We’re stoked to announce our Festival of the Stone held on Saturday 3 June, raised $20,000 for Byron’s homeless and rough sleeping community service, Fletcher Street Cottage.

Over 1800 people passed through our gates to come together, shake off a tough start to the year and dance the night away for a good cause.

With an awesome musical line-up that appeared across two stages, local legends Drop Legs and Death By Denim packed out the mainstage with Melbourne rockers, The Delta Riggs capping off the night with an epic set.

Inside the Brewery, our brewtanks became the illuminated backdrop for one heady dancefloor as the Club Raiders DJS, Cashew and Yazmin dropped some fresh and frothy beats.  

Most importantly, in the process of this revelry, all ticket, beer and raffle sales were steadily raising funds to go directly to Fletcher Street.

Outside of Sydney, the Byron Shire has the largest rough-sleeping population in Australia (even bigger than Melbourne’s), making the Fletcher Street Cottage and its services such a crucial part of the Byron community. They’re open every day, ready with breakfast, hot showers, laundry and counselling services for those in need.

Our Events Guru, Sally G, was blown away by the happy vibe brought by the big crowd on the day.

Sally said, “It’s such an honour to put on an event where locals can come together and really enjoy themselves. Holding it in support of such an important issue for our region, just adds that extra layer of meaning.

There was such a happy spirit here on Saturday, a good sign that big events in Byron are back and here to stay.”

Stone & Wood is proud to support Fletcher Street Cottage and other local grassroots organisations through our not-for-profit arm, the inGrained Foundation.

Cheers to our mates at Red Stockholm for capturing the night. Visit our Facebook page for the full collection of photos from the night.

STONE BEER 2022

Pouring dark brown, this decadent brew begins with rich and chocolatey aromas, followed by dark chocolate, coffee, caramel and toffee flavours on the palate and finishes with a firm bitterness.

But there’s much more to this beer than just delicious indulgence.

For the first time in Stone Beer history, we’re thrilled to announce Stone Beer 2022 is made using regenerative grain. Sourced from farms that replenish and restore the earth they toil, it is our hope with further adaptation to this way of farming, there will be many more vintages of Stone Beer to come. 

While we’re embracing the future, Stone Beer will always be a homage to the past. Created each year using ancient brewing techniques, our brewers set volcanic rock into a burning hot fire, before adding them glowing red to the kettle. This rouses the boil and intensifies the beer’s malt character.

Best enjoyed with mates by a fire somewhere, we also suggest pairing this dark beauty with a rich chocolate cake or a serving of nonna’s tiramisu.

STONE BEER VINTAGE PACK

A very limited number of Stone Beer Vintage Packs is only available from our online store. For the Stone Beer devotee, the Vintage Pack comes with a traditional ceramic crock filled with our delicious 2021 Barrel Aged Stone Beer brew, plus a cheeky taster of 2022 Stone Beer on the side.

WHERE TO GET STONE BEER 2022

You can now buy Stone Beer 2022 through our online store or find your nearest stockist below. Give them a call before heading out to ensure it’s in stock. It’s also available from our Brisbane and Byron Bay Tasting Room.

STONE BEER 2022

Wood Fired Porter 

HOPS: Tettnang

MALTS: Barret’s pale, Voyager Chocolate, Voyager Voodoo, Voyager SM40, Voyager Biscuit, Voyager Amber.

YEAST: New England Ale Yeast

OTHER: Ground Wattleseed

ALC/VOL: 6.4%

STONE BEER 2022 STOCKISTS

Find your nearest stockist below, and give them a call before heading out to ensure it’s in stock! Note: Listing will be updated in the weeks ahead as word gets out.

We love Winter here at Stone & Wood.

Because as the darker days of the year start to creep in, it’s a signal to our brewers that the season of the Stone has begun.

It starts with the brewing of our decadent, limited-release wood fired porter and ends in our biggest party of the year – Festival of The Stone.

Every year, our brewers begin the Stone Beer brew by employing ancient techniques of setting fire stones in the kettle. On this year’s Stone Brew Day, we invited legends of the local hospitality game down to help us start the story of Stone Beer 2022 and breathe fire into this year’s legend.

