Latest news with #MickFanning
News.com.au
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
What is the best new Aussie beer of the 21st century?
Foster's Lager was a staple in Australian pubs and homes for much of the 20th century, emblematic of our beer-loving culture. At the same time, no one fit the mould of what it meant to be Aussie more than Paul Hogan - who was often seen Foster's in hand, promoting his latest film. Fast forward to 2025, and Foster's has become a rarity on Australian shelves, its presence now replaced by a burgeoning craft beer movement and shifting beer-drinker preferences. Our 25@25 series will finally put to bed the debates you've been having at the pub and around dinner tables for years – and some that are just too much fun not to include. Foster's remains a recognisable brand globally but its domestic presence seems near invisible - just like 'chucking a shrimp on the barbie'. Emerging in its place? Enter the likes of summer and pale ales, hazy XPAs, and even double-fruited smoothie sours ... yes, a real thing. Successful craft beer brands such as Stone & Wood and Balter, the latter co-founded by Aussie surfing royalty and shark attack survivor Mick Fanning, have increased their total share of the market to more than 20 per cent. That's more than Foster's at its peak. But which new entrant is the best? Little Creatures Pale Ale Launched in 2000 by Howard Cearns, Nic Trimboli, and Phil Sexton in Fremantle, Little Creatures Pale Ale is seen by many as a pioneer in Australia's craft beer movement. It's American-style pale ale, brewed with Cascade and Chinook hops, has been lauded as the product that introduced many Australians to hop-forward beer. The brewery's name was inspired by the 'little creatures' of yeast that turn sugars into alcohol during the fermentation process. Dave Padden of Akasha Brewing previously told The Daily Telegraph, 'Little Creatures... was my introduction to craft many moons ago and it's still considered one of the classics'. Established in 2012 in Newtown in Sydney's hip Inner West, Young Henrys fast became a local favourite. Their flagship Newtowner Pale Ale is a tribute to the suburb's 150th anniversary. The brewery was honoured as Vintage Cellars Brewery of the Year in 2019, with Newtowner consistently ranking in the top 5 of the GABS Hottest 100 Craft Beer Awards from 2017 to 2019. It has remained independently owned. Earlier this year, facing potential relocation due to redevelopment plans at their brew site, co-founder Oscar McMahon told 'Young Henrys was born and bred in Newtown and we will do everything we can to always have a Newtown presence.' 4 Pines Pale Ale Founded in 2008 in Manly, NSW, 4 Pines Brewing Co. quickly garnered attention with its American-style Pale Ale, known for its balance and drinkability. In 2017, the brewery was fully acquired by the world's biggest beer company, Anheuser-Busch InBev. Asahi absorbed 4 Pines in 2019 when it bought CUB. Mountain Goat Beer, established in 1997 in Melbourne, played a pivotal role in Australia's craft beer scene. Their GOAT Very Enjoyable Beer, a 4.2 per cent ABV lager, was introduced and is described as a straightforward, sessionable option. Asahi purchased Mountain Goat Beer in September 2015. The Mountain Goat Beer founders have since departed. Launched in 2015 in Adelaide, Pirate Life Brewing quickly made waves with its high hop profile beers. In 2017, Pirate Life was quickly snapped up by AB InBev via CUB and is now under the Asahi umbrella. The brewery describes South Coast Pale Ale as 'light-bodied, cruisy and brewed with the session in mind', capturing the essence of relaxed coastal living. Feral Hop Hog Founded in 2002 in Western Australia, Feral Brewing Co won over beer lovers with its Hop Hog, an American-style IPA. The beer was lauded by James Smith, the founder of online craft beer publiction The Crafty Pint in The Guardian as 'near to the perfect beer as you will find'. In 2017, Feral was acquired by Coca-Cola Amatil, but in 2024, it returned to independent ownership under Nail Brewing and Beerfarm. John Stallwood of Nail Brewing is quoted by The Shout as saying, 'Feral is an iconic beer brand and Hop Hog has started many Australians on their journey to love craft beer'. Balter XPA Established in 2016 on the Gold Coast by surfing legends including Fanning and Joel Parkinson, Balter Brewing Company quickly topped craft beer charts with its XPA, known for its tropical hop character. In 2019, Balter was acquired by Carlton & United Breweries. