Lachy Crothers brings his freshness mantra back to life with FAFF. The tiny, direct‑to‑drinker project proves beer tastes best when it hasn’t had time to get comfortable on a shelf.

There’s something poetic about seeing Lachy Crothers return to the freshness business. The brewing veteran helped build the early Brisbane operation, Ballistic Beer Co. There, he and the team conceived the ambitious Sleep When You’re Dead series of beers.

The IPAs came with a short, eight-week ‘best before’ date and a promise that unsold stock would be repurchased. The goal was to ensure the beer would be enjoyed at its peak and wouldn’t reach consumer palates in a state where hop flavours had faded. It was the first time some of us gave serious thought to how old the beer in our fridge might be and how close it was to the brewer’s intended experience.

Now, with Fresh As F#ck!ng F#ck — or FAFF, as most will sensibly call it — Lachy has closed the loop. The concept is simple: brew small batches, sell direct, ship early in the week, and have drinkers enjoying it by the weekend. No warehouses, no limbo, just beer at its brightest.

Freshness as a Mission

Lachy’s pitch is by no means subtle — it’s right there in the name — but behind the irreverence sits real conviction. He’s spent most of his career watching good beer dull in storage.

FAFF exists to bridge that gap and give drinkers the kind of straight‑from‑tank experience brewers usually keep to themselves.

For those with excellent indie bottleshops that rotate stock well, this may not sound revolutionary. But for anyone accustomed to decyphering best-before dates on the bottom of beer cans, lamenting refrigerated floor stock or pondering the package’s journey from brewery to consumer, it’s a small revelation.

The Beer

FAFF #1 is a hazy IPA built on Citra and Simcoe T90s with Nelson Sauvin Cryo.

Not one to miss an opportunity to experiment with innovative ingredients, Lachy has also added Pineapple Express terpenes to the brew. Admittedly, this gave me pause — terpenes can dominate if handled clumsily — but here they’re integrated gracefully.

Suitably opaque, the beer’s hop aromas are present before even raising one’s glass, with tropical and citrus notes that follow on the palate and a confectionery quality beneath it. Just a hint of bitterness gives way to a smooth, even glide of tropical fruit. The haze is light, the body plush but not cloying, and the finish clean.

Personally, I like an IPA with a little bite, but that’s a stylistic preference. FAFF #1 makes its case as a fresh, finely‑tuned hazy that feels ready the moment you open it.

Who It’s For

For some, FAFF’s direct model may be more philosophical than essential. But for many, this might be as close as you’ll get to brewery‑fresh beer without queuing for a can release.

Even with access to a discerning retailer—or if you’re fortunate enough to live next door to a brewery—this is still an exceptional beer. Unless your neighbour brewery is of the calibre of Range, Banks or One Drop, it’s unlikely you’ll find something comparable in a typical core range.

A cynic might suggest a deliberate attempt to create hype through limited availability. True, with each batch clocking in somewhere between 400 and 450 litres, once it’s sold, that’s it. But the tiny scale and simple premise are designed for guaranteed turnover. It’s a model that values immediacy over expansion, which in the current market feels almost rebellious. And it’s all, most certainly, genuine.

Price may be a legitimate consideration. In the current climate, premium limited releases can be an unaffordable luxury. While the pre‑sale price is generous for a beer of this quality, there’s shipping to contend with as well.

Interestingly, FAFF #1 also appears at a time when Dan Murphy’s shelves feature some impressively made IIPAs—Mountain Life and Balter among them. They’re accessible, well‑priced, and a credit to how far quality has advanced in the broader market. But while those beers showcase consistency and reach, FAFF offers a different kind of luxury: immediacy. It’s a fleeting, brewer‑to‑drink experience that rewards both curiosity and timing—something even the best large‑scale operations can’t truly replicate.

If you’re able to splurge a little, and you value fresh, well‑made independent beer, FAFF #1 more than delivers on its promise.

Final Words

FAFF #1 is a confident debut from a brewer revisiting unfinished business. It’s precise, expressive, and proof that “fresh‑as‑f#ck” doesn’t need to be vulgar to get attention.

What begins as a marketing hook gradually reveals itself as a kind of protest — a brewer quietly arguing that fresh beer shouldn’t need intermediaries. Lachy’s approach removes the compromises that creep in when distribution delays stack up. No production schedules, no retail contracts, just beer designed for its intended week of life.

If Sleep When You’re Dead taught us the value of short shelf life, FAFF sharpens the message that truly great beer isn’t meant to wait around.

It’s a message I’m completely behind. While I’m less vocal these days, I still lament seeing good beer languish on shelves that don’t know any better. Even talented brewers can erode trust when ambitious volumes of hop‑forward releases outpace their ability to reach drinkers fresh.

Projects like FAFF — much like Sleep When You’re Dead before it — also have the quiet power to show drinkers that the beer they already love can shine even brighter when it’s truly fresh.

I’m already curious to see what shows up in FAFF #2.

Visit Lachy’s FAFF website at www.faffbeer.com.au and join the mailing list.

Disclaimer: Whilst my sample was provided free of charge, it was without conditions. My motivation for this post is enthusiasm for the message and enjoyment of the beer.