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.

The Gatherer Artist Collection is Stone & Wood merch with a twist. For the first time, we’ve partnered with local female artists and asked them to create their interpretation of The Gatherer. 

On sale in our Tasting Room in Byron Bay and Brisbane brewery, these handmade ceramic coasters by Mullumbimby-based ceramicist Jenn Johnston are founding pieces for the collection. Hand-painted and made with high-fire clay, these coasters are durable for everyday use and the perfect size for a freshly opened Gatherer can. 

Inspired by Japanese aesthetics, Jenn’s wheel-thrown handcrafted ceramics reflect her love of gardening, travel, entertaining and contemporary design. We caught up with Jenn to chat about her ceramics, switching careers, her style and where she draws inspiration.  

@jennjohnstonceramics

How has the experience of transitioning from your health research career to ceramics been? What have been the biggest challenges? 

I’ve been moving from a career in health research to ceramics for the last few years. I’m transitioning slowing but steadily to allow myself to learn the ropes of running a small business, set up my studio and establish my ranges.

Taking this time is working well for me, and I think has taken some of the stress out of the move. In saying that, not working with clay full-time yet means that I have limited time to make to meet growing demand. Although I’m not quite there yet, I can see clearly where I want to go and am excited about what’s to come.

Your work captures several different styles – from your textured pinchME pieces to your multi-toned planters. Did you start with one style and evolve or have you always produced different works?

I’ve always made a range of quite different pieces and the styles I have now have evolved over several years. I find that when an idea sparks I need to follow it to see where it leads, if it has legs and how it might evolve.

From your own works, which is your favourite style of ceramic? Why? 

It’s hard to say! I always tend to be drawn to lean towards clean lines and pieces that let the clay really shine. I have a fondness for my planters, as these are what kick-started my business. But I also love my vases and using them to display cuttings from our garden. And eating from my tableware still feels really special!

The Gatherer coasters were a challenge for me, but I’m so happy with how they turned out. I’ve loved playing with colour and patterns and will be definitely be doing more of this in the future. 

Where do you find your inspiration? How does Mullumbimby feed your creativity?

I find my beautiful home studio endlessly inspirational – my heart lifts with the possibilities every time I am in there.

Mullumbimby as a town, and the surrounding area, and the relationships I have with others are essential for my creativity: Lani (@homeinthehils) laughs when I call her a plant-goddess but she is and I love our collaborations and hatching new plans for the future together; Bec and her crew (@bakersanddaughters) fuel my making with the delicious bread and other treats from the most stylish bakery; Dede and Pauli (@archer.thestore) have an amazing selection of handmade and local jewellery, clothing, pieces for home in their gorgeous shop and have been big supporters in the creation of my new vaseART range.

And of course, our beautiful beaches and hinterland provide all the grounding nourishment I could ever need.

Who are your favourite Australian artists and/or ceramicists?

Locally, I can’t get enough of the stunning jewellery that Susie (@sunshinealley) makes in her studio just outside Mullum. A few years ago, Kristina (@inalux) swapped pots for prints. I often scroll her feed when I need a hit of mid-century inspired colour, pattern and all-round beauty. I find the ceramic pieces of @ohheygrace completely intriguing – both from an aesthetic and a technical perspective.

Tell us about your workshops – when and why did you decide to start teaching others ceramics?

I love sharing the joy of clay and introducing people to the magic of creating their own pieces. I started running workshops a few years ago and loved bringing a group of people together for a couple of hours to work with clay, have gentle conversations and time for themselves. I’m now offering private classes in my home studio and am so happy to be able to provide people with the space, time, clay and tools for them to discover the wonder of ceramics.

Do you have a particular ritual or method before you start working – of getting into the creative zone?

It depends if it is a ‘production’ day or a ‘creation’ day. On production days, I’ll have a list of things to get done and made, and it’s really just a matter getting started.

Ahead of creative days, which are far less common that productive days, I’ll be mulling over ideas and what I’m hoping to create. If I’m stuck, I try not to push it and often find the creative conundrums resolve themselves with a long beach walk with my dogs, when I can let my mind relax and wander. Then on the day itself, I generally have a pretty good idea of what I’m hoping to achieve, or at least a place to start.

