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THE 2021 BEST BEER VENUES AWARDS ISSUE – find all the winners inside! INCLUDING

ISSUE 57 WINTER 2021 PRICE $9.95 (NZ $11.95)

THE LOW DOWN ON NON-ALC CRAFT BEER

CHEERS

! K C U CH

WATER PROFILES OUR HOMEBREW SECTION WADES INTO THEM

CELEBRATING AN ICON’S 50 YEAR BREWING CAREER BEERS & BEERS CIDERS CRAFT

REVIEWED REVIEWED WWW.BEERANDBREWER.COM

PLUS! WINTER’S TOP PORTERS & STOUTS | NZ BREWING | 4 DIY RECIPES

EDITOR’S LETTER

A substantial amount of work goes on behind the scenes of our Best Beer Venue awards before a single word that ends up appearing in this magazine is ever typed. The nigh on three month process to determine who we deem are Australia’s best beer bars and brewpubs is intricate and involved, but as the votes begin to trickle in

WE ENCOURAGE RESPONSIBLE DRINKING Get the facts DrinkWise.org.au

to Beer & Brewer HQ, that’s when the fun really begins. As trends in the judges’ votes slowly start to emerge, past assumptions get turned on their heads as new ones form before those are discarded too as the actual results are finally revealed. And what a set of results (from page 30) we have for you this

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year in what are arguably our most meaningful awards to date. After more than a year our beer venues would care to forget, our awards celebrate their excellence in serving up the great Australian pastime while rejoicing in the fact they are,

PUBLISHER Paul Wootton | pwootton@intermedia.com.au

by-and-large, all still standing despite all that was thrown at them in 2020 and beyond.

EDITOR Gifford Lee | gifford@beerandbrewer.com

what an exercise like this does is shine a coast-to-coast spotlight on the entire beer

HOMEBREWER EDITOR Jake Brandish | jake@beerandbrewer.com

We are blessed with world-class beer bars and brewpubs in Australia and the fact

NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Craig Manning | CManning@intermedia.com.au Tel: 02 8586 6123 GENERAL MANAGER SALES – LIQUOR & HOSPITALITY GROUP Shane T. Williams

While there needs to be winners, and they are worthy winners at that, ultimately hospitality industry so we can highlight the amazing things it catches in its glare. our ‘best of’ lists showcase their history, diversity and quality is every bit worth the effort involved. What is also still very much standing and worth celebrating is Dr Charles ‘Chuck’ Hahn and this issue’s cover feature honours his extraordinary 50 year (and counting)

GROUP ART DIRECTOR – LIQUOR AND HOSPITALITY Kea Thorburn | kthorburn@intermedia.com.au

brewing career. From page 10 we talk to the man himself about where it all began and

PRODUCTION MANAGER Jacqui Cooper | jacqui@intermedia.com.au

than most, about what they consider to be his influence on the craft beer industry. It

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when it might end but also hear from a number of key figures, who know him better was a joy to put together and I hope you’ll like it too. Also, it’s Winter after all so we’re keeping with the season and highlighting a range of fantastic porters and stouts to keep you company by the fire (page 28) while of the 86 craft beers reviewed in our tasting section (page 66) over half of them fall within our seasonal focus on the darker styles. So, I dare say there are enough cracking beers in that lot to see you through another Winter until we see you again in the Spring. Cheers, Gifford Lee Editor, Beer & Brewer gifford@beerandbrewer.com @beerandbrewer

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Find us on... WINTER 2021 3

CONTENTS

inside... Winter 2021 FEATURES 10 Dr Charles ‘Chuck’ Hahn The 50 year career of a beer and brewing icon.

20 No and low alcohol beer The techniques craft brewers are using for best results.

30 Best beer venues

From one godfather about another – Charlie Papazian reflects on Chuck Hahn’s influence and expertise.

What are the top bars and brewpubs this year?

52 Canned beer The packaging format that knows no limits.

REGULARS 8 What’s on guide The beer festivals happening in Australia in Winter.

Behind the beer The Berliner Weisse with Aether Brewing.

28 Style shoot The Porters and Stouts to warm up with this Winter.

62 Food matching recipes Beer & Veg by Mark Dredge.

10 62

66 86 beer reviews Our seasonal focus this issue is on the lovely darker beers.

Competition The winner of our craft beer review competition.

82 Directory The businesses servicing the beer and brewing industry.

34 4

www.beerandbrewer.com

HOMEBREWER 40 Editor’s Letters 42 Q&A John Palmer looks at water chemistry.

44 Jake’s Brew Log Jake Brandish focuses on the Brown Ale.

46 New Zealand What’s happening in the brewing scene across the ditch?

49 Show us Yours We showcase our reader’s home brewing set ups.

50 DIY recipes

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WHAT’S ON

Things to do in Winter ADELAIDE BEER & BBQ FESTIVAL Adelaide Showground, SA: July 23 – 25 Adelaide’s Beer & BBQ Festival rises once more this Winter where more than 100 breweries, as well as cideries, distilleries and winemakers, will showcase their wares across three huge days where there will be the biggest ever BBQ line-up and three stages of live music and DJ sets. Beer & BBQ had been a staple on the Adelaide festival calendar for many years until COVID cooked their 2020 event. But with a return to their traditional Winter setting the festival organisers are planning the loudest, darkest, tastiest edition yet across three days and four sessions in late July.

beerbbqfest.com.au

PLUS DON’T MISS Hunter Valley Wine & Beer Festival June 19 huntervalleywinefestival.com Hinterland Craft Beer Festival June 26

GABS BRISBANE

imperialhoteleumundi.com.au

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, QLD: June 12 The behemoth that is the Great Australasian Beer Spectapular (GABS) has bounced back from COVID disruptions to bring their “Disneyland for beer lovers” experience to Australians once more with with successful shows in Sydney and Melbourne in May. And after having to cancel their Brisbane show last year the GABS team – and all of the participating breweries – are frothing to be running just their second ever festival in the city after debuting in 2019. Festival-goers can taste over 100 new and unique craft beers and ciders, meet and greet a cracking line up of some of Australia’s and New Zealand’s best brewers and discover street food, entertainment, silent disco, beer education, fun games plus so much more. gabsfestival.com

Hunter Valley Beer & BBQ Festival August 14 – 15 hopeestate.com.au Bendigo on the Hop August 28 bendigobeer.com Please note: Check the various festival websites for the latest information and whether the dates listed here still apply.

