There’s something special about the Easter long weekend in Australia. The days stretch out a little longer, the weather starts to soften, and suddenly there’s time to gather your favourite people, share a few laughs, and enjoy good food and cold beer together.

Whether you're firing up the barbie, heading to the beach, or just kicking back in the backyard with the people you love most, Easter long weekends are what life's all about.

And here at Stone & Wood, we reckon there's no better companion for those good times than a cold, fresh Pacific Ale or a Citrus or Peach Radler. Brewed with care right across Australia, our beers are made for exactly these moments.

So, grab a cold one, settle in, and let us help you plan the best Easter long weekend yet.

Plan a Relaxed Easter Long Weekend

The Easter long weekend is rare and beautiful, four consecutive days where the world slows down just enough to remind you what really matters. The key to making the most of it? Don't overthink it.

The best Easter weekends aren't the ones with jam-packed itineraries. They're the ones where you end up sitting on the back deck an hour longer than planned while the sun drops low and golden. Where friends roll in unannounced and somehow there's always enough food and beer to go around.

So, here's our advice: keep it simple. Pick a vibe, beach, backyard, bush, or somewhere in between, and lean into it. Stock the esky with Stone & Wood beers, give yourself permission to relax, and let the weekend unfold at its own pace.

A few things worth sorting in advance:

• Order your S&W favourites online early and enjoy a stress‑free Easter without the last‑minute scramble.
• Let people know your door is open. An impromptu Easter gathering is often the best kind.
• Set up a comfortable outdoor space the night before so you can hit the ground relaxing on Friday.
• Keep meals low-effort and crowd-pleasing (more on that below).
• Download a playlist or two. Good music makes everything better.

Easy Easter Entertaining Ideas

Easter entertaining doesn't need to be complicated. In fact, the more relaxed the setup, the more everyone enjoys themselves, including you. The goal is good vibes, great company, and a cold beer in hand. Full stop.

Here are a few easy ways to bring people together over the long weekend:

Host a casual backyard get-together

Think fold-out chairs, fairy lights if the evening stretches on, and a big esky packed with ice and Stone & Wood. There's something about sitting outside with people you love that just hits different.

Set up a self-serve snack station

A big grazing spread laid out on a table means guests help themselves, you're not stuck in the kitchen, and everyone feels at home. Pair it with a few different S&W styles and let people find their favourite.

Do a beachside or park picnic

Grab a couple of big blankets, pack a basket, load up a portable cooler with cold ones, and head somewhere beautiful. Easter in Australia is brilliant for it; the weather is usually just right.

Try a shared feast

Ask every guest to bring a dish. It takes the pressure off the host, gets everyone invested, and usually results in a brilliant spread that nobody planned but everyone loves.

Whatever you choose, the secret ingredient is always the same: good people, cold beer, and zero pressure.

Fun Easter Activities for the Long Weekend

Four days is a lot of time, and we mean that in the very best way. Here are some ideas to fill those golden hours with the kind of fun you'll still be talking about come Tuesday.

Hit the great outdoors

Easter is one of the best times of year for a bushwalk, a coastal stroll, or a morning at the beach. The crowds from summer have eased off, the temperature is usually perfect, and there's something properly restorative about getting outside after a week of screens and schedules.

Backyard cricket or lawn games

A bat, a ball, and a patch of grass is all you need. Set up a bocce court, break out the lawn bowls, or just whack a cricket ball around while someone keeps score and everyone argues about the rules. Cold beer optional but strongly recommended.

A long, lazy lunch

Easter is the perfect excuse for one of those lunches that starts at noon and ends at 5pm. Good food, good conversation, good beer, no agenda, no rush. The best kind of afternoon.

A sunset session

Load up the esky and head somewhere with a view. Whether it's a hilltop, a beach, or just the end of your street, watching the sun go down with a Pacific Ale in hand is genuinely one of life's great pleasures.

Fresh & Simple Easter Food Ideas

Easter food doesn't need to be fussy. The best spreads are the ones that are fresh, generous, and easy to put together, so you can spend more time with your people and less time sweating in the kitchen.

Here's what we love for an Easter long weekend feed:

Build a Beautiful Grazing Board

A grazing board is your best mate when it comes to easy entertaining. It looks incredible, feeds a crowd, and honestly takes about twenty minutes to throw together once you've got your ingredients.

Think a mix of textures and flavours: creamy brie and sharp cheddar, sliced prosciutto and salami, a generous dollop of hummus, crackers, grapes, figs, honey, and a scatter of nuts. Add some crusty sourdough on the side and you've got something that looks like you spent hours on it.

The real beauty of a grazing board? It pairs brilliantly with our Stone & Wood range. The Pacific Ale is sensational alongside soft cheeses and charcuterie, while the Easy Pale Ale cuts beautifully through anything rich or salty. Lay out a few varieties and let your guests mix and match.

