Beer & Brewer Winter 2023 Teaser

Two Mates Brewing’s founders

“We could talk for hours on the impact this man had on our business and our hearts,”

Andrew Newton and Grant Smith

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COVER PHOTO Nic Sandery, Molly Rose Brewing

Image courtesy of Alex Jovanovic

Welcome to this year’s Winter edition and what marks Beer & Brewer’s 16th trip around the sun.

It’s a lovely time of year for all us beer lovers and we’ve produced another smashing magazine to help you celebrate it.

We kick things off by looking at how the idea of a “Winter beer” really is an array of styles that are just as well suited at this time as the ones often associated with the season are.

Our resident pro brewer Steve Brockman takes you on a deep dive into building big beers while our sensory columnist Briony Liebich then discusses such a crucial aspect of those styles – mouthfeel.

We take a snapshot of the contract brewing industry in Australia and focus on some of the finest proponents of the service and how they go about it.

If you’re looking for your next beer crawl destination, we give you a definitive guide to the Collingwood Beer Trail that features Molly Rose, The Mill, Stomping Ground and Fixation as well as let you in on what other secret haunts can be found in its surrounds.

The tasting panel savour 87 different craft beers from across the spectrum while the HomeBrewer section is yet again full of insights, tips and recipes.

We also republish our tribute to Neil Whittorn that originally appeared on our website back in March after he lost his battle with cancer. A largely unsung hero, “Pops” was a massively influential figure in the Australian beer industry and he leaves behind not just a legacy of having mentored a swathe of the current generation of brewers but also an inspiration of how to live your life and how to share it with others. Neil was that rarest of creatures – somebody loved and admired by all and he will be remembered lovingly and longingly.

Until we see you in Spring, drink good beer!

Cheers, Gifford Lee

Editor, Beer & Brewer gifford@beerandbrewer.com @beerandbrewer

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Against the grain Against the grain

FROM THE SURPRISINGLY LIGHT TO THE FRUITED, SOUR AND PASTRY INSPIRED, AUSTRALIAN BREWERS ARE PRODUCING AN ARRAY OF BEERS WELL-SUITED TO WINTER MERRIMENT. BY JONO OUTRED

Winter in Australia is a beautiful time of year. When the sun stops shining as brightly, suddenly our beautiful beaches become offlimits, the BBQ gets a much-needed break and there are plenty of good reasons to hunker down and stay warm. For many, that usually includes a beer in hand.

Stouts of all shapes, sizes and descriptions are considered by many as appropriate “Winter beers” – where malt sweetness, often higher alcohol, and the ability to drink a little warmer, all fit well within the general feel of the season.

But as the world of beer, particularly craft, rapidly diversifies in Australia, so too do our palates and the variety we choose to drink day-to-day. Yes, stouts are absolutely wonderful on a cold and dreary day, but so too are many other styles, some of which put forward a very good case to be even better equipped to handle an Aussie Winter.

From rethinking some classics to new and emerging styles, Australian brewers are now producing an array of beer styles that can comfortably tick all the boxes for all our Winter desires. And when you consider them next to the array of brooding stouts we also have, we’re well-positioned for a thoroughly enjoyable Winter no matter your drink of choice.

WHAT MAKES A BEER WINTERY?

Brewing and Winter have a long and storied past, intermingling through history and persisting well into modern beer culture. Lagering, for example, would likely not have endured without the ice-cold Winters of Bavaria, where dedicated brewers collected ice from frozen lakes to store in cavernous caves for lager through the Summer months. Of course, heat is required to brew beer and in days gone by, households would rely on heat from cooking and brewing to double as warmth in living quarters to survive harsh, unrelenting Winters. Many styles that are still popular today were once developed specifically for Winter production and consumption, like old ale, barleywine, bock and spiced/fruited Christmas ales, for example.

Building BIG BEERS

Big beers need big bodies and the best way to build that is in your brew house. Aim to mash rest at a higher temperature, usually 68 to 69°C – while some professional brewers aim as high at 71°C. This favours alpha-amylase activity, resulting in larger ratios of more complex sugars in the wort. These complex sugars don’t ferment as well, leaving residual sugar, and resulting in fuller bodied beers. Dextrin malts can also be added to boost the body. If it’s appropriate, crystal malts can also add body and sweetness, and darker crystal malts like Simpsons DRC can add delightful stewed plum and sultana characters.

