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Born in Southern France but stationed all over the globe, international can of mystery – Wayne Dubois – recently fell into the hands of the fiends at Counter Culture.

Deep in their dark lab, he was transformed into an intriguing hybrid of French sophistication and Australian good times.

A sparkling shiraz at heart, Wayne underwent a rigorous and experimental fermentation process that resulted in a personality so dry and refreshing that one encounter with this smooth operator is never enough.

Sour by name, not by reputation, there are few who can resist a night with Wayne Dubois.             

An international can of mystery…who really is Wayne Dubois?

AVAILABILITY

The Counter Culture Lab have lost control of Wayne.

WAYNE IS NOW SOLD OUT ON OUR ONLINE STORE. If you’re lucky you might be able to find him at selected bottleshops and venues and our Byron Bay Tasting Room and Brisbane brewery.

LISTEN: WHO REALLY IS WAYNE DUBOIS? PLAYLIST

Counter Culture by Stone & Wood present the Who Really Is Wayne Dubois? Playlist: music inspired by the latest limited release, the intriguing hybrid of French sophistication and Australian good times. Crack open a cold can of Wayno and press play.

Be sure to follow @counterculturebeer to be the first across all the brewing magic.

Counter Culture’s Mighty Scotch Ale’s Available Now.

Above the pounding waves and jagged cliffs of Scotland’s Clo Mor runs a strong beast who is the last of its kind: the Dark Unicorn.

A symbol of power and passion, sightings of the illusive creature are rare, but tales of its majesty have filled the halls of Scottish taverns for generations.

According to age-old accounts, at the drawing of a long, cold winter, the Dark Unicorn makes its way down from the cliffs and into the towns.

Once there, the Unicorn’s presence delivers strength to the Scottish people to carry on until the birth of spring.

Taking inspiration from this tale of power and majesty, Counter Culture presents Dark Unicorn: a malt driven scotch ale aged in Starward Whiskey barrels, with lashings of chocolate, a touch of salt and an ABV of 7.6%.

The perfect companion for winter’s last cold days, capture the magic of Dark Unicorn while you can, for it may not be seen this way again.

Availability

You can purchase your Dark Unicorn 500ml two-pack from our online store or at our Brisbane brewery, where you’ll also be able to enjoy this on tap and for Byron locals, head to our @stoneandwoodbyronbay Instagram for more info on our operations over lockdown.

Hit up your local good beer stockist or venue to see if Dark Unicorn is available on tap or in cans.

For those looking to make their meeting with Dark Unicorn picture perfect, speciality Counter Culture glassware is also now available in a bundle with two-packs and cartons. 

Sign up to the Counter Culture newsletter and follow @counterculturebeer to hear about each release first.

Sticky Nectar and Tequila Queen’s comeback has officially kicked off with the All Stars legends now hitting venues and cans across the country.

Sticky Nectar, voted as the #1 Most Valuable Beer by Counter Culture Fans, is a Hazy IPA so chockers with mango puree that it will immediately transport you to a hot Queensland night under the lights at Lang Park.

Generous with hops, Sticky calls on Galaxy, Citra and Amarillo for his trademark tropical fruit aromas before he peppers the game with the sweetness of vanilla and mango. With pale, wheat and caramunich malts adding balance to his skillset and a solid 6.5% ABV, there’s no wonder this can is back on top of his game.

Tequila Queen, the comp’s Aged-oak Margarita Sour entry, showed no mercy as she scaled her way to the top of the Counter Culture ladder. Fuelled by a heady mixture of lime juice, lactobacillus, salt and Cointreau, nothing could hold back her Arette Tequila attack as she made her return to the brewery gates.

Refreshing and flavourful, you’d be stone cold loco to miss catching the Queen the second time around.

From today, you can purchase your All Stars 500ml two-pack (one Sticky and One Queen) and 12x500ml cartons of each from our official online store or at our Byron Bay Tasting Room and Brisbane brewery, where you’ll also be able to enjoy this duo on tap.

With our Beer Finder, you can also find your local All Stars stockist or venue that has these legends on draught.

