Friday April 5, 2013Where is the year going ?March and April was a hectic time for all at HBC. Here’s a recap. As always check out our facebook page for all the photos and videos www.facebook.com/hawthornbrewingco The end of festival season. A sunny day in St Kilda greeted all who attended the “Gourmet BBQ Fest” for a day of all things meat and beer. Awesome blues tunes kept the crowds entertained over the 2 days along with some great demonstrations….my favourite was the “great bratwurst eat off”…beer,bratwurst hotdog, beer..winner takes all. classic old school. At last..some help. HBC has apppointed an admin manager to take care of the office and provide our head Flavour Merchant with some long overdue support. He can now focus on the important things…like the upcoming trip to India (for research and development purposes of course). Beer # 5 is almost ready !!. Due to the great feedback we received from last years very limited run of our Australian IPA, we will be releasing it to the mainstream late May. It will be available in kegs and packaged (4 packs) and will surely be a crowd pleaser. Here’s a sneak preview from the label “An Indian Pale Ale bursting with bitterness and hop flavour, derived from a lavish dose of Australian hops”. More to follow in May but be ready !!!
Monday February 4, 20132013 continues the “festival season”January saw 2013 off to a great start with a raft of events and happenings at Hawthorn Brewing Co. As always check out our facebook page for all the photos and videos www.facebook.com/hawthornbrewingco Ballarat Beer festival picks up where it left off. BBF built on its successful debut last year by taking over the whole of the city oval and showcasing 43 breweries to over 8000 craft beer fans who enjoyed perfect weather, world class entertainment (if you haven’t seen the “Beards” they are an eye opener – an entire playlist of songs about facial hair belted out by a group of chewbacca lookalikes…great stuff indeed) and some quality local food. We spent the day filling cup after cup with ice cold beer which made for some very thristy flavour merchants at the after party. Amber Ale makes a cheeky return in kegs. As a taster of things to come, our Amber Ale was re-released in kegs to give fans eager for the malty goodness a sneak peak at what to expect when it is officially re-launched in March. Get into your favourite venue to try some before it’s all gone. See stockists page for tap venues as well as Facebook for latest news. Hawthorn Brewing bolsters its tasting army. To keep up with demand for tasting of our award wining craft beers, we have added some key members to our tasting army. These new additions will allow HBC to provide more in store tastings and continue to spread the gospel of Hawthorn. To book a tasting please call 1300 HBC BEER (422 233) or contact your rep. The day beer took over a racecourse. The inaugral Great Australian Beer fest was held at the Geelong Racecourse and was an runaway hit. Sporting a “beer garden” theme, 4000 very happy beer fans enjoyed a day of great beer, music, information sesisons (I hear the ice cream and beer matching session was a huge hit) and local food. Thanks to everyone who came and said hi (and drank us out of Amber Ale by 4pm). It really is great to get a chance to chat to so many people who are passionate about craft beer. My personal favourite was the young lady who, whilst openley loving our pilsner, just could not remember its name..calling it “the green one” on each of her 8 visits back to our stall. Belgian style Witbier OUT OF STOCK. Proving more popular than we could have hoped for, our Beglian style Witbier has sold out for the summer. For those fans who will miss its refeshing zestiness, we plan to have it back in production in a month or so.
