invited the CEO and chair of the Independent Brewers Association (IBA) to join us on the show. There was plenty to reflect on and project from in the respective budgets, as well as the ongoing conversations around excise that have been capturing headlines and the public’s attention alike, not least off the back of Independent Senator David Pocock’s campaigning. Those discussions form just part of the episode, with Sabrina and Evin offering insight into the IBA’s key priorities, the real costs to consumers of the various container deposit schemes across the country, the impact of non-payment of bills across the industry, funding to reboot the Tasmanian Ale Trail, and plans to replace the Indies with awards that celebrate the people of the indie beer community. James sat out the main chat due to his position on the board of the IBA, but joins Will for the intro. As well as looking back on a booming opening half to Pint of Origin , they summarise this week’s features on two of the country’s independent breweries: Mog Brew and the rebirthed Zig Zag Brewery . If you enjoy the show – or have enjoyed any past episodes – we're really appreciate it if you could like, subscribe, rate, review or tell your beer-loving mates too. Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 9:39 – Are You Australia's Biggest Beer Fan? 10:46 – Sabrina & Evin Part 1 38:49 – 100 Years of Roasting at Joe White Maltings 39:57 – Sabrina & Evin Part 2 To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.

“This was our goal, and we achieved it today, which was phenomenal.” A bit of a change for this week’s episode, not just because it’s going up a day later than usual. We recorded it straight after the Australian International Beer Awards 2026 had wrapped up – in the canteen next to the main hall. James had just finished co-hosting the awards with Kirrily Waldhorn, while Will was armed with his third Best Media trophy as they cast an eye over the winners – which you can read about here . We also sat down with Tyler Little and John Marcus from Froth Craft Brewery in WA, who had entered the AIBAs for the first time in their tenth year with the goal to win Best New Exhibitor – which they did! As well as reflecting on their triumph, we get some insight into what it was like living in Exmouth – home of Froth’s original venue – as Cyclone Narelle came through, plus the camaraderie they enjoy in the WA beer scene. Prior to that, our discussion of the week’s news takes in the global travels of quality guru Bradford Tetlow , 100 years of roasting at Joe White Maltings, two more of our Pints of Origin preview articles, and a feature on Froth Craft Brewery’s collab with WA hop and malt industries celebrating the state’s flavours . Start of segments: 0:00 – The Week On Crafty 8:59 – Double Vision Brewing & SURE on their Fresh Drop #PoO26 collab 16:12 – The AIBAs 2026 Results 26:29 – Froth Craft Brewery 35:59 – Australia's Biggest Beer Fan competition To find out more about featuring on The Crafty Pint Podcast or otherwise partnering with The Crafty Pint, contact craig@craftypint.com.