Australian Adventures, Brews + Reviews, Homegrown, My Pilgrimages, Travel finds

Melbourne Beer Crawl

Beer crawls. I am extremely passionate about them, I genuinely think there are few more enjoyable ways to spend your day then to wander from brewery-to-brewery sipping fresh beer under the very tanks it was brewed in. And while the good old fashioned beer crawl has been put on hold while COVID runs amok, it’s…

Beer + Food Matching, Brewing, Brewing + Ingredients, Brews + Reviews, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

Journey through the land of the Kölsch

The locals of Cologne, Germany say they drink so much of the stuff their blood runs golden and fizzy.. its the light, fresh, tasty Kölsch and I went straight into the depths of it’s homeland to taste it about as fresh as it gets!

Australian Adventures, Brewing, Brewing + Ingredients, Brews + Reviews, Food + Beer, Homegrown, My Pilgrimages

Sydney’s Inner West Beer Trail

It seems like each time I leave Sydney and come back, another brewery has opened it’s doors and you can bet your lucky beer mug that it did so in the hip and happening inner west region of the city. There are now so many craft breweries in the inner west, you can literally walk…

Beer + Food Matching, Brewing, Brewing + Ingredients, Brews + Reviews, Food + Beer, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

Hawaiian Craft Beer Trail : Big Island

Big Island (or Hawai’i Island) is a dramatic land of ultimate extremes. From white and black sand beaches fringed by tall coconut palms to dry, almost desert-like savannah to lush rainforest, lava-spewing volcanoes, vibrant coral reefs and even snow-capped mountains, it’s hard to imagine a place that is more dramatically diverse. I love the Big…

Beer + Food Matching, Brewing, Brewing + Ingredients, Food + Beer, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

Hawaiian Craft Beer Trail : Maui

Maui’s mix of ultimate luxury, adventure and genuine local Hawaiian vibes has seen it rank as a favourite by many visitors to the Hawaiian islands. For me, I love this island for it’s local produce scene that is unmatched among the islands, maybe even one of the most unique in the entire US. When you…

Food + Beer, My Pilgrimages, Overseas

Hawaiian Craft Beer Trail | O’ahu

The tidal wave of craft beer that has taken the world by storm in recent years flowed far and wide, filling bars and bottle shops with more incredibly tasty, naturally-brewed beer than you could poke a stick at, however did it reach far enough to drench the far flung Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean…

Brews + Reviews, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

A journey into a Bavarian beer wonderland with the Beer Queen

Join me and the Beer Queen of Bavaria at the quirky Kuchlbauer brewery in Bavaria. It’s weird, it’s whacky and it’s where beer magic happens! With over 640 breweries in Bavaria alone, it’s hard to pick just one to visit, however this one has to be on the list..

My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

24 HOURS IN LEIPZIG

Brews + Reviews, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

THE LAND OF THE HOLY ALE: TRAPPIST BELGIUM – Inside the secretive world of Westmalle..

“Now.. you can’t film, or take photos. We have to meet our escort and discuss how we will document this, but really the monks are very secretive. I can’t even believe we have been allowed in!”. We are standing at a huge iron gate outside ‘Westmalle’ Monastery in an attractive rural region of Northern Belgium…

Brews + Reviews, Food + Beer, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

BEER LOVERS GUIDE TO BAVARIA (VIDEO)

Bavaria truly is the beer mecca of planet earth. There are over 4,000 different beers that call this region in Southern Germany home and it is a place where beer plays an integral role in the local culture – this is a guide to magnificent Bavaria through the eyes of a true Beer Lover. Getting There Swiss…

Brews + Reviews, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

A peek at Bergkirchweih – The World’s Oldest Beer Festival

Could this be Germany’s best beer festival?? And no it’s not Munich’s Oktoberfest… It’s the lesser known Bergkirchweih Festival in Erlangen – It’s the world’s oldest beer festival and attracts over a million people over a 12 day period. Having never been to Oktoberfest in Munich I can’t compare but the locals say this one…

My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

River Surfing in Munich!

Un-believable! I was cruising through central Munich today when I noticed some lads in wetsuits carrying surfboards. Assuming they were either extremely lost or up to something cool, I followed them and couldn’t believe what I saw! Check this out. GETTING THERE + AROUND Swiss Airlines fly return from all major Australian cities to Munich from…

Brews + Reviews, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

Beer-Lovers Guide to Bavaria Part II : Bamberg to Erlangen.

