Beer & Brewer 47 Summer 2018-Teaser by Intermedia Group

ALL THE BEST BITS FROM THE ANHC (see page 72) >>> * Additional costs apply for New Zealand.

INCLUDING

ISSUE 47 SUMMER 2018 PRICE $9.95 (NZ $11.95)

FRESH BLOOD

Discover Australia’s newest breweries

SESSION BEERS

Why less is more

BALTER’S

BEST

Scott Hargrave soars in 2019 Beer & Brewer Awards ISSN 1834-5115

0 4

BEERS

TASTED

771834 511048

WWW.BEERANDBREWER.COM

PLUS! ARE YOU USING YOUR KIT RIGHT? | HOW CANS KEEP GETTING BETTER | A PINT WITH… LAGUNITAS

CONTENTS

inside... Summer 2018

HOMEBREWER 62 Welcome 63 Letters 64 Q&A FEATURES 20 Session Beers Luke Robertson explores the growing trend for beers with more manageable ABVs and the challenges involved in keeping these beers flavourful

26 The Beer & Brewer Awards We present the 13 winners of this year’s Beer & Brewer Awards, as chosen by our select panel of judges and you, our readers

36 Brewing Equipment Part 2 Are you using your equipment correctly? We examine the ways you can get the most out of your kit and look after it properly

44 New and Up & Coming Breweries Australia is undergoing a brewery boom at the moment, so we went and chatted to some of the newest kids on the block

56 Canned Beer With more and more brewers getting into cans, what are the benefits to this packaging and what changes and improvements are now available?

4 www.beerandbrewer.com

John Palmer answers questions from our readers about water

66 Jake’s Brew Log Jake Brandish tackles session ales, with Black Sheep Ale

68 Grifter Homebrewer sits down and talks Coffee Cream Ale with the guys at Grifter

70 Chris Cohen We had a beer with the founder of the San Francisco Homebrewers Guild while he was in town for Sydney Beer Week

72 ANHC Review Chris Thomas looks back at the Australian National Homebrewing Conference and picks out his highlights

77 Recipes Andrew Childs takes us through Behemoth’s Procrastination Pale Ale

78 Coopers We take a look at the recipe for Coopers Vintage Ale ‘18

80 Level Up Tasting beer: what flavours should you be looking for and how do you find them?

26 “Craft brewers continue to lead the way. There is a real sense of community and inclusiveness across brewers and their breweries, which I believe fuels the industry.” – Brad Rogers, Stone & Wood

REGULARS 6 The Brew What’s happening this summer?

8 News Round up of the industry’s biggest stories

14 World News 16 Bits and Bobs 18 New Venues 82 Entertaining – Food Take a culinary trip around the world with MasterChef’s Adam Liaw

86 Tasting Notes Our expert panel turn their tastebuds to lagers and pilsners, as well as a range of new releases from craft breweries

95 Directory 98 A Pint With…

“At the moment, I think what people are looking for is that lower alcohol with flavour.” – Ewan Brereton

SUMMER 2018 5

2019 BEER & BREWER AWARDS

BEST NEW BREWERY:

Burnley Brewing The Australian craft brewing scene has been growing apace, with new breweries starting up or finding homes all the time (see our New and Up & Coming Breweries feature). And the best of the bunch is Burnley Brewing

“THE WHOLE IDEA WAS FRESH FROM THE TANK, KEEP IT SIMPLE AND MAKE THE BEERS FRESHER.”

in Burnley, Melbourne. “We couldn’t be happier,” says founder Neil Mills. “We’ve got a really lovely team of staff who believed in the product and got on board wholesale and put a lot into it, and that’s come together really well.” Mills has been brewing since his university days and then, after installing equipment at other breweries with Spark Brewing, he decided to take the plunge and open his own. The venue opened in November 2017, with a rotating selection of beers made on a Spark K500 stacked brewhouse with four 1,000L fermenters. “The whole idea was fresh from the tank,” says Mills. “Keep it simple and make the beers fresher. It took us about six months to get started – that was a council issue. It was certainly more work than I anticipated! But it’s a nice kind of work. “We don’t care about brand flash points. It’s quality service, quality beer and consistency – presenting the beers in a nice way. It takes time to brew a great lager. It makes sense to accompany it with a nice meal made by great chefs in nice glassware in a nice venue. The whole thing is about the finish.” The beers have been selling so well that to keep up with wholesale demand, a second brewery has been constructed in a warehouse. The next few months should see a collection of new lagers in cans coming out. And the area itself is also seeing more brewing growth. “I hear another two or three breweries are in planning in our neck of the woods,” says Mills. “It will be a nice little hot spot for brewing. The more the merrier.”