Another good way to generate full bodied beers is a good ratio of sulfate to chloride. Many bigger beers would have a ratio of 0.7 to 0.8. Some brewers choose to amplify this ratio too far, down to around 0.5. While this results in an extra malty flavour, tread carefully – too much maltiness can become cloying and take away from the enjoyment of a big beer.

You’ve also got to make sure that your yeast is healthy and ready to go. The best way to do this is to take an appropriate amount of yeast (use an online pitching calculator to get it right) and either make a starter and/or ensure you oxygenate the beer correctly. Alternatively, if you’ve got a finished beer in tank that uses the same yeast, try pitching cone to cone. This is best done during wort knock out, and it allows healthy yeast to ferment your big beers. Second, third and even fourth generations of yeast will always ferment better than first generation new pitches, and in a bigger fermentation, healthy yeast can help to avoid stress induced off flavours.

If you are producing a big beer, realise they all require time in conditioning tanks to allow the beer to amalgamate all of the big flavours. After a big fermentation, there may be higher alcohols and fusel off flavours that can present as chalky or solvent-like. At the end of fermentation, perform a diacetyl rest. When you pass the diacetyl test, crash and yeast off the beer. Let it sit cold, at cellar temps, to age for a couple of weeks to allow these big flavours to integrate into a smoother product. Let your tastebuds determine when it’s come together. If you’re

BREWER STEVE BROCKMAN TAKES YOU ON A DEEP DIVE TO IMPROVE YOUR WINTER WARMERS.

planning to dry hop, or flavour with fruit/ spice etc, wait until after this period. This allows you to understand the flavour profile of your big beer before you add ingredients, and helps to preserve the freshness of those ingredients (ie. a dry hop on an American style triple IPA). Carbonate and serve as you would any other beer, but be aware if you are planning to package – the higher alcohol environment may have already killed off any remaining yeast, and can be hostile to new yeast being added to bottle condition. Make sure your bottling yeast is healthy and consider using a alcohol tolerant, packaging specific strain such as CBC-1; Champagne yeast can also be used in a pinch.

IMPERIAL STOUT

A beer style that many brewers get enchanted by the allure of using lots of different malts. While a simple stout should only be three ingredients, imperial stouts do allow brewers the opportunity to layer in different flavours. Using a blend of different darker malts adds depth of flavour, ranging from lightly chocolate and coffee, to smoky, to traditional roasty bitterness. Performing small mini mashes can help brewers identify what flavours a speciality malt will give you, and how it can be deployed. For a simple imperial stout, stick with relatively normal malts. A solid floor malted pale is a good start. Pair the base malt with a light choc and a roasted, debittered malt like Carafa III and you’re most of the way there. Are you doing a flavoured stout like a coffee stout? Think about adding some sweetness via something like a mid-range crystal malt to balance the extra bitterness you’re likely to get from coffee. Are you doing something like a vanilla milk stout? Remove the crystal malt as vanilla will add perceived sweetness. When dealing with adjunct stouts (replicating breakfast cereals, desserts or chocolate bars) brewers should pay attention to starting gravity and final gravity. Even if you have a big, boozy sugar bomb, brewers should still aim for a respectable final gravity to allow the beer to be drinkable and not overly cloying.

DOPPELBOCK

One of the hardest styles to nail are doppelbocks which are sweet, very malty, yet still relatively dry and dangerously drinkable. They can get all the way up to 10% ABV while traditional versions are often decocted

multiple times, and also feature long boils. For brewers unable to decoct, ensuring your malt composition is correct will get you a long way. A non-decocted doppelbock malt bill should be about 50 to 60% Munich malt (preferably the darker Munich malt such as Weyermann Munich II), up to 30% of pilsner and then a touch of Carapils. By adding a small amount of caramel malts, you can simultaneously add malty sweetness and also help to dry out the final gravity of the beer. Longer boils (180 minutes or more) will add sweetness, deepen malt flavours and add colour. Aim for a final gravity of no more than 4 to 4.5 Plato (around 1.020 SG) to make sure it maintains lager drinkability. As it is a high-gravity lager fermentation, be sure you pitch the appropriate amount of yeast. Keeping fermentation relatively cool initially (9 to 11°C) helps to limit fusel alcohol yeast expressions. If you have the ability to pressure ferment, keeping a touch of back pressure via a spunding valve helps you to limit stress esters that may be present in high alcohol ferments. Help your yeast towards the end of ferment, gradually ramping the temp so it fully attenuates. As with all good German lagers, a decent period

of cold maturation will greatly benefit this style of beer, and help sharper higher alcohol products soften into a more complete beer.

