Recently we became a certified B-Corp, affirming that our philosophies of brewing good beer for the community and supporting the people who support us, while always looking at new ways to tread lighter on our Earth, are on the right track.

So, what is B-Corp?

B-Corp is an independent accreditation for profit businesses that meet rigorous standards set around governance, workers, community, environment, and business impact models. It certifies companies that are concerned for their communities and the environment.

What it means for Stone & Wood is that we’ve joined a growing global community of companies dedicated to being agents of positive change, including Patagonia, New Belgium Brewing and Ben & Jerry’s. These businesses have all proven that they meet high standards of social, economic and environmental accountability and transparency.

 When we refer to brewing good beer, of course the quality of our product is our highest priority but ‘good’ goes beyond the rational attributes of our beer. It’s about what we do through our Ingrained (community), Green Feet (environment) and Brewlife (people) programs. We believe it is our responsibility, as the local brewer, to positively impact our communities.  

We’re humbled to join a community of like-minded companies determined to set a new standard for how business can be used as a force for good.

Check out the B-Corp website to learn more about our report and find a community of like-minded companies determined to set a new standard for how business can be used as a force for good.

Yeast, marvellous yeast. Before our ancestors even knew of its existence they were depending upon its magic to bake bread and brew beer. It is these unassuming but essential single celled micro-organisms that hold the key to the difference between the two most basic categories of beer – ales and lagers.

There are over 1,500 different species, most of them flourishing happily in the environment all around us. Brewers yeasts are typically derived from two types– Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ale yeast) and Saccharomyces pastorianus (lager yeast).

These two varieties of yeast behave differently during fermentation, resulting in characteristic differences…

Ales defy the ages!

Ales are the original style of beer and have been around for thousands of years. Tests run on brewing artefacts from Ancient Mesopotamia have shown that this wee beast was present and responsible for the fermentation of kas – one of the earliest recorded incarnations of humankind’s favourite beverage.

Sometimes referred to as ‘top fermenting’, ale yeasts ferment throughout the body of the wort – that is, the rich, malty liquid which is the precursor to beer – and settle at the top as fermentation completes.

Ale yeasts ferment at between 20 – 22 degrees Celsius, considerably warmer climes than their lager counterparts prefer.

This warmer fermentation generally takes place faster, and in their fervour the yeast produce more than just alcohol and CO2, often releasing aromatic ‘esters’ which are considered typical of ales.

Lagers came later!

Lager yeast, on the other hand, is a product of man’s tinkering with beer over thousands of years. Meaning ‘to store’ in German, lagers are believed to have evolved in Bavaria in the 16^th Century as a result of the colder climate and particular storing practices.

Recent evidence has emerged to suggest lager yeast is the result of traditional ale yeast interbreeding with a strain of yeast native to Patagonia. Just how that Patagonian strain made it’s way into the breweries of Europe is anyone’s guess!

Fermenting at colder temperatures (7 – 15 degrees Celsius) lager yeasts take longer to ferment than ale yeasts, release less esters, and settle at the bottom of the tank as fermentation completes.

This low and slow fermentation has a lot to do with the crisp, clean taste, and smooth, mellow mouth feel lagers are known for.

Don’t diss the lager!

Recently Lagers have gotten a bad wrap with drinkers often associating the style (and rightly so) with the ubiquitous fizzy, yellow liquid pedalled by the world’s mega breweries and served ice cold.

However, you only need to sample a few German brews such as a doppelbock, helles or marzen, to learn that lagers can be so much more.

Crisp, smooth and well-balanced with nuanced flavours, lagers deserve a space in the fridge and need to be appreciated, like brewer do, for the complex beer that it is….

Check out our two Lagers – Green Coast and Big Scrub.

Any persons entering these premises agrees to comply with the following “Conditions of Entry”, which have been implemented in accordance with the current NSW Public Health (Covid-19) Order relating to this premises for the purpose of keeping patrons and staff safe. 

