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TIME LORDS THE PATIENT ART OF BARREL FERMENTING AND AGEING BEER

BACK TO SCHOOL

SOLVING THE BREWING SKILLS CRISIS

BEERS & CIDERS

REVIEWED

| HOW | BEERHOPS PLUS! PLUS! BREW WIN BETTER EPIC PRIZES KETTLE SOURS TO MAKE MEMORIES POP | 5| DIY 5 DIY RECIPES RECIPES

CONTENTS

inside...

Autumn 2022

16 FEATURES 6 Seeing red Australian brewers fire up over red and amber ales.

6

16 The slow set The patient art of barrel fermenting and ageing beer.

32 Designs for dollars

57

Packaging and design trends in the craft beer industry.

42 Back to school How the industry is helping itself to solve its skills crisis.

REGULARS 14 Style shoot Red and amber ales.

24 Senses Working Overtime Briony Liebich on the exotic world of barrel aged beers.

26 The Deep Dive Steve Brockman on how to make different hops shine.

60 The brew review 132 craft reviews with a focus on mid-strengths.

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HOMEBREWER 48 Editor’s Letters 50 Q&A With home brew guru John Palmer

52 Jake’s Brew Log Jake The RIPA

54 Red IPA feature Includes a Gladfield Malt Red IPA recipe

57 Show us yours Reader’s home brewing set ups.

58 DIY recipes A cherry melomel and a Red IPA.

“Spring is beautiful, and Summer is perfect for vacations,

Get the facts DrinkWise.org.au

things of life, out into the forest at night with a campfire

EDITOR’S LETTER

WE ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE DRINKING

but Autumn brings a longing to get away from the unreal and the rustling leaves.”

PUBLISHED BY Food and Beverage Media 41 Bridge Road GLEBE NSW Australia 2037 Tel: 02 9660 2113 Fax: 02 9660 4419 PUBLISHER Paul Wootton | pwootton@intermedia.com.au

American poet Margaret Elizabeth Sangster should really have added “with a red IPA in hand!” to that because as hard as it is letting go of Summer, the changing seasons are made all the sweeter by the hue of our beers matching the hue of the leaves that fall.

As our HomeBrewer Editor Jake Brandish says in his feature (page 54) “with all

EDITOR Gifford Lee | gifford@beerandbrewer.com

that caramel, fudge, hops, booze and wonderful colour – what’s not to love?” And

HOMEBREWER EDITOR Jake Brandish | jake@beerandbrewer.com

dedicated to them. Amongst our coverage, Jono Outred charts their evolution and

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Briony Liebich, Jono Outred, Steve Brockman, Adam Carswell, Tash Thompson NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Craig Manning | CManning@intermedia.com.au Tel: 02 8586 6123 GENERAL MANAGER SALES – LIQUOR & HOSPITALITY GROUP Shane T. Williams GROUP ART DIRECTOR – LIQUOR AND HOSPITALITY Kea Thorburn | kthorburn@intermedia.com.au PRODUCTION MANAGER Jacqui Cooper | jacqui@intermedia.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS Tel: 1800 651 422 | Fax: +61 2 8580 6312 subscribe@beerandbrewer.com | www.shop.beerandbrewer.com Mail: PO Box 55 Glebe NSW 2037 SUBSCRIPTION RATE Australia $79.95 3 years (12 issues) savings $39.41 (33%) $54.99 2 years (8 issues) saving $24.61 (31%) $29.99 1 year (4 issues) saving $9.81 (25%) New Zealand $88.99 3 years (12 issues) saving $30.41 (25%) $60.99 2 years (8 issues) saving $18.61 (23%) $32.99 1 year (4 issues) saving $6.81 (17%) International $132.99 3 years (12 issues) $89.99 2 years (8 issues) $47.99 1 year (4 issues) Rate in AUD and incl. 10% GST for Australia, excluding GST for NZ and International PRINTING IVE, Sydney DISTRIBUTION D&D Mailing, Are Direct (Aus), Gordon & Gotch (NZ), ISSN 1834 5115 COVER PHOTO: Costa Nikias, La Sirène © Henry Trumble DISCLAIMER

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Copyright © 2022 - Food and Beverage Media

he’s exactly right so we’re going all in this issue on red and amber ales with 18 pages chats with the exponents of some of Australian craft’s best renditions (page 6), the guru of the home brew John Palmer gets fairly technical about what constitutes one and provides one of our four DIY recipes dedicated to the style (page 50) while in one of his two red IPA features, Jake becomes Jake the RIPA and rips out a red version of an English IPA with an Aussie twist (page 52).

