Something's brewing in Byron Bay ... » now brewing

spring in the step

Ross — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:24:43 +0000

After a brief encounter with the chill of winter, the fresh days of spring are well and truly here. That extra warmth in the sun, the extra buzz around the town, and the need to get that early morning surf in before the northerly gets up are all signs that spring is here in the bay.

We have our Three & Three dinner at the brewery this Saturday and it’s going to be an awesome night. We’re looking forward to matching some great local produce with our beers to celebrate the start of a busy brewing season.

With summer not far away, the next few months are all about gearing up to get those fresh brews into bottles and kegs and out the gate.

From now until after Easter next year we will be milling grain, mashing brews, filling tanks, racking kegs, and packing boxes. The bubbling and bustling in the brewery is what it’s all about.

There’s beer to be brewed…and the thought of all those people enjoying our beer both here in Byron Bay and all around the country, puts a real spring in our step.

vintage cellars and a vintage rocker

Ross — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:37:07 +0000

Our Pale Lager is now available at Vintage Cellars stores around the country, with Draught Ale set to join it on the shelf in the coming weeks. So if you’re looking for a place to grab some of our beer head to a good local bottle shop or your local Vintage Cellars store.

If you were watching a show called ‘Quickies in my Kitchen’ on the Lifestyle Food channel this week would have seen Nick Sheppard, the guitarist from The Clash, walk onto the set clutching a six pack our Pale Lager. That certainly rocked our casbah !!!

brews & bar chords

Ross — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:27:50 +0000

Once a year we open the doors of the brewery for a special night of music and beer for our friends. Something we call Brews & Bar Chords. Last year it was a huge night and this time around promises more of the same. Playing this year will be local singer-songwriter Andrea Soler, with her four-piece band. Having just returned from the UK, Andrea has been receiving rave reviews for her debut album ‘Earth on an Axis’ which was mixed at Abbey Road Studios. Spreading a sweet blend of indie/pop, there’ll be tunes for everybody.

Check her website to find out more about Andrea.

The other star of the evening will be the return of our Stone Beer. With the nights getting a little cooler it’s that time of the year when you’re looking for a beer with a little warmth. Brewed with wood fired hot stones once a year and in a limited quantity, this special brew sold out quickly last year.

So be sure to get to the brewery to soak up a night of tunes and be among the first to taste this year’s batch of Stone Beer. Tickets cost $50 and include beer, food and entertainment. Drop us an email at trevor@stoneandwood.com.au or give us a call on 02 6685 5173 to book your spot.

mark the date

Ross — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 06:09:02 +0000

Be sure to keep the 7th of May free for some live tunes at the brewery. We are in the middle of gearing up to brew this year’s Stone Beer which means we are also thinking about another night of Brews & Bar Chords. Last year we celebrated the release of Stone Beer with Mick Thomas, Michael Barclay and the Box playing to a great crowd at the brewery. We’re currently talking to a couple of artists about playing at this year’s event, so watch this space for news about that. Meanwhile, mark the 7th of May in your diary because you won’t want to miss out. If you haven’t already signed up for our newsletter then make sure you do now, because we’ll be letting everyone know who’s playing and how to book very soon.

when dropping in is ok

Ross — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:00:45 +0000

We have been getting lots of emails and calls from people wanting to know if we do tours of our brewery, and the answer is always yes. We are always happy for lovers of good beer to drop in and say hi. We don’t have specific times that we do tours, because we are usually up to different things everyday … that’s what small scale craft brewing is all about. So if you are thinking of calling in, just drop us a line and let us know you’re coming. The more notice you can give us the better, that way we can let you know when the best time to have a look around will be.

Why so, you ask?

We are a hands-on operation and sometimes when we are in the middle of a brew or bottling we just don’t have a spare hand available to show you around.

So give us a call on 02 66855173, or send us an email to trevor@stoneandwood.com.au if you would like to have a tour and a tasting.

The best hours are between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday.