BAMBERG  Having avoided the destruction of allied bombing campaigns during the first and second world wars, the stunning Franconian town of Bamberg stands today as a living reminder of what quaint, old-world Germany used to be. It is possibly the most beautiful town in all of Germany and carries on a centuries old brewing tradition…

Brews + Reviews, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

EURO BEER TOUR // Beer-Lovers Guide Bavaria Part I : Munich.

When most look at a map of Europe they see ancient history, incredible food, culture, architecture, art and a hip and happening fashion scene. I see beer. I see a kaleidoscope of beer varieties that date back centuries. I see beer cultures that influenced the rest of the world and a contemporary craft beer scene…

Australian Adventures, Brewing, Brews + Reviews, Homegrown, My Pilgrimages

SYDNEY’S TOP TEN CRAFT BREWERIES TO VISIT

Sydney’s craft beer scene is blossoming into something quite beautiful and it seems like new breweries are popping up on the radar every few weeks. Craft brewers being a social bunch often like to set up within “coo-ee” of other breweries so they have a variety of fresh, local beers to drink themselves (or someone to…

Brews + Reviews, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

Craft Beer Guide To Amsterdam (and surrounds)

Wedged between Belgium and Germany, it’s easy to look straight past the Netherlands when it comes to beer. Most seem to associate it with another, more controversial relative of the hop plant and discount it as a beer region all together, but in my recent experience I was amazed by what I found. In a…

Australian Adventures, Brewing + Ingredients, My Pilgrimages

Beer Pilgrim’s guide to Hops and the Hop Harvest – VIDEO

What is it that makes beer so delicious? What are the secret herbs and spices that make it the greatest liquid of all? I’m heading down to Tasmania to find out!

Brewing, Brewing + Ingredients, Brews + Reviews, My Pilgrimages, Overseas, Travel finds

Talking Saisons and Farmhouse Ales with a true master.

If you watch no other interviews about beer this year, watch this one. One of the greatest characters I have come across on my travels. His name is Jef Van Den Steen, owner of Brewery De Glazen Toren and he is about as passionate about Saisons as anyone on the planet. Not to mention the…

Australian Adventures, My Pilgrimages

West Coast Beer Trail 003 : Margaret River Region

It is one of the most incredible settings in Australia with it’s dramatic rugged coastline, picture perfect surf breaks, quaint little villages, lush farmlands, rolling hills of grapevines and piles of incredible craft breweries. Margaret River is well known around Australia as a world-class wine region and tourists flock here for wine tasting and gourmet…

Australian Adventures, My Pilgrimages

West Coast Beer Trail 002 : Perth and The Swan Valley

Perth to me is a Sunday afternoon in the sun drinking a delicious local beer chatting away happily with the friendly locals. It’s a great, welcoming city and I always love visiting! I am a big fan of Fremantle’s beer scene as you probably noticed by my last instalment : West Coast Beer Trail, Fremantle. And…

Australian Adventures, My Pilgrimages

West Coast Beer Trail 001 – Fremantle

    The idea of coming to the West Coast to do a beer trail has been in the back of my mind for years, ever since I sipped on my first glass of Feral’s famous ‘Hop Hog’ Pale Ale in a little inner-city bar in Sydney.. It was the moment that made me think;…

Australian Adventures, Brewing + Ingredients, My Pilgrimages

Brewers of the East Coast

Through my adventures as the Beer Pilgrim, I have had the opportunity to meet hundreds of people involved in the beer industry, especially brewers and I am always blown away by their passion and commitment to their craft. To say brewers take their job seriously is a massive understatement; most brewers I have met literally…

Australian Adventures, My Pilgrimages

Beer Lovers Guide to Brisbane

There are few places that have taken to the diverse contemporary world of beer as passionately and as quickly as Brisbane. Brisbane’s beer scene is barely recognisable to what it was 5 years ago (it’s a different world entirely to Brissy 10 years ago!). Craft beer pubs, micro breweries and beer festivals are popping up…

Australian Adventures, Brews + Reviews, Homegrown, My Pilgrimages

Fremantle ‘BeerFest’

A title like ‘BeerFest’ tends to conjour up images of college jocks skulling cheap beer from red plastic cups in their underwear to the latest Ke$ha ‘track’, but I can happily say that the ‘Fremantle BeerFest’ could not be anything further from that. As soon as I walked in, I was impressed. The balmy 27…

Australian Adventures, My Pilgrimages

Beer Pilgrim’s Guide to the East Coast (Sydney to Brisbane)

There is no stretch of coastline I feel I know better than the Australian East Coast. I literally grew up yo-yoing my way up and down this beautiful part of he world from the age of minus 9 months until now (and will probably continue to for the rest of my life!). Being a passionate…

Australian Adventures, Food + Beer, My Pilgrimages

Beer Cultures of the World…of Australia. A guide to the beer-drinking traditions of Australia’s multicultural population.