As Bruce Willis’ Butch Coolidge didn’t say in Pulp Fiction “red’s not dead baby”.

What’s also very much alive is the propensity in Australia for the patient art of barrel fermenting and ageing beer and this provides another of this issue’s overarching themes. We also look in depth at hop optimisation, design in the craft beer industry and the skills crisis that’s brewing away in it and how the likes of the IBA’s chair Rich Adamson are seeking to solve it. You can also check out (by my reckoning anyway) our second biggest tasting review section in our nigh on 15 year history from page 60 where our expert panel expertly make their way through 132 craft beer and cider releases that will keep you all well and truly occupied until we do it all again in Winter.

Cheers, Gifford Lee Editor, Beer & Brewer gifford@beerandbrewer.com @beerandbrewer

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Autumn 2022

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BREWING IN BARREL

16 www.beerandbrewer.com

BREWING IN BARREL

The slow set THE ART OF BARREL FERMENTING AND AGEING BEER HAS EXISTED FOR CENTURIES BUT UNTIL RECENTLY AUSTRALIAN CRAFT BREWERS HAVE NOT BEEN KNOWN AS PARTICULARLY KEEN PROPONENTS. ADAM CARSWELL SPEAKS TO A TRIO OF BREWERS DETERMINED TO PUT THAT NOTION TO BED.

S

ome people just like to take their time. In an ever-

majority being fermented in oak.”

La Sirène’s Costa Nikias recalled starting out

changing industry, that

with half a dozen 225 litre barrels as “sort of

feels like it’s travelling

an experiment to see what would happen”, at

at break-neck speed with

a time when “very few breweries, if any, were

oodles of new releases

using barrels to ferment and mature beer in”.

hitting the shops weekly, a growing number of

“Fast forward 10 years, we now have over

brewers have become inclined to take a more

250 barrels and a bunch of 500 litre puncheons,

considered approach while gathering a bunch

foeders et cetera… So I guess you could say the

of plaudits along the way.

experiment has somewhat consumed us ever

Craft beer makers Future Mountain Brewing

since,” he said. “It’s (been) very intriguing

and Blending (winner of four gold medals

to attempt to understand all the symbiotic

and the Champion Brewpub and Champion

reactions that may be happening in every one

Victorian Brewery at last year’s Independent

of those barrels.”

Beer Awards), La Sirène Brewing (whose

As relative newcomers to the field, Dollar

Saison has been described as one of the best

Bill’s Ed Nolle with wife Fiona embarked on

Australian beers of the past decade) and

a fact-finding mission around Belgium and

Dollar Bill Brewing (winner of the Champion

Northern France before their endeavour began.

Australian Beer trophy at the 2021 Australian International Beer Awards) are cases in point.

For different reasons, they’ve all based their

“We visited as many breweries as we possibly could – Cantillon, Brouwerij Alvine, De Dolle, Half Man Brewery, there were

successful operations almost entirely on the slow

tonnes – and had a look at how they were

and steady technique of putting beer in barrels.

(doing things),” Ed said. “You get a little bit

Barrel fermenting and barrel ageing beer

of information from each one and you kind of

(two distinct processes, mind you) are not for

piece it together, and then you go and stuff it

the impatient or faint hearted, but the ensuing

up, and you learn not to do it that way!

results lean towards spectacular and complex.

“(After that) I had a friend who was a

Future Mountain’s Ian Jones explained that

winemaker. We were pilot brewing in the

he and co-founder Shane Ferguson were both

winery where we obviously had access to

commercial brewers working in Melbourne

barrels. We had some great success putting

before embarking on their own project.

stuff into (them) and letting it go sour.