30 www.beerandbrewer.com

(l-r) Burnley Brewing’s Michael, Neil and Phil

2019

BEST CIDER MAKER:

Jimi Anderson Such is the growing quality and variety in the Australian cider making industry that Beer & Brewer felt it couldn’t be ignored. So we have introduced a 13th category to the Beer & Brewer Awards: Best Cider Maker. The judges have spoken and our inaugural winner is Jimi Anderson, cider maker at Wille Smith’s in Tasmania. “I’m a little bit speechless,” Anderson says. “I didn’t see it coming. We’ve had a great few years, doing some wonderful things. It’s fantastic to have my name there but it wouldn’t be possible without the team behind me. I’m honoured and humbled.” Anderson started out in hospitality, before working for Iron House Brewery in the north east coast of Tasmania. Here he cut his teeth in the world of sales and marketing, as well as on the production floor. It was then that Willie Smith’s founder Sam Reid got in touch and asked him if he could take over things until he could find a full-time cider maker. “I must have been doing something right because I’m still holding that role now!” laughs Anderson. “I’ve always been a big fan of the craft beer industry and I saw in the move to Willie Smith’s an opportunity to get into production. I took it as quickly as I could.” The move to Willie Smith’s transformed Anderson into a cider fan, driving him to understand what cider in the New World could be, and what was available in Tasmania. “I’m on the traditional style of cider. I have a great passion for making the wild stuff in particular. To work with great guys making traditional English and French cider is just amazing. We try to absorb as much as we can from as many producers, especially French, Spanish and English. We let the apple do what it does best by not filtering out the goodness, by working with suppliers and putting our own spin on it. “The products where we are, are slightly different to what you’d expect in the UK or France. We’re able to produce throughout the year as we need it. I very much see Willie Smith’s at the cutting edge, the front foot as far as driving the quality of the product, making sure everything we’re using is as locally sourced as we can possibly get it, making sure we can manage the product, orchard to bottle. “Australian cider is only helping that. The more people you have behind the wheelbarrow the easier it is to push. The industry as a whole has really got on board with that.”

SUMMER 2018 31

BREWING EQUIPMENT

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BREWING EQUIPMENT

Treat it right BREWING EQUIPMENT IS A MAJOR INVESTMENT, BUT THE WAY YOU LOOK AFTER IT HAS A MASSIVE IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF BEER YOU PRODUCE AND THE LIFESPAN OF THAT KIT, WRITES CHARLIE WHITTING

y father was a sheep farmer in south Wales for a time and one of the things that drove him mad was the habit some farmers had of leaving their machinery – tractors, spreaders, bailers – outside in all weathers at the mercy of the elements. Farming equipment will set you back a pretty penny, but if it’s left out to rust in the Rhondda rain it will cost you even more in time

and money. The same rules apply to brewing equipment. Any piece of kit will give you better results and for longer if you use and care for it correctly. In our Brewing Equipment Part 1 feature (issue 45) we explored what to look for when purchasing brewery equipment and setting up your brewery. In this second part, we will examine what it takes to get the most out of that kit in the subsequent years.

GETTING STARTED Looking after your equipment begins before it has even arrived at your brewery. You might be eagerly waiting for that fully laden truck to arrive laden, but you need to have a plan in place right from the get-go, or you will be tinkering even more than usual. Preparation is key, especially before your first brew. Your primary aim should be to get to know your brewery, and that means learning to walk before you start running or making your craziest batch. “Good results come from continuous improvement – the process of commissioning, test brewing and production brewing can be undertaken with this mindset,” says Julian Sanders, founder of Spark Breweries and Distilleries. “Small adjustments should never finish. Although you should be prepared to dump your first batch, there is no reason that you should need to with an appropriate setup, cleaning and commissioning process. Plan for your first batch to be good, and the worst batch that you’ll ever brew.” It is more than likely that this won’t be the first brewing equipment that you have used, but it is important to remember that this is the first time you’ve used this particular system, with all its idiosyncrasies and different requirements. It is unlikely that you’ll be able to simply replicate exactly what you’ve been doing on previous systems. You need to take things slowly, test them out, and work out what the equipment is telling you. “We still don’t know if 67°C on our mash tun is 67°C, but we know the attenuation it will give us at the end, so it doesn’t really matter,” says Rhys Lopez, brewer at Otherside Brewing. “It takes a couple of batches of the same beer to really figure St Andrews Brewery with FB*PROPAK

