Upcoming Events

Ahead of the opening of their new brewery and venue in Geelong, we joined the Blackman's team for a brewery tour, Q&A and tasting of some of their hoppiest beers with Cabalistas.

We filmed the Q&A and tasting (although had to chop the first 90 seconds as I forgot to plug the mixer back in...) and you can check it out below.

It covers the family-run brewery's history as well as their beers and looks at what they've got planned for the future too.

VIEW STREAM HERE

We're pretty bloody lucky at The Crafty Pint in that we're able to call heaps of amazing people from the beer world our mates.

And two of the best of our mates are Nic Sandery of Molly Rose and Tom Delmont of Fixation.

They agreed to brew our Crafty Cabal relaunch beer, Disco Monks From Outer Space, and joined us for a streamed event to chat about it, their breweries, and whatever else we could think of on the evening of December 15.

VIEW STREAM HERE

On the back of the launch of Eclipse, a new hop from Hop Products Australia, we invited them and Akasha to join us for our third online event for Crafty Cabal members.

It was an evening that was both informative and entertaining, taking in all things hops – breeding, selecting, growing – and brewing with them, plus Akasha's rebrand, their story, and much more besides. You can catch up on it now.

VIEW STREAM HERE

Rocky Ridge rose to prominence in a hurry in WA and have never looked back.

On October 17, they launched one of their most limited of annual releases – the Devine Goodtimes Barrel-Aged Brett Saison – and we had a chat with brewery founder Hamish, team members Liam and Ricky plus beer collaborator / Crafty writer Guy Southern from Goodtimes Craft Beer and Black from deVine Cellars.

If you want to learn more about the beer, the brewery and more besides, check out the show:

WATCH HERE

We kicked off our regular online events for Cabal members with 3 Ravens' head brewer Brendan O'Sullivan.

The chat was centred around their Solera Stock Ale 2020, which is inspired by the Solera method and the centuries old brewing tradition of “Keeping Ale” and is set to be released to the public around Christmas.

First brewed in 2011 and stored in French oak wine barrels, the beer blends various vintages of barleywine to create characteristics reminiscent of sake or fortified wine.

check out the livestream here

The 3 Ravens story has been one of the beer world’s best over the past half decade or so.

At one point it looked like Melbourne’s longest-established indie brewer would fold, even while they were claiming major trophies, before a couple of changes in ownership, the signing of a new brewing team, and a freeing of reins around beer styles and events saw them become one of the most innovative and award-laden breweries in the land.

If you’d like to hear all about it from the horse’s mouth (or raven’s beak), head brewer Brendan O’Sullivan is back in his home state of WA and hosting an event showcasing some of their rarest and biggest releases at The DTC.

The epic lineup of beers features:

• Choc Coconut Shake
• Methode Ravens 2021
• Woods of the North II
• Solera Stock Ale 2021
• Barley Apera
• Barrel Aged Peated Imperial Oatmeal Stout

The DTC crew will be putting on some nibbles too, while Brendan has plenty to talk about besides the beers with heaps of new projects underway at the Thornbury brewery.

There’s a ridiculously good price for Cabal members, too: tastings of all the beers and nibbles for…. $5.

It takes place at 6.30pm on July 27.

The 3 Ravens story has been one of the beer world’s best over the past half decade or so.

At one point it looked like Melbourne’s longest-established indie brewer would fold, even while they were claiming major trophies, before a couple of changes in ownership, the signing of a new brewing team, and a freeing of reins around beer styles and events saw them become one of the most innovative and award-laden breweries in the land.

If you’d like to hear all about it from the horse’s mouth (or raven’s beak), head brewer Brendan O’Sullivan is back in his home state of WA and hosting an event showcasing some of their rarest and biggest releases at The DTC.

The epic lineup of beers features:

• Choc Coconut Shake
• Methode Ravens 2021
• Woods of the North II
• Solera Stock Ale 2021
• Barley Apera
• Barrel Aged Peated Imperial Oatmeal Stout

The DTC crew will be putting on some nibbles too, while Brendan has plenty to talk about besides the beers with heaps of new projects underway at the Thornbury brewery.