We make a slight twist to the Stone Beer recipe each year, but the element of 2022’s brew we’re most proud of is the use of regenerative grain. Grain is the base of every great beer and the crop we sourced from this year, comes from farms that replenish and restore the earth they toil, a way of farming that’s soft on the soil and sustainable for years to come.

Stone Beer 2022 was made with a range of the highest quality Australian malts from Voyager Craft Malt and native wattle-seed. Pouring dark brown, this decadent brew begins with rich and chocolatey aromas, followed by dark chocolate, coffee, caramel and toffee flavours on the palate and finishes with a firm bitterness. 

WATCH: STONE BREW DAY 2022

STONE BEER 2022 RELEASE

Of course, not everyone is able to drop all their plans for a decadent porter, so the great news is Stone Beer will be available in our online store and at select bottle shops and venues this June. Stay tuned for a release time.

FESTIVAL OF THE STONE

Of course, there’s no better place than try Stone Beer than right at the source.

Festival Of The Stone marks the tapping of each year’s Stone Beer and also doubles as Byron’s biggest neighbourhood block party. This year, we’re stoked to have Melbourne rockers The Delta Riggs headline an amazing lineup that also includes Death By Denim, Drop Legs, South Summit, Club Raiders DJs, Cashew, Spacie, Yazmin and the Stone & Wood DJs.

Wherever you are this winter, we invite you to enjoy Stone Beer 2022, preferably around a fire, with mates…or on a Byron dancefloor with hundreds of strangers 

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.

APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 5PM FRIDAY 6TH MAY

Many of you who are fans of our beer also know that being a useful part of the community is an important measure of who we are as a business.

It’s why we started a separate, not-for-profit arm called the inGrained Foundation, an organisation designed to help tackle the challenges faced in the areas where we work and live.

This year, more than ever before, our backyard of Northern NSW, needs support. That’s why, we’re pumped to announce the inGrained Foundation’s 2022 Northern Rivers Large Grants program.

With a funding pool of $200K, grassroots organisations from the Northern Rivers and Clarence Valley can apply for a cash grant between $5 – $30K to assist with programs that directly benefit our community, or the environment that surrounds us.

Obviously, flood relief and recovery will be top of mind for a lot of people, but inGrained are encouraging applications for a wide range of causes from not-for-profits with DGR status.

This year’s categories for grants are:

• Conservation of natural resources and habitats.
• Action on climate change.
• Mental health and wellbeing.
• Accommodation and homelessness.
• Inclusion and diversity.

Applications are open today so to find out more and apply, head to the inGrained website.

Know of a Northern Rivers not-for-profit with DGR status that would be interested? Share using the share buttons below.

Outside of this program, Stone & Wood are committed to helping the recovery efforts in the region by running a fundraising program over the bars at both our Byron and Brisbane breweries for the foreseeable future and lending a hand on the ground whenever we can.

If you’re keen to find out how you can connect to some of the great organisations in Northern NSW who are working directly with the community, visit our recent blog for some helpful links.

FOR A LITTLE FEEL GOOD INSPIRATION… WATCH THE STORIES OF PAST RECIPIENTS 

In the past 10 days, the heartland of Stone & Wood – the Northern Rivers region – has faced a disaster unlike most of us have ever seen before.

The recent floods have touched all of us here, either directly or through family, friends and neighbours.

We are immensely proud of our Stone & Wood team who have been out on the streets, in community halls and people’s homes doing everything they could to help their communities through the rescue and recovery efforts.

While for some of the region, the first stage of recovery is coming to an end, we know that for many people, this will be a process that takes months.

So, what can we do as a Northern Rivers business who wants to be a part of the solution? This is what we’ve been asking ourselves since day one.

From an immediate financial perspective, our not-for-profit arm, the inGrained Foundation, has donated $150,000 to community organisations operating in some of the most flood affected areas. Some of the initial organisations we’re working with include the Mullumbimby Community Centre, the Northern Rivers Community Gateway, the Murwillumbah Community Centre and Ngunya Jarjam.

Later this month, the inGrained Foundation, will be launching its annual Large Grants Round where local not-for-profits can apply for funding for long-term-projects. Those who are operating flood recovery projects are encouraged to apply.

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY

As the situation continues to unfold, we will be doing all we can to support our community and show up for each other as best we can throughout 2022 and beyond.