Tuesday December 11, 2012So much can happen in a monthNovember was a big month for the Flavour Merchants here at Hawthorn Brewing. Some highlights : A successful day out at Beers By the Bay beerfest in Mornington. 25 brewers, 3000 happy beer drinkers and some great entertainment made for a really fun day. HBC launched into Tasmania at the Tassie Beerfest. A huge 2 day party on the water at Princes Wharf, Hobart. 15,000 people over two days made for a real party atmosphere, with everyone getting into the spirit (including more Lederhosen than we would have thought possible in Tassie). If you didn’t get down there put this in your calander for next year. See our Facebook page for all the pics and videos. Hawthorn Brewing hits Dan Murphys. Our Pale Ale and Pilsner is now ranged in all Victorian Dan Murphy’s stores. All for a good Cause. HBC was again proud to be the beer sponsor for Anglicares annual blacktie fundraiser, “Dinner with the Angels”. 20 of Melbournes best restaurants served up a feast (we had CODA as our restaurant) which was accompanied by matching wines and some great entertainment (including a lively auction that saw one Flavour Merchant get swept up the frenzy, resulting in some late Polo ticket purchases). It really is a great cause and a great night. |
Tuesday October 30, 2012Sydney Welcomes the Flavour Merchants
BEER AVALAILABLE at all NSW Vintage Cellars and First Choice stores as from 5/11/12. |
Tuesday October 16, 2012Upcoming Events and tastingsIt’s a busy time ahead for the Flavour Merchants as we embark on “Festival Season”. We will be showcasing all our award winning beers across the country over the next few months, so please come along and try some delicious beer. We’d love to chat to you about all things Hawthorn. You can follow the trail at: We’ll take a break for December and then get back on the road in January, so watch this space for updates. |
Monday October 15, 2012Witbier Returns for the summerOur ever popular Belgian Style Witbier has returned from its winter break. A fresh batch arrived from the brewery today and it is tasting great. This years it is bottle conditioned so for all those fans of live yeast, this will be a drinking experience…..feel free to roll the bottle or just drink it as it comes !! |
Monday Sept 10, 2012European Research Trip proves fruitfullHere’s a wrap up of what Pete got up to on his recent (and brief) European research mission. Much time was spent seeking out quality hand pumped ales produced across the UK. First stop was Torquay, Devon, where there are 29 breweries producing a wide range of great ales. Next stop was London (of course). It was still gripped by Olympic fever which made for plenty of tasting across all of Londons wonderful little “boozers”. Also managed to visit Sambrooks brewery in Battersea. A wonderful setup and it’s great to see the little independents producing great beer and giving the big boys a run for their money. We also continued our chats with Sainsbury’s (one day they’ll say yes !!). Final stop was Austria (with a fleeting visit to Munich..no Octoberfest this time round). Beers of choice here was the Pilsners and darker beers (they love their Dunkels). A visit to the Stiegl brewery in Salzburg is also a must….the tasting glasses are huge !! |
Thursday Aug 23, 2012Queensland Distribution now availableWe are very pleased to announce that we have secured Australian Trade Partners as our Queensland Distributor. They are a proven performer in the liquor distribution market and will be responsible for spreading the good word (and product) of Hawthorn Brewing to the thirsty masses of the Queensland and northern NSW. We are pleased to be represented by Rick and his team and look forward to building a great relationship with them and their customers. |
Wednesday Aug 8, 2012Tasmanian Distribution now availableWe are very pleased to announce that we have secured Polka Dot Liquor as our Tasmanian Distributor. They are a proven performer in the liquor distribution market and will be responsible for spreading the good word (and product) of Hawthorn Brewing to the thirsty masses of the Apple Isle. We are pleased to be represented by Charlie and his team and look forward to building a great relationship with them and their customers. |
Tuesday Aug 7, 2012Witbier takes a restOur Summer Seasonal Witbier has now run out of stock. But don’t worry, we will be re-releasing it in mid October with some tweaks to make it even better…did someone say bottle conditioned !! |
Tuesday July 24, 2012HBC IPA Gypsy Brew to commenceWe are very proud to say that our first “gypsy brew” will be commencing next week. It will be an Australian IPA and our brewer Hamish, who will be co-brewing this one at a victorian rural brewery, has promised plenty of bitterness, all local malts and an opportunity to showcase five Australian hops. Ingredients arrived today and you can follow the progress on our photo journal on facebook www.facebook.com/hawthornbrewingco Footnote : This will be an extremely limited keg only release, so get in early to secure a keg. |
