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Quaffers: Rise of Stone and Wood

Chris Shanahan

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Almost from the day it opened, Byron Bay's Stone and Wood brewery struggled to meet demand.

The quality of its brews, outstanding marketing and distribution and access to capital, saw it open, just six years later, a second brewery, with double the brewing capacity, in nearby Murwillumbah, NSW.

A little over a year on, in September 2015, just as it expanded the Murwillumbah site, Stone and Wood announced plans to establish an "alternative business hub".

The hub aims to support regional start-ups or existing drinks businesses and also to import and distribute other brands. The company established a new business, Square Keg, to execute the plans, leaving Stone and Wood to concentrate on its beers.

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The first new venture, the Granite Belt Cider Company, recently launched Treehouse Cider, made from apples grown in Queensland's Granite Belt. Where to next for this amazing new business?

Riders XPA Strong Pale Ale
★★★½
330ml $5.70

Rider Brewing's self-confessed American pale ale style appeals for its warm, mid-amber colour and opulent malt flavours. True to the style, citrusy aromas signal the hops attack to come on the palate. The attack comes partly in flavour, but mainly from and intense bitterness that sweeps all else before it.

Little Creatures Dog Days Summer Beer
★★★½
330ml 6-pack $21

Kirin-owned Dog Days Summer Beer combines several malted barleys, malted wheat, caramelised malted rye, and rolled oats. Combined with three hops varieties – US Cascade, Summit and Mosaic – it gives a bright, fresh, mid-strength ale (4.4 per cent) with smooth malt and assertive but not overwhelming hops bitterness.

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