Counter Culture giving you white line fever? Then be sure to sign up to the Counter Culture newsletter and follow @counterculturebeer to stay ahead of the game.

Buy All Stars online

Attention party people! Mx Cheeks has arrived.

With her bubbly nature and fruity asides, Peachy may seem sweeter than a Kylie float in Mardi Gras, but party guest beware, she also has a refreshing zing that will come at you like a salty slap. Mx Cheeks is from Byron after all.

The brainchild of Counter Culture and Northern Rivers LGBTQIA+ organisation, Queer Family Inc, Peachy is a sassy Bellini sour, that pours sweet layers of peach, mango and apricot puree over a pale and wheat malt, Blue Lake rolled wheat base, rounded out with a lactic sour pitch and ready to roll at 6.69% ABV.

Aiden Gentle (they/them), Managing Director at Queer Family said about Peachy, “Peachy Cheeks is a perfect representation of a queer character, particularly a local queer character. When we were imagining her, she was fun, she was summery, she was local and timely. She’s running down the beach, she wears heels if she wants to. She’s fun, she’s lively, she’s queer.”

Watch our latest Counter Culture video

Get to know Nina Hurr, our Counter Culture collab artist and designer of the Peachy Cheeks can art.

Availability

Peachy Cheeks is now available at vibing bottle shops and venues around the country. You can jump on the Beer Finder to discover your local stockists, as well as seek out the select venues Peachy will be on tap. Be sure to check with them before heading out to make sure it’s in stock!

Mx Cheeks is also taking up residency on our official online store and at our Byron Tasting Room and Brisbane brewery, so you can also catch her at the source.

NEW limited edition Peachy Cheeks T-Shirt

Vibrant, playful and diverse, the 100% Organic Cotton Peachy Cheeks Tee is a celebration of the Northern Rivers Queer community and the brainchild of local artist Nina Hurr. Out on a limited release, Mx Cheeks is here for a good time not a long time, so get in fast party people.

In the meantime, be sure to sign up to the Counter Culture newsletter and follow @counterculturebeer to hear about each release first.

To find out more about the excellent work Queer Family do within the Northern Rivers region, please head to their website and for more on the collaboration with Stone & Wood, please check out our video here.

It’s a matter of being simply the best when a set of legendary limited-releases come out of retirement for one more chance at brewing glory.

After a crushing 10 rounds of Counter Culture, two beers must rise above the rest to become your MVBs and enjoy a comeback brew. It’s a tussle tighter than a pair of AFL shorts, but ultimately, the final whistle belongs to you.

For two heart stopping weeks of ice-cold competition, you have the power to give these small batch beers the chance at another guernsey or send them back to the sheds forever.

WIN A YEAR OF BEER CLUB

Enter our Counter Culture All Stars competition and you’ll go in the draw to win a year of Beer Club!

A welcome pack, beery stories & events and six limited release packs valued at $265.

It’s a momentous challenge to choose a favourite from this line-up, so to help with your selection, let’s recap on each player:

Killer Kween – Imperial Berliner Weisse

Drawing first blood in the competition, this rugged Berliner Weisse lured drinkers in with punches of raspberry and its pink rouge hue, before landing a knockout blow of 7.6% ABV.

VOTE NOW

Sticky Nectar – Hazy IPA

Seizing the momentum from Kween and running with it, this hazy IPA had the stands going troppo in May of 2019. Will its bursting hops and truckloads of mango be enough to get it back in the comp after this long out of the game?

VOTE NOW

It’d Be Rude Not To – French Toast Stout

Two winters ago, this creamy stout put in a gutsy effort, tackling hints of vanilla and cinnamon to produce a truly patisserie-packed performance. Will its slow and heavy attack prove to be the flavour we need in 2021?

VOTE NOW

So Long Darkness…? – Invisible Stout

When it comes to surprise, this invisible stout has a stranglehold on the game. With a smooth and creamy delivery, So Long… has a brightness its competitors never saw coming, making it a massive hit with fans.