SUMMER 2018 37

NEW AND UP & COMING BREWERIES

The Up and Comers THE NUMBER OF CRAFT BREWERIES IN AUSTRALIA CONTINUES TO GROW. WITH THAT IN MIND, BEER & BREWER HAS TAKEN A LOOK AT SOME OF THE COUNTRY’S NEWEST ARRIVALS AND SUCCESS STORIES

stimates on the number of breweries in Australia haven’t quite yet reached 500, but it feels like it’s only a matter of time.

In the last decade or so, the number of breweries has been growing at an exponential rate and spreading to all corners of the country. And as we craft beer drinkers are, by and large, an inquisitive bunch, always keen to sniff out the latest style or newest release, it seems only right that Beer & Brewer shed some light on some of Australia’s most recent additions to the brewing scene. Some of these newer breweries are still in their infancy, looking

VICTORIA

URBAN ALLEY BREWERY Opened: September 2018 Address: Star Circus, Docklands VIC 3008 Website: Urbanalley.com.au Current capacity: 1 million litres per year Distribution: Victoria Core range: Urban Ale New releases: Airborne NEDIPA

for a permanent home while gypsy brewing elsewhere or building a local following before they look further afield for customers. Others are making strides forward, expanding their reach and building bigger breweries to accommodate the added demand. We’ve spoken to breweries from across Australia, from the far south west to the north eastern coasts, from urban breweries in the heart of major cities to breweries off the beaten track that are bringing beer and beer tourism to their local communities. So dive right in and see what’s been brewing near you, or indeed what’s new in one of your favourite beer drinking destinations. Inevitably, of course, there will be breweries that even we’ve not managed to track down and chat to, so if you want to get in touch and shout about a new brewery that’s really captured your attention and imagination, do please let us know by emailing cwhitting@ intermedia.com.au. Because we want to meet them too!

44 www.beerandbrewer.com

Urban Alley Brewery has technically been around since 2016 under the Once Bitter Urban Ale brand and brewed by contract brewers. But this year, founder Ze’ev Meltzer has a space to call his own in the redeveloped area of Melbourne’s Docklands. Next to the large bar and restaurant, the brewery itself has been squeezed into every available corner of space, with every inch planned to the nth degree by head brewer Shaya Rubenstein. “We are excited to have a space where we can develop and showcase the craft beer we are so passionate about,” says Meltzer. The brewery made waves by being the first in Australia to introduce biodegradable six pack holders, with other breweries now following suit, and the environmental innovation doesn’t stop there. An on-site bio-waste plant repurposes spent grain for use as fertilizer, while plans are in place to treat waste water as well. Partnering with a neighbouring distillery is expected to mitigate the need for the rapid heatingcooling-heating processes. The exchange of water at the desired temperature from the brewery to the distillery and vice versa is expected to reduce gas emissions to near residential consumption levels. It has meant doubling the brewery’s capacity, but early signs appear positive. “In distilling you circulate cold water around the still,” adds Meltzer. “So as the water comes out of the still it’s hot and has to be cooled down and recirculated. But in brewing, we take cool water and heat it up for the mash. But we thought that if we sent them our cold water they could use it to cool down their distillate and send it back to us hot. It’s a good example of good fortune. “Everything we do and we’ve done in building the brewery, we’re looking at every opportunity that we can to make us more environmentally friendly and responsible,” says Meltzer. “We’ve had to be pretty creative and a lot of it has never been done before.” After launching with its Urban Ale, the brewery now has its sights set on seven beer launches in quick succession, including a New England Double IPA, an IPA, and APA, a lager and a smoked beer called Polish Samurai.