There’s a ridiculously good price for Cabal members, too: tastings of all the beers and nibbles for…. $5.

It takes place at 6.30pm on July 27.

Bendigo On The Hop returns to the regional city on August 28 after skipping 2020 due to COVID.

It's going to be a little smaller than usual due to ongoing restrictions, but no less splendid, as anyone who's been in the past will be able to tell you, with nine venues, 18 breweries, and 36 beers this time around.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on June 25, but Cabal members have a chance to get hold of theirs early via an exclusive pre-sale link.

The festival sells out early every year so, with less tickets available in 2021, this is your chance to guarantee a spot!

To access the link, click the button on this screen and we'll send it to you via email.

Pre-sales will open at 9am on June 22 and close on the night of June 24.

UPDATE: Due to the unfolding COVID situation, the decision has been taken to postpone this event for a short period. Seasonal have a milestone brew coming up so the hope is to rearrange it around that. Existing purchases are still valid; if anyone who'd booked a spot can't attend the rearranged date, we'll refund purchases in full.

Want to take a look behind the scenes at Seasonal Brewing Co?

The team at the Maylands brewpub is inviting Crafty Cabal members to join them for a laid-back Sunday session on July 4.

Head brewer Brody Watt and The Crafty Pint's Guy Southern will be on hand to take attendees through the brewery while digging into the brewery's story and ethos.

Guests will also enjoy a guided tasting of some of Brody's beers – possibly featuring some sneak peeks of what's coming up – and, given it's a brunch start time, there will be tasting platters too.

Things start at 11am, an hour before the venue opens to the public, so you'll be able to enjoy the tour and Q&A without distractions.

It's been a long time coming, but persistence is set to pay off for Deeds Brewing as they finally prepare to open the Taproom at their Glen Iris brewery.

We can't say too much about it at this stage, other than they're not holding back with the beer and food offering, or the venue itself.

The Taproom has been four years in the making and is designed to be a super slick and modern space to explore and experience everything Deeds Brewing – from joining a brewery tour and tasting or settling in for a meal to popping in to load up on take-home beers. 

If you'd like to check it out for yourself before the venue opens to the public, they're inviting 40 Cabalistas to join them for an exclusive tour, guided tasting, and Q&A on June 23.

It kicks off at 6pm with a complimentary drink on arrival – one of their new Taproom only releases – before guests get to enjoy a welcome from the team, a brewery tour, a guided tasting with share platters, and a Q&A session hosted by The Crafty Pint team before the bar opens for beers and takeaways.

It's not long now until Good Beer Week rolls around and with it Pint of Origin, this year showcasing beers from across the planet at 14 venues.

As in 2019, we're putting on a Pint of Origin IPA Blind Tasting Championship on May 21 featuring beers from each of the regions as well as some special guests.

The concept is simple: attendees will be served the IPAs in flights without knowing which one is in each glass, receive some tips on how to judge / assess beers, then go to work deciding which are their favourites. If you've not done a blind tasting before, they're entertaining and enlightening all in one!

At the end, we'll tally the scores while you enjoy some finger food, before declaring the overall winner – more details here.

We're keen to fill the last few spots ASAP so we can lock in everything with our host venue, The Palace in South Melbourne, so are offering Cabalistas that chance to snap tickets up for $39 instead of $49.

They might have missed out in 2020, but Good Beer Week is back for a tenth time this May.

And we're back with another opening night special for Cabal members in the Atrium section of the Festival Hub, Beer DeLuxe Fed Square.

We'll be inviting a trio of brewers to showcase their beer and tell you their story, with each attendee getting a schooner or can of each brewers' beers plus some finger food.