8 www.beerandbrewer.com

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CHUCK HAHN

“EVERYTHING I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED OVER THE MANY YEARS HAVE BEEN REAL TEAM EFFORTS. I HAVE A GOOD PALATE FOR BEER AND LOTS OF GOOD IDEAS BUT IT’S ALWAYS THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH AND TRAIN THAT THEN REALLY PERFORM AND SUPPORT YOU.”

CELEBRATING THE 50 YEAR CAREER OF A BEER AND BREWING ICON

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CHUCK HAHN

Charles in charge HAVING SPENT A DECADE WITH THE COORS BREWING COMPANY IN COLORADO BEFORE MOVING TO AUSTRALIA IN 1981, CHUCK HAHN HAS SPENT THE LAST 40 YEARS HELPING TO CHANGE THE FACE OF BEER IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD. GIFFORD LEE SPOKE WITH HIM ABOUT HOW IT ALL BEGAN BUT ALSO A NUMBER OF KEY FIGURES WHO HAVE RUBBED SHOULDERS WITH HIM OVER THE YEARS.

little over 40 years ago, in the where would you rather be place of Bondi Beach in January, a then 35-year-old Dr Charles ‘Chuck’ Hahn, who had never been to Australia before, knew very little of the place or its people, let alone what its beer scene was like, sat eating fish and chips, looking over all that was

before him, and thought to himself: “I reckon I could live here. This is a bit of alright.”

Having spent the 10 years previous working in his American home town of Colorado at the Coors Brewing Company, he had been headhunted by the firm Egon Zehnder in the hope he would help oversee a redevelopment and modernisation program worth over a hundred million dollars at Tooth and Co – the one-time biggest brewing operator in New South Wales. Tooth had brought him out to Sydney to see if they could tempt him away from his beloved ski slopes in the Rockies to make one of the world’s longest distance sea changes. Chuck had no comprehension of what the next four decades would bring him – the victories and the defeats – but for the similar lifestyle reasons that he got into brewing in the first place it didn’t take long before he was sold. And the beer and brewing landscape in Australasia, for he’s influenced what Kiwis think of beer too, would be forever changed by his decision to stay.

WINTER 2021 11

CHUCK HAHN

‘Infectious passion’

‘Unparalleled enthusiasm’ “He participated in countless Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup judging occasions and was always eager to share his expertise and experience, which crossed between both big beer and small beer worlds. He made friends wherever he went. He knew his beer and was always focused on quality while never losing sight of enjoyment. Chuck was always open to new ideas and beer experiences, while focusing on what his customers really appreciated in a beer all while pushing the boundaries and offering fun explorations for those who ventured to enjoy the beer he brewed. His unparalleled enthusiasm for brewing and exploring great beer was contagious. In the early times of craft brewing and craft beer it was sometimes a wild frontier. Chuck’s involvement and mentoring was of great value to all of us who were behind in the learning curve of portraying and brewing great beer,” Charlie Papazian, “the godfather” of craft beer and founder of the Association of Brewers (now the Brewers Association), the American Homebrewers Association, the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival.

‘CHOOSE A JOB YOU LOVE AND YOU’LL NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE’ Talking to Charlie Papazian about Chuck – from one godfather of beer about another – he told me his “unparalleled enthusiasm for brewing and exploring great beer was contagious” and therein lies a huge reason why we’re celebrating a brewing career of such longevity and high achievement. Chuck is incredibly passionate about what he considers to be his hobby, not his job, and he wants you to share in that love affair. By all accounts he’s always been like that, not just with the Charlie Papazian’s of this world – the former president of America’s Brewers Association and founder of the Great American Beer Festival – but with every one who has worked with him or had the opportunity to learn from him. It’s the reason that he isn’t sitting behind a desk or retired but rather to this day fully active in the operations at Malt Shovel and at Kosciuszko Brewing while also looking ahead to what’s next – whether that is the latest brewery start-up, new venue or new beer. “I was a brewing technocrat for many years but now I’m more in my element of getting people to realise the flavours in beer, how to taste that and talk about that,”

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Rob Freshwater, Doug Donelan and Chuck Hahn

“Chuck developed and influenced a large number of people in the Australian beer and brewing industry. And not just brewers either, although there are a lot of them plying their trade because of having worked for or with him. Chuck’s passion for beer was infectious and nobody seemed immune – from sales and marketing through to every level of the hospitality industry you will find people doing what they’re doing because Chuck had a level of input in their lives. My brother Matt (also brewed at Hahn) and I spotted some empty bottles of Hahn Sydney Bitter in a back laneway in Sydney’s eastern suburbs once. We’d launched the beer about six months previously and had thought it interesting to see them lying there. When we told Chuck what we’d seen he casually retorted: ‘you know you’ve made it in brewing when you see your name in the gutter’. Anyone who has worked for Chuck will tell you what a disciplined worker he is, and he expects that same ethic from everyone. Chuck made me a very good brewer. I was probably going to be a good brewer anyway but he not only gave great technical but also excellent practical training and it really is achieving those high-level practical skills that make a difference in the day-to-day operations of a brewery,” Doug Donelan, former Hahn brewer, former Malt Shovel head brewer and ex-CEO of NZ Hops.

CHUCK HAHN

Chuck said. “I like to say ‘slam it down slowly’ - savour those flavours, smell those aromas, enjoy it all. People

of adventure” in heading to Sydney in 1981. “I came out here and it was quite a change for me

aren’t drinking as much beer these days but they are

compared to Colorado. All of a sudden I had 13 unions to

certainly enjoying it more. I’d like to think I’ve had a

deal with, any one of which could have shut down the

part to play in shaping that.”

brewery. But within a year and a half we had brought

Chuck’s start in brewing came from crossing the road

that down to two unions.

from the Colorado School of Mines, where he was doing

“I had my life threatened and I had a couple of

his PhD in chemical engineering, to write up his papers

strikes… but it was a good introduction to the way some

with beer in hand in the Coors brewery’s tasting room.

things were done.”