DOUBLE AND TRIPLE IPA

There is a real tendency when brewing these to throw absolutely everything at them, cramming as many hops, in as many forms, into a big syrupy mess. To avoid this, follow the best practices for normal strength IPA. West Coast IPA, doubles and triples should have simple malt bills, but solid bitterness is needed to balance the extra alcohol and malts, so don’t skimp here. Make sure you still aim for BU:GU ratio of approximately 1 to 1.2, so you know you’re drinking an IPA. Also consider the hops. Adding classic combos like Columbus/Centennial/Cascade is a great nod to mid 2000s West Coast double IPA. Newer combinations like Citra and Mosaic or Citra and Simcoe obviously go well together. But adding more than four different hops can start to make the hop flavours seem convoluted. For bigger hazy IPAs start with a solid base malt, adding oats/flaked wheat in ratios you’d normally use in normal strength versions. The extra alcohol will present as sharp and sweet, but will also thin your

Taste the 3066 Taste the 3066

FROM THE 1850S, BREWING WAS ONE OF THE FASTEST-GROWING INDUSTRIES IN THE INNERCITY MELBOURNE SUBURB OF COLLINGWOOD BEFORE AN ECONOMIC DEPRESSION AT THE TURN OF THAT CENTURY SPELLED ITS DEMISE. HOWEVER, SKIP TO THE PRESENT AND IT’S NOW THE MOST CONCENTRATED BREWERY PRECINCT IN THE CITY AND THE IDEAL SPOT FOR A FABULOUS ROLLING BEER TOUR, AS TOLD HERE BY ADAM CARSWELL.

The Collingwood Beer Trail takes in five top-notch breweries of varying sizes – Stomping Ground, Molly Rose, The Mill, Bodriggy and Fixation.

It’s significantly more compact than Sydney’s Inner West Ale Trail, meaning doing it casually on foot over a few hours is absolutely achievable. There’s also an amazing bunch of carefully considered, independent-focussed pubs and bars dotted throughout the area. And that’s not even mentioning the most authentic, great-value restaurants with delicious food spanning all kinds of international specialties in the hyper-local mix as well.

“Initially the Collingwood Beer Trail came off the back of lockdown,” explained Steve Jeffares, Stomping Ground’s co-founder. “Small businesses were having a hard time and hospitality in particular had taken a massive blow.

“There was a real sense of togetherness in the air, as we were all going through the same hardships and the importance of supporting and celebrating your local community, and neighbours, felt right and necessary.

Venue manager at Molly Rose Simon Hall continued: “The City of Yarra approached (Molly Rose founder) Nic Sandery. There were some grants on offer (as part of the City’s Business Recovery Progam) and we’ve always done stuff with the other guys.

“It was something that we thought was a no-brainer. We had a lot of customers already doing a little crawl – I used to call it the Beermuda Triangle – between here, The Mill and Fixation.

“Nic approached the other owners and said ‘why don’t we formalise this thing?’.

“It’s beautifully done. The Mill has taken control of the graphics for it and Stompo and Bodriggy helped out a lot with the marketing and that sort of thing.

“We are so privileged in this area to have such high quality breweries so close together. It’s a really fantastic relationship between the brewers and then that extends to us as venues. We look out for each other.

“We do find that people will come here because they’re not from the area, they’ve arranged to do the five breweries through the Beer Trail, and they will come back (and) bring other people or family.”

Steve added: “We’re a tight knit group operating in a fairly small industry, so we absolutely share in each other’s successes and challenges. We have such a variety of offerings between us, whether it be the vibe of the venue or the beers we brew that, between us, there is something for everyone.

