Nail Brewing

What started as a dream in 1994 with a simple homebrew kit has now grown into one of Australia's most awarded and globally recognized breweries. Nail Brewing has had an inspiring success story, but the man behind it all - John Stallwood - is the star of the show. John’s contributions to Australia’s craft beer scene on top of his glowing success of a brewery is truly awe-inspiring. It is no surprise that Nail’s beers are high-quality, critically acclaimed, and loved by locals!

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Nail Brewing, like many established craft breweries, started with a passionate beer lover with lofty aspirations and, well, a homebrew kit. In 1994, John and his friend Luke gave their friend Craig a homebrew kit for his 21st birthday. The two thought that it was a great gift as Craig would make them beer. Unfortunately, brewing was simply not for Craig so he gave the kit back to John and told him to make the beer. It was then that John discovered his love for brewing!

John's close friends, Craig (left) receiving a home brew kit from John and Luke (right).

Although there weren’t any brewing courses in Australia back then, John was far from discouraged. Instead, he contacted the University of Ballarat and convinced them to resurrect the 100-litre setup from a brewer’s course they stopped running in the 1980s. John later enrolled in the university for an Honours in Science and wrote his thesis on the development of a full-strength ale using the setup that he painstakingly fought for.

After 40 test batches and a completed thesis, John was ready to establish his first brewery. In March 2000, the first cold pint of the famous Nail Ale was poured at Bobby Dazzlers on an auspicious spring day.

Nail Brewing’s remarkable founder - John Stallwood

Western Australia’s (WA) reputation as Aussie’s craft beer birthplace remains unquestioned, with the founder of Nail Brewing, John Stallwood, and all of his stellar contributions. John has been brewing beer, helping other WA brewers with their businesses, and winning numerous awards since 2000. John not only helped to get the WA Brewers Association started, but he also launched Australia’s first only resource for craft brewers.

As if that weren’t enough, John is still brewing and even expanding his brewery across Australia and into overseas markets despite having been in a coma before. In 2004, John was trying to break up a fight outside a pub in Fremantle but he got coward-punched and went into a coma.

The doctors managed to save John’s life but they had to implant a huge titanium plate in his skull to do so. During his time of recovery, John’s parents were forced to sell his beloved brewing equipment to save Nail Brewing from bankruptcy.

John never forgot the doctors who saved his life and the good samaritan who apprehended his attacker. As such, he created seasonal tribute beers in honour of them: the Gareth Skywalker Golden IPA for the samaritan Gareth, and the Flaming Lamington for Dr Jeffs and Dr Watson.

8 years later, having recovered from his injury, John embarked on a heroic journey to prepare for Nail Brewing’s triumphant comeback. John started BrewCorp with his friend - Brendan Varis of Feral Brewing. BrewCorp managed to purchase one of the largest microbreweries in Australia - a whopping 50 hectolitre brewhouse - where Nail’s beers are still being produced to this day.

Nail Brewing Today

Nail Brewing is proud to be one of Australia’s most consistently awarded breweries despite the tough and fierce competition. The brewery has outlasted several big breweries, learnt from other beer experts, and won multiple awards for their delicious beers. Nail Brewing is as resilient as its founder; it will continue to produce amazing beers no matter the setback!