Like most university students of the time he discovered a love for beer but more so he realised he had a better palate for it than most and that his engineering knowledge was more than complementary. When a job offer came in 1971, that would have taken him away to Texas in a petro-chemical role, he realised where his priorities – and his passions – lay. “I didn’t want to move down there so it was a bit of a lifestyle decision in the beginning. At that time I was doing a lot of skiing and mountain climbing and I wanted to stay in the mountains. So somehow I was able to create a job for myself at Coors. They were just starting up their R&D department and I was able to get

What was Australian beer culture like in 1981? Chuck: “I was amazed – you’d walk into a bar and there would be four or five fairly similar beers on tap. It was all men in the Public Bar and the ladies would be out back in the Ladies Bar. In some pubs they’d even pass the women drinks through a hole in the wall. It blew me away. There was no beer culture at all. Beer was the culture – it was a case of ‘just drink it’. I think we started to change the culture at Tooth and Co. I realised people were drinking on the job too much. The union delegates would be so drunk by midday you couldn’t talk to them. We eliminated drinking on site and gave everyone a carton of beer a week to compensate. There was a strike over that but it was the only way to go.”

involved with that and I did product development work on all their new beers. But it was also at a time when Coors was witnessing massive growth and they were spending 40 to 50 million dollars every year on new equipment and I was responsible for the installation and start-up of all of that. “It was an incredible learning phase for me as I was intimately involved in so many aspects of a brewery that was going through extraordinary growth – even down to working across the waste treatment plant and the packaging line. It gave me real background experience.” It’s little wonder Tooth and Co came knocking. Chuck said he would have been more than happy “just soaking it all up” at Coors but there was a “sense

‘Relentless drive’

‘Pioneering, unflappable’ “When working directly for him I realised the effectiveness of his conviction. Beer, not wine, belonged on a table with a meal – a lower alcohol, healthier alternative with a thousand permutations in flavour. His passion was infectious and his determination to bring people along on his journey and love of beer was pioneering in Australia – before it was craft. Thirty people at a time through his brewery on the first Tuesday of the month for decades, with that unflappable, laconic unveiling of a secret that was right under everyone’s noses. Chuck was convinced that perfection couldn’t be found in a single brew – it was always a blend. A precise blend. Never 70/30 or 80/20 – but 50/50 of two different maturation tanks. I think it came from his days at Tooth. But whenever asked for his preference for the make-up of the next tank of beer – it was always 50/50,” Sean Symons, former Malt Shover brewer and founder of White Lakes Brewing.

“Chuck’s key attributes are an unwavering passion and relentless drive. Like a dog with its favourite bone, Chuck never lets go and never gives up – striving to establish new ventures, new beers and forever espousing the ‘gospel of beer’ to those that want to listen (and those that don’t). He is a visionary and mentor to many right across the full spectrum of the brewing industry and is generous with sharing his knowledge and time – not just to those within Lion but particularly the various new breweries trying to start up their own ventures,” Rob Freshwater, former Hahn brewer and current Malt Shovel senior brewer.

WINTER 2021 13

CHUCK HAHN

SEISMIC SHIFTS In 1983 he moved to New Zealand when he was hired as a consultant by one of that country’s richest men at the time and Lion Nathan’s then managing director Doug Myers who wanted Chuck to “make him better beer”. In his four years in the Shaky Isles he would enhance his knowledge base of every aspect of a brewery’s operations – from auditing them right down to climbing into tanks to make sure they were cleaned properly. Coupled with his now refined understanding of what beers would suit the Australian palate – but also challenge them – it was time to put all he had learned into practise. Along with three venture capital partners Chuck would emerge from his technocratic past and establish his namesake brewery in Sydney’s inner west. “I wanted to set up a brewery that was the ultimate in cleanliness and had all of the right things happening from an equipment point of view. Cleanliness is next to godliness… and people just marvelled at the quality of the Hahn Brewery back then.” Positioned as a German-style pilsner with the benefit of being fresh because it was brewed domestically, their flagship beer was Hahn Premium Lager – designed to be in direct competition with Crown Lager. “We were the first craft brewery of that size, but back then we didn’t call it ‘craft’ we called it ‘boutique’. And boutique beers made up less than one per cent of the market. “We were pioneering craft beer and Hahn Premium was doing well. But it was a tough period. Money was tight. We were dealing with interest rates of above 15 per cent.” In 1992, with the brewery barely breaking even, Chuck failed to broker a deal with the banks and by 1993 Lion Nathan had purchased the Hahn brewery and the brand but would keep Chuck on as the group’s chief brewer. Over the next five years Chuck would start-up two breweries in China, five in

‘Way ahead of his time’ “I see Chuck as a brewer with an entrepreneur’s mind. He was way ahead of his time when setting up Hahn and then Squires. He wanted Australians to drink great tasting beer and beat the wine industry at food matching. He has helped shape the Australian craft industry and he sees areas in the market that haven’t even started yet and pushes enthusiastically to make it happen with authentic brands. This has been evident with Hahn, James Squire, Kosciuszko, Eumundi et cetera. He’s been a great mentor to me. The godfather of the Australian craft beer industry,” Haydon Morgan, current Malt Shovel head brewer.

Australia and a further three in New Zealand where he was responsible for the beer quality across all of them. “It was a great period, a very influential period. But I wanted to get back to making my own style of beer. People still can’t believe it when I tell the story that everyone at Lion wanted to close the old Hahn brewery down. It was costing them one million dollars a year to run it. They wanted to close it down and move all the tanks out to the Tooheys Brewery as a pilot plant. So I argued the case that we needed an inner city brewery. I said ‘we’re going to call it the Camperdown Colonial Brewery and we’re going to brew English style ales’ because I thought there was a niche for English styles at that time.

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‘Brave, passionate’ “Chuck’s legacy is he was part of that craft beer revolution back in the 80s. He was brave enough to start up a craft brewery in a questionable time in Australia. He had a go, shut up shop then reopened. He has always supported every brewery in Australia that has started up – whether by offering brewing advice or including their beers in one of his James Squire beer dinners. And it didn’t matter how late a night Chuck had at beer dinners he was always swimming laps in the pool at 7am the next day. I remember how passionate he was and how clean he wanted everything kept. At the time I didn’t realise the importance but later on when I started brewing in Canberra I adopted his mantra and every time he dropped in to see me he would remind me ‘keep on cleaning Richard’,” Richard Watkins, former Hahn packaging line worker, founder BentSpoke Brewing.

CHUCK HAHN

“So they gave me permission to do that and it’s a funny story because the then Lion CEO Gordon Cairns, who’s now the chair of Woolworths, said he’d let me do it as long as I didn’t lose more than a million dollars in the first year. Well, we lost $960,000 the first year. We broke even the next year and then we made a million dollar profit in the following. And now James Squire is a multi-million dollar brand.”

