Last year, we were fortunate enough to spend a day volunteering with at Feros Care Wommin Bay in Kingscliff, hanging out with the residents, enjoying a few beers and singing karaoke together.

Over 12 months later, our friendship with the fun-loving Feros seniors runs strong.

In celebration of Oktoberfest, and as part of an initiative to re-engage older people with the community, Feros Care ran a four-part virtual tasting series over a month, guided by our Tasting Room manager Jess.

Every week, Jess met with a mixed group of participants (aged 68-87), who dialled in from as far south as Victoria’s Reden up to Wide Bay in Queensland, to discuss the week’s focus beer, including our Pacific Ale, Green Coast Lager, Cloud Catcher pale ale and The Gatherer.

Besides discussing the tasting notes and asking participants to score each beer, Jess guided a virtual tour of our Tasting Room in Byron Bay and talked through the brewing process and the Stone & Wood story.

In true Oktoberfest form, the participants located in Illawarra even dressed in traditional Bavarian clothing and paired our beers with German food!

This was all made possible by Feros Care’s Virtual Social Centre, an online community for participants to access online exercise, cooking and language classes, chat groups and museum tours.

Connecting with these special seniors was another reminder of how beer can bring people together – no matter the difference in age.

We just launched our first-ever Pacific Moonshine in partnership with our mates at Cape Byron Distillery.

Pacific Moonshine (44 %) is not only delicious – with bursts of tropical fruit flavours with hints of malt and citrus – but it’s an innovation that saved thousands of litres of fresh Pacific Ale from being wasted, thanks to the ingenuity of Cape Byron Distillery. Learn more about the story of innovation.

So, how do you enjoy Pacific Moonshine?

The crew at Cape Byron Distillery have got you covered with these delicious and refreshing cocktail recipes.

FULL MOON MULE

Ingredients:

• 30ml Pacific Moonshine
• Ginger Beer

Method:

1. Build in a glass over ice.
2. Top with Ginger Beer and stir.
3. Serve and enjoy!

MOONSHINE DAIQUIRI

Ingredients:

• 60ml Pacific Moonshine
• 25ml Lime Juice
• 15ml Sugar Syrup

Method:

1. Combine ingredients and shake with ice.
2. Double strain into glass.
3. Garnish with a lime twist.

NEW MOON MAI TAI

Ingredients:

• 30ml Pacific Moonshine
• 30ml Pineapple Juice
• 30ml Mac. Liqueur
• 30ml Orange Juice

Method:

1. Combine ingredients and shake with ice.
2. Strain into ice-filled glass.
3. Garnish with a cherry and pineapple slice

JUNGLE BUSH BIRD

Ingredients:

• 45ml Pacific Moonshine
• 10ml Campari
• 20ml Pineapple Juice
• 10ml Lime Juice
• 10ml Sugar Syrup

Method:

1. Combine and shake with ice.
2. Strain into ice-filled glass.

PACIFIC ICE TEA

Ingredients:

• 45ml Pacific Moonshine
• 10ml Lemon Juice
• 90ml Homemade Chilled Peach Tea
• 10ml Sugar Syrup

Method:

1. Build in glass over ice and stir.
2. Serve and enjoy!

Pacific Moonshine is available in 700ml bottle from our online store. Available only while stocks last.

We have a story of innovation for you …

You probably know that we don’t like wasting things – especially beer. After all, that’s why we started our Green Feet sustainability program.

When venues around the country closed earlier this year in line with COVID-19 restrictions, many of our customers were stuck with kegs of fresh beer they could no longer sell.

To support them, we took all unopened Stone & Wood kegs back to our brewery and offered credits to our customers for when things opened back up.

Awesome – but then we had enough excess beer to overflow a swimming pool …

Until our good friends up the road at Cape Byron Distillery caught wind of it and devised an unusual plan: they decided to make a ‘beer spirit’ with our excess fresh Pacific Ale. And so, alongside Cape Byron Distillery, we bring you Pacific Moonshine.

Artfully distilled using our Original Pacific Ale, Pacific Moonshine (44%) is subtly salty and bursting with the tropical flavours of pineapple, lychee, passionate and mango, with hints of malt and citrus on the nose and palate.

Get in quick – numbers are extremely limited for this once-only special release!

With community at the heart of everything we do, we will donate $6 from every bottle to our not-for-profit, the inGrained Foundation, to support local grassroots charities in the areas we work and live.

How do I enjoy Pacific Moonshine?

The crew at Cape Byron Distillery suggest serving Pacific Moonshine with cold soda or fresh pineapple juice or try mixing it up with Cape Byron Distillery’s delicious cocktail recipe ideas.

Pacific Moonshine is available in 700ml bottle from our online store from Friday 4th December. Available only while stocks last.

Our Pilot Batch beers are experimental brews created by our team of brewers, with occasional help from collaborators within our community, all at our Pilot Brewery in Byron Bay.

These small batch brews are special, limited and, once gone, may never return. The Pilot Batch brewery is a space for our brewers to get creative – an opportunity to trial weird and wonderful things, turning the brewery into an experimental playground to get a little fruity.

Every three months, one of our brewers takes up the helm in our Byron brewery, running the day-to-day operations. During this time, they have the chance to brew their favourite beers and run the Pilot Batch program.

Meet Sean Rynne, our resident brewer for November – January.

Give us a bit of background about yourself…

I started brewing with Stone & Wood two years ago now. I pretty much just fell into brewing right out of university where I studied biomedical science and was teaching piano on the side. Around this time I made a few terrible home brews, so I came to Stone & Wood very green and very keen to learn.

What are your favourite styles of beer and why?

This answer would probably change every week! I love all styles of beer, but at the moment have been really digging some more traditional styles like oud bruin and Flanders red. I also can’t go past a well-made lager!

What will you be brewing during your time here in Byron?

I’ve gone with my favourite style of the moment with an oud bruin: a mixed ferment brown ale with raspberries and oak chips added to the fermenter.

Any beers you’re really excited about brewing and why?

I’m super excited to brew some of the calibration beers we have coming up – it’s so cool to be able to take someone else’s concept and design a brew for them and bring it to life! Also, I really enjoy anything that’s technically challenging on brew day.

What do you like about using the Pilot Batch brewery to experiment?

The Pilot Brewery is right back to basics. With everything being super manual, it gives us the chance to use fun and different ingredients that just wouldn’t work or would be outrageously expensive at large scale.

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.