NEW AND UP & COMING BREWERIES VICTORIA

BILLSONS Opening: December 2018 Address: 29 Last St, Beechworth VIC 3747 Website: billsons.com.au

While Billsons Brewery is so new that its first beers may only be available after this magazine goes to press, it is also over a century old. It’s just it hasn’t been making beer for around 80 years. Nathan Cowan and Felicity Cottrell escaped to this Beechworth property in September 2017. They then started turning the building, which was still producing non-alcoholic beers, into a venue that brews beer and distills whisky and gin, with its own canning line. “Things are pretty much on track,” says Cowan. “We’re pushing to get the majority of the products out by Christmas. We worked with a local historian and have discovered some of the brewery’s history. It looks like it’s Australia’s first tower brewery. By all

Current capacity: 2,000l per day Distribution: N/A Core range: Stout, golden ale, pale ale, lager

reports, they made fantastic beer. “The process has been lot of a fun and there have been lots of happy coincidences. George Billson’s great-great-grandson is an architect based in Hong Kong. He specialises in designing wineries, breweries and distilleries. He’s our lead architect on the project. He visited and put all the plans together for a brewery and a distillery. “We’re lucky enough to be surrounded by some talented people including our head brewer Tony Paull. We want to do a heritage range where we stick as closely as possible to the original recipes, like the Mild Family Table Ale. There’ll be a porter and an Australian ale. They were famous for that in the early 1900s.”

NEW SOUTH WALES

QUEENSLAND

EDEN BREWERY

WHITE BRICK BREWING CO

Opened: January 2017 Address: 1/19 Cavendish Street, Mittagong NSW 2575 Website: Edenbrewery.com.au Current capacity: 2hL per week Distribution: NSW, ACT Core range: Phoenix D Kottbusser, Birch Wit, Palm Pale, Wattle Weizen, Strawberry Sour, Spruce IPA

Texan Jacob Newman and his wife Deb (from Hornsby) founded Eden Brewery on 13 January 2017 after several years of being a paramedic in Townsville, volunteering in New Guinea, working in a Mexican orphanage, working with indigenous youth in Katherine, NT, and helping to stop human trafficking in California. “We thought it was time to make some money and have a beer,” Newman recalls. “We watched some YouTube videos, got after it and found our way to the Southern Highlands. I’m 100% YouTube taught. The only commercial kegs I’ve ever touched have been my own. We’ve figured it out.” 10% of the brewery’s profits across the board go to Oxfam, while it also regularly launches beers in aid of local charities like Forever Projects. Eden Brewery focuses on ‘showcasing diversity’, and most of the beers are quite malt or wheat-driven. “Our two claims to fame are our second best-selling beer, which is a Belgian Wit,” says Newman. “We peeled 80 oranges by hand for that. The other one is our number one seller – Phoenix D Kottbusser. The style went extinct in 1516 in the Purity Laws, and is brewed with honey, molasses, oats and wheat. Our next big project was a Mexican Wit. Wits are our thing. We substituted orange for lime and coriander for black pepper. I’m looking at doing a wit series.”

Founded: 30 November 2017 Address: 1/9 Flinders Parade, North Lakes QLD 4509 Website: Whitebrickbrewingco.com.au Current capacity: Just under 130,000 litres per year Distribution: Local area Core range: Plantation Pale Ale, Petrie Pilsener, Rothwell Raedler, Redcliffe Red IPA and Samsonvale Stout

White Brick Brewing Co opened back in November 2017, but if it weren’t for 12 months of construction issues, they might have opened much sooner. A family-owned brewery north of Brisbane, it has focused heavily on the local community, sponsoring local clubs and businesses, and participating in business and community events. As befits a brewery in such a sunny part of the world, there are 120 solar panels to assist with reducing the environmental impact, while other recycling initiatives are also in place. “With some clever design, we have made as much use of a small space as possible and created a brewhouse that can be run by one person,” says Adam Gibb, owner and brewer of White Brick Brewing Co, who had previously homebrewed on and off for many years. “There is a tap room on-site with indoor and outdoor areas. “Our regulars love to eat tasty food, brew and enjoy beer, and talk and share with other similar people. Some friendships have been formed, some jobs have been found and many milestones celebrated within the taproom. We also do some limited one keg wonders including a choc/orange stout, Belgian Tripel, and Australian native spice flavoured lager. Five of our beers won seven medals (three from AIBA, and four from IBA).”

SUMMER 2018 45

e b o l G 1. New Belgium Fat Tire Belgian White Ale

2. Weltenburger Barock Dunkel

3. Tuatara Coastin Session IPA

Taking inspiration from decades of experience brewing Belgian beers, Fat Tire Belgian White Ale is a refreshing unfiltered wheat ale brewed with Seville oranges and Indian coriander, both freshly ground less than a mile from the Fort Collins brewery. A fresh, perfectly sweet natural tasting Belgian white.