SHOVEL READY Out of the newly renamed Malt Shovel Brewery (Camperdown Colonial Brewery never did see the light of day) the James Squire brand would launch with the Original Amber Ale – a cross between Newcastle Brown and New Belgium’s Fat Tire. “One of the reasons we went with an amber first was because we could immediately see in a pub setting who was drinking our beer. We were going out at night and going straight up to people and saying ‘hi, we’re the brewers, what do you think of our beer?’.” The public’s taste for the Squire range would almost know no limit for a period in Australia and the accolades would follow suit. Out of the many awards they reaped, four would take Gold at the

‘An undisputable visionary’ “I first met Chuck when I was country manager of (then) Lion Nathan China and where he was helping the business expand. He was then the head brewer responsible for setting up, operationalising and ensuring beer quality across all of Lion’s operations in Australia, New Zealand and abroad. He is to this day the resident expert on ventures big and small as a master brewer for the Lion business – from quality control in large scale brewing, to setting up and growing craft breweries across Australia, nurturing generations of brewing and hospitality talent working in them, and building passionate communities around them. I have known Chuck for 27 years – he is a colleague, an undisputable visionary and mentor to many, a generous and passionate community member, and most of all a dear friend,” James Brindley, Managing Director, Lion Australia.

World Beer Cup – for their Pilsener (2008), New Norcia Abbey Ale (2010), Summer Ale (2016) and Porter (2018) – a feat nowhere near matched by any other Australian brewery. As well as playing an integral role in the establishment of many, many James Squire Brewhouses across the country, the intervening years would see Chuck continue his passion for seeing breweries, with “real, human stories behind them”, flourish. He would help bring the likes of the Kosciuszko Brewing Company into being in 2009 at the Banjo Paterson Inn in Jindabyne and aide in the

‘The godfather’ “Camperdown is the spiritual centre of inner-west brewing in Sydney and Chuck started that. He’s the godfather of Australian craft beer and he’s always been an ambassador for Australian craft. Just in Wayward’s experience Chuck and his Malt Shovel brewers were some of the first people on the scene to help out at 5am back when our first tanks arrived. That’s a small indication of the level of Chuck’s care for the industry,” Peter Phillip, President Independent Brewers Association and founder Wayward Brewing.

rebirthing of the Eumundi Brewery at its spiritual home at the Imperial Hotel on the Sunshine Coast. “That’s what we’re really about and probably why I’ve stayed on so long because it’s intriguing to me to go out and help build these small breweries up.” What’s next for Chuck? With some back issues causing him some pain he is for the first time seriously contemplating retirement while he continues to be at the forefront of new brewery startups for Lion – from Newcastle to Lord Howe Island. He’s also looking forward to borders reopening and travelling again with his wife back to the States where he has eight grand children. And he’d love to spend more time in the ocean at Coogee where he’s long owned a home not far from Bondi Beach where his storied Australasian adventure began. “I’ve very much been a hands-on type person when it comes to beer and brewing. It’s all about creating interesting beers and enjoying them with people. That’s what this so-called ‘job’ has been about for me.”

WINTER 2021 15

BEER MEMORIES

Shovelling up the past CHUCK HAHN RECALLS SOME OF HIS BEST MEMORIES AND FAVOURITE BEERS FROM HIS 50 YEAR (AND COUNTING) CAREER.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST BEER MOMENT WITHIN THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY? Every moment is good, especially when I am enjoying fine brews with the team at Malt Shovel Brewery. Over the last 20 years we have certainly developed and enjoyed some really fine beers together – whether it’s some of our very limited releases or some of the regular long-term favourites – it is all good.

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WHAT STYLE OF BEER WOULD YOU SAY IS THE BEST REPRESENTATION OF YOUR CRAFT? Pilsner of course is my favourite and it is characterised by a high hop bitterness balanced by a firm malt backbone. Czech Saaz hops create a spiciness and a good percentage of Munich malt contributes to the golden colour and rich mouthfeel. So my favourite beer remains the James Squire Four Wives Pilsener.

BEER MEMORIES

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FONDEST BEER MEMORIES? Just looking at medals and trophies over the years for some of our brews gives us a good measure of the quality of beers that we have been brewing. Winning the Champion Beer at the AIBA in 1998 with Hahn Premium Lager was a big win for us as we promoted it as the domestic answer to premium lagers. However, over the years, we have also won international awards at the World Beer Club with the James Squire range of beers, including Four Golds (see page 15), one Silver and one Bronze. These awards really represent the ultimate in international recognition, as only a single gold, silver and bronze medal are awarded in each category.

WHAT’S THE BEST INTERNATIONAL BEER YOU’VE HAD? Staying with my pilsner preferences, I highly recommend in Plzen in the Czech Republic and tasting the beer very fresh.

WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL STYLE OF BEER FOR THE WINTER MONTHS?

It remains as one of the very first pale lagers.

With the cooler weather I tend more towards

Pilsner Urquell. I still remember visiting the original brewery

the maltier, richer beers and not necessarily those higher in hops and alcohol. For example, porters and amber ales are on the top of the list and these are usually around 5% ABV. Back in the early 2000s we had Squires Original Amber Ale on tap at the Thredbo Alpine hotel and it became one of their biggest sellers. Cold, snowy weather and rich amber ale go hand-in-hand.

WHAT WAS YOUR EPIPHANY BEER? At Coors we were developing very drinkable beers, mostly lagers and carbohydrate reduced beers. However in 1987/88, when I finally had a chance to develop my ultimate beer – Hahn Premium Lager – did I really get turned on to what a great beer could really be: both flavoursome and drinkable. This was a German-style pilsner with aromatic hops and a pleasant distinct bitterness. Later on we went even further with a Bohemian-style pilsner with our James Squire Original Pilsener in 2001. This still remains my favourite style of beer.

WINTER 2021 17

BEHIND THE BEER

“IT’S AN ANYTIME BEER. THE LIGHT, REFRESHING ACIDITY AND SPRITZY– SPRITZY NESS MAKE IT SPECTACULAR DOWN AT THE BEACH, WITH FRIENDS AT A BBQ OR LAYING BY THE POOL. THAT SAID, THE OAK CHARACTERS FROM THE BARRELS ADD A COMPLEXITY THAT MAKE IT EQUALLY AT HOME IN FRONT OF A FIRE ON A COLD WINTER’S NIGHT,” DAVE WARD

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BEHIND THE BEER

The Champagne of the North OUR SERIES THAT LOOKS BEHIND A PARTICULAR STYLE OF BEER CONTINUES THIS ISSUE WITH THE BERLINER WEISSE WHERE WE CHAT WITH DAVE WARD – OWNER AND BREWMASTER OF QUEENSLAND’S AETHER BREWING WHO HAVE RELEASED THEIR OWN ITERATION VIA THEIR OAK & ORGANISMS BARREL PROGRAM. FOR YOU, WHAT’S THE APPEAL OF THE BERLINER WEISSE?

play by using hop derived tetra hops that are simply

It’s such an underrated style that is incredibly

added to the tank. Fermentation was carried out in

versatile and even though the Australian climate

stainless steel, then transferred to 500 litre ex-wine

differs so much from the style’s origins, it is so

puncheons which are predominately American oak

suited to those balmy hot summer nights that we

where we aged it for four months. During this time,

love and enjoy here. The traditional Berliner was

the beer will continue to ferment to create the very

often accompanied with a fruit syrup, which has

dry character the style is known for while picking up

today morphed into fruited sour beers that use a

the delightful oak characters from the barrel which

very similar base to the original style but instead

attribute to the beers complexity.

we get to that point, we take the lactobacillus out of

are fermented on fruit. Our own Witching Hour Berliner style but adding copious amounts of fruit to

WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES IN ITS CREATION?

give it a twist.