“We both have a passion for farmhouse ales,

“It was a little bit of that, and a little bit of

mixed fermentation, barrel aged beers, Saisons

the fact that I didn’t have to go and invest in

and American sour beers,” he said. “We were

thousands of dollars of stainless steel to get up

always going to open a brewery with the

and running. Easier to do, and cheaper.”

Autumn 2022

17

THE DEEP DIVE

Pop those hops

I

t could be argued that no single ingredient has shaped the history of craft beer more than hops. From humble beginnings in modestly hopped English ales, to the defining hop bombs of West Coast IPA to the current fruit-forward NEIPAs and hazy pales, hops have been, and will continue to be, the trend-setting ingredient in beer.

But how do you maximise hops in your next beer?

LAY A GOOD BASE While hops certainly are the star of a great IPA or hoppy pale ale, the key to making great hoppy beers comes with careful planning of all the other ingredients.

When deciding on your recipe, think of the style you’re trying to brew. Is it a crystal-clear, dank West Coast IPA? Is it a big, bold Double IPA? Is it a juicy, soft pillowy NEIPA? Or is it a cruisy, approachable pale? Once you’ve decided on the sub-style you’re aiming for, simplicity is key.

Malt bills for West Coast style IPAs should be fairly simple – a clean base malt can make up all of your grist. Back in the 90s and early 2000s brewers often used to put in crystal malt into their West Coast IPAs but brewers have now turned away from including it, as the cloying sweetness detracts from the punchy crispness of a great IPA. Yeast should be clean too – a simple US05 or California Ale strain ferments clean, allowing the hops to shine.

Double and Imperial IPAs can carry more weight of flavour. Bigger beers generally come with higher alcohol content, and this alcohol can affect flavour. Aim for a higher finishing gravity to balance the extra hop load.

Crystal malts can be used carefully to provide a bigger malt backbone to layer the hops on. High alcohol can also be stressful for your yeast and result in unpleasant nail polish/solvent character. Avoid it by pitching an appropriate

STEVE BROCKMAN CONTINUES WITH HIS DEEP DIVE SERIES, THIS TIME TEACHING YOU HOW TO MAKE THOSE HOPS SHINE.

amount of yeast and keep an eye on the ferment temperature.

On the other side of the spectrum, hoppy pale ales and session beers don’t have the alcohol to carry a super large hop load. Think simple malt bills for these beers, with a little Vienna malt to add a depth of flavour. Try

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DEEP N EW Y EA S T & EN Z YTHE M E BLEN D

fermenting with English Ale strains here – leaving a little body post ferment allows you to add a good amount of hops without overwhelming the beer, making it astringent.

A general rule of thumb for NEIPA recipes include using oats and ale malts for a fuller, sweeter mouthfeel. This fuller mouthfeel supports larger amounts of fruity hops being added later in the process. Yeast derived esters can also go a long way in helping hops shine in the final product.

Water can also be the difference between a good and outstanding NEIPA. Softer, low minerality water is a great start, filtered to remove chlorine/chloramines. RO (Reverse Osmosis) water is even greater to start with, but can be expensive to set up.

Generally brewers aim for a high chloride to sulphate (2:1 up to 3:1) ratio when brewing a hazy. To adjust your water, obtain a

DIVE

SafBrew LD-20

™

YOUR BEST CHOICE FOR LOWER CARB*, DRY LAGER BEERS

water report for your brewing water, either through your local council/water authority or through a paid lab service. Use a program such as Brun’n Water or Beer Smith to input your water report, and aim for a total 200 ppm chloride, 100ppm sulphate.

You can use calcium chloride and calcium sulphate (gypsum) to make these additions to your brewing water, making sure you end up with roughly 100ppm calcium for yeast health.

THE RIGHT HOP FOR THE JOB Traditionally hops are broadly split into two families when it comes time to write a hop schedule – bittering and aroma. More bittering, flavour, aroma and dry hop.

The best West Coast IPAs and hoppy pales use clean and targeted bittering hops such as Magnum, Nugget and Super Pride.

