Sam Fletcher is the winner of the Hop Products Australia Beer Writing Bursary, the first of its kind in Australia. He is a certified beer geek and uncertified home-brewer. He spends his days in an office being paid to sit on Facebook and Twitter, but is far happier with a tulip glass of Imperial Stout in one hand and a pen for scratching down review notes in the other. He has contributed over 1000 beer reviews to beeradvocate.com and has no intention of slowing. Sam's other great loves include medieval Icelandic literature, comparing Kurosawa's films to Herzog's, and above all his long-suffering wife with whom he resides in Sydney's inner west.
Web Site: http://twitter.com/#!/LaitueGonflable
The festival that was the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular is over – the kegs are stowed away, the Royal Exhibition Building’s doors are closed and I am back in an office in Sydney, wishing I were still out drinking in a giant echoing beer hall. Partly to give thanks to Steve, Guy and all...
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Some evidence of the craft beer movement is obvious, such as the growing number of smaller breweries opening their doors, the increasing crowds at beer festivals and so forth, while others can be less obvious. One of the less trumpeted flow-on effects of craft beer’s slowly expanding market is the infiltration of good beer...
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Six String Brewing began like any other brewery. Inspired by years of homebrewing and a ‘real ale’ trip through the UK, Chris Benson approached his friend Adam Klasterka in 2009 with the idea of opening up a craft-minded brewery on the NSW central coast. They hoped to bring to the vibrant community an intimate...
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There are few breweries in Australia that can boast as strong a reputation as Murray’s. From the fresh and clean Whale Ale all the way up to the impenetrable dark force of the Wild Thing imperial stout, Murray’s continually hits the mark, for casual drinkers and beer connoisseurs alike. Whatever your favourite tipple from...
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By now everybody should know the saga of Young Henry’s. There’s been enough coverage in the mainstream media for everyone with a passing interest in beer to have gotten wind of it. The original site for the brewpub/restaurant on Devonshire Street in Surry Hills, near Sydney’s CBD, was part of an existing dispute between...
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I’m not one of those beer geeks who judges a beer based on its maker. Drawing on my previous experience, there are certain brewers I like, and there are certain brewers I don’t like, and so obviously with every beer I try, those feelings swim around in my head and cloud my judgement. I...
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Western Sydney is at present not quite awash with quality beer. Craft offerings in the harbour city tend to be concentrated around the CBD, while the huge suburban sprawl out west is largely untouched. But after the Australian Brewery opened their doors in Rouse Hill in 2010, western Sydney got its first local taste...
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From the outside, Platinum Liquor doesn’t look like much. Both of its outlets – in Bellevue Hill and North Strathfield – sit nestled in amongst a group of suburban shops and bear the legends Tooheys New and Heineken, with precious few signs to the treasure trove of craft beer beyond. For nearly seven years,...
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PET beverage packaging is a familiar sight. Its lightweight and recyclable properties have made it a staple of the fast-moving consumer goods industry for more than twenty years. Beer, though, is a market that has never fully felt the PET influence, with most breweries clinging conservatively to the traditional glass packaging, with the occasional...
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In an appropriate first article published under the Hop Products Australia beer writing bursary, Sam Fletcher finds out about Ben Kraus' latest single hop IPA...
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