All Patrons attending this licensed premises shall;

• Provide their name and phone number/email on entry
• Be refused entry if they display signs of illness 
• Be requested to leave should they display signs of illness after entry
• Be seated whilst consuming liquor
• Adhere to social distancing as required including at entry and exit points or where markings are in place
• Comply with any request to relocate due to patron number restrictions in any area
• Comply with reasonable directions from staff
• Consider downloading the Covid-Safe App
• Adhere to a maximum number of ten persons per table

Failure to comply with any or all of these conditions may constitute an offence under the Public Health Order and the licensee, their staff or agents reserve the right to remove from the premises any patron not adhering to these conditions under Section 77 of the Liquor Act 2007.

The Way It Should Be from Stone & Wood on Vimeo.

This special part of the world that we get to call home, inspires how we live and work.

Passionate people who are after a slower more conscious lifestyle gravitate to the Northern Rivers, bringing with them incredible talent and artisanal skills that tend to come into their own through local collaboration, a shared understanding of craftsmanship, creativity and the energy and inspiration of the area.

Making this video was a whole lot of fun, with thanks going to the boys (Neil, Zach and Nick) from the brewery who despite needing a couple of beers to feel comfortable talking on camera were stoked to be able to show what gets them out of bed each morning, also to local guys Pete Rogers (Cape Productions) and Justin McMillan for everything behind the scenes.

To top it all off and have Angus Stone keen to allow us to use his music, was for us, the perfect addition to a very local project.

Working with good people and having fun while you do it, is all a part of it.. The way it should be!

Shout out to:

Legends – Neil Whittorn (Brewing Team Leader), Zachary Wright (Brewer) and Nick Cornish (Engineering Manager)

Music – Angus Stone

Director/DOP/Editor – Pete Rogers

Aerial Footage – Justin McMillan

Colourist – Tim Wreyford

Sound Mix – Jordan T Power

Richard Harvey is a ‘doer’… and to be honest he’s done more than many could dream of.  I sat down with him and had a beer that I’ll never forget, chatting about his exhibition, work, play, surfing, travel, life…the whole lot really, before his photography exhibition ‘Adventures of the Deep’ at our Byron brewery.

 The images that filled the brewery’s walls were a select few from Harvey’s life of adventure, each with it’s own story or collection of experiences… If they say a picture paints a thousand words, he’s got a thousand words to enhance and compliment each image.  He’s a man you could chat with for a week and still be intrigued, one with an appreciation for the right things and whose story in life reflects that….

Beginning with his roots, where’s home… where did you grow up?

 I was a Sydney boy to start with growing up in Mona Vale on the North Side. As a kid I had a surfing sponsor, I was paid $15 dollars a week and was given the use of bright orange FG Holden Ute. I used to drive the ute from Sydney through Byron, to Queensland and ended up spending most of my time in this part of the world, so I eventually moved to Gold Coast around 1969-70. Even though I travelled a lot through the 70’s, I’d still call Burleigh home. Burleigh point was my local, I’d surf the now ‘Super Crowed Bank’ in the 60-70’s when there was six to seven guys out. I’ve been in Burleigh ever since, still there today with a house up on the hill.

What got you into shaping boards?

 Right from the beginning really, when I was getting paid to surf (about 18-19 years old) and there were no waves, I’d go to the factory asking for something to do… So I started cutting shapes out of the thick, chunky blanks, with a ridiculously heavy plainer…not like these days where they come pre cut. I was shaping between travelling and before I won the ‘73 Australian title in really big waves at Margaret River.

Out of the many, what’s been your favourite board?

 When I was in France once I met this engineer, he had a contract with the government to build the balsa parts for the French fighter aircraft. The engineer was a fanatical surfer, an old bloke, that didn’t really understand surfing but had a factory in Bayonne to build boards. All the travelling surfers would drop in and build boards there. This particular Balsa wood was from trees in Madagascar, it was super light and soft and due to Balsa’s nature and long fibre characteristic it smoothes everything out, turning choppy waves into velvet. I built this board with a pintail and surfed it all over the world, included 20ft waves in Bali.

Was the board inspired by any particular wave or break?