These are tried and true hops to provide alpha acids in an efficient way without much flavour addition. Adding with 60 minutes to go in the boil ensures all alpha acids are isomerised. When deciding on how much hops to add to a bittering charge, err on the lighter

SafBrewTM LD-20 is our first yeast and enzyme blend designed for lower-carb*, typical dry lagers, with up to 20 % less sugars and carbohydrates !

PREFERRED DISTRIBUTOR

*Meaning up to -20% carbohydrates. The information is intended to professionals only and should not be construed as a recommended claim.

modern brewers now think of hops across four categories –

BREWING EDUCATION

42

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Training more brewing students is key to the industry’s growth

BREWING EDUCATION

Back to school THE THRIVING CRAFT BEER INDUSTRY IS STRUGGLING TO BOLSTER ITS WORKFORCE TO KEEP UP WITH GROWTH, WHERE AT TIMES A BREWERY’S ONLY RECOURSE IS TO POACH OR PROMOTE FROM WITHIN. ADAM CARSWELL DOES A DEEP DIVE INTO THE INCREASING EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS THAT ARE HELPING TO BOOST CRAFT’S COLLECTIVE BRAIN.

D

omestic brewers are

SKILLS SHORTAGE

literally crying out for

Steve “Hendo” Henderson is a Queensland

more hands-on workers

based award-winning gypsy brewer,

right now. But there isn’t a

Certificate III in Brewing TAFE instructor,

substantial enough talent

industry mentor and a recipient of the

pool, with the requisite

renowned Graduate Diploma of Brewing

skills or experience – especially in senior brewing positions – to share around.

Put simply, the industry has been

from Federation University in Ballarat.

He’s in no doubt that the growth in the number of breweries in Australia, from

outgrowing itself at an accelerating pace,

“around 100” 10 years ago to “up to 650-700

creating difficulties all over the place in

now”, is unsustainable unless more action is

terms of how beer gets made, how quickly

taken – and promptly.

and how often. The problem has only been

“Every single one of those breweries needs

exacerbated by border closures and the

staff to operate it, and if people don’t have the

reluctance for international travel brought on

skills, then they’re not going to be producing

by the global pandemic.

the quality that we need to be brewing,” he

But in order to help itself, the profession

said. “Because there’s a shortage, when one

is working from within to turn things

brewery wants to hire someone, typically, they

around – to strive to create new career

start poaching from each other. And that’s

pathways, lobby governments and impart its

not really a good thing. The staff turnover and

own knowledge and experience to brewing

attrition rate is very high, (which makes it)

students across the country.

very difficult to run a business.

Autumn 2022

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Q&A

Red IPAs

THE GURU OF HOME BREWING JOHN PALMER LOOKS AT OUR SEASONAL FOCUS BEER IN SOME DEPTH.

R

ed IPAs were born from the dark ages of craft beer, when microbrewery styles consisted of pale, amber and dark. American amber was the precursor to red IPA and these beers relied heavily on caramel malts for flavour (because they were often the only specialty malt in

town), and Cascade hops. The bitterness to gravity ratio (BU:OG) for amber ale was typically at 1:2. The IPAs of the day were a bit higher at 3:4 but the IPA revolution, with a 1:1 ratio, was still a decade away. American amber ale was, and is, a delicious beer with 15-25% caramel malts in the grain bill. Amber ale was big and hearty, which was a stark contrast to the ubiquitous American light lagers.

It was only a matter of time before amber and IPA recipes converged to create the red IPA. The copious caramel malt flavours had plenty of room for more hops and bitterness but there was an Achilles heel lurking in wait for the gleeful brewer, one that mostly succeeded in killing the style just as it was reaching maturity. And that flaw was hop flavour.

What?! How can that be? Well, it’s a question of balance and harmony. Americans tend to overhop everything, and in the case of the red IPA, we muddied the balance between the malt and hop character. The original amber ales were malty with a balancing bitterness and an extra dose of hop flavour and aroma to add complexity to what would have otherwise been just another malty sweet British beer. Red IPA added bitterness and dry hopping, which added more balance and accent to the predominately malt flavours and aromas of the style. And then whirlpool hopping and all late-hopping entered the game and ruined it. Too much hop flavour on top of caramel and melanoidin malt flavours generally creates a mess.