Either way, music plays an important part in my studio practice and I’ll either be dancing around to my fav tracks or relaxing to classical music, depending on my mood and what needs to get done. I also listen to a lot of podcasts – two of my go-to podcasts are One Wild Ride and Hack Your Own PR – smart women, who happen to be local, speaking to creative inspiring entrepreneurs and creatives. 

What is the best thing about a creative career?

I love the freedom in being my own boss, of being able to manage my time to fit with the other ebbs and flows of life, and that the outcome is up to me and the work I put in.

I (mostly!) love the challenges of running a small business – there’s always more to learn and an ever-growing to-do list. I also cherish the friendships that have grown from being in the creative space, particularly here in a regional area and small but vibrant community.

How do you best enjoy The Gatherer?

At the end of a productive day in the studio – straight up in a glass so I can enjoy the pretty colour and rested on a coaster, of course!

With a firm bitterness and crisp finish, Cloud Catcher is our full-flavoured pale ale brewed with all-Australian ingredients.

For our crew, it’s the beer we reach for when we’re in the mood to explore the possibilities – to seek out in the things we love and enjoy them.

This newly released video captures some of the ways we seek and enjoy in the Northern Rivers, where we brew and bottle our beer.

From the lush hinterland to the Pacific Ocean, we’re fortunate to have so many breathtaking scenes at our fingertips. Whether you’re drawn to shaded bike trails that wind through abundant rainforests, free diving deep into the blue or simply kicking back for the view at the end, what better way to top off a day’s exploring with a cold, locally brewed pale ale?

Brewed with all-Australian ingredients and Galaxy, Ella and Enigma hops, our Cloud Catcher pale ale erupts in tropical and stone fruit aromas, matched by a full-bodied mouthfeel from pale and crystal malts, a firm bitterness and crisp finish. Cloud Catcher’s name is inspired by Wollumbin, otherwise known as Mount Warning, whose name means ‘cloud catcher’ in the local Bundjalung language.

Cloud Catcher pale ale (5% alc/vol) is available on tap and cartons and six-packs of 330ml bottles throughout the East Coast of Australia, plus our official online store, our Tasting Room in Byron Bay and our Brisbane brewery.

Earlier this year, when we heard Brisbane’s annual Ekka – aka the Royal Queensland Show – was cancelled, our team thought about one thing: ice-cream.

But not just any ice-cream; they were thinking about the Ekka’s iconic Strawberry Sundae – a delicious strawberries and cream sensation that every year helps raise funds for The Common Good, the fundraising initiative of The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane.

That’s when our Brisbane brewer Mick had an idea.

We can’t exactly make ice-cream – but we can make beer.

And so, we did. Our Ekka-inspired strawberries and cream sour Strawberry Sundae Kisses is on tap at our Brisbane brewery from today!

Proceeds from our Strawberry Sundae Kisses – and our special beer ice-cream floats – sold between Wednesday 12 and Sunday 16 August will be directed to The Common Good to help fund critical health research with The Prince Charles Hospital.

This beer is a collaborative effort between us and our friends at The Common Good, who even came and helped us add 60kg of Queensland strawberries to the brew in late July – including The Common Good CEO Michael Hornby and Research Manager Dr Stephanie Yerkovich.

Come down and enjoy a Strawberry Sundae Kisses at our Brisbane brewery from today and help us support The Common Good!

Stone & Wood Brisbane

99 Bridge St, Fortitude Valley

Weds-Thurs | 3-8pm

Fri-Sat | 12-10pm

Sun | 12-8pm

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.

 In March, our not-for-profit the inGrained Foundation launched its Northern Rivers Large Grants Program 2020, which invited local social and environmental not-for-profits with DGR status to apply for a grant between $10,000 and $30,000 and show how their projects contribute to ‘regeneration and social connection’ – this year’s theme.

With $100,000 in total funding, applications closed on 22 May after a six-week extension to allow applicants to navigate any disruptions caused by COVID-19, leaving the Grants Committee blown away by the 55 applications submitted.

Now, the inGrained Foundation is excited to announce the recipients of the Grants Program 2020, so please join us in a round of applause for the following organisations:

RAINFOREST 4 FOUNDATION

Rainforest 4 Foundation will embark on a largescale regeneration project across fire-impacted Huonbrook, Wanganui and Upper Wilsons Creek, where the organisation will engage residents, landowners, volunteers and the Aboriginal Madhima Gulga bush regeneration team in mitigating the risk of future bushfire through weeding, planting and increasing biodiversity.