VOTE NOW

Lovely Bubbly – Brut Rose

The showman of the comp, the attack of this flashy brut rose sour is literally, champagne. Will its strawberry tones help it bubble to the top of this star-studded line-up?

VOTE NOW

REINVIGAM8 – Hydration Ale

At 2.7%, this low alc beer always handles things with a clean set of hands. Brimming full of half-time oranges, this zesty sour has a loyal following with the crowd in the I.M. Wellness Stand.

VOTE NOW

G3 – DIPA

At 7.6%, G3 equals Killer Kween as the best pound-for-pound hitter in the comp. Taking inspiration from dominating stalwart, Pacific Ale, G3 takes tropical flavours to the next level becoming the only DIPA in the game.

VOTE NOW

Tequila Queen – Oak Aged Magarita

Late 2020, this margarita sour had legions of drinkers heading to the sin bin just to knock one back. A bookie’s favourite to make the top two, can the Queen make it reign again?

VOTE NOW

Earl of Swirl – Berry Cream Sour

There’s no stopping the bruising defence of this purple prince once he hits the glass. At 6.9% and built on berries and cream, the Earl is hoping to convert his sour notes into the sweet taste of success.

VOTE NOW

The Holy Grain – Honey Toasted IPA

This barnstorming finisher made a meal out of February when his honey toasted layers hit the lips of drinkers. Too many knocks to the can may be why he’s so deliciously hazy, so it will be interesting to see how he pulls up this round.

Coconuts clap together to simulate galloping horses*

Hear ye, hear ye.

Good Knights of the Breakfast Table, we ask: what is thy quest?

Have you come from far and wide in search of something sweet with toasted flavours, a golden nectar so delicious that you could drink it in the morning?

If so, Good Knights, thy quest – you have reached The Holy Grain.

Grab your goblets, Good Knights. Our Honey Toasted Hazy IPA The Holy Grain has delicate layers of honey, vanilla and toasted coconut added to a pale malt, wheat and oat backbone, balanced by Sabro, Galaxy, Citra and HBC472 hops for a wholesome and subtly hazy finish.

From this week, you can commence the small journey to your nearby bottle shop for The Holy Grain 500ml two-packs and cartons or your local venue to taste this sweet, delicious nectar on tap (only a select few).

From today, Good Knights, you can also purchase a two-pack from our official online store ($25 + free shipping) or at our Byron Bay Tasting Room and Brisbane brewery, where our crew is pouring The Holy Grain on tap.

Remember, Good Knights: Call ahead to your local stockist/venue to check when The Holy Grain will arrive.  Like all Counter Culture releases, The Holy Grain is very limited, so make haste!

You’ve made it, Good Knights, and have proven yourselves worthy. Now, enjoy this blessed bier.

In the meantime, be sure to sign up to the Counter Culture newsletter and follow @counterculturebeer to hear about each release first.

Set in a dark 1980s dance club, somewhere unknown. Lights brighten to reveal a stage concealed by velvet purple curtains. Suddenly, the curtains draw back to reveal spotlight on an empty stage. Smoke machines hiss. A tempo starts. A figure dressed in ruffles and leather appears.

Dearly beloved,

We are gathered here today to excite the senses with something wild and fruity.

A delectable berry cream swirl brewed for cats who love dark and dreamy desserts.

Are you a cat who loves dark and dreamy desserts?

Then welcome to the party, baby – and say hello to your host:

The Earl of Swirl, our Berry Cream Sour and the ninth limited Counter Culture release.

Hang onto your neckerchief and lose urself in the rapturous additions of over a 1,000L of blackberry, 400L of raspberry and vanilla bean, which swirl together like the flavours of your sweetest fantasy.

That’s enough berry goodness to fill a hot tub … and the party doesn’t end there.

The Earl of Swirl complements its delectable lactose creaminess with a kick of lactobacillus acidity, balanced together on a pale malt, rolled oat and wheat backbone.

Add this to the beer’s sweet-sour swirl and the risqué 6.9% ABV and u got urself a berry sour made of dreams.

