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.

We Canned Springtime.

At Stone & Wood, we’re pretty excited about the growing trend of native Australian produce being used in new beers.

That’s why we were stoked to team up with our Byron neighbours – Australian Macadamias – in dreaming up this new limited-release malty lager: Malty Mac.

Based on a traditional German dunkel style beer, Malty Mac was modernised for the Aussie palate by adding roasted macadamias to the brewing process and the result: a buttery smooth, malty lager that pours with dark golden hues.

Our Byron brewer, Josh Waters, was instrumental in creating this delicious drop and believes he’s brewed an approachable beer that’s perfect for food pairing or just cooling off on one of those balmy Byron afternoons.

Those familiar with our part of the world in the Northern Rivers, would recall the green Macadamia Farms that stretch out across the Byron Hinterland. In the past 50 years, these farms have helped propel this humble little nut into becoming Australia’s 4^th biggest horticultural export.

Our brewers have had so much fun working with this homegrown hero so needless to say, we’re excited to get it out to the public today. Available in our Byron and Brisbane tasting rooms for a limited time, drop by for a glass of Malty Mac while you can. It would be rude nut to. Pouring in our Tasting Rooms from Monday 15 November.

MACADAMIA TASTE MAKER & BREWER, JOSH WATERS

Our brewer, Josh, was at the helm in creating Malty Mac. Watch the video below to get the full story.

Availability

This limited edition brew is available from today (Monday 15th November) at our Byron Bay Tasting Room and Brisbane brewery, only while stocks last.

Knowing how to make a beer batter is an easy and straightforward process. You will only need a couple of ingredients to make something you that has the potential to eclipse the taste from your local fish ‘n chip takeaway.

And we recommend considering beer batter fosh, an incredibly tasty vegan alternative to the typical fish and chips.

Our easy beer batter recipe takes under five minutes to prepare and is ready in another five minutes. Just enough time between half time whistles to whip up a couple of servings for you and a few mates.

WHAT TYPE OF BEER IS BEST FOR BEER BATTER?

Ultimately, the best beer for the batter depends on the type of fish or vegan alternative you’ve got on hand.

Use lighter, fruitier styles of beer for delicate or subtle foods such as tofu and lighter vegetables. While a dark stout can make a great combination with mushrooms or even poached stonefruit (oh yes!), it can smother more delicate flavours.

It’s also key to use beer you like to drink! This might sound obvious, but it really makes a difference. Plus, there is always the half glass left for the chef… For a full vegan alternative, our Brisbane Brewery chef recommends three different Stone & Wood brews – the Jasper Ale, Pacific Ale and Green Coast Lager.

The firmness of the tofu can take the stronger flavours of the Jasper, while the fennel will love the bright fruity notes of the Pacific. If you’re also cutting some potatoes to go with the fry, these will match with the bitter notes of our Lager.

PRO TIP

One of the fundamentals in a beer batter recipe is to keep the beer cold. This little trick of mixing the cold beer with the hot oil, causing the batter to go extra-crispy has been a well-known culinary secret for years. For best results, leave in the fridge for at least two hours prior to cooking.

STEPS TO MAKING BEER BATTER FOSH

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of your choice of beer
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ¾ cup of self-raising flour
• ¼ potato starch or rice flour
• Canola/vegetable oil blend
• Your choice of fish (boneless and skinless) or vegan alternative

STEP 1

Combine the dry ingredients and whisk until there are no lumps. You don’t want to whisk the batter for long at the risk of over-developing the gluten.

STEP 2

Gradually whisk in the beer until smooth and leave to the side.

STEP 3

It’s time to fry! Heat the vegetable oil over high heat to 190º C for the best crunch.

STEP 4

Dunk the fish or tofu in batter to coat well. Add to oil and deep fry until golden.

STEP 5:

Remove and drain any excess off.

STEP 6:

Season with a touch of flaked sea salt and serve with some crisp lettuce or rocket, and a side of vegan tartare sauce.

STEP 7:

Don’t forget to pair it with the same ice-cold beer you used for the batters – you deserve one after all that hard work!

Want to leave the work to someone else? Try out the Stone & Wood Pacific Ale Beer battered fish available from our friends at Beach Byron.

We’d also love to see your creations! Be sure to tag us on insta #beerbatter

Today we have some news to share … with a pounding heart and a lump in our throat, the founding families have decided to hand the custodianship of Fermentum (and its family of businesses – including Stone & Wood) over to Lion. 

As a founder of a business, from day one you know that at some point down the road you will have to hand it over to someone else. Earlier this year, we realised that we were approaching a major milestone in the development of Stone & Wood where we knew it was time to build a new brewery. 

After many months of working through how we were going to begin the next chapter in our story the founding families decided it might be time to see if there was a custodian for the business who could grow the legacy, its people, its culture, its brands, and continue to drive the business whilst staying true to its purpose.

We also looked for a custodian who would be committed to building the brewery, employment of the team, use of key local suppliers, to support our work in the community and importantly a focus on beer quality to match our own. Not only did Lion welcome these ideas with enthusiasm, but on top of that they demonstrated they had similar values and a focus on environmental and social governance aligned to our approach to using Beer as a Force for Good.

For us, to ensure the continued support of our communities has meant we have stayed true to our holistic total stakeholder approach through this transition.

The team (by way of their ownership) is getting a good reward for the value they have created and Lion have committed to their on-going employment.

The community is benefiting from the on-going role of the inGrained Foundation and the large boost to its funding through a $5 million donation; a $1 million donation to Big Scrub Landcare that will contribute to the regeneration of the lost rainforest and the new brewery, which will be a large investment in the local economy, supporting construction jobs and on-going jobs in the region.

It is a day that is filled with so many mixed emotions – excitement, sadness, anxiety, and pride to name a few, and we know that whilst some people will be happy for us, and some will have a sense of loss, we take great comfort in knowing that we are handing the business over to a custodian that will maintain the Stone & Wood truth that – Good Beer is Our Thing.

Cheers,

Jamie, Brad & Ross

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.