MULLUM DISTRICT NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE

The Mullum District Neighbourhood Centre will launch a nutritional food relief and food sustainability project for community members experiencing financial difficulty and/or social isolation, in which participants can connect and engage in food preparation together.   

TWEED LANDCARE

Tweed Landcare will put their grant toward wildlife regeneration in the fire-affected area of Terragon in the Tweed Valley, which engages local residents and landowners in improving safety for local wildlife and installing waterers, nest boxes, hollows and sensor cameras for animal tracking.

SUPPORT FOR NEW MUMS

Volunteer-led organisation Support for New Mums will use their grant to relaunch their volunteer home-visit program for new mothers without local support networks in the Tweed Shire, with the aim to reduce isolation and create connections for participants following childbirth. 

ZERO EMISSIONS BYRON

Volunteer-run organisation Zero Emissions Byron will use their grant to part-fund their RePlant Byron Community Connection Project, which aims to drawdown carbon and reinvigorate local biodiversity around degraded pastureland. Located in nearby Bangalow, the site will be prepared for the planting of 3,500 locally grown native rainforest trees with Aboriginal firestick burning practices, locally produced biochar and the involvement of the community, local Aboriginal people and special-needs groups across two public planting days. 

AUTISM CAMP AUSTRALIA

The total funding pool also included a $15,000 ‘Employee Funded Grant’ created by our crew, who substituted their monthly carton allowance with a cash donation to the inGrained Foundation to raise the money. Together we selected Autism Camp Australia as the sixth recipient, whose ‘Employee Funded Grant’ will enable them to purchase musical and play equipment that assists the development of young people living with autism.

We at Stone & Wood and the inGrained Foundation are stoked with the results of this year’s Grants Program. We congratulate each of the successful applicants and look forward to seeing their projects come to life, and thank all the organisations who took the time to apply this year.

To learn more about the inGrained Foundation, its Grants Program and this year’s recipients, visit the inGrained Foundation website, sign up to its newsletter and follow @ingrainedfoundation

Whether you’ve heard the story before or you’re new to the tradition, we invite you to join us in another year of storytelling under a starry winter sky, of standing around a campfire with our freshly brewed Stone Beer.  

THE STONE BEER STORY

Every May since Stone & Wood began, alongside our friends in the brewing industry, we brew our woodfired porter Stone Beer in preparation for winter. This is called our Stone Brew Day.

We start by brewing a decadent porter with dark roasted malts to give coffee and dark chocolate flavours to the beer. Then, on an open fire, we heat volcanic stones sourced from the nearby hinterland, before lowering them glowing-red into the kettle, which lends smoky caramel notes to the beer. The moment the woodfired stones touch the wort with a loud hisss is a moment for celebration.

A month later, we tap Stone Beer at our annual Festival of the Stone – our biggest beer and music festival of the year where our community comes together to enjoy fresh beer, live music, food trucks and winter cheer.

THIS YEAR’S STONE BEER ONLY JUST MADE IT

Decadent and bold, Stone Beer is close to our hearts, so it was with great disappointment this year that, in response to COVID-19, we had to call both Stone Brew Day and Festival of the Stone off this year.

Additionally, with the period’s uncertainty, we also raised some initial questions about whether to brew Stone Beer at all. 

Luckily, our founders Jamie, Brad and Ross couldn’t bear the idea of a year without Stone Beer, so we reigned in our resources and brewed Stone Beer 2020 in the face of all the mayhem, albeit in smaller volumes.

STONE BEER 2020 WITH ALL-AUSTRALIAN MALTS

This year, in a nod to our roots, Stone Beer 2020 is the first brewed with all-Australian malts, including a Red Gum-smoked malt that adds a subtle smokiness to the brew’s roasted barley, coffee and dark chocolate flavours.

A delicious woodfired dark porter with a firm bitter finish, Stone Beer 2020 is best paired with campfires, fresh air and cold starry nights. Cheers!

