James Smith

James Smith uses long-term, embedded reporting on the craft beer business to connect awards, festivals and industry trends into a coherent picture of how the sector evolves. He is the founder of The Crafty Pint and a journalist focused on the commercial and cultural dynamics of beer and the wider drinks industry. His coverage stands out for combining news, analysis and podcasts with the perspective of someone who has helped shape key industry events such as Good Beer Week and Pint of Origin.

Long-view reporting on the craft beer business

Smith launched The Crafty Pint in 2010 and has spent more than a decade documenting the growth and growing complexity of the craft beer sector. He writes industry news pieces that track how breweries, venues and brands compete and collaborate, including coverage of the Australian International Beer Awards and the breweries dominating recent results in “Australian International Beer Awards Dominated By Goats, Kings & Queens(town)”. Festival and campaign stories such as “The Pint of Origin 2025 Festival Lineup Is Out!” lay out participating venues, breweries and program details, showing how events function as commercial platforms as well as showcases for beer. During the pandemic, his reporting has highlighted brewery initiatives like blending orphan kegs into new beers such as Pandemic Punch and Rye-solation, using these examples to illustrate resilience, innovation and risk management in the beer business. Across these pieces he treats beers, awards and festivals as entry points into broader questions of sustainability, competition and opportunity for small and mid-sized operators.

Insight and analysis on trends and industry wellbeing

Within The Crafty Pint’s long-form coverage, Smith contributes deep dives that go beyond transactional news to examine structural issues affecting beer businesses. In “Chronically Crafty: Managing Health In The Beer Industry”, he looks at how health challenges and working conditions affect people working in breweries, venues and related businesses, framing wellbeing as an operational and strategic concern rather than a private matter. Reflective features such as “Ten Years Of Crafty: In Ten(ish) Beers” use specific beers as milestones to tell the story of how the sector has changed over time, from early craft pioneers through waves of expansion and consolidation. In “Ten Years Of Crafty: Meet The Team II”, he sets out the mission and evolution of The Crafty Pint and its contributors, underlining a commitment to thorough, independent coverage of the beer industry. His profile as “The Drinks Adventurer” describes his enthusiasm for craft beer as part of a broader passion for alcoholic drinks, which allows him to place beer trends in the context of the wider drinks market and consumer behaviour. These analytical pieces typically combine interviews with brewers, venue operators and event organisers with contextual reporting on trends, giving readers both immediate detail and long-term perspective on where the business is heading.

Awards, festivals and campaigns as business engines

Smith returns repeatedly to awards, festivals and campaigns as key drivers of the craft beer economy, treating them as moments when commercial, creative and community interests intersect. His awards coverage, including the Australian International Beer Awards piece, examines not just who wins but what those wins signal about styles, regions and business strategies gaining momentum. End-of-year series such as “year in beer 2025” pair podcast episodes and written trends analysis to summarise the main developments of the year, from standout releases to shifting consumer preferences and market pressures. Episodes like “Episode 019: Fighting For Indie Beer” focus explicitly on the challenges facing independent breweries, discussing campaigns, policies and market dynamics that affect their viability. Festival reporting, particularly around Pint of Origin, details how venues and breweries use themed events, tap takeovers and collaborations to build audiences and trade, making clear the commercial as well as cultural stakes. His longstanding involvement in Good Beer Week and Pint of Origin means his stories often capture both the front-of-house experience and the behind-the-scenes planning that shapes these events.

Podcast host and multi-format storytelling

Smith extends his journalism into audio, regularly hosting or co-hosting podcasts that sit alongside his written work and deepen coverage of the beer business. The Crafty Pint Podcast features episodes such as “Episode 035: (Gluten) Free To Do What I Want”, “Episode 019: Fighting For Indie Beer” and themed shows within the “year in beer 2025” series, where he and co-hosts discuss national trends, niche segments like gluten-free beer, and the pressures on independent producers. In “A Pint With Pints And Panels”, which includes segments like “The Week On Crafty” and discussions of “Australia’s Biggest Beer Fan”, he uses interviews and conversation to draw out stories from brewers, commentators and enthusiasts, linking individual experiences to broader market and community questions. Professional profiles and interviews describe him as a founder and journalist who built The Crafty Pint through specialised, high-quality content, and he is frequently invited to speak about craft beer, events such as Pint of Origin and Good Beer Week, and the value of focused coverage in a niche industry. Across formats, his work blends on-the-ground reporting, historical context and business awareness, giving his audience a rounded view of how craft beer operates as both an industry and a culture.