Availability

Clad in silk and a pink feather boa, The Earl of Swirl will leave our brewery on Monday 2 November and make its way to select bottle shops and venues around the country. We’ll release the stockist listing on that Monday, too.

In the meantime, be sure to sign up to the Counter Culture newsletter and follow @counterculturebeer to hear about each release first.

For many moons, we’ve heard the people’s cries for Killer Kween – for the return of her royal raspberry highness. But the Kween is gone.

Amid our search for a successor, we heard Spanish whispers of a powerful matriarch ruling over a certain region in Mexico, a land of rolling mountains swept with oak trees and blue agave, where multicoloured opals and jet-black obsidians sparkle beneath the earth.

What is this captivating region, you ask? It’s Tequila, Mexico ­– and its ruler is the one and only Tequila Queen.

Compadres, all rise for the eighth limited-release from Counter Culture – Tequila Queen, our oak aged margarita.

Tequila Queen is brewed with lime juice, lactobacillus, salt, Cointreau and 50L of premium small-batch Arette Tequila – distilled on the edge of the ancient volcano that rises above Tequila – and is hopped with Galaxy and aged with oak.

Our new ruler, this margarita sour rushes the palate with citrus and salt and brings a Mexican twist to the Age of Queens. Viva la Reina!

Availability

Crowned with cacti, with a skull in one hand and a dagger in the other, Tequila Queen will stride through our brewery gates on Wednesday 12 August to select venues and bottle shops around the country. Watch out for the stockist listing then, too.

Limited Tequila Queen merchandise

For this especial release, we’re releasing a very limited and very special run of Tequila Queen shirts. These relaxed-fit tees are made from 100% GOTS certified organise ring-spun combed cotton and are printed with eco-friendly inks, making them softer on your skin and the environment. The Queen approves. 

In the meantime, be sure to sign up to the Counter Culture newsletter and follow @counterculturebeer to hear about each release first.

G3 IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE ONLINE – CALL YOUR FAVE INDIE BOTTLESHOP TO SEE IF IT’S AVAILABLE IN-STORE

From our team to you: we hope that you, your family and your community are keeping safe and well in the current situation. With the arrival of our hazy DIPA G3, we also hope that you find the time to savour this beer, to share it – on- or offline – with someone close, and that you might enjoy a moment to reflect on your own journey from the Original Pacific Ale to now … 

Remember, we love hearing your feedback and seeing how you enjoy each Counter Culture release! Tag @counterculturebeer and #G3 in your G3 enjoyment shots and we’ll share them on our Instagram.

It’s been one hell of a ride …

The seventh limited release of Counter Culture, our hazy DIPA G3 (7.6% alc/vol) has left our brewery gates and is on the road to select bottle shops around the country.

First there was the Original Pacific Ale, then The Prequel hazy IPA … now we’re shifting into third gear with G3, a hazy DIPA brewed with the freshest Galaxy hops from Tasmania, pale malts and New England ale yeast, showcasing revved up tropical flavours with a dominant 72 IBU finish – thanks to being 13 times more dry hopped with Galaxy than Pacific Ale.

In celebration of tradition and history that started with the Original Pacific Ale, G3 is a beer for looking back – and then at the road ahead.

Available in packs of two 500ml cans at good bottle shops and our online store ($25 + shipping).

Importantly, we recommend calling your local bottleshop to check when their stock has landed, as timings will vary depending where you are in the country.

Like all Counter Culture releases, G3 is super limited – so kick into gear and grab yours now.

INSTAGRAM LIVE CHAT W/ HEAD BREWER CAOLAN VAUGHAN

This TUESDAY 31, 5pm (NSW time) 

Tune into @stoneandwood Instagram live tomorrow at 5pm for a chat with our Head Brewer Caolan Vaughan and Tasting Room manager Jess Flynn. The guys will be discussing where the journey all began with the Original Pacific Ale. If you have any questions for the Caols and Jess, hit them up during our live chat. 

 To get across our Counter Culture releases, sign up to the newsletter and follow the range at @counterculturebeer.