Cartel offers a crafty collection for WA brew lovers

As more breweries package their beers the battle for shelf space in liquor stores is as cramped as a Japanese commuter train.

And that means finding the drinks you prefer can be like a game of hide and seek. Sometimes the can or stubby can’t be found.

It is a particular problem on the west coast with many breweries unable to develop an economically viable model to send their wares to Perth and surrounds.

So a service like Craft Cartel Liquor is filling the void.

To prove the point, the team at Craft Cartel, which has been operating as a liquor store in Western Sydney for more than 20 years, used the WA-based team at The Sip as a guinea pig to test the program.

While the crew looked through the catalogue of beers in the Craft Cartel stable, the vote was taken and the result was to go for the unknown.

One of the categories on offer is to subscribe to the Monthly Beer Club, which features an eight or 16 beer delivery box. And it is a monthly or quarterly service that would suit Forrest Gump because in each box you never know what you’re going to get.

And our team was pleasantly surprised when the brews arrived three business days after ordering. It arrived just in time for the WA Labour Day long weekend.

A highlight in the February box was the Rodenbach Alexander, the highly-popular sour from Belgium. Although there was a race to get the beer to the lips, there was a pause to read the tasting notes that come with each Craft Cartel box. And the notes even featured a reference to the preferred glass for each beer.

Also in the box were Prancing Pony India Red Ale, Behemoth Freedom APA, Nomad South Pacific Dream, Billson’s Pale Ale, Akasha Little Smith IPA, Stockade Rockafella Dark Ale and an Otherside Harvest Red, which completed the round trip from its Myaree brewery.

But the Otherside favourite arrived home in good shape.

Now the important aspect, especially for Sandgropers, is that the monthly and quarterly boxes don’t attract a delivery fee.

Craft Cartel Liquor now offers over 700 curated craft beers, many of which are one-off specials, gaining a contingent of loyal customers who eagerly await these much anticipated brews. Most recently, it was Green Beacon’s 6th Birthday Milkshake IPA and Old Wives Ales Old Man Yells At Cloud Double NEIPA flying off their shelves.

Craft Cartel Liquor also showcases some of the best craft beers from WA breweries, including Otherside, Colonial, Beerfarm, and Nail Brewing – they even stock Nail Clout Stout (11% ABV), a prime example from their rare, speciality beer selection.

For more information contact Craft Cartel Liquor.