 Not a wave but the material…this board was inspired by the wood.  Balsa is the queen of all woods, it’s soft, it’s light, its easy to work with and it smoothes everything out… sort of like driving in a Rolls Royce.

What boards do you enjoy shaping most?

 I tend to shape one offs…custom type boards. Stuff that you don’t get in the normal surf shops. Boards that reflect the person and waves who I’m shaping for….

Twenty years ago, did you expect to see so many kids surfing single, twin fin and retro shaped boards?

 What happened with surfboards is that we were building all these types of boards and the media had so much pull, that when Simon [Anderson] won  Bells on a thruster everyone went out and bought or shaped one. But after a while people have started to realise these really thin and knifey type boards were really hard to ride and maybe not so enjoyable, so in an effort to get more waves people started to discover and change there choices. Surfers went in all directions, discovering alaia boards an all different shapes purely for the love of surfing and the enjoyment, not any other reason.

 For me it’s all about connecting, regardless of what board you’re on, connecting to the wave or the energy. The person riding a wave is connecting to the energy of the universe, connecting to the tides, the wind, the sun, the weather patterns and the spinning of the planet.. I guess that’s why it’s so addictive. People can get to caught up in the gear, the look and feel of their boards rather than the simple act of connecting with the wave. As long as the board connects you to that energy, then you’re really surfing…

Talking about the exhibition… what spurred the 1975 trip to California where the ‘Adventures in the Deep’ photos were taken?

 When I was about 26 I was in Bali with the guys making the surf films Tubular Swells and Free Ride, they were going to Mexico next to shoot a place called Scorpion Bay and needed a film editor… so I was invited to help edit this next sequence. We were in California en route to Mexico and heard about these kids skating in a pool, so we thought we’d go check it out and film it.

How old were the kids skating?

 The kids were fairly young, they didn’t have cars yet, probably late teens…early 20s.

What camera did you use to shoot El Rio’s pool?

 I had a Nikon. I’m a Nikon man and have been since…forever. Most of us old blokes used Nikon, due to the lens quality. Nikons always had good lenses with real clarity.

Thoughts on travelling pre technology, not as a new age ‘hipster ‘ trend but as a reality?

 Cultures were separated, through the communication revolution we’re all now connected. Back then you could be in Morocco…so isolated without a clue what was going on anywhere else. It was good though because wherever you’d go every town/place was an individual community, culture and experience rather than the same jeans and tee look. It was raw,  real and different, bombarding the senses, especially in the real extreme places.

 As a shaper and a photographer describe the value of something that is ‘handcrafted’?

 The hand of man is the most valuable commodity in any product. Because the hand of man has a personality connected to it. Any product created by hand has the energy, character and the care of whoever made it. The more precise, the more articulate and the more knowledge they put into a product, the better it will be. When someone picks it up or uses that something they can feel that energy, that personality, which commercialised “flat” products don’t have.

 When we work with surfboards its all about the feel. It’s about the hands, your eyes… where you see a sense of acceleration in the curves or movement in its shape. We analyse people, the waves and apply our knowledge to create something that has a personality suited to the person and the waves they’re surfing.  A sympathy for all the pieces needed to fit together and…connect.

For you how does ‘The Way it Should Be’ resonate… in terms of life, work and as a philosophy?

 It’s about feeling good and making others feel good. When I build surfboards that are suited to the person and they’re happy, I come home I don’t kick the cat, I’ve got a smile on my face…life’s good.  It’s about pleasure, enjoying life, applying that to everything you do and passing that on.  We all float through life bouncing off  various experiences, holding on and pursing those that we enjoy and letting go of those we don’t…

 A beer is something to enjoy… where’s you favourite place to do so?

 At home, you can totally relax. When you’ve got a nice view and a nice house, I guess that’s where I like to enjoy a beer most.

Richard is still shaping boards today, working out of a factory in Miami. He’s someone that I, could listen to for hours on end, a humble hero and a true inspiration. If you’re on the Gold Coast pay him a visit…even if he’s busy shaping in a cloud of fibreglass he’ll definitely have the time of day for you.