This is only our second release from our Oak &

Blackberry Sour is an example of using the base

Organisms sub-brand which is solely barrel-aged

HOW DOES YOURS STAY TRUE, AND DIFFER, FROM THE STYLE’S ORIGINS?

beers – so we are still learning so much. Barrels

Our 2021 Berliner is brewed with a very similar malt

potential, however they also create a huge number

bill to what would have been brewed 100 years ago,

of challenges. Some of the major issues that need

however even earlier versions would have had more

to be overcome are oxidation, yeast autolysis, wild

wheat and less barley. We opted for 50 per cent pale

yeast and bacteria, temperature fluctuations,

wheat and 50 per cent pale barley which we find gives

barrel leaks and the list just keeps going. As

a subtle bready finish while still being very clean

we get more confident in our ability to create

and easy drinking and, incidentally, a lot easier on

spectacular beers time and time again, we

our lauter tun and the brewer’s sanity! Very early

will introduce different bacteria and yeast

versions of the style were wild fermented/soured and

strains and continue to invest in barrels from

often buried in earthenware pots however we have

all origins – which is costly and slow but we

the luxury of isolated lactobacillus strains which

are so happy with the releases so far we are

give very predictable acid profiles without the risk of

confident in our ability to continue to overcome

attracting organisms that attribute to spoilage and

the challenges. We hope that one day Oak

off flavours.

& Organisms will occupy its own warehouse

Oak & Organisms 2021 Berliner Weisse Malts: Pale Wheat & Pale Barley Hops: Motueka & Tetra ISO-Extract Colour: 8 EBC Bitterness: 13 IBU ABV: 4.5% What our tasting panel said: “Sweet wheat characters integrate with oaky tannins and shades of vanilla on the nose and tongue. A mild Brettanomycesdriven earthiness emerges late and works to cut the acidity.” See page 68 for our full review where it’s made our Top 16 Panel Picks for Winter. Plus on page 75 we review their other Oak & Organisms release – the 2020 Sour Brown – and Aether’s Hop Skip & Jump West Coast IPA.

have opened up a whole new world of flavour

with barrel numbers in the hundreds. But we

WHAT BREWING PROCESSES DID IT UNDERGO?

have some work to do to get there. George,

It was brewed using our standard process of mash

complexity and character and we have a pretty

to lauter to kettle to whirlpool. We then soured the

amazing schedule ahead for the program.

beer in the fermenter using isolated lactobacillus

You can expect everything from Imperial

strains. We titration tested for acidity daily to make

Stouts through to wine and beer hybrids – and

sure we hit the ideal sour character for its style. Once

everything in between.

our head brewer, and I both have a passion for

WINTER 2021 19

NO AND LOW ALCOHOL BEER

THE LOW DOWN AS BETTER QUALITY NO AND LOW ALCOHOL BEERS HAVE EMERGED OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS SALES IN THE DRINKS CATEGORY HAVE TAKEN OFF AND ARE FORECAST TO SOAR. GIFFORD LEE TAKES A LOOK AT THE REASONS WHY AND SPEAKS WITH FOUR CRAFT BREWERIES THAT ARE FUELLING THE THIRST.

rue story. A woman

of catching up with friends in a bar with a

many quality options to choose from that go

in mid-to-late-term

drink in hand.

close to replicating the real thing. But how

pregnancy walks up to

And there it was for me, 12 to 18 months

are Australian craft brewers doing that?

the bar at lunchtime on

of incredible growth in the non-alcoholic

a Friday in the newly

drinks sector in this country explained and

THE RACE TO THE BOTTOM

revamped Harbord ‘Hilton’

encapsulated in one moment in time. I

Ever since launching with their Throwback

Hotel in the Sydney beachside suburb of

had been tasting the beers and writing the

mid-strength IPA back in 2015 Pirate Life have

Freshwater. Scanning a booze-laden drinks

stories but now I actually understood why it

been proving beer doesn’t need to skimp on

menu she looks up at the bartender and

was happening.

aroma and flavour just because its alcohol

asks: ‘Do you have Heaps Normal?’. When

While the last year or so has seen an

volume has been dialled down. So for their head

she’s presented with one of their alcohol-

explosion in sales of non-alcoholic craft beer

brewer Lewis Maschmedt it’s a pretty natural

free XPAs in a can, with a chilled schooner

in this country, which are tipped to grow

extension to now have Point Nine on the market

by its side, the look on her face spoke

by a further 16 per cent by 2024 for largely

– a 0.9% beer he said was originally created in

volumes of the feelings she was clearly

moderation and wellness trends, the reasons

2019 so it would hit shelves last year until some

experiencing on the inside. And suitably

that people choose to abstain have always

COVID-19-related delays prevented them from

chuffed off she walked back to her table and

been there. It’s just that now they don’t need

getting the brand underway.