Monday July 23, 2012Medals in LondonGreat News. Hawthorn Brewing Co has won the following medals at the 2012 International Beer Challenge held in London recently. |
Monday May 21, 2012More medals at Beer awardsThursday nights awards dinner saw the announcement of the Australian International Beer Awards winners. Hawthorn Brewing Co picked up a Bronze medal for it’s Premium Pale Ale and Pilsner. A great result given that the AIBA is the pre eminent beer awards globally with thousands of entries across many categories from all over the world. Once the formalities were over everyone enjoyed some great food, great beer and great stories. |
Thursday May 10, 2012The Flavour Merchants hit AsiaRecently we took a couple of trips to Asia to see how the word of Hawthorn Brewing Co is being spread. Pete was in Singapore catching up with distributors and stockists, while Hamish hit Hong Kong to do the same there. Positive feedback was recieved from all, and plenty of beers were sampled (Quality Control is tough work !!) in both countries. Looking forward to bigger things soon. |
Tuesday, Apr 10, 2012Amber Ale is coming backIn preparation for the cold months heading our way, we will be re-releasing our award winning AMBER ALE. We’ve made some interesting tweaks so are expecting this batch to be even better than the last. It will be available late April and this year will also be available in 50L KEGS. The kegs will be a limited run so get in early to avoid missing out. Our reps will have samples shortly so keep an eye out for them. |
Monday, Mar 19, 2012The Flavour Merchants have grownWe are pleased to announce that HBC has grown by one with the appointment of Andrew McCall to the sales team in Victoria. Andrew brings with him a wealth of expereince in the on and off premise market and is tasked with getting the good name (and products) of Hawthorn Brewing out to more of the thirsty masses. Keep an eye out for him in our distinct “hard yakka” inspired uniform !! |
Friday, Mar 15, 2012Another Successful Victorian Microbrewery ShowcaseThis week saw another installment of the Victorian Microbrewery Showcase at Federation Square. Perfect weather saw more than 900 people fill the Atrium each night to sample the brews from over 20 of Victoria’s leading microbreweries. As usual the guys from Hawthorn Brewing were flat out chatting to all who ventured to our stand. It was great to meet so many people and talk about all things beer. Our witbier proved especially popular (the 30 degree day couldn’t have hurt). Thanks to all who attended and said hi. Look out for the next installment in October. |
Wednesday, Feb 08, 2012Come join the Flavour Crew; Sales People NeededAre you an experienced sales person or liquor industry professional with a passion for selling who wants to take a hands on pivotal sales role in the expanding craft beer industry? If this sounds like you, then come join the “Flavour Crew” at Hawthorn Brewing Co. We are seeking dynamic and motivated individuals to join our sales team. Initially these are part time roles but there are huge growth opportunities for the right person. We have positions available in Melbourne and Sydney. If this is your next role, then please email your interest to peter@hawthornbrewing.com.au. |
Monday, Jan 30, 2012Australia Day Magic with Top 100 resultsA beauitiful sunny Australia day saw the Local Taphouse unveil it’s “Top 100 Aussie Craft Beers” for 2011 as voted by the beer drinking public. This year there were over 850 beers to select from and thousands of votes were received. With some feirce competition we are pleased to announce that all four of our beers made the final 100. Our Premium Pale Ale took in house honours again coming in at #22, our Pilsenr came in at #42, Amber Ale at #43 and our new kid on the block , Witbier, a respectable #66. Thanks to all who voted, we really do appreciate your support. Now it’s back to all things beer…oh but first, here is the full list. http://craftypint.com/news/post/hottest-100-beers-of-2011/ |
Monday, Jan 21, 2012Ballarat Beer Festival – What a DayOn Saturday Ballarat turned on the weather to celebrate all things beer. With over 5000 attending the inaugural Ballarat Beer Festival, it made for a fantastic day of beer tasting, entertainment and banter. The boys from Hawthorn Brewing were kept very busy (did someone say constant queues), so much so that we ran out of beer a few hours short of the scheduled 8pm finish time. Sorry to all those who didn’t get to taste our brews; we’ll make it up to you next year (or at the Fed Square Showcase !!). The early finish did mean that we could sample some of the other great beers on offer though…all of which went down very easy. The Flavour merchants were last seen heading to the after party to continue “networking”. Thanks to all who came over to say hi. It was a great day and we will be back. |