Photo Courtesy- Richard Harvey, Grant Dwyer and Dick Hoole

Words – Bronte Stephens

We sat down with the three boys from Skegss to talk about the band, life in the Bay, beers and ‘fried chicken’ before they launched their EP at our Byron brewery last Friday.

To give you a bit of a back story, the three boys Benny, Johnny and Tobes are from small coastal towns and for the past couple of years have been living the good life in Byron. Tobes balances the Skegss and makes pretty radical surf films, Johnny continues on the path of being a legend in between Byron and Forster and Benny’s making art amongst surfing and other ventures.

Just over a year ago lead singer Benny worked at Stone & Wood, charging around the brewery on the forklift, racking kegs, working on our bottling line, feeding the crew donuts and helping out the brewers…Now he’s standing on our pallet-stage playing rock ‘n’ roll…

It’s not just any kind of rock ‘n’ roll though. The boys have labeled their band as ‘the worst band ever’ to remove expectations ‘in general and technically’ yet they’ve managed to capture the minds, hearts and dancing bodies of salty haired frothers right up and down the East coast (and beyond). If the band’s ‘a joke’, their music speaks incredibly well to the youth of today… The trio might think ‘that it’s getting funnier’ but perhaps they’re just too humble to realise they’re driving a mini ‘Skegss’ movement.

Recently back from a successful trip in the US, they’ve hit the ground running in OZ… As a late announcement to the Splendour in the Grass line-up, they then signed with Ratbag Records and began cruising up and down the coast playing in a number of small towns, ‘mini-big festivals’ like Sounds of the Suburbs whilst also finalising  ‘50 Push Up’s For a Dollar’ their first E.P. It’s looking better than ever for this group of new age ‘90’s punk anti homies but rap loving’ Skegss.

What does Skegss mean?

They reckon everyone asks so if your interested, check out one of their Youtube interviews.

Where will they be in ten years?

Tobes mentioned he might be dead (you’d hope not)… Johnny will still be playing the drums, taking it easy and living in a small coastal town. Benny according to the others will be playing in a ‘super hot’ band but he confides he might be working back at Stone & Wood or living the simple life in home-town Forster.  They all agreed though that they’ll be having fun, hopefully playing music with the addition of a couple of kilos from enjoying a beer or two.

Where’s there favourite place to have a beer?

In the Lillipilli district of Byron on Tobes’ balcony ‘where the magic happens’, at The Rails in town or anywhere because they all share a love for beers…

So cheers to these three legends and thanks for having a beer with us! Their advice…Keep ‘doing what you do’ and having fun even if the rest of the world starts to take you seriously.

*A bunch of photos from the launch all thanks to Life Without Andy…

Let’s talk about malt. What is it? You can’t grow malt. It isn’t something that happens by itself. What you do grow is a grain, and then malting is a process applied to that grain.

Germination in a natural sense is where you have light and water hitting the grain, to the point where it puffs itself up and is full of starch.

This starch is what the brewers are chasing. Barley has the highest volume of starch present, yielding a content of 65% and is hence the most commonly used grain in the brewing process. Wheat, corn, oats and rice also are used.

Malting as a process

Malting is in a sense recreating this natural germination process, but in a more viable manner, which means indoors. Lay out all the grain, with a depth of roughly ten centimetres.

The grain is first steeped in water to encourage germination, then the process is abruptly stopped once the two little shoots, the chitlings, emerge.

This is the point where the grain reaches maximum starch capacity; and is now ready for roasting. Different levels of roasting induce many different outcomes from the same grain.

50 shades of malt

We use malt for many different reasons in the brewing process. One is to affect the colour. It’s a bit of a no brainer but the more you roast your grains, the darker in colour they become.

Pale ales use pale malts, amber ales get their earthy colour from malts around the Cara Munich stage, and dark beers like stout get their rich complexion from using dark malts, which have been roasted at high temperature.