“We’re proud of the positive changes in Collingwood and the more we can build on its reputation of offering a great local craft beer and hospitality experience, the more we can encourage beer lovers from near and far to visit.

“Ultimately, more visitors will benefit the entire Collingwood community, which is important to all of the Trail breweries.”

Passes for the Trail can be purchased via each brewery’s website for $49 (subject to change), which gets you three sample glasses at every stop (sample sizes across the venues may vary). Otherwise you can rock up at any location to purchase.

collingwoodbeertrail.com.au

“We’re proud of the positive changes in Collingwood and the more we can build on its reputation of offering a great local craft beer and hospitality experience, the more we can encourage beer lovers from near and far to visit.”

Steve Jeffares, Stomping Ground

Neil ‘Pops’ Whittorn

FOLLOWING THE TRAGIC PASSING OF NEIL WHITTORN, WE REMEMBER AND HONOUR HIS LIFE AND 50-PLUS YEAR BREWING CAREER WITH SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORKED CLOSELY WITH HIM AND UNIVERSALLY LOVED HIM. WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY GIFFORD LEE

Names like “legend” and “champion” can often be bandied about in the brewing industry as everyday terms of endearment and mateship between peers. But in the case of Neil Whittorn those words, and so many others that paint a similar picture of the man, were definitively true.

As Beer & Brewer spoke with several figures in the Australian brewing industry who were close with “Pops” during his 50-plus year brewing career, those same words kept getting repeated over and over again. They were only matched by ways to describe their shared sadness as the immensely liked and respected brewer, mentor, father figure and friend to so many tragically lost his battle with cancer in March. You can find their extended personal reflections on Neil later on in this feature.

Neil’s career began in 1972 at Carlton & United and, such was the way he kept

himself fit, he was still commercially brewing as recently as last year. In between those two distant poles he worked for a range of different breweries in different roles, at both big and small enterprises, both here and overseas and played his part in winning numerous major awards. One of the people we spoke with said he was “probably the most experienced brewer to work in (Australian) craft beer”.

But it will be his indomitable nurturing and friendship of the next generation of Australian brewers and new breweries that will be his greatest legacy and what contributed to him being honoured as the 2022 Independent Beer Awards’ Lifetime Achievement recipient.

Having been a senior figure at Matilda Bay during its thriving Port Melbourne days Neil would influence and forge lasting friendships with so many that spent time brushing up against him at the Garage. Some of those to be most indelibly touched by Neil was the Matilda Bay brew crew at the start of this

century’s second decade of Dennis Stewart, Tim Miller, Chloé Lovatt and Alli Macdonald under head brewer at the time Scott Vincent. Dennis, who felt “Pops would outlive us all”, said his initial mentor “really has shaped today’s brewing industry”. He said the nickname “Pops” summed him up perfectly: “All the best qualities of any grandfather figure – patient, kind, supportive and just a little bit mad”. Alli described him as “someone who had forgotten far more about brewing in his life than most of us will ever know”.

From her first day on the Garage’s bottling line in February 2011, right up until the very recent past, Chloé and Neil formed a special bond. Throughout his cancer treatment she was flying from Melbourne to Coolangatta every few weeks “to try to give him as much support as he had given me, and everyone who knew him”.

“I knew he was someone special, from the first time we went to a beer event, and I saw the look on the faces and the reactions of people

The Brew Review

As our feature from page 6 details, Winter-specific imbibing is fit for myriad styles that reflect not just a generally mild Australian climate but the changing craft landscape and the tastes of the consumers that help shape it. So we’ve cast the net far and wide this issue and settle into a range of categories from mostly Australian craft breweries that are fit for the season. We still savour the odd stout or 10 – and there are some absolute charmers amongst them – but we also traverse the spectrum to take in everything from a lower alcohol radler, multiple fruited sours, cold IPAs and some classic West Coasters. 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

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

After 15 years in the craft beer world, David is now working for Gravity Seltzer. However, you can often still find him in a front bar enjoying a craft beer or three.

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®, National Beer Brands Manager for Beer Fans and Pink Boots Australia President, Tiffany is focused on making changes in the world of beer through education and furthering beer culture beyond standard boundaries.