With state-of-the-art technology and traditional monastic brewing art, the beer is brewed using the best ingredients in the oldest monastic brewery in the world. For up to six weeks, it matures in the rock cellar. It is full-bodied, malt aromatic, fine dry with a light sweetness, fine-creamy in the colour like warm brown amber; fragrant and intense taste.

FOOD MATCH:

Steamed mussels, light seafood or fresh citrus sorbet

Classics of Bavarian cuisine, for example pork, veal

FOOD MATCH:

ABV: 5.2% RRP: 4 pack $18.99, Case of 24 $89.99 Squarekeg.com.au

ABV: 4.7% RRP: $6.50 each Alpenliquor.com.au

ABV: 4.6% RRP: $25.99 6 pack Tuatarabrewing.co.nz

54â&#x20AC;&#x192; www.beerandbrewer.com

A sessionable and refreshing ale, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loaded with passionfruit, melon and mango from a generous helping of trans-Tasman hops. From the New Zealand coast to your coaster. Beautifully pale, its aroma features subtle passionfruit, mango, melon and pine. Refreshing and juicy tropical fruits initially, finishing with a gentle herbal spice and malt sweetness.

4. Chimay Blue This member of the Chimay range is principally distinguished by its strong beer character. Its fragrance of fresh yeast with a light, flowery rosy touch is especially pleasant. Its relatively dry flavour uncovers a pleasant caramelized note making it an ideal thirst quencher. Chimay Blue is a vintage beer that will continue to improve over the years if stored in a dry and dark place.

FOOD MATCH: Crispy skinned snapper

Beef/veal stews ABV: 9% RRP: $10 330ml bottle, $24 750ml bottle Bidbeer.com

INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION

5. Sapporo Sapporo Premium Beer is brewed with the Japanese attention to detail. The slow cool fermentation balances delicate hops and esters with a full malt character. The authentic brewing techniques and quality ingredients used have produced a crisp and refreshing lager beer.

6. Guinness Hop House 13 Lager Hop House 13 is a distinctive golden lager that has a sweet fruity aroma, with hints of apricot and peach, and subtle malt notes breaking through. On taste, it is full flavoured while still being crisp and hoppy (but not bitter), with a refreshing clean finish.

FOOD MATCH: FOOD MATCH: Seafood, spice, rich meats, curry ABV: 5.0% RRP: $50 case / $18 6 pack Sapporobeer.com.au

Oysters, grapefruit, mussels, tempura, cajun spice ABV: 5% RRP: $59.99 case, 6 pack $19.99 Lionco.com

7. Carlsberg Strong and tasty Danish pilsner, with dominant malty characters balanced by hoppy and fruity notes. Smooth, soft and perfectly balanced thanks to a malty aroma.

FOOD MATCH: Fish and chips ABV: 4.8% RRP: $45 case / $19 6 pack Carlsberg.com.au

8. Maisel’s Original Hefeweizen The fresh bouquet of choice yeast and pleasant fruit tones combine at the first taste with the mild flavours of malt, fruit and fragrance of cloves with a hint of nutmeg. The slightly fruity, full-flavored wheat beer fragrance typical for Maisel’s Weisse, is then revealed in the aftertaste. A mark of exceptional quality.

FOOD MATCH: Caprese, mild cheese, pizza Napoli ABV: 5.2% RRP: $6.50 each Alpenliquor.com.au

SHOT AT WAYWARD BREWING CO.

SUMMER 2018 55

FEATURE

72â&#x20AC;&#x192; Home Brewer

ANHC 6 – A WRAP

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL HOMEBREW CONFERENCE HAS COME AND GONE FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS. HOMEBREWER EDITOR CHRIS THOMAS GOT ALONG TO SAMPLE, LEARN, MEET SOME GREAT PEOPLE AND THEN SAMPLE SOME MORE

(ANHC) has celebrated

DREW BEECHUM – EXPERIMENTAL BREWS PODCAST AND AUTHOR

its tenth anniversary

Drew Beechum’s approach to brewing

with a return home

is infectious. As it should be. Brewing is

to Melbourne. Held at

his hobby and he enjoys it as such. He

he Australian National Homebrew Conference

the William Angliss Institute in the city,

differentiates it from his work because

the conference was a celebration of beer

work is work and brewing should be fun.

and food. Held over three days, the conference

Before Beechum became mega-busy with his podcast and writing books

mixed education with humour,

about beer (all the while holding

conversation and festivity.

down a day job managing 60 workers

Sour was a major focus of the

at an engineering firm!), he was a

conference with presentations and

regular contributor to Beer & Brewer’s

discussion from The Rare Barrel’s

Homebrewer.