UPDATE: We've locked in the brewers! You'll be able to drink with and hear from:

• Two Rupees – West Coast IPA
• Black Arts – Bière de Coupage
• Exit – Red IPA

Attendance is free but there is a limit of 100 members so get in quick. Also, please don't register if you can't make it as we don't want people to miss out.

It kicks off at 6pm on May 14 and will wrap up around 7.30pm so you can join in the Opening Party shenanigans in the main bar too.

We're making a dash for it...

Yes, we're trusting hotel quarantine will work well enough for the team at Crafty Towers to make it across the border to ACT for the beer festival in March and figured we should put on something extra for Cabal members while there.

So we're inviting any Cabalistas who can make it along to join us at Capital's Fyshwick brewery home on the evening of March 19 for a behind-the-scenes tour before joining the brewery team and Crafty crew for dinner and beers.

It's a rare, money-can't-buy chance to get up close with the legends who've helped put ACT well and truly on the beer map in Australia.

In fact, it's so money-can't-buy it's free. We'll bring along some goodies and, who knows, there might be the odd special guest too...

Blackman's Brewery have enjoyed great success since opening their brewpub in Torquay, winning major trophies, opening a burger bar in nearby Ocean Grove, and, most recently, announcing a new production brewery in Grovedale, a suburb of Geelong.

They make fantastic beers in an array of styles, but their IPAs have frequently caught the eye, not least in the Same Day and Needs More... series.

So we've decided to celebrate their hoppy side with a twin-pronged event for Cabal members.

On March 31, you can join us at the Grovedale brewery for a tour with the team. Or, if you're elsewhere in Australia, you can beam us into your home from the brewery for a streamed Q&A and guided tasting.

The tasting will be based around the following:

• Needs More Amarillo IPA (NEW)
• Needs More Mosaic IPA (NEW)
• Reginald IPA
• Mervyn Pale Ale
• Juicy Banger IPL
• Ernie Tropical Hazy

Members can opt to attend the brewery and pick up the beers (and a stubby holder) on the evening, or pre-order the beers and stubby holder to be delivered ahead of the stream.

To celebrate the relaunch of The Crafty Cabal, we made a beer with Fixation and Molly Rose: Disco Monks From Outer Space – a Cosmic Farmhouse IPA.

Just 100 litres made it into kegs and we're tapping one at Molly Rose's brewpub on November 25.

The venue is opening on the night for Cabal members only from 6.30pm. You'll get a free taste of the beer on arrival and Molly Rose will be offering a special deal on the night for takeaway beers.

To celebrate the relaunch of The Crafty Cabal, we made a beer with Fixation and Molly Rose: Disco Monks From Outer Space – a Cosmic Farmhouse IPA.

Just 100 litres made it into kegs and we're tapping the first one at Fixation's Incubator on November 18.

The venue is opening on the night for Cabal members only from 6.30pm. You'll get a free taste of the beer on arrival and the Fixation crew are offering a special deal on the night for takeaway beers.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, spaces are very limited so please only book a spot if you're definitely able to come.

If you are able to coordinate groups (up to ten) with fellow members and let us know at crafty@craftypint.com that would be amazingly helpful for the Incubator crew.

Also, if it looks like there will still be space early next week, we'll shoot out an email offering spots for plus ones on a first in, best dressed basis.

UPDATE (13/11): We've hit full allocation, but I'm heading into the Incubator today to see if we can extend this at all. If not, there's still a few spots at Molly Rose.

The original Carwyn Collaborational had to be scrapped due to the nationwide shutdown and the ongoing situation in Melbourne means a physical event still isn't possible for the new date in October.

So the inventive folks at Carwyn Cellars are taking it online so you can take part at home.

You can read more about it here and, if you didn't already have a ticket and thus qualify for a beer box, you can save $5 if you buy a ticket in the pre-sale.

Once tickets are on sale, simply head to the festival website and tap the button below to reveal your discount code. The pre-sale lasts 48 hours from September 2.

NB Don't share the code around, however, as the Carwyn team may ask us to check the emails of those using the code to ensure they're members.