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

Josh Quantrill, NSW

Josh is a Certified Cicerone® currently working at 4 Pines Brewing who has extensive experience in the beer industry in the UK and Australia.

Ian Kingham, NSW

That Beer Bloke, Ian’s decorated beer career has included judging at Australia’s best competitions while he’s currently the Sydney Royal’s Chair of Judges.

Michael Capaldo, NSW

National sales manager 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 six years of industry experience in Australian craft beer and cider, Benji is now the state sales manager at Local Drinks Collective, working to increase the footprint and awareness of independent liquor in Australia.

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.

Mark Dowell, ACT

A beer broker for BentSpoke with a background in liquor retail, Mark is always trying new beers while appreciating the classics that brought us here

Craig Butcher, SA

Based in the Barossa Valley, Craig has 20-plus years’ experience in the liquor industry including winery cellarhand, tastings and sales, newbie homebrewer and beer-mad bottleshop guy.

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.

Alice Lynch, WA

A Perth-based sales rep for Beerfarm, Alice’s start in the craft beer world came by slinging pints at Two Birds in Melbourne. She’s here to force an end to random men being shocked that women love beer.

Briony Liebich, SA

After leading the sensory program at West End Brewery, beer writer, national beer and cider judge, educator and Certified Cicerone® Briony runs Flavour Logic to boost tasting skills and sensory quality programs.

Lindsay Astarita, VIC

Certified Cicerone®, beer judge and the Sensory & Quality Coordinator at Stomping Ground, Lindsay is passionate about beer education and all things quality.

Not all submissions to our tasting panel are featured in the following pages. This could be because of space restrictions, that we already reviewed it in the recent past or the product did not meet our panel’s requirements. We’re 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.

Panel’s Top Picks

Innate Brewers

Snow Leopard

ABV: 9.8%

Style: Imperial Stout (2022)

Full bodied, full flavoured and complex with a luxurious palate, this pours a thick viscous black with a deep tan head. The aroma is rich malts, roasted and toasty, stewed dark fruits and star anise. The first sip is literally gob smacking as this has so much complexity and depth its breath taking. Rich malt and stewed dark fruits, layered with vanilla and a subtle hop aroma, while a rich and viscous body creates a luxurious and velvety drinking experience.

Glass: Straight Pint

Food: Lamb shank innatebrewers.com.au

Fox Hat Brewing

Bearded Mongrel

ABV: 10.8%

Style: Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Jet black in colour and boasting a honey tan foam, it’s visibly viscous and appears decadently luscious. The months spent in bourbon barrels is evident through hints of oak, vanilla and, of course, bourbon. In balance with the rich milk chocolate and light dryness from a hint of acrid roast notes, this is quite mouthcoating without being overwhelming. The lingering warmth softens the complexity, bitterness and rich roast character to deliver a beer sculpted to pair with long chats about the universe and everything in between.

Glass: Tulip

Food: Bitey cheese foxhatbrewing.com.au

Deeds Brewing

BBA Peanut Butter

Imperial Stout

ABV: 11.7%

Style: Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

If you’ve had their original Peanut Butter Imperial Stout (see page 68) you’ll have a sense of what you’re in for here. The main difference, however, is the peanut butter, so prevalent in the OG, now takes a backseat to the barrel character – with oak, vanilla and spice all coming through. But this doesn’t take away from what made the OG special though, it just adds depth and complexity to an already deep and complex beer. Let it warm up and see how deep that aroma/flavour rabbit hole goes.

Glass: Tulip

Food: Salty antipasto platter deedsbrewing.com.au

Big Shed Brewing

Golden Stout Time

ABV: 5.4%

Style: Dessert Stout

An iconic Australian craft beer inspired by the iconic ice cream, this hits all the right flavour notes while still being an enjoyable beer – which is a massive achievement by the brewers. Led by the chocolate malt and smooth, silky mouthfeel, the experience is finished off with vanilla and honey flavours. Whilst it may have started life as a novelty, it has survived many trend changes in the market to consistently hold its place as one of the most beloved of all South Australian craft brews.

Glass: Tulip

Food: Chocolate mud cake with vanilla ice cream bigshed.beer