 Sugar and spice and all things nice

Malts also affect the sweetness of the beer. The more you toast your malts, the sweeter they become. This is due to the fact that as you have heat hitting the grain, it affects the starch and starts converting into sugars.

Next time you have a sip of dark beer, play close attention to the sweetness at the start of your sip. It will only be once the hops come in and balance out the sweetness with bitterness that you will get the rich well-rounded flavour associated with dark beer.

How many malts have you had tonight?

Malt also affects the alcohol content. Brewing is a balancing act. You’ve got water, malt, hops and yeast. While just four ingredients may allude to a simple recipe, brewing is a delicate process that involves getting the balance just right.

When you up the hops in a beer, for example when the brewer is making an IPA, he or she will also have to up the malts to create a balanced result. Up the hops, up the malt and the result will be a higher alcohol content.

Malt provides the fermentables. When you used more malt in a recipe, there is a higher gravity count (just think sugars). When the yeast is added and performs its party tricks, it converts the sugar into alcohol and expels carbon dioxide. If it has more malts to work with there is going to be a higher ABV in the finished product.

In essence, malt provides the sugar source, the starch source, and is the main carbohydrate for the yeast. It is the backbone of labour for the beer, without it there would be no alcohol and no CO2.

I just got off the phone with a friend. “What do you count as an Australian beer?” I asked him. “Anything, but it’s gotta be cold” came the reply without a moment’s hesitation. So there you have it folks, straight from source.

It’s no secret that Australians love drinking beer. Bring to mind any quintessential Australian scene, i.e friends around a barbecue, surfing in the sunshine, backyard cricket, and you’d be hard pressed not to add beer into the setting. So why do Australians love beer so much? And what actually counts as Australian beer?

But how did it get here?

Beer came to Australia at the same time as Captain Cook. Brought over on the first fleet, beer reached our shore and there’s been no looking back. It was first promoted as a healthy alternative to the rum the convict hooligans were quite fond of guzzling (is it just me or does anyone else have the term ‘some things never change’ spring to mind).

Fast forward to present day, and you will find beer making up 48% of alcohol consumed in Australia, followed by wine at 29% and spirits at 21%.

Beers for here

Australia is a big country. Even in our present day it can seem daunting to attempt to travel the 5000kms from east to west, and that’s aided by our modern modes of transport. So rewind to early settlement dates and it would have seemed near impossible.

This induced a sense of ‘localism’, with people establishing relationships with the only beers they could access, beers brewed in their local region.

Think Western Australia’s love affair with Emu Export, South Australia’s partnership with Coopers, Victorians fiercely proud of their VB, and Byron Bay residents of New South Wales not batting an eyelid as they pledge their allegiance to Stone and Wood.

What’s the magic ingredient?

James Squire successfully cultivated the first crop of hops in 1804. Since then Australia has moved forward in leaps and bounds, producing many of the ingredients needed to make the delicious beverage so many of us enjoy today.

An Australian beer doesn’t need to have all ingredients produced in Australia. Many breweries make the most of globalisation and source different hops and malts from around the world, aiding in creating vastly different flavours and styles.

Contextual Cerveza

Australian Beer is, quite simply, beer made and enjoyed in Australia. It gets hot here. As a generalisation we tend to spend a lot of time in the sun. We don’t ask for much when it comes to good beer. Give us something cold, something thirst quenching and easy drinking, and you can be pretty assured that you’ve jumped through the necessary hops… I mean hoops. See what I did there.

Australian’s love beer that fits in with their culture. Pale ales and the beach compliment each other like fish does chips. Mid strength lagers fit perfectly into the Sunny Queensland scene, easy like a Sunday morning picnic.

We can’t not speak about the Friday- arvo-knock-off beer. A category all of it’s own, the Friday-arvo-knock-off beer is epitome of Australian beer. Flavour, colour, percentage, are irrelevant factors.

What constitutes a Friday-arvo-knock-off beer is a beer drunk whilst savouring the anticipation in the air of the impending weekend, of good times spent with friends in the sunshine.

Beers that are brewed with a lighthearted Australian lifestyle in mind are the beers that Australians love.

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