Tuesday, Jan 11, 2012Ballarat Beer FestivalThe boys from Hawthorn Brewing will be taking their beer on the road for the inaugural Ballarat Beer Festival to be held on Sat 21st Jan from 11am – 8pm. |
Monday, Jan 10, 2012Happy New YearWe hope the festive season treated you all well and we look forward to another great year of beer and beer related activities. We’ve got some great things planned so please stick around for the journey. As a first up, our Pale Ale was again selected as a top summer drop in the February edition of Mens Health Magazine. See the “Awards & Media” section of this website for the write up. |
Tuesday, Nov 29, 2011Flavour Merchant in the UKFor those who are following us on twitter (twitter.com/hawthornbrewing), you would have been keeping up to date with our fellow director Darren’s exploits on his real ale tour of the UK, via his #hawthornUK notations. For those not into the Twitterverse here’s a summary from him : Hey Crew, It’s been a very busy month trying as many different real ales (hand pumped) and visiting as many pubs as possible (with my own 2 jnr flavour crew members in tow!). I’ve been sticking to the bitters mainly, and the best ones to date are Moondance from triple fff brewing out of Alton, Hampshire & Sharp’s Doom Bar from Cornwall on the Coast. Due to my tweeting about loving the triple fff beers, I was lucky enough to spend a day brewing with them, which was brilliant. We brewed their Alton’s Pride, which claimed the Supreme Champion beer in Britain in 2008. I’ve learnt alot from them & even got the hands dirty cleaning the Mash Tun. All going good & plenty more to see and do before I return home with fresh ideas for Hamish so he can come up with some new and interesting beers for Hawthorn in 2012. Cheers Darren – #hawthornUK PS : my local football team is ironically called the Alton Town Brewers !! |
Thursday, Nov 24, 2011Charity was the winnerA great night was had by all at the annual Anglicare Dinner with the Angels charity dinner on Tuesday night at the NGV. MC Brian Nankervis kept the crowd entertained, with Ross Wilson breaking out the old classics to entice us to the dance floor later on. Our table experienced the culinary delight of The Terrace from All Saints Winery which produced some beautiful dishes. Hamish’ hand tied bow tie was again the talking point, and it seemed that after a long night in the kitchen, all the chefs loved a cold Hawthorn. The photo booth proved popular courtesy of the box of costume props that were on hand (we will save you from the photo evidence). A great night for a very worthwhile cause. |
Monday, Nov 21, 2011Top 20 Kudos for our Pale AleRenowned Aussie beer writer Peter Lalor has released his yearly list of Top 20 Aussie Craft beers. We are honoured that our Premium Pale Ale has been included in this prestigious list. See the full list here Top 20 Beers |
Wednesday, Nov 16, 2011The Design Files Open HouseHawthorn Brewing Co are pleased to announce that we will be sponsoring The Design Files Open House from Thurs 1 Dec – Sun 4th Dec. This is an innovative design concept by the team who bring you Australias most popular design blog. Hawthorn Brewing Company products will be dotted throughout the house to keep you refreshed as you wander through the various rooms. For more information see The Design Files Open House |
Monday, Oct 24, 2011Anglicare Dinner with the AngelsHawthorn Brewing Co are again pleased to be the sole beer sponsor for Anglicare’s flagship charity night “Dinner with the Angels”. Not only is it a unique evening with 23 of Melbourne’s best restaurants preparing dishes to be matched with fine wine and beer, it also raises valuable funds for Anglicare who provide assistance to children, young people and families throughout Victoria. This is our third year supporting this event and we are once again extremely pleased to be associated with this worthwhile charity. For more information or to book a seat, please visit www.anglicarevic.org |
Monday, Oct 24, 2011Updated Tap ListSee below for the latest venues to have our beers on tap : |
Monday, Oct 10, 2011Unveiling our WITBIER at Fed Square Microbrewery ShowcaseOur summer Seasonal WITBIER will be bottled Wednesday and will make it’s debut at this year’s Victorian Microbrewery Showcase at Fed Square on Oct 19 and 20 from 4.30pm-8pm. As always we would love you all to come down and say hi and sample our latest offering. You can also bid a (temporary) farewell to our award winning Amber ale as it takes a well earned production break. For more details see www.fedsquare.com/events/microbreweries-showcase/ |
Monday, Sept 26, 2011Change to DistributionEffective Monday Oct 1st, Hawthorn Brewing Company will be taking over control of its Sales and Distribution from our current distributor Beer Importers and Distributors (BID). This is exciting times for us here at HBC and we will be in contact with all suppliers over the next few weeks to say hello, and to assure you of the great products, pricing and service that HBC will continue to provide. We thank you for your support so far and look forward to working with you all in the future. For all sales enquiries please see our “Contacts” page |