On Sunday 13 March, our breweries in Byron and Brisbane both held Flood Relief Fundraisers with all profits from the events going to the amazing people at Orange Sky, who are on the ground with mobile laundries and showers, getting those affected fresh clothes for their backs. Stay tuned to find out how much was raised on the day.

For a little snapshot of our day in Byron and how our community are holding up, we pulled together a quick video.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you’re looking for some direction on how you can help, below is just a small list of some of the great people out there working directly with the community. 

It Takes a Town: Helping affected families directly with supplies and essential items.

Resilient Lismore – Lismore Helping Hands: The Lismore community-run disaster response network are coordinating with services across the Northern Rivers and are building systems to assist across the region.

Bundjalung Community Flood Relief – by Koori Mail. Funds go directly to the people and communities.

The Byron Rangers are mobilising 3,000+ local volunteers to organise crisis accommodation, supply food packages, transport goods for people and wildlife, and the massive clean up.

The Echo Go Fund Me Raising funds and distributing them as quickly as possible to help the community organisations on the ground.

Human Nature Adventure therapy – Ballina: Support for affected young people who may not engage in conventional clinical mental health support.

Upper Main Arm Flood Relief

GIVIT is managing offers of donated goods, services, volunteering and funds.

For some resources you may find helpful during these times based on your situation, visit the Enova Energy website

Cheers!

A limited release available now.

Stone & Wood and Afends present: Crop Circles, an experiment that chooses to believe in a sustainable future for beer and fashion.

Together, the brewers and style makers turned to the crops that are making green waves in their industries – regenerative grain for beer and hemp for clothing – to create something out of this world.

Not from the future and need to know more about regenerative grain?

For the making of Crop Circles, Stone & Wood sourced Certified regenerative grain from farms that are replenishing their natural ecosystems, soil biodiversity and organic matter. This means the land they use has a greater ability to regenerate and recycle nutrients, decreasing their dependence on outside resources and reducing methane and carbon emissions. Watch the making of Crop Circles here.

Charged up about the future of farming? Good, now let’s talk about the beer.

A perfect companion to the end of summer, Crop Circles is a juicy pale ale with flavours of mango, subtle hints of macadamia and a dash of locally-sourced hemp seed. Pleasantly aromatic, its taste is not only out of this world, but it’s also a sessionable brew at 5% Alc/Vol.

The clothing, a hemp capsule collection created by Afends in collaboration with Stone & Wood, is a limited release that’s ready to transport you by design. A small selection of merch is available online today in the Stone & Wood online store, but if you’re after the total Afends experience, head to their earthly offering here.

Tune into the Crop Circles Playlist: music to teleport you. Best enjoyed with Crop Circles limited edition beer and eyes to the future.

Availability

Ready to believe?

Good news, the future is now: From today you can purchase Crop Circles from our official online store or at our Byron Bay Tasting Room and Brisbane brewery, where the Crop Circles flows freely on tap.

For more info and to track down the location of Area 51 and your closest stockist of Crop Circles head here.

But be quick believers, Crop Circles is only earthside for a short time.

Christmas is just around the corner and it’s time to fill those stockings with beery goodies. Give the gift of craft beer this season or rock some new Stone & Wood merch!

We all know you can’t go wrong gifting that beer lover in your life with the latest and tastiest craft beers from yours truly. However, if you also like the idea of giving them something to keep, then our Stone & Wood gift packs can offer you the best of both worlds. 

Beat the Summer heat and grab your mate their very own Stone & Wood Beach Pack. We also have a couple Oversized Beach Towels that are great for lazing on the sand or grass with friends or family.

Good barware is always a hit with home bar owners. We have put together the home bar essential Stone & Wood Pub In Box gift. Spice it up a little with a Stone & Wood Bottle Opener Fridge Magnet, Pacific Ale Cap or Counter Culture Specialty Glass.

Want to go a little bigger? How about 16 beers in a mix of styles? With more of our beers now available in cans, create your very own Stone & Wood mixed carton with Build Your Own Mixed Carton.

And if you are unsure, you really cannot go wrong with either a Beer Club Membership or Gift Card, or check out our Gifts & Merch Collection for more ideas. You are bound to find something beery they will appreciate and enjoy this Christmas.