carried on with the great Australian pastime

to settle for an orange juice as there are so

20 www.beerandbrewer.com

“Like all things in the craft beer industry

NO AND LOW ALCOHOL BEER

the product is getting more extreme, only this time it’s a bit of a race to the bottom with ABV unlike a few years back when everyone was trying to out Imperial each other,” Lewis said. “And like any beer style, I think that craft brewers are going to put their creative weight behind it and start to produce some killer beers. It would be really epic if low alc offerings, across a range of styles, became a bigger part of the story.” Pirate Life used a cold mashing process to create Point Nine which allowed them to get a solid extraction of the proteins, beta-glucans, Maillard products and other highly water soluble compounds in the malt but leave the majority of the starch behind in the lauter tun. The low extract efficiency means you get a low ABV beer but all the other malt compounds, along with a solid dose of hops, helps build better flavour, texture, aroma and head retention. “We brew using Pale malt with a few specialty malts in there for colour and flavour. The hops used are mostly low alpha New Zealand varieties with a little tickle of US ones in there for a bit of piney goodness. “We ferment it using our house yeast and, aside from the very quick primary fermentation, the cellaring process is the same as any of our other beers. The dry hop volumes started a bit conservative but we have bumped them up incrementally to roughly the same amount as our other Pale Ales so expect the hoppiness to rise from batch one to batch three.” There’s an incremental journey going on with the ABV as well. Lewis said Pirate Life will be experimenting with a range of low alcohol beers in their taproom this year as they not only search for the perfect representation of the style but also where consumer preferences sit. “We always looked at the major challenge of brewing low alcohol beers as compromising on product and flavour as little as possible. 0.9% ABV seemed like a good halfway point. If you are moderating it allows you to have a few beers and continue to function and it sits under the excise limit so the consumer doesn’t have to pay for the small amount of alcohol that is in there. You can expect this beer, or something similar, to be in our range going forward. I think this is one of those times where you need to listen to the consumer and really understand what they are searching for in this category. It’s growing so fast that it’s hard to put a finger on where tastes are going to land.” There’s no hiding the fact that alcohol plays a big part in the flavour of the beers that we all love so much, so when you take it out it invariably leaves a big hole. But Pirate Life aren’t ones to shy away from the challenge. “I have started getting into reading and watching videos about vegan cooking because the chefs in that realm are masters of mimicking the flavour and mouthfeel of animal products using alternative ingredients,” Lewis said. “Vegan ice cream is a good example. There are some people out there making great products with zero dairy in there which is pretty amazing. We are very lucky that we can experiment a lot with the four brew kits we operate and the intention is certainly to try as many different techniques and ingredients as we can imagine to make a low alc

“IT’S GROWING SO FAST THAT IT’S HARD TO PUT A FINGER ON WHERE TASTES ARE GOING TO LAND,” LEWIS MASCHMEDT, PIRATE LIFE

beer that won’t be discernible from its higher ABV counterparts.”

WINTER 2021 21

NO AND LOW ALCOHOL BEER

The taste test In this issue, and in previous ones, we have reviewed some of the leading no and low alcohol craft beers. Here’s a snippet of what we thought about some of those:

THE DRINKABILITY TEST Beer is close to the beating heart of our nation, so although the no and low alcohol craft category is coming off a low base Australians have taken to it like ducks to water. For every hardcore extremist who hates the idea there are plenty of the more moderate types who are willing to bring it into their lifestyle in a flash. And as the demographics shift, where the new generation of drinkers are proven to be consuming less than those before them, there is an economic structural issue occurring for the beer and brewing industry. UpFlow Brewing have decided to meet that challenge head on by specialising in

Pirate Life Point Nine (0.9%) The low ABV kicks just enough to give all the hallmarks of an easy drinking ale balanced with a lean malt profile. The soft mouthfeel and delicate hop flavours would pair perfectly with fish and chips. See page 79 for the full review.

non-alcoholic craft beer only. “They have been well received and awarded, but if you ask our team, we’ll tell you at any point in time that each beer is about 30 per cent of the way to where we want it to be and we’ll list seven things that we want to tweak next time to improve it,” UpFlow’s co-founder Julian Sanders said. As the wearer of the Spark Breweries and Distilleries commercial director hat as well, Julian said UpFlow has been able to call on all that technical brewing know-how for their recipe design and process controls to build “substantial structure” in their beers. He said their New World IPA, Stout, Classic Pale Ale

Heaps Normal Quiet XPA (<0.5%) A leader in the pack of the new wave of non-alc beers. A great, clean, hoppy, easy drinking beer. Tasty malts, refreshing hop bite and a crisp finish makes this a go-to option when watching your ABV intake. See page 75 for the full review.

and Ultra Pale Lager all meet the drinkability test – in terms of being balanced, refreshing and enticing. But he said there was no single thing that had achieved that but rather a combination of many small but important attentions to detail. “Pasteurisation is a big part of the production puzzle for us. There is a common opinion that it isn’t good for the flavour of beer but this isn’t necessarily true – it is an oversimplification. Continues on page 25.

“PART OF THE FUN OF BUILDING UPFLOW HAS BEEN LEAVING THE BEER WITH PEOPLE TO SEE HOW AND WHEN THEY DRINK IT. TO THE LAST, ALL OF THEM DO!,” JULIAN SANDERS, UPFLOW

Nort Refreshing Ale (<0.5%) A great example of what this style can be and for those times when you want a beer but not alcohol. It’s a lovely bright gold and citrus notes from new world hops are followed by bready malt characters. See the Summer 2020/21 issue for the full review

Sobah Wattleseed Gold (<0.5%) Pours caramel in colour while the aroma offers caramel, wattle and molasses tones. The palate is medium bodied with good caramel sweetness and a nice layering of malt and some bready notes. See the Autumn 2021 issue for the full review.

Hawkesbury Prohibition (<0.5%) Big wafts of citrus and stone fruit from the dry hop while the flavourful body continues those citrus and tropical notes alongside biscuity malts and clean, refreshing bitterness to finish. See the Summer 2020/21 issue for the full review. UpFlow Pale Ale (<0.5%) Tasting blind one would never know this Pale Ale is missing the alcohol. It carries a hit of grassy hop and biscuit malt on the nose and certainly enough flavour to carry through. This is a great option. See the Spring 2020 issue for the full review.

www.beerandbrewer.com

https://hawkesburybrewingco.com.au

NO AND LOW ALCOHOL BEER

Free to choose We sat down with Roland Thiemann, head of innovation at Tribe Breweries, to find out about the Mornington Peninsula Brewery’s entry in the non-alcoholic craft beer category – Free Pale Ale. Released in November last year, it continues the brewery’s strong heritage and reputation in the craft space while carving itself an altogether new niche. What were the reasons for releasing Free? Non-alcoholic beers (NAB) are a growing segment in Australia. In some overseas markets like Germany they make up 7.5 per cent of total beer volume – that is almost two bottles of every case of beer sold. That goes to show how big the segment could be and how NAB could become part of our consumer behaviour. Of course only when they taste great. Which is a challenge. It’s much harder to create an amazing tasting non-alcoholic than it is to brew a regular beer. But many great examples of this emerging category in Australia prove that it is possible to baffle consumers. What trends do you foresee in this category? Last year saw an explosion of NAB and spirits on the Australian market providing consumers with more options than ever before. This development is driven by a long-term trend towards ‘mindful consumption’ of alcohol with 66 per cent of alcohol beverage drinkers aged 21–34 telling us in a recent Nielsen survey they would be making an effort to reduce their overall consumption of alcohol. We have seen a mind shift, particularly with Aussie men over the last five years who say their desire for a more balanced lifestyle has increased by 16 per cent. This underlying trend towards a healthier lifestyle has been accelerated by COVID where people are more cautious about their alcohol consumption. What brewing techniques were used to create it? Many mainstream beer brands, with lagers in particular, remove the alcohol after brewing a conventional beer. A very technical process that unfortunately also takes out much of the characteristic boozy flavours. We don’t follow this rather brutal approach but use a special yeast strain that doesn’t ferment alcohol in the first place. However, it does produce some important flavours that we call esters. What are the brewing challenges? Many early non-alcoholic beers in Australia were lagers – especially those of the bigger, mainstream brands. Which is, quite frankly, not the best beer style to make them from. Lagers have a less complex flavour profile which means if you take out one flavour, the alcohol, it’s noticed much more in contrast to fruitier or even dark beers, that offer more different flavours to compensate for the lack of alcohol. So if your last NAB was a lager, it’s definitely worth trying a Mornington Peninsula Free Pale Ale – your experience will be very different.

