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Balter makes a splash as beer drinkers proclaim it Australia’s favourite craft brewery

By Administrator | 20 September 2018

When Australian surfing stalwarts Mick Fanning, Bede Durbidge, Josh Kerr and Joel Parkinson got together in 2016 to create a brewery there was concern that beer drinkers would dismiss them as a gimmick.

But just over two years and more than 20 accolades later, their Gold Coast-based business Balter has been recognised as a mainstay in Australia’s burgeoning craft beer market.

The business took out top gong in a survey of 18,000 craft beer drinkers published by online retailer Beer Cartel last week, topping well-known brands like Pirate Life and Stone & Wood.

It’s confirmation the seven founders, who also include Stirling Howland, Ant Macdonald and Sean Ronan, are now developing a very different type of celebrity.

“I never wanted it to be a surfers’ brewery, it has to be a good beer company,” Howland tells SmartCompany.

“Initially people were just interested in what Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Bede and Josh were doing,” he explains.

“But once people started drinking the beer that interest turned quickly.”

Australia’s craft beer scene has taken off in recent years, buoyed by similar movements towards more boutique and higher quality brewing in the US and UK, as well as interest from younger consumers looking for more premium beer options. Read more

Matthew Elmas - SmartCompany - 19 September 2018

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