If you have a large group we can even organise a barbeque for you … washed down with a fresh beer of course!

behind the bar at an institution

Ross — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:43:01 +0000

We’ve been spending a bit of time in Sydney lately, and as a result our Draught Ale is starting to pop up on tap at a few great pubs in the city. For the month of March our Ale is flowing as a guest beer at The Australian Hotel in The Rocks. “The Aussie” is a bit of an institution in the world of good beer in Sydney, and we were pretty excited about sending our kegs off to this great pub. Brad dropped in last week to have a chat to the crew and pull a few beers.

The Ale has also found its way onto the taps of Sydney’s latest craft beer bar, Harts Pub (also in The Rocks) … how good is it to see another pub focussed on pulling craft beer in Sydney!

In another big step for our beer, we’ve sent kegs from one bay to another, with Ale going on tap at the famous Watson’s Bay Hotel in Sydney as well last week.

We hope to see you in one of these great pubs soon, and stay tuned to the website as we roll out more taps in Sydney town!

Cheers

yep, it’s official … we’ve bottled it!

Ross — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:54:35 +0000

We have been pumping out Draught Ale through the taps of the local pubs for nearly a year and a half now and the cloudy brew has also been appearing in pubs as far away as Tasmania and Melbourne. After lots of requests we have decided to answer the calls from far and wide and are rolling out Draught Ale in bottles so you can enjoy it when you’re not at the pub. The important thing for us was to stay pure to the principle of drawing the beer fresh from the storage tank into the bottle without filtering or pastuerising it. We leave the yeast in Draught Ale because we believe it adds something special to the flavour of the beer. Over the last year or so we’ve noticed that the yeast tends to drop to the bottom of the kegs so we ask the guys at the pubs to roll the kegs around every day to rouse the yeast and keep it in suspension so they are always serving it with an even cloud of yeast. Over the last couple of months whilst we have been drinking our trial bottling runs of Draught Ale we have noticed the same thing happening in the bottles. The yeast drops to the bottom of the bottle over time so we recommend you give the bottle a gentle roll or tip it upside down before opening it to rouse the yeast. Keep an eye on the Where to Get It page of our website to see where you can grab Draught Ale bottles … and give ‘em a roll

drawn straight from the tank

Ross — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:28:38 +0000

Stone & Wood Draught Ale is called “Draught” because we draw it straight from the storage tank at the brewery. When we sample it out of the tank it tastes so fresh and alive with a big fruity aroma. Drawing it from the tank and straight into a keg without filtering or pastuerising it means that the beer that is served on tap at the pub is in the same condition as it is when we try it from the tank at the brewery … simply fresh. It’s a great sight to see people grabbing frothing schooners of Draught Ale at the pub … it’s like an extension of the brewery.

hanging out

Ross — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:47:29 +0000

There have been some very thirsty people in town recently so it’s been a busy start to the year. We have also been working away on a new project which we are hoping to reveal within a few weeks. It’s not huge news, but for all those people out there who have been biting at our heals asking for it, it will be a good thing as their patient waiting will soon be over. Meanwhile Australia Day came and went this week, and we just love the way this country takes the day off to celebrate what we do the rest of the year … “kicking back enjoying a beer and a barbeque and hanging out with some friends” … gotta luv this country! Cheers

Pale Lager listed in the Top 20 Beers!

Ross — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:46:47 +0000

We were absolutely blown away to find out that our Pale Lager made it into the Top 20 Beers in the Weekend Australian. For some time now James Halliday’s Top 100 Wines have been accompanied by a Top 20 Beers as selected this year by renowned beer writer Peter Lalor. To see our Pale Lager sneak into the mix in its first year is just fantastic. We are still pinching ourselves that we are one of only eleven breweries to have beers in the list, and there are some great breweries amongst them. Its great to get some recognition like this but its even better to see people enjoying drinking our beer at the local bars and restaurants and now as far away as WA.

Anyway we’ll keep working hard to brew it and you just keep drinking it … deal?