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“WE HAVE SEEN A MIND SHIFT, PARTICULARLY WITH AUSSIE MEN OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS,” ROLAND THIEMANN, TRIBE BREWERIES

NO AND LOW ALCOHOL BEER

Continuing from page 22. “We use it as another tool in our kit to achieve the result that we want. By compensating for its effects and using it appropriately, we find that it actually beds in the flavour of our beers so they hit their sweet spot in terms of shelf stability sooner and for much longer. Of course, a tiny session hoppy is a great brewpub style that wants to be drunk fresh, but we intentionally develop our beers to have a long drinking window, even without refrigerated transport. They have to offer an excellent experience on the far side of the big hot country six, eight or 12 months later. Our Pale Ale and Stout in particular respond really well. In back-to-back testing, we see that they actually benefit from the Pasteurisation Units that we give them.”

RISING FROM NECESSITY As the great Bob Dylan once said, himself, purportedly, a teetotaller: “Something is happening but you don’t know what it is, do you, Mr Jones?”. And the fact of the matter, whether many in the beer industry know it yet, is that something has been happening and that’s people now see it as a point of pride to go alcohol-free whereas in the past they would try to quietly hide it. That’s a huge shift in a country like Australia where alcohol is an integral part of so many occasions. But with the onset of quality, non-alcoholic drink

JUDGED AUSTRALIA’S BEST N/A BEERS BY THE CRAFTY PINT Ultra Pale Lager – Classic Pale Ale – New World IPA - Stout

“Tasting blind, one would never know this Pale Ale is missing the alcohol.” – Beer & Brewer AVAILABLE ONLINE + ALL GOOD RETAILERS upflowbrewing.com.au

NO AND LOW ALCOHOL BEER

choices those choosing to abstain can do so now with smugness that their drink choice is just as “crafted” as anyone’s. For the team behind Hawkesbury Brewing Co’s Prohibition Pale Ale the journey to brewing their non-alcoholic craft beer grew from what was driving the category in the first place. Living near the ocean, with young families, where it’s as common to be at the beach at 6am as it is to be in a pub at 9pm, there was a necessity to bring their lifestyle choices into focus. What began as an interesting side project has evolved into a major strategic investment for the brewery north of Sydney. “When we started diving into the category and tasting the beers in the market, the experience was mostly one of frustration and disappointment,” Hawkesbury Brewing Co’s business development director Paul Weaving said. “There was so much great beer out there in the Australian market and yet, we could hardly find a single non-alcoholic beer which came close to a true beer experience in terms of flavour and taste. We thought ‘there had to be a way to do it better’.” In many ways they make Prohibition like they would any other beer. Wort is brewed in the traditional way using 100 per cent Pilsner malt and during the mashing process, with maximum attenuation in mind, they’re after optimal pH and temperature levels for a dry crisp finish. They add bittering hops early in the boil to achieve full alpha acid extraction while the beer is then pitched at 14°C, allowing free rise to 21°C for ester development. At the end of fermentation, the beer is lagered for seven days to achieve full diacetyl reduction. It is then cross flow filtered to achieve a haze of 0.2 EBC. The bright beer undergoes nano-filtration to remove the ethanol through a highly selective membrane. After the filtration process, the beer is dry hopped with Citra and a blend of other hops at 9°C for seven days to extract the hop oils and give the desired aromatics. The beer is then centrifuged and packaged. “This authentic beer experience without alcohol is the driver of a trend we’re seeing develop: new drinking occasions,” Paul said. “People are telling us they’re having a Prohibition with their lunch… (or) on the footie field with their teammates after training before everyone drives home. When you take alcohol out of the equation, this isn’t surprising at all… At its core, beer is all about reward, refreshment and coming together. We see the potential for Prohibition to become a fridge staple ready to offer anyone who visits whatever the day or time.”

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“WE THOUGHT ‘THERE HAD TO BE A WAY TO DO IT BETTER’,” PAUL WEAVING, HAWKESBURY BREWING

able alcohol-free Pale Ale.” – Sydney Morning Herald “Light and tangy with subtle tropical flavours, it offers balanced bitterness and sustained after

“Mornington Free’s Pale Ale is certainly amongst the finest domestically brewed alcohol-free beers on offer in Australia today” – Gourmet Traveller

“MPB creates a delicious and refreshing bevy with less than 0.5%.” – Man of Many “ …excellent, ultra-drink

taste. Impressive.” – Good Food “You’d never be able to tell it was alcohol-free. It just tastes great” – News.com.au

1. O’Brien Beer Stout

2. Young Henrys Motorcycle Oil

3. Prancing Pony Magic Carpet Ride

4. Feral Brewing Boris

This gold medal winner is in the style of an Irish Stout with a light sweetness. A deep ruby-black colour gives way to a beautiful tan head with aromas of roasted coffee and rich chocolate, followed by a full, creamy mouthfeel.

A smooth, hoppy black beer with mild bitterness, roughly based on a hopped-up American porter. Originally brewed as a small batch in 2017, then as an annual Winter release, it’s now part of their core range. Best served loud.

A big Imperial Stout with toasted malt and massive toffee, caramel, chocolate and liquorice being the dominant aromas and flavours. This is a smooth, creamy and well-rounded beer that will warm you up even on the coldest day.

The jet black Russian Imperial Stout is brewed using five speciality malts which contribute bold espresso and chocolate aromas and flavours. It’s a beer to be savoured, free of radical reform, and is best enjoyed between 8°C and 12°C.