Add Colour with Fresh Salads

A big, vibrant salad is the unsung hero of Easter entertaining. Bright, fresh, and endlessly versatile, it works alongside a barbie spread, a grazing board, or anything else you're serving.

Our favourites for the long weekend:

• A watermelon, feta, and mint salad - sweet, salty, cooling, and absolutely stunning on the table.
• A crunchy Asian slaw with sesame dressing - brilliant next to anything off the grill.
• A classic caprese with heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, and good olive oil - simple and perfect.
• A warm roasted pumpkin and chickpea salad with tahini - hearty enough to be a meal on its own.

Make them big, make them colourful, and don't stress about perfection. The best salads are the ones that taste like summer even when you've just chucked everything together.

Quick Snacks Guests Will Love

When people start arriving and the afternoon stretches on, having a few easy snacks ready to go is a lifesaver. These are our go-to crowd-pleasers:

• Dips and veggie sticks. Hummus, tzatziki, and a big pile of cucumber, carrot, and capsicum. Zero effort always devoured.
• Marinated olives. Buy a good mix from the deli, tip them into a bowl, done. They're salty, they're delicious, and they pair brilliantly with a cold Pacific Ale.
• Cheese and crackers. A wedge of quality cheddar, a handful of seeded crackers, and you're sorted.
• Grilled haloumi skewers. Thread haloumi and cherry tomatoes onto skewers, throw them on the barbie for a few minutes, and serve with a squeeze of lemon. Quick, impressive, gone in minutes.
• Crusty bread and good butter. Never underestimate a great loaf of sourdough with quality salted butter. It disappears faster than you'd expect.

The key with Easter snacks? Have more than you think you'll need. People always graze longer than expected - especially when there's cold S&W flowing.

Make the Most of the Easter Long Weekend

Celebrate what matters. At its heart, Easter is about community, coming together, sharing food and drink, and taking a moment to appreciate the people and places we love. That's something we feel pretty deeply at Stone & Wood. We're proud to be part of Australian communities, and every beer we brew is made with that spirit in mind.

So, make the most of it. Eat well. Drink good beer. Laugh loud. And hold onto these moments, they're the good stuff.

Good Times Start with Stone & Wood

We've been part of Australian long weekends, backyard get-togethers, beach sessions, and big shared lunches for years now. And what we know for certain is this: it's never really about the beer. It's about the people you're drinking it with.

But a cold Pacific Ale does make it better. We won't pretend otherwise. Stone & Wood is brewed right across Australia, and wherever you're celebrating Easter this year, we hope there's a cold one close to hand, good people around you, and plenty of reasons to raise a glass.

From our community to yours, happy Easter. May your chocolate be plentiful, your barbie fire up first go, and your long weekend be everything you need it to be.

Cheers. 🍺

Music and beer lovers of Byron and beyond, mark your calendars! 🍻

We’re thrilled to share that Festival of the Stone is returning for its 12th year, welcoming everyone back to the brewery for a winter celebration filled with great music, good company and the age-old tradition of stone brewing.

Taking place on Saturday 20 June from 3pm to 10pm at our brewery in Byron Bay, this much-loved festival marks the ceremonial tapping of our annual Stone Beer, brewed using glowing hot stones in homage to ancient brewing methods.

Each year, a month before the festival, our brewing team and local community gather for Stone Brew Day — a ceremonial moment where stones are heated over a woodfire before being lowered into the kettle. The result? Rich, smoky flavours that make Stone Beer so distinctive and so eagerly awaited.

After another hugely successful event in 2025, Festival of the Stone 2026 is shaping up to deliver another unforgettable day of top-notch Australian talent, freshly poured brews and delicious bites from local food vendors.

And as always, it’s all for a great cause.

The latest NSW Street Count figures show Byron Shire continues to face one of the highest rates of rough sleeping in the state, with 291 people recorded sleeping rough in 2025 — second only to the City of Sydney. In response, Festival of the Stone 2026 will once again proudly support Fletcher Street Cottage through the Ingrained Foundation, helping raise vital funds for essential services, advocacy and practical support for people experiencing homelessness across the Northern Rivers.

Festival of the Stone 2026 is set to be one of winter’s must-attend events — all for a worthy cause. Save the date, book your leave and keep an eye on our website and socials for lineup reveals and ticket releases.

FESTIVAL OF THE STONE
Saturday 20 June, 2026
Stone & Wood Brewery
100 Centennial Cct, Byron Bay

There’s something about a long weekend that slows the pulse of the country. Friday knock-off comes a little earlier. The esky gets dusted off. Someone messages the group chat with “road trip?” and suddenly the weekend’s got a rhythm of its own.

That’s where we like to live, in those in-between moments. Barefoot afternoons. Shared tables. The sound of ice cracking in an esky and a beer being passed from hand to hand before you’ve even had a chance to sit down.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what we’re about. Good beer. Good people. And making the most of the time you’ve got.