Friday, Sept 16, 2011Summer Seasonal Release WITBIEROur summer seasonal is in the tanks and will be available from MID OCTOBER. Tasting notes are being finalised, but here’s a snippet “A refreshing Belgian style Wheat based ale, spiced with Coriander, Citrus Zest and Cardamom”This will be a limited release over the summer so be sure to stock up on what will be a very tasty drop perfect for the warmer months. |
Wednesday, Sept 14, 2011Amber to take a well deserved breakWith the advent of our Summer Seasonal release, our Award Winning Amber Ale will be taking a well earned break from production over the warmer months. It will return early next year just as the days get colder and we are all looking for a beer to drink on those cold winters nights. We have limited stocks left so get in quick !!! |
Monday, Sept 5, 2011Pilsner wins BEST Lager/Pilsner awardOur Pilsner has broken the drought and picked up its first award, winning BEST LAGER/PILSNER at the recent Hong Kong Beer Awards. This is great recognition for our beer which has received a huge response since being launched in Hong Kong in June. Our local Distributor Rohan was on hand to “accept” the award and tells us it was a very busy night of hand shaking and sampling rivals entries. Tough work Rohan !!! |
Friday, July 1, 2011Hawthorn beers expand further into AsiaThis time it`’s our Amber ale and our Pilsner making the journey northward, heading to Hong Kong! Our beers will be on the ground in Hong Kong next week and we`’ll keep you up to date on which venues you’ll be able to find them flowing, and more importantly where the launch party will be happening. Stay tuned! |
Monday, June 20, 2011Singapore wrap from Beer fest AsiaBeer Fest Asia `’11 saw the debut of Hawthorn Brewing Co, and our beers were flowing over the 4 days of Singapore`’s version of Oktoberfest. Plenty of beers from all over Asia and beyond were on hand in either the blues or the rock `’n roll marquees. We had a great time, well the times we could remember, and as a result you can find our Pale Ale at a number of venues on the Island. Check out our stockists lists for more details. |
Wednesday, June 8, 2011Asia Beer Festival: SingaporeHamish and Darren head to Singapore next week for the massive Beerfest Asia held at the F1 Tracks, Marina Promenade over 4 days! Hawthorn Brewing Co. will be part of the showcase with our AIBA dual award winning Pale Ale flowing throughout the festival. For those in Singapore for the fest, ensure you come and find us in amongst the beers of the world at Booth B2. See you there! |
Saturday, May 21, 2011AIBA Awards 2011There`’s a few Aspro Clear`’s getting popped this morning after last nights Australian International Beer Awards dinner. Hawthorn Brewing did well picking up 3 medals out of 4 entries: Silver – Pale Ale (draught) Now off to the Exhibitor`’s Tasting Day to do it all again! |
Friday, April 1, 2011New Stockists!24 Moons – AC/DC Lane (off Flinders Lane), Melbourne Ten Minutes by Tractor Wine Co. – 1333 Mornington-Flinders Road, Main Ridge Chez Regine – 270 Russell Street, Melbourne Gusto at Barkly – 587 Barkly Street, West Footscray University Hotel – 272 Lygon Street, Carlton The Turtle – 1 Ormond Road, Elwood Cellarbrations Berwick – Shop 21, 95 Eden Rise Village, Berwick Toorak Cellars & Wine Bar – 18 Beatty Avenue, Armadale See here for a current list of all stockists. |
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Friday, March 25, 2011Two wins for Hawthorn Brewing Co.The votes have been tallied and Hawthorn Brewing Company has picked up 2 People`’s Choice awards at the recent Victorian Microbreweries Showcase held at Federation Square. Our Amber Ale was voted best Dark Ale whilst our Pilsner picked up Best Lager. We are extremely proud of these achievements especially given the calibre of the other exhibiting breweries. Thanks to all who sampled and voted for our beers. See full results here: http://craftypint.com/news/post/the-people-have-spoken/ |
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011Pale Ale ranks 10th in Hottest 100 Aussie craft beers!Voting has now been collated in the “Hottest 100 Aussie craft beer” online survey. Our Premium Pale Ale has come in at number 10 (up from 24 last year). This is a great result for our flagship brew. Our Amber Ale also came in at number 39 in its first year. A huge thanks to all who voted for us…..now lets grab a beer and get back to the barbie. Happy Australia Day !!! See a full list at Hottest 100 craft beer results |
Tuesday, January 25, 2011Fed Square Microbreweries Showcase 16/17 MarchThe next instalment of this iconic event is to be held on March 16 and 17. Come along and say hello while sampling some of the states finest brews. Get in early for your tickets as they always sell out. For more details see Microbreweries Showcase |