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the sale of Balter to CUB was worth between an eye-watering $150 million and $200 million. It too now forms part of the Asahi stable. Stone & Wood Pacific Ale Founded in 2008 in Byron Bay, Stone & Wood Brewing Co. introduced Pacific Ale, a beer that is an icon of the Australian craft beer movement. Originally named Draught Ale, it was rebranded to Pacific Ale, featuring Galaxy hops for a tropical aroma. Kirin now indirectly owns Stone & Wood through its ownership of Lion, which in 2021 acquired Fermentum, the previous, smaller-scale parent company of Stone & Wood and other brands like Two Birds, Fixation, and Forest for the Trees. Co-founder Jamie Cook recalled the beer's rapid success to the Crafty Pint, stating that in the summer of 2011, just three years from opening doors, 'we didn't have remotely enough beer' to keep up with its roaring popularity. Not just a beer drinker? Take the rest of our 25@25 polls Read related topics: 25@25 Join the conversation
Daily Mail
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Danika Mason's disaster at surf icon Mick Fanning's WILD charity golf day
Today star Danika Mason appears to have been in a golf cart that crashed during a charity golf day last Friday, with her Nine colleague Karl Stefanovic taking great delight in highlighting the incident on Monday's show. Stefanovic - who was also at Aussie surf legend Mick Fanning's charity day in Queensland - put up a shot of a golf cart bearing Mason's name after it seemingly crashed into a lake on the course. 'Can you explain this shot? This is at the Mick Fanning golf day on the weekend, I just want to take you to this shot here,' Stefanovic told viewers. 'Just on that golf cart there, which is in the ocean, can you explain what happened there?' A laughing Mason replied, 'Hey, that's a sign of a good weekend!' Mason was sharing the cart with surfer Macy Callaghan and the Nine footy reporter obviously saw the lighter side of the unplanned excursion, sharing Today's post about it on her Instagram story on Monday morning. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest alcohol was a factor in whatever happened to Mason's golf cart - but plenty of other attendees at Fanning's fundraiser were up-front about having a few beverages during their round. AFL WAG Bec Judd revealed in an Instagram post that she'd been 'having too much fun' while raising funds for Aussies who'd been hit by the floods in the northern rivers region of NSW. She listed things she learned during the day at the course in Coolangatta. 'A bar and entertainment at most of the 18 holes is very dangerous,' she wrote, before adding, 'Shoeys aren't that bad if the shoes are clean.' Judd admitted in a later post to 'having the time of your life dancing in the buggy, slightly drunk and distracted' with the golf day's Instagram account also posting a photo of her drinking that shoey. The event - which also attracted stars like footy legend Brendan Fevola, singer Shannon Noll, comedian and Nine star Hamish Blake, AFL star Mason Cox and tennis great Dylan Alcott - featured espresso martini bars, lashings of Fanning's Balter beer and even backflipping motocross daredevils on the course. Videos from the event showed one participant appearing to be thrown into a lake, shocked stars hitting exploding golf balls, and four male players pulling their pants down and mooning the camera. One shot posted by the day's Instagram account showed Callaghan having a drink of some description while in the driver's seat of the buggy but Mason wasn't a passenger at the time. Fanning's golf days have been a stunning success since they were first held in 2022, and this year the celebrities could've bagged a stunning $1million and a Mercedes-Benz if they hit a hole-in-one. 'Since 2022, we have raised almost $2million, which is something I am very proud of,' the former world surfing champion told Daily Mail Australia. 'I'm not much of a golfer myself, I just like having a hit with my mates. 'Knowing it is for such a good cause, that motivates me.' Mason is now vying for the title of Australian TV's hardest-working star as she juggles covering the NRL with her work on Today. She often goes from covering matches until late at night on a Thursday before being front and centre in the studio with hosts Stefanovic and Sarah Abo before the crack of dawn, then backing up to cover the NRL once again on Friday night, and then again during the Sunday afternoon match. This Sunday she was at Homebush as wild scenes hit the Bulldogs vs Rabbitohs clash, with play halted due to dangerous weather as lighting strikes forced both teams from the field. It was the first time an NRL match had been suspended due to dangerous weather since an Anzac Day hailstorm struck in 2015.