  From loud Italian seafood barbecues to candlelit Spanish Tapas restaurants, to Russian Masonic centres draped in red fabric, to Chinese karaoke bars and Japanese sushi joints, the vast and various cultural groups of Australia are all doing the same thing but in vastly different ways – drinking beer. Let’s take a quick tour around…

Australian Adventures, My Pilgrimages

Top 5 Best Pubs In The Snowy Mountains

I recently found a few great places in the Snowies for a brew or two. Check these ones out next time you’re in the area. And if you have any suggestions for places I missed out on in my short time down there– let me know! Write a short review and I’ll include the best ones in…

Australian Adventures, Food + Beer, My Pilgrimages

The Top 12 places to have a beer in Melbourne

Ok, so I couldn’t stop at 10. In fact, I found it very difficult to cap it at 12, and still know I missed out heaps of Melbourne gems, so I’m relying on you to finish off this list for me!   Slow Beer claims to be the country’s first 100% dedicated craft beer store….

Australian Adventures, Food + Beer, My Pilgrimages

Top 10 Best Post-Surf Pubs in Australia

Whether you are a complete wax-head, surfer-nut, a beginner or just like to sit back and watch people get smashed by huge waves, I think you will agree that there is nothing quite like having an after surf beer. Some of my best memories are kicking back with my mates and a few brews after…

Australian Adventures, My Pilgrimages

South Australian Beer Trail

Over the past week I’ve hit up some of South Australia’s biggest and smallest breweries to sample their wares (it’s a hard job…. I know). If you’re heading down to South Australia, here is a list of must-visit breweries you need to check out! Note: I have written this list in geographical order from Adelaide…

Australian Adventures, Brews + Reviews, Food + Beer, Homegrown, My Pilgrimages

Your Beer Festival Survival Guide to The Adelaide Craft Beer Festival

“Festival!…..Beer!…. a BEER FESTIVAL!” I thought they were kidding me… “of course I’ll come down!”. Within 24 hours I had flights booked, packed my bags, and before I knew it I was walking through the gates of the Adelaide Craft Beer Festival with an empty glass in my hand and beer in my sights. I…

Australian Adventures, Brewing + Ingredients, My Pilgrimages

The Beer Pilrim’s Guide to Hops and The Tassie Hop Harvest

  With the sweet, floral aroma of fresh hops swirling around inside my Kombi and the fresh, crisp air of the Tasmanian countryside wafting through the window, you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. It was a beautiful day and I felt like I was in 7th heaven! It was Hop Harvest time in…

My Pilgrimages, Overseas

Weirdest Beer Experiences

Big Baobab Tree Bar, Limpopo Province, South Africa This has to be one of the coolest and weirdest places to have a beer. At a bar, inside the trunk of a living tree. I’d imagine it would feel like you have gone down the rabbit hole and ended up in wonderland. Try telling your mates…

Australian Adventures, Brews + Reviews, Homegrown, My Pilgrimages

Hobart’s ‘Moo Brew’ tasting room at MONA

It’s not everyday you go for a beer tasting inside an art-gallery, but inside Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New art you’ll find Moo Brew – and it’s not your everyday brewery.  Their beer bottles are adorned with artwork from famous Australian Artist John Kelly and the original brewery site was on the grounds of MONA…

My Pilgrimages, Overseas

Top 10 Places to Have A Brew With A View

We are all searching for that ultimate beer-moment (well I am anyway..) and as I mentally flick through my album of travel memories, a few moments really stick out. These moments more often than not, involve a great view. It’s that moment when you reach the top of a mountain and a huge vista opens…

Australian Adventures, Brewing + Ingredients, My Pilgrimages, Overseas

THE FIRST BREW : Finding and re-creating Australia’s First Beer

Finding Australia’s First Beer From the birth of the Aussie pub to the humble sausage sizzle, Beer is a big part in Australian culture and history. But I have no idea how it got here. What was Australia’s first beer? Where was it drunk? Who drunk it? All pertinent questions my friends, and I intend…

My Pilgrimages

My Mission..

BEEEEER There’s more to it than you think. When you next hold that delicious, frothy amber beverage in your hands, lift it to the light, look deep into its beautiful bubbles and give this a ponder. At over 11,000 years old, beer has been a major player in shaping civilization as we know it. Literature,…