THE SECRETS TO A PROPER ONE Red IPA is all about old school techniques – big bitterness charge, a bit of late hopping during the boil for some flavour, followed by dry hopping. The typical old school dry hopping rate was one pound per barrel, which is about 4 grams per litre. The BU:OG balance of a red IPA should be 1:1 and the overall hop profile should be 50% of your hop bitterness at 60 minutes, 25% at 30 minutes, 25% in the last 15 minutes of the boil, followed

50 HomeBrewer

Closer to the Heart Red IPA

by a 4 grams per litre level dry-hopping. The dry hopping of the day imitated the British cellaring of cask ales – the hops would be added to the fermenter at cool temperatures

All grain/BIAB (expected figures)

Extract with specialty grains (expected figures)

OG: 1.061 FG: 1.016 ABV: 6.0% IBU: 60 Volume: 20 litres

OG: 1.061 FG: 1.016 ABV: 6.0% IBU: 60 Volume: 20 litres

Ingredients

Ingredients

4kg Pale malt

3kg Pale malt extract

hoppy and clean with citrus and piney notes,

1kg Crystal (60L) malt

1kg Crystal (60L) malt

but interlaced with a strong caramel and bread

100g Roasted Barley*

100g Roasted Barley*

crust malt character. The ester character is

60g Centennial pellets

60g Centennial pellets

55g Amarillo pellets

55g Amarillo pellets

80g Cascade pellets

80g Cascade pellets

2 packs US-05 Ale yeast

2 packs US-05 Ale yeast

Method

Method

(12-16°C) and left for a week before racking and bottling. Yes, this is not much hop flavour and aroma compared to today’s hazy IPAs and that’s because it is a different style with its own balance.

A well-crafted red IPA has good clarity with very little haze. It should be a deep amber with red highlights (not orange). The foam should be ivory or creamy in colour and thick and long lasting. The beer’s aroma should be

generally restrained, depending on the use of American or English ale yeast strains. The flavour of a red IPA should be balanced – generally the hop bitterness will dominate the upfront flavour, but the malt flavour supports the middle and finish, tapering off to a dry finish. The bitterness should not linger on the palate. Lingering bitterness is a sign of not enough sulphate in the brewing water.

WATER PROFILE Red malts are the most acidic (followed by brown, then black, then amber) because the acidity of specialty malts increases with malt colour, up to about 120 Lovibond (240 EBC).

This is a deep red colour, and then the acidic compounds begin burning and degrading as the malt darkens to brown and black. Malt acidity is covered in more detail in my book Water.

For red IPA, the water profile should be something like 75 ppm calcium, 20 ppm magnesium, 50 ppm bicarbonate, 200 ppm sulphate, 50 ppm chloride and 25 ppm sodium with a residual alkalinity near zero, which, with these numbers, works out to about (-)5. The thinking here is that 75 ppm is a good calcium level for beer clarity and medium mineral structure, 20 magnesium is good for yeast health, 200 sulphate is good for a clean crisp hop character, the chloride and sodium are low but slightly enhance the malt character and the near zero residual alkalinity value along with the caramel malt bill will drive the mash pH down to about 5.4, which will be good for a clean

1. Heat 25.6L water to 71°C. You are shooting for a mash temperature of 67°C.

1. Heat 5L of water to 70°C or thereabouts, place cracked grains in a grain bag.

2. Immerse the grain bag in the water and stir the grist to ensure it is fully wetted.

2. Mash/steep for 30 mins at 67°C, stirring occasionally.

3. Mash with occasional stirring for 1 hour.

3. Lift the grain bag out of the kettle and allow to drain.

4. Lift the grain bag out of the kettle and allow to drain. You should have 23L of 1.054 wort.

5. Once boiling, add 30g Centennial hops for a 60 minute boil.

6. With 30 minutes left on the boil, add 25g Amarillo hops.

7. With 15 minutes left on the boil, add 50g Cascade hops.

8. At end of boil check volume and gravity, you may need to add water to hit 20L. 9. Chill wort to 20°C and pitch yeast.

10. Allow 2 weeks for fermentation and maturation until dry hopping in fermenter with 30g Centennial, 30g Amarillo, 30g Cascade hops in a hop bag.