Jay Goodwin (US), 8 Wired’s Soren

He is best known for his creative and

Eriksen, Boatrocker’s Ruth Barry and

adventurous approach to homebrewing.

Wildflower’s Topher Boehm.

Beechum’s Lychee Saison and Jasmine

Together they covered kettle souring,

Dragon Saison are recipes we still have

mixed culture fermentation, collecting

readers brewing and writing in about. He

and using wild cultures and preventing

continued this brewing adventure with

sour off beer flavours.

a guacamole saison and clam chowder

For homebrewers who have not yet soured, it’s quite achieveable. A Berliner weiss for summer is a great

NEIPA! While both sound off the charts, they are actually quite simple recipes. Simplicity is a key to Beechum’s

beer to start with. It’s tart, quenching

recipes and was the crux of both of

and low in alcohol. It’s also a great beer

his presentations. “It’s more about

to experiment with fruit and spices to

craftsmanship than showmanship,”

achieve outstanding results.

he said. This back to basics approach is

Beyond the sour, there were

something that is being seen more in the

presentations on beer design,

US and undoubtedly we will follow suit

session beers, lager, yeast, mashing,

in the coming years.

fermentation management, New England IPA and cooking with beer. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights from ANHC 6!

Beechum is a fan of session beers for both health reasons and social reasons. He also professes that you can make great beer at low alcohol that doesn’t have to be

SUMMER 2018 73

ENTERTAINING – FOOD

JAPAN

TRIPLE-FRIED KARA-AGE Serves 4 as part of a shared meal Ingredients 3–4 boneless chicken thighs (about 600 g), skin on ¼ cup (60 ml) light soy sauce 2 tablespoons sake 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, juice only ½ teaspoon sugar ¾ cup (90 g) potato flour or cornflour 8 cups (2 litres) rice bran, canola, sunflower or other vegetable oil, for deep-frying

To serve Lemon slices Japanese mayonnaise Shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven-spice, optional)

Recipe Cut the chicken into 5 cm pieces. Combine in a bowl with the soy sauce, sake, ginger juice and sugar and stand for 10 minutes. Place the flour on a tray or in a large bowl. Using chopsticks, pull the chicken out of the marinade and drop it into the flour, one piece at a time. (Adding the pieces one at a time helps avoid pouring in too much marinade, and stops the chicken sticking together.) Shake any excess flour from the chicken and place on a tray in a single layer. Frying the chicken in three short blasts at high heat with rests in between produces a crispy outer coating, while residual heat gently cooks the interior, for tender and succulent meat. Allow the floured chicken to stand, uncovered, for at least 5 minutes before frying. In a wide saucepan, heat the oil to 180°C. Working in batches, deep-fry the chicken three times. For each batch, deep-fry the chicken for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack and rest for 30 seconds. Return the chicken to the oil and fry for 30 seconds, then rest on a rack again for another 30 seconds. Add the chicken back into the oil for one last blast of 30 seconds to 1 minute, then rest for 2 minutes on a rack. Serve the chicken with lemon slices and Japanese mayonnaise; add a sprinkling of shichimi togarashi if desired. NOTE: Allowing the coated chicken to stand for 5 minutes before frying allows the flour to absorb the flavour of the marinade, and then dry slightly. This little resting time is the secret to producing crispy and flavourful kara-age.

www.beerandbrewer.com 84 www.beerandbrewer.com

ENTERTAINING – FOOD

SCANDINAVIA

BROWN CRABS IN BEER WITH BROWN BUTTER MAYONNAISE Serves 4 Ingredients 4 brown crabs or 2 mud crabs 2 tablespoons salt 2 tablespoons sugar 330ml bottle of dark lager or dark ale 2 lemons, halved ½ bunch dill, roughly torn lemon wedges, to serve crusty bread, to serve

