Smoked by AI · Melbourne · people

James Smith

Journalist · Author — Australian craft beer: breweries, taprooms, industry economics.

founder and editor of The Crafty Pint, the country's craft-beer title; British beer writer before that. His news reporting is the record of who owns what, who is in trouble and who moved.

No reviews or picks captured yet.

Nothing here yet where they gave a verdict of their own — anything below is coverage they wrote, not an endorsement.

Pieces they wrote about these places.

Reporting, openings and roundups. Kept for the trail, and not read as their endorsement — a writer relaying someone else's award is not recommending it.

• The Crafty Pint, 'Australian International Beer Awards Dominated By Goats, Kings & Queens(town)' (James Smith) ↗reporting · 2026-05-15
  • Mountain Goat BeerRichmond

    “It's the second time Mountain Goat have won the Champion Australian Beer trophy, following success with a barrel-aged barleywine back in 2015. Eleven years on, several members of the brewing team at Goat HQ in Richmond are still in place too.”

• The Crafty Pint, 'La Sirene's Reservoir Renaissance' (James Smith) ↗reporting · 2023-10-08
  • La Sirene BrewingReservoir

    “Just 371 days earlier, they'd done exactly the same thing: welcoming eager guests into a converted warehouse with a very similar ambience, lined with the same beer-and-fruit-filled barrels, pouring many of the same beers, and with a DJ spinning familiar tunes. It's just that on October 1, 2022, it all took place in Alphington, approximately 11km away.”