Founded in 1983, Matilda Bay is Australia’s first craft brewery. Its founder and master brewer Phil Sexton, is widely known as the godfather of craft beer. His commitment to perfection at all costs is legendary.

It took the Matilda Bay brewers 27 batches to create a beer that met their master brewer’s standards. They called it Original Ale. To promote this perfect brew, we released the almost perfect rejects. Rejected Ales, the best beers you were never meant to taste.

With names like 'Ballpark’, ‘Good...but’, and ‘Frighteningly Close’, each Rejected Ale was emblazoned with the story of its batch’s rejection by meticulous Master Brewer, Phil Sexton.

To write them, we worked closely with the Matilda Bay brewers. We opened old wounds and old logbooks; crafting stories that are part truth, part myth, and part indiscernible ravings of brewers hellbent on attaining perfection. From First Draft to Final Draught, they let craft beer drinkers see the journey to perfection; drag queens, acts of god, carrot-averse donkeys and more.