Born From Place, Brewed For Everywhere

Here at Stone & Wood, we’re proudly Australian to our core. Raised in the Northern Rivers, shaped by salt air, river swims and long afternoons that blur into evenings. That sense of place still runs through everything we do, the way we brew, the way we gather, the way we show up for our community.

These days, we brew Australia-wide, bringing the same care, curiosity and craftsmanship to every batch, no matter where it’s made. Different towns, same approach: take your time, do it properly, and don’t lose sight of why you started in the first place.

It means wherever you are, coastal, country or somewhere in between, there’s a Stone & Wood within arm’s reach, ready for whatever the weekend throws up.

Beer For The Moments That Matter

Long weekends don’t need much planning. They just need room to breathe.

Maybe it’s a Friday arvo catch-up at the local, sun slanting through the windows as the first Pacific Ale hits the table, that familiar hit of citrus and haze that tastes like summer no matter the season. Maybe it’s a backyard barbecue where someone inevitably burns the snags, and no one really minds, because there’s a cold Easy Pale Ale in hand and plenty more chilling nearby.

Or maybe it’s a camping trip. Early swims, sandy feet, and a couple of Citrus or Peach Radlers cracked open as the sky starts to soften in the late afternoon. Clean, crisp, easygoing, beers that don’t demand attention, but always earn it.

Our beers are brewed for those moments, the ones you don’t rush, the ones you remember. Balanced, approachable, and made to sit comfortably in your hand while the conversation does the heavy lifting.

Because the best beers don’t shout. They just belong.

A Few Ways To Spend a Long Weekend

There’s no single way to do a long weekend, and that’s kind of the beauty of it. Busy or slow, planned or improvised, the best ones tend to unfold naturally.

Get Outside

Head for the coast, the bush, the river, anywhere that reminds you why weekends exist in the first place. A morning walk, a swim you didn’t plan on, a late lunch eaten in the sun. Simple stuff, done well.

Gather Without The Fuss

A long weekend is an open invitation to host. Fire up the barbie, pull a few chairs together, and let the afternoon take its time. Stock the fridge with a mix of favourites, put some tunes on, and see who turns up. No schedules, no pressure.

Back Your Locals

Start the day with a coffee from the place that knows your order. Grab lunch at the pub down the road. Pop into the bottle shop, bakery or market stall you’ve been meaning to try. Long weekends are a good reminder that the places we love stick around because we keep showing up.

Kick Your Feet Up And Relax

Underrated, but highly recommended. A book you’ve been halfway through for months. A nap that wasn’t planned. A quiet afternoon with a cold beer, feet up, and nowhere else to be.

However you spend it, the aim’s the same: slow down enough to enjoy it.

The Little Things That Come Along For The Ride

Every long weekend has its unofficial essentials. A reliable esky. A glass that feels right in your hand.

Sometimes it’s our branded glassware clinking together at a shared table. Sometimes it’s a Stone & Wood cap or tee pulled on for a morning coffee run after a big night. Sometimes it’s a gift pack turning up just in time for a host who swore they didn’t want anything.

They’re not the reason you gather, but they tend to be there when you do.

Community, Always

We’ve always believed beer tastes better when it brings people together. Around tables. Around fires. Around ideas worth backing.

From day one, community has been the backbone. The neighbours who pop in. The venues that pour our beers. The locals who turn up with stories, opinions and an open seat at the table.

Brewing Australia-wide means being part of more communities, listening to more stories, finding more ways to give back where we can and being on tap in more pubs and bottle shops. It also means long weekends look a little different everywhere, a pub lunch in one town, a surf club barbecue in another, but the feeling stays the same.

Pull up a chair. You’re welcome here.

Looking After The Place We Love

We spend a lot of time outdoors, and we reckon that comes with a responsibility.

We’re committed to leaving the Earth in a better place than we found it. That means making thoughtful choices, constantly improving how we brew, and backing initiatives that help protect the environments we all enjoy on our days off.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about progress. About caring enough to keep asking, “How can we do this better?” so future long weekends still look like swims in clean rivers, shady spots under old trees, and cold beers enjoyed outside with people you love.

No Plans Are The Best Plans

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt, it’s that the best weekends rarely stick to a schedule.

They unfold slowly. A second beer turns into dinner. Someone pulls another Pacific Ale from the esky just as the sun dips. A quick hello turns into a long conversation. Someone brings out a guitar they probably shouldn’t be allowed to play, and somehow it still works.

That’s the magic of a long weekend. The permission to linger. To reconnect. To remember that sometimes the simplest things are the best things.

So wherever you’re spending this one, at home, on the road, by the water or at your local, we’ll raise a glass to it.

Here’s to good beer, brewed across Australia.
Here’s to community, wherever you find it.
And here’s to long weekends done right.

Cheers 🍻