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Karl Stefanovic left enraged after chilling Friday 13th Today show prank: 'That's not funny'
Karl Stefanovic received quite a fright on Friday as he prepared to do a live cross on the Today show. The host, 50, was in Tweed Heads ahead of surfer Mick Fanning's charity golf day. As he prepared to deliver the cross, Karl was interrupted by a spooky Friday 13th prank as he stood in the chilly Tweed Heads pre-dawn. In a clip shared to the Today Instagram page, a producer can be heard asking Karl to 'look down.' Apparently already wise to the potential ruse, Karl replied: 'I'm not going to look down you're trying to wind me up.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Curiosity got the better of Karl who then looked to the ground, shocked at what he discovered. He almost jumped out of his skin when he realised he was standing next to a snake and he quickly made every effort to extricate himself from the potentially dangerous situation. His efforts were in vain however, as the snake, eventually identified as a rubber replica, followed Karl as he jumped around the carpark. It had not come to life, but was rather attached to Karl's jacket. The host then picked up the offending rubber reptile and hurled it back toward the crew and to Today presenter Tim Davies who appeared to have engendered the prank. 'Who did that?' he demanded looking less than pleased. 'That's not funny.' Co-host Sarah Abo did not escape the spooky shenanigans, either. The clip also showed the Nine star walking into a dressing room that was occupied by Tim who was wearing a scream-worthy clown mask. His efforts were in vain however, as the snake, eventually identified as a rubber replica, followed Karl as he jumped around the carpark. It had not come to life, but was rather attached to Karl's jacket. 'Who did that?' he demanded, looking less than pleased. 'That's not funny' Like her co-star, Sarah, 39, was genuinely shocked by the surreptitious scare, almost immediately darting out of the room in fear. Tim appeared more than chuffed that his scare tactic was successful, throwing his arms triumphantly into the air as he gleefully shouted, 'yeah!' The hilarious clip issued a raft of laughing face emojis in the comments section, while some fans disagreed with Karl's assessment of the situation. 'Quite the contrary @karlstefanovic_ that was EXTREMELY funny,' one quipped. 'Well played @mr_timdavies well bloody played.' Another, noticing Karl's reaction the prank, chimed in with: 'Lighten up Karl. It's p*** funny.' One fan suggested that there was a more nefarious reason behind Tim's pranks - he way vying for a hosting gig on the popular Nine breakfast show. 'Trying to take few years off the hosts' lives, so they retire earlier?' they asked. Another fan empathised with Karl, adding: 'From one snake phobia person to another.. that is not funny. Got him good though.' Sarah, too jumped into the comments to congratulate Tim on a job well done. '@mr_timdavies you got me SO GOOD,' to which he replied: 'Sorry, not sorry.' Karl's snake fright comes after declaring he would run nude into the surf at Bondi Beach if Queensland loses game two of the State Of Origin rugby league clash. He called in to Triple M this week to goad former NSW second-rower Aaron Woods and lay down the daring wager. 'Here's the bet, Woodsy,' he announced. 'The loser of the Origin game in Perth runs naked into the Bondi surf.' Woods, no stranger to big challenges, didn't hesitate. 'We're on, Karlos,' he said. Stefanovic then added: 'Next to Richard Wilkins.'
9 News
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- 9 News
For Mick Fanning, the shark attack 'was just something that happened'
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here When live broadcasters on the eastern cape of South Africa captured the terrifying moment a shark trailed Australian surf icon Mick Fanning just minutes into the 2015 J-Bay Open Final, viewers across the world gripped their couches and braced for the worst. But as the 10th anniversary of the champion wave rider's brush with death looms, Fanning is remarkably relaxed about his miraculous escape from harm. "It was just something that happened," he told . The infamous shark incident during the 2015 J-Bay Open Final was broadcast around the world. (World Surf League via Getty Imag) "To be honest, it wasn't like a flick of the switch moment where I was gonna change my whole life. "I just had to do work on myself to get myself back to, you know, surfing and stuff like that." After the near-attack in July 2015, Fanning returned to Jeffreys Bay the following year where he took out the competition, before retiring from WSL competition in 2018 as a three-time world champion. Since then, the Ballina-bred surfer has turned his focus - and perhaps his broader legacy - to charity. In March 2022, TV cameras were again fixed on Fanning, who again donned his signature wetsuit as he traversed deadly flood waters on his jet ski , carrying essential supplies and helping dozens of locals in the Northern Rivers to safe ground. Mick Fanning has used his jet ski to help flood impacted victims in Murwillumbah. (9News) "I know that area really well," Fanning said. The 43-year-old learned to surf in Ballina before honing his skills after moving to the Gold Coast as a teenager. "It's a place that I love and I got plenty of friends down there so I had a lot of friends that were affected by it all." From there, Mick Fanning's Charity Golf Day was born. The inaugural event raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the flood recovery. Three years on, that figure is approaching $2 million, but the circumstances across the region are devastatingly