The state by state by territories part of The Year In Beer series kicks off, as ever, in Western Australia where we’re joined by Crafty contributors Guy Southern and Jono Outred to give us the lowdown on the state’s beer scene. Their wide-ranging report takes in chaos, collaboration and consolidation, beer venues gaining accolades in the wider hospo world, new openings and big name comebacks, fruity beers, West Coast pilsners, “naughty” beers and more.

They’re followed by Rocky Ridge co-founders Hamish Coates and Mel Holland, who reflect on a mammoth year for the brewery and its expanding venue offering. We discuss balancing acts, brewing 100-plus beers in a year, their focus on people, concerns about the potential impact of climate change on ingredients, and their desire to help others become more sustainable operators by sharing their learnings from over the years.

Wrapping up the episode is Chris Bausor, who operates events company Bar Pop with wife Jemma. They celebrated ten years of Froth Town this year, enjoying rare ongoing success in the challenging major events space. As his team prepared to host Franz Ferdinand at the Ice Cream Factory, Chris spoke about the importance of keeping the “Holy Trinity” happy as well as the decisions they face about where to take the festival in its second decade.

We also unveil the latest good beer citizen in our Have You Done A Rallings? campaign.

The Year In Beer 2025  series will run every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until December 23. After that, we’ll be taking a few weeks off before The Crafty Pint Podcast returns in the second half of January.

If you enjoy this episode, or indeed any of the 50ish we’ve published in 2025, please like, subscribe, rate and review – think of it as an early Christmas present for us!

Start of segments:

• 1:53 – Guy Southern & Jono Outred
• 27:22 – Have You Done A Rallings?
• 31:18 – Mel Holland & Hamish Coates
• 43:41 – Chris Bausor

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