FIND A STOCKISTS BELOW

NORTHERN RIVERS & SURROUNDS

BRISBANE & SURROUNDS

On Tap

GOLD COAST

On tap

SUNSHINE COAST & SURROUNDS

In Venue

SYDNEY & SURROUNDS

On tap

NEWCASTLE & SURROUNDS

On tap

MELBOURNE & SURROUNDS

On tap

A.C.T

TASMANIA

OUR WELCOME BACK SESSIONS HAVE FINISHED! YOU CAN NOW DROP INTO OUR BREWERIES WITHOUT HAVING TO BOOK. SEE YOU FOR A BEER SOON.

Heads-up that our offerings for Byron and Brisbane are currently different, in line with respective state government guidelines.

BYRON BAY

Our Tasting Room in Byron Bay is now open to 95 people (Tasting Room and outdoor beer garden)! That means we’re no longer running pre-booked Welcome Back sessions, and that you can simply show up and order whichever beer and food you like. What’s more, our canteen run by 100 Mile Table is back open too!

Groups will be limited to 10 people (i.e. please don’t come in a group of 11 or more), while we’ll still be physical distancing and practising sanitisation.

We’re also back to usual opening hours.

BRISBANE

We’re still running our pre-booked Welcome Back sessions at our Brisbane brewery but from Monday 1 June we’ve increased our capacity to 20 people.

Our Welcome Back sessions invite you and your mates to pre-book your spot in the brewery and enjoy a tasting paddle, a meal, a quick tour/chat with our crew, a $5 voucher for our bottleshops and a $5 voucher for our online store.

Additional purchases for beer, merch or takeaway cartons or sharers during your Welcome Back session can be made on card.

Price: $40 + booking fee per person
Days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Times: 12pm | 1pm | 2pm | 3pm | 4pm | 5pm | 6pm | 7pm | 8pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Session duration: 100 minutes per session

Age restriction: 18+ only, please no children

BE QUICK, SESSIONS ARE SELLING OUT FAST!

What if I had already booked a Welcome Back session for Byron?

In line with NSW Government guidelines, from Monday 1 June we’re able to host 50 people in our Byron Tasting Room (not Brisbane at this stage). With this in mind, we’ve removed our booking system for Welcome Back sessions in Byron from Monday 1 June.

If you’ve already made a Welcome Back session booking after Monday 1 June, hang tight – our customer service team will be in touch shortly! 

BRISBANE FOOD OPTIONS:

• Pork belly, kimchi, gochuchang bao or
• Crispy chicken, sriracha mayo, pickled cucumber bao or
• Grilled king brown mushroom, black garlic, oak lettuce bao Vg
• Two bao buns per serving with a side salad of shredded broccoli, sultanas & toasted almonds with confit garlic and chickpea dressing GF, Vg

DO I NEED TO BE IN A GROUP OF 10 TO BOOK?

Nope. Whether you’re riding solo, in a pair or with a group of 10 mates, we look forward to hosting you. But spots are limited (10 pax per session), so we recommend you pre-book yours soon.

If you are in a group of 10 mates, you can book a session out and enjoy the brewery all to yourselves.

WHAT’S YOUR CLEANLINESS VIBE WITH THE RELAXED GUIDELINES?

Of course, it’s early days so our specially trained crew will be keeping the breweries spotless and sanitised during your visit, with thorough cleaning between sessions. Any additional purchases will be card only, plus our crew will be practising physical distancing where possible.

WHAT IF MY GROUP OR I CAN’T MAKE IT?

You know the drill – if you’re not feeling well or something else comes up, please call our Brisbane brewery on 0476 446 336 and email [email protected] or our Byron Bay brewery on 0429 060 262 and email [email protected] to fully transfer your booking to another time or day. We do ask that if you’re sick to please reschedule at a reasonable time in the future.

DO YOU OFFER VEGAN OR VEGETARIAN FOOD OPTIONS?

Yes! If you have any dietary requirements, please highlight this in the comments section on the booking checkout or alternatively call the brewery to let the staff know at least a day in advance.

***

As you know, things have been really tough for our industry and for independent breweries, wine makers, producers, growers, venue owners and hospo staff around the country. But while we acknowledge Phase One of the government’s reopening guidelines doesn’t work for all venues, we feel grateful that we’re able to connect with you again in our spaces.

The Welcome Back sessions are subject to change as the government guidelines move into the following phases, but we’ll keep you in the loop about that.

For now, we want to THANK YOU for your support. By supporting independent Australian beer, you’ve been #KeepingLocalAlive and ensuring the future of indie beer will be strong in the future. 

Cheers!