11. After 1 week, remove hop bag and bottle or keg as usual.

4. Increase heat to bring to the boil.

5. Once boiling, add 30g Centennial hops for a 60 minute boil.

6. With 30 minutes left on the boil, add 25g Amarillo hops.

7. With 15 minutes left on the boil, add 50g Cascade hops.

8. Move pot to iced/cold water bath and bring temperature down before adding to fermenter.

9. Top up with fresh water to 15L, add extract and stir.

10. Check temperature and add warm/hot/ cold water as necessary to hit 20°C. 11. Once wort is 20°C, pitch yeast.

12. Allow 2 weeks for fermentation and maturation until dry hopping in fermenter with 30g Centennial, 30g Amarillo, 30g Cascade hops in a hop bag.

13. After 1 week, remove hop bag and bottle or keg as usual.

hop expression and malt brightness. This water profile can be built using 20 litres of distilled or RO water, 4 grams of calcium sulphate, 2 grams of calcium chloride, 4 grams of magnesium sulphate and 2 grams of baking soda.

* Note: Substituting Simpsons Red Rye (100L) for the Caramel 60L makes a great Red Rye IPA

Autumn 2022

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For this issue we charged our expert panel to pay special attention to mid-strengths because, firstly, we needed some respite after Christmas, but more so as the category continues to evolve and deliver beers that arguably suit Australian conditions more broadly than any other. We even found a couple that some of the panel felt were close to the best “session” beers they’d ever had – and they appear in the list of 12 that made our Panel’s Top Picks list. But among a whopping 132 separate craft beer and cider reviews that we’ve published we threw the net out much wider and you’ll find musings in the following pages on everything from a “no hop” pale ale to a hemp cherry sour. If you’re a brewery not receiving our invite email to partake in our tastings but would like to, email us at info@beerandbrewer.com

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The Brew Review CUS

What’s our Seasonal Focus?

Mid-strengths

*Not all submissions to our tasting panel are featured in the following pages. This could be because we already reviewed it in the recent past or the product did not meet our panel’s requirements. We are not in the business of running any one down, and if there is a chance to speak with a brewery about issues that may have arisen during a tasting, then we will endeavour to pass that information on in the interest of transparency.

The Panel Jono Outred, WA Based in Margaret River, Jono is a beer writer that predominantly covers the South West of WA. He’s been involved in the state’s beer industry in various capacities since 2011.

David Ward, ACT Head of sales for BentSpoke Brewing Co and with over 10 years’ experience working in the craft beer industry, David is constantly on the lookout for new beers to try and trends to watch.

Scott Hargrave, NSW/QLD Scott is Balter Brewing’s multi-award winning head brewer and a regular on some of Australia’s and the world’s most prestigious judging panels including the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup.

Tina Panoutsos, VIC One of Australia’s leading beer judges, Tina is a beer sensory expert with over 30 years’ experience in the brewing industry in roles across technical and commercial functions.

Tiffany Waldron, VIC A Certified Cicerone® and Pink Boots President, Tiffany is focused on making changes in the world of beer through education and furthering beer culture beyond standard boundaries.

Justin Fox, VIC Justin is the Australian agent for Bespoke Brewing Solutions. He has a decade’s judging experience, expertise in brewing ingredient distribution and has held technical roles with breweries of all sizes throughout his 15 years in beer.

60 www.beerandbrewer.com

Liam Pereira, NSW Liam is the group venue manager for Sydney’s Batch Brewing Co. A Certified Cicerone® and BJCP judge, he was previously general manager of Sydney Beer Week.

Rosemary Lilburne-Fini, NSW A Certified Cicerone® Beer Server, Rosemary has worked in the beer industry for the best part of five years and has now landed in hospitality marketing. Nothing excites her more than classic beer styles executed perfectly. @libationslady.

Josh Quantrill, NSW Currently Beerfarm’s head of sales, Josh is a Certified Cicerone® who’s had a long and varied beer career. He strives to help grow and expand the footprint of Australian craft beer.

