Usually the sound of clink, clank, beep, bang, chink from the packaging team is enough to make us cringe, but yesterday it was just the sound of an almost record breaking day on our little packaging line as we smashed out as much production as we could with just a few days till Easter.

We've learnt that open fermenters never sleep (not even on public holidays) and we like to watch, so rest assured we'll be open and waiting for you every day over the extra long weekend coming from Friday to Tuesday 11am to 5pm. Hop on out to the valley and find yourself a rabbit. After all, the only thing better than an Easter egg hunt is hunting wabbits...

Battle of the beer batter

Some workplaces chat around the water cooler, around here, we prefer our gossip around the kettle and this week the discussion has turned to food. More specifically, beer batter, and the question "What makes the better batter?" White Ale or Dark Ale? And so we have arrived at the official title - Battle of the Beer Batter.

Good Beer Week is happening in Melbourne from May 16th to 21st for the first time ever to celebrate great Aussie and international beer. On May 18th, as part of the week (and quite proudly one of the more unusual events on the bill) Yellowbird Cafe on Chapel St will be indulging our madness and presenting the two batters side by side for our (and your) judgement. More event details here. So now we can settle it once and for all and finally get back to talking about the important things in life,  like who gets to play Ipod DJ for the day.

Excuse me madame

We like to think of our workshop in the valley as a wonderland of sorts... the whirring of the packing line, strange bearded and mustachioed characters emerging from dark corners, the yeast with a mind of its own clamouring out of the fermenters. But if there's one place of wonder to rival ours it has to be Madame Brussels in Melbourne. Grass inside, tennis outfits, jugs of Pimms, the infamous Miss Pearls and now you can take a walk down their garden path to a White Rabbit dark ale (we believe the first Aussie beer on a notoriously eclectic international list).

Word of warning: you might just need a few beers to handle this place after it gets dark...