similar. "It seems like it's just happening every other year now," Fanning said. "I guess on the ground and in doing all the rescue work and helping people get back on their feet, you build relationships and ... we've just found that a lot of people are still really struggling. "It's been three years on now and ... people are just finding out that the grants they thought they were going to get are not coming through. "Some people are just, you know, losing that hope." Fanning will be joined by celebrity mates and supporters today for his fourth annual Charity Golf Day. (Supplied) The golf day has helped raise almost $2 million for charities supporting the flood recovery effort. (Supplied) Fanning hopes some of the community's faith can be restored when a star-studded lineup of Aussie sporting legends and celebrities converge on the green at Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Golf Club today for the fourth annual Charity Golf Day. "We're just here to let them know that we're still here we're still thinking of them and still trying to help where we can," he said. "There's some incredible people that are all coming out to support and yeah, we're very thankful for all their support and donating their time." Famous faces such as Dylan Alcott, Ellyse Perry, Hamish Blake, Sally Pearson, Karl Stefanovic and Shannon Noll will be swinging their drivers alongside generous supporters to raise vital funds for on-the-ground charities including Givit, Human Nature, and Hands On Hearts. This year, $1 million and a Mercedes-Benz are on the line if players can snag a hole-in-one. "It keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger and you know we try and add something new and exciting each and every year," Fanning said. "It's pretty massive that we can do things like that and just keep making the day bigger and better and hopefully raise more money for those in need, and actually raise more awareness." Fans who want a chance to win a year's supply of Balter beer, or would like to make a donation or purchase merch designed by street artist Sid Tapia, can visit the Mick Fanning Charity Golf Day website . floods national Australia Mick Fanning charity celebrities CONTACT US Property News: The last inner Sydney suburbs where houses cost under $2m.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Surfing icon Mick Fanning opens up about his chances of coming out of retirement - and the everyday task he loves since quitting the tour
Aussie surfing legend Mick Fanning has lived a life few could imagine - but it turns out simple pleasures such as the after-school run are now top of his to-do list. Speaking ahead of his annual Charity Golf Day at the Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Golf Club on June 13, the three-time world champion is loving life away from the gruelling professional tour - and the 43-year-old has no plans to emulate fellow icon Kelly Slater. Remarkably, Slater is still competing at 53. 'I definitely don't have itchy feet,' Fanning, who stepped aside from WSL events in 2018, told Daily Mail Australia. 'When I was on the tour, I threw everything into my performance. 'I've competed as a wildcard in a few events, but I'm definitely happy to be retired, I've got plenty of life projects to focus on.' One of those projects is the Mick Fanning Charity Golf Day, which sees plenty of Aussie A-list stars take part. The likes of Dylan Alcott, Sally Pearson, Ellyse Perry, Pat Rafter and Karl Stefanovic are expected on the greens this Friday, with the focus securing much-needed funds for those in need. 'Since 2022, we have raised almost $2million, which is something I am very proud of,' the Gold Coaster said. 'I'm not much of a golfer myself, I just like having a hit with my mates. 'Knowing it is for such a good cause, that motivates me.' Fanning will also 'celebrate' the 10-year anniversary of his infamous shark attack this July, where he became a global sensation. Competing at J-Bay in South Africa on July 19 in 2015, Fanning fought off a great white when competing in the final against his great mate Julian Wilson - and lived to tell the tale. The vision was seen by millions - and Fanning knows it is the first question on many people's lips when they meet him. 'I've dealt with it, I've moved on,' he said. 'It was a big incident at the time, I get it is a talking point. It was a crazy moment.' In 2016, Fanning - along with fellow surfers Joel Parkinson, Josh Kerr and Bede Durbidge - founded Balter Brewing. The windfall has been staggering, with Carlton United Breweries (CUB) eventually buying out the brand three years later. It is rumoured the return was around $200million - not bad for a bunch of laidback surfers. Born in Penrith, the die-hard Panthers fan has watched on with pride as Ivan Cleary's men have created a dynasty in the NRL after winning four successive premierships dating back to 2021. Much like his own career in the ocean, Fanning linked their sustained success to incredible athleticism, seizing big moments and calling on an expert coaching staff. And when it comes to the future of professional surfing, 'White Lightning' is excited. 'The world has evolved so much since I was on tour... look at sports science and how professional everyone is,' he said. Now a father of two, Fanning loves the daily drop off - and after school activities on the Gold Coast 'Adding surfing to the Olympics has also been great... sponsors are now getting behind athletes as they compete on the ultimate stage. 'I can only see the sport going to another level.' A father of two, Fanning loves the daily drop-off - and after school activities, one of which naturally for his son Xander, is surfing. He also has a daughter, Lyla Skye.