Ian Kingham, NSW That Beer Bloke, Ian’s decorated beer career has included judging at the Australian Craft Beer Show, Royal Perth Beer Show and the Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Award.

Michael Capaldo, NSW National sales rep at Hop Products Australia, Michael is a qualified and experienced brewer and an accomplished beer judge (GABS, World Beer Cup, Indies, AIBA etc).

Jamie Webb-Smith, NSW Previously a brewer at The Australian Brewery, Jamie is currently head brewer at Yulli’s Brews in Sydney.

He’s a home brewer turned pro, who completed the NSW TAFE micro-brewing course.

Benji Bowman, NSW With a background in Australian craft beer and cider, Benji is now part of the sales team at Capital Brewing in NSW where he leads the beer and quality training for the sales team.

Jake Brandish, WA Beer & Brewer’s HomeBrewer Editor, Jake has a post-grad Dip in Brewing, is a BJCP judge, has brewed commercially and is an all round beer geek.

Neal Cameron, NSW A champion of the industry, Neal, amongst many achievements, has built 20 breweries nationally with brewery supplier Brewtique plus was chief judge at the Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Show.

Steve Brockman, SA After 10 years brewing in WA, the US and now SA, Steve consults for start-up breweries and passionately believes in beer education, both for drinkers and brewers alike.

Briony Liebich, SA A Certified Cicerone® focussed on helping people boost their tasting skills, Briony led West End’s sensory program for 10 years and judges at national beer and cider awards.

Vincent de Soyres, NSW As co-owner and head brewer at Frenchies Bistro & Brewery, Vince develops award winning brews that extend beyond the limits of traditional beer categories and styles.

TASTING

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Panel’s Top Picks

CUS

Deeds Brewing Half Time

Burleigh Brewing Burleigh Mid-Tide

Eagle Bay Brewing India Pale Lager

Small Acres Cyder Heritage Blend

ABV: 3.5% Style: Mid-strength Pale It may be called Half Time but this beer is certainly full of flavour. Pineapple and citrus hop flavours and a soft refreshing mouthfeel make this a great Summer crusher. While no doubt designed to be easy drinking Half Time has a subtle complexity which gives the beer depth and belies the 3.5% ABV. Pouring a pale straw gold Half Time would be well suited to a couple of cans at the beach or just as nice out of a glass in a sunny beer garden.

Glass: Pint Food: Fish & chips deedsbrewing.com.au

ABV: 3.0% Style: Mid-strength Pale Oh lordy this is a well made beer. When you’ve brewed for years often the faults in beers speak too loudly – like a dripping tap in the small hours of the night. So when one this well executed comes along, it’s like balm for a tired soul. Lovely creamy foam, a delicate but vibrant fruity hop aroma, clean and dry in the mouth and an exquisite balance between a hint of malt sweetness and a hint of smooth bitterness. It’s the way advertising would have you believe all beers are made, but it’s actually true with this.

Glass: Schooner Food: On its own burleighbrewing.com.au

ABV: 5.8% Style: IPL Eagle Bay are no strangers to classic, well executed styles and being a hybrid their India Pale Lager is a best of both worlds’ kind of beer. Whilst showcasing the clean, refreshing characteristics of a lager, there is an underpinning of subtle maltiness and vibrant tropical fruit characters. Cleverly, neither malt nor hops feature in an overwhelming sense, being just present atop the clean lager base beer. A spritzy carbonation and short, clean finish add to the drinkability of this well put together IPL. Glass: IPA Food: Fresh seafood eaglebaybrewing.com.au

ABV: 6.0% Style: Apple Cider An elegant looking cider with a bright, light golden colour and highlighted by a complex and intriguing aroma of crisp red apple, sweet bread and subtle spice notes. This develops as it warms slightly to cooked apple and a hint of farmhouse funk adding further layers and discovery. On the palate it’s refreshingly tart, a little drying and quite delicate, well integrated and balanced. Very moreish.

Glass: Tulip Food: BBQ prawns & grilled nectarine salad smallacrescyder.com.au

Autumn 2022

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