Brown Butter Mayonnaise 200g butter 100ml grapeseed oil or other neutralflavoured oil 2 egg yolks 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Recipe Cooking seafood in the water it was caught in is one of the simplest and

most satisfying experiences. It’s a perfect representation of connecting yourself to your food, and your food to its surroundings. Sea water doesn’t need anything added to it for cooking crustaceans, but a few aromatics can be a great addition if you feel so inclined. Chill the crabs for around 30 minutes in the freezer, or on ice, until they are asleep. Fill a very large pot with clean sea water, or water with salt added. Add the additional salt, sugar, beer, halved lemons and dill and place the pot over high heat. When the liquid starts to steam, add the crabs and continue to heat. The liquid will start to simmer after 10–15 minutes, at which point it is time to remove the cooked crabs. For the brown butter mayonnaise, melt the butter in a small saucepan over

medium heat and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, until it browns and has a nutty aroma. Add the oil, remove from the heat and set aside for a few minutes to cool slightly. In a small bowl, mix the egg yolks and lemon juice using a hand-held stick blender, then add the brown butter mixture in a stream until a thick mayonnaise forms. Serve the crabs immediately, with the mayonnaise, lemon wedges and crusty bread. NOTE: For Dag Lindebjerg’s perfect crab sandwich, spread a piece of bread with plenty of the mayonnaise, top with a generous amount of brown crabmeat or tomalley (preferably from a female crab), then add a pile of claw meat (preferably from a male crab) on top. Of course, don’t follow this method for crab varieties where catching female crabs is restricted.

SUMMER 2018 85

BREWING EQUIPMENT

Treat it right BUYING BREWING EQUIPMENT IS A MAJOR INVESTMENT, BUT THE WAY YOU LOOK AFTER IT AND USE IT WILL HAVE A MASSIVE IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF BEER YOU PRODUCE AND THE LIFESPAN OF THAT KIT

GETTING STARTED

ALL THE BEST BITS FROM THE ANHC (see page 74) >>> * Additional costs apply for New Zealand.

INCLUDING

Looking after your equipment begins before it has even arrived at your brewery. You might be eagerly waiting for that fully laden truck to arrive laden, but you need to

have a plan in place right from the get-go, or you will be tinkering even more than usual. Preparation is key, especially before your first brew. Your primary aim should be to get to know your brewery, and that means learning to walk before you start running or making your craziest batch. “Good results come from continuous improvement – the process of commissioning, test brewing and production brewing can be undertaken with this mindset,” says Julian Sanders, founder of Spark Breweries and Distilleries. “Small adjustments should never finish. Although you should be prepared to dump your first batch, there is no reason that you should need to with an appropriate setup, cleaning and commissioning process. Plan for your first batch to be good, and the worst batch that you’ll ever brew.” It is more than likely that this won’t be the first brewing equipment that you

ISSUE 47 SUMMER 2018

have used, but it is important to remember that this is the first$9.95 time (NZ you’ve PRICE $11.95) used this particular system, with all its idiosyncrasies and different requirements. It is

ALL THE BEST BITS FROM THE ANHC (see page 74) >>>

unlikely that you’ll be able to simply replicate exactly what you’ve been doing on

* Additional costs apply for New Zealand.

FRESH BLOOD

previous systems. You need to take things slowly, test them out, and work out what

INCLUDING

the equipment is telling you.

“We still don’t know if 67°C on our mash tun is 67°C, but we know the attenuation

Australia’s it will give us at the end, so it doesn’t really matter,” saysDiscover Rhys Lopez, brewer at newest breweries Otherside Brewing. “It takes a couple of batches of the same beer to really figure 36

www.beerandbrewer.com

ISSUE 47 SUMMER 2018 PRICE $9.95 (NZ $11.95)

St Andrews Brewery with FBPROPAK

SESSION BEERS

SUMMER 2018

Why less is more

FRESH BLOOD

BALTER’S

Discover Australia’s newest breweries

SESSION BEERS

BEST

Why less is more

BALTER’S

BEST

Scott Hargrave soars in 2019 Beer & Brewer Awards

Scott Hargrave soars in 2019 Beer & Brewer Awards ISSN 1834-5115

0 4

BEERS

TASTED

ISSN 1834-5115 9

0 4

771834 511048

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PLUS! ARE YOU USING YOUR KIT RIGHT? | HOW CANS KEEP GETTING BETTER | A PINT WITH… LAGUNITAS

BEERS

TASTED

771834 511048

WWW.BEERANDBREWER.COM

PLUS! ARE YOU USING YOUR KIT RIGHT? | HOW CANS KEEP GETTING BETTER | A PINT WITH… LAGUNITAS

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