FOOD MATCH

Hearty meat dishes

Big, bold Aussie beef pie

Charred rib-eye

Chocolate dessert

ABV: 5.3% RRP: $28-$30 per six-pack rebellionbrewing.com.au

ABV: 5.5% RRP: $20-$22 per four-pack younghenrys.com

ABV: 9.0% RRP: $32 per four-pack prancingponybrewery.com.au

ABV: 9.1% RRP: $21 per four-pack feralbrewing.com.au

GLASSWARE: Rastal Craft Master Bowl (373ml & 497ml) craftymerch.co MALT SAMPLES: Joe White Maltings joewhitemaltings.com.au

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PORTER & STOUT PROMOTION

5. Holgate Brewhouse Temptress

6. Exit Brewing Milk Stout

7. Little Bang Inside Voice

8. Margaret River Panther Cream

This malt-driven English Brown Chocolate Porter is made extra special by the addition of Dutch cocoa and vanilla beans. It creates a palate of complexity with alluring chocolate, coffee and caramel flavours underpinned by a hint of vanilla.

A sweet Stout that’s a little hoppy but well balanced with roasted malts, a full body and a nice sweet finish. Rich milk chocolate and vanilla bean aromas with a smooth mouthfeel with cocoa, vanilla and toffee. Espresso on the finish.

With no crazy adjuncts in the way, this Foreign Extra Stout expresses a hugely complex and balanced blend of flavours – chargrill, chocolate, coffee, tobacco, cumin and more, all from a classic blend of water, hops, yeast and specialty malts.

This multi-award winning Barrel Aged Imperial Stout is hefty, yet smooth, managing moderate bitterness coined against rich, prune-like sweetness and smoky vanilla aromas thanks to Whipper Snapper Distillery’s American oak whiskey barrels.

FOOD MATCH

Slow-cooked beef brisket

Strong, hard cheeses

Rich desserts

Quality cheese & honey

ABV: 6.0% RRP: $20 per four-pack holgateshop.com

ABV: 5.2% RRP: $20 per four-pack exitbrewing.com

ABV: 5.7% RRP: $19 per four-pack littlebang.com.au

ABV: 10.4% RRP: $35 per four-pack margaretriverbrewhouse.com.au

SHOOT LOCATION: Pasadena Sydney 1858 Pittwater Rd, Church Point NSW 2105 PHOTO: Oneill Photographics oneillphotographics.com.au

WINTER 2021 29

BEER & BREWER AWARDS

2021 BEER & BREWER BEST BEER VENUES

OUR AWARDS RETURN TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE BEST BEER VENUE AND BREWPUB IN AUSTRALIA. WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY GIFFORD LEE.

2021 Best Beer Venues

fter the year and more we’ve all had the utter joy of standing at the bar of your local pub or brewpub with a glass of fresh beer in hand may never be taken for granted again and Beer & Brewer is more excited than ever to be recognising the venues that provide that

pleasure. And just maybe this year’s awards for our Best Beer Venue and Best Brewpub in Australia hold a different meaning than before as the things we hold so dear and value the most have been brought into closer focus because they were taken away from us for so long in 2020. To determine this year’s winners we have conducted a weighted points voting system where a number of votes are allocated to a particular venue depending on where it was placed in the judge’s top five list. Therefore, despite multiple amazing venues making a judge’s list, if they weren’t consistently voted for across the panel they lost out through the share weight of numbers against them. And we know awards are fickle things. They are a reflection of a moment in time that has then been reflected by a judging panel. Australia’s beer bars and brewpubs are world-class and we salute them all.

The judges Rushani Epa Timeout Melbourne, Food & Drink Editor

Vanessa Cavasinni Australian Hotelier, Editor

Liam Pereira Batch Brewing Group, Venue Manager

Jono Outred Beer Writer

Chris Lukianenko The Beer Healer Marie Claire Jarratt New South Ales Andy Young TheShout, Editor

Justin Fox Bintani, Head of Sales Tim Charody The Beer Pilgrim Ross Lewis The Sip, Editor

www.beerandbrewer.com

Richard Kelsey Beer Cartel, Director Simon Collins The West Australian, Journalist Tiffany Waldron Pink Boots Society AU, President James Atkinson Drinks Adventures

Sammy Preston Urban List, Sydney Editor Rick Stephens Urban List, Melbourne Editor Ioana Dragnef Urban List, QLD Editor Claire Logan Urban List, Perth Editor

Clint Weaver Pocketbeagles

Dorian Broomhall Beer Writer

Jessie Jungalwalla Craft Instinct, Pack Leader

Harrison Westlake The Brew Hop

Grace Irwin Hop Products Australia, Marketing Specialist Michael Capaldo Hop Products Australia, National Sales Manager

Matt Farrelly & Joslyn Erickson Hop On Brewery Tours Connor Tracey-Patte Plonk Beer & Wine Gifford Lee Beer & Brewer, Editor

2021 Best Beer Venues

BEST BEER VENUE WINNER 2021

#1 Royal Albert Hotel 140 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills NSW 2010 royalalberthotel.com.au Just what makes a beer venue great? That question was challenged more than ever this year by our judges as COVID forced us all to re-evaluate just what was truly important – not just in a pub but in every facet of life. And one of the things we discovered was that beer, while obviously integral, wasn’t the be-all-and-end-all. The most important things were a trusted familiarity, of being a truly local establishment and of being something to everyone. In the 10th anniversary year since he bought the nigh on 100-year-old venue, publican Mick Bain said the 2021 award was recognition of the Albert simply being a pub with good beer principles. “We’ve never tried to have the biggest, baddest, most ridiculous beers. We’ve always had a lager, we’ve always had a pilsner and a pale ale. At least 60 per cent of our customers aren’t beer nerds – they just want to come to a pub and have a beer. “And I think it is consistency. We’ve always prided ourselves on the basics of good beer – good staff knowledge and super clean beer lines. We’re basically just an old school pub and I’m an old school publican where things like clean beer taps and glasses and properly refrigerated beer is of the utmost importance. There are four or five old school pub rules to go by and it’s something we’ve always done here and I

“WE’VE ALWAYS PRIDED OURSELVES ON THE BASICS OF GOOD BEER,” MICK BAIN

think is one of the keys to our success.”

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “A stand-out performer when it comes to curating a balanced list of outstanding beers and ensuring they reach the customer in peak condition.” “A great range of beers that change regularly and are from all over the country. Mick’s always good for a chat and a recommendation and you’ve got to love those dumplings!” “A champion of Australia’s craft beer scene for many years.” “Mick’s Taps ‘n Tins initiative last year to save keg beer from the drain has to be one of the beer and brewing industry’s most endearing memories of the shit storm that was 2020.”

WINTER 2021 31

BEST BEER VENUES

#3 Carwyn Cellars #2 Bitter Phew 1/137 Oxford St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010 bitterphew.com The 2017 and 2020 winner of our Best Beer Venue award also placed in the top five in 2018 and 2019.

877 High St, Thornbury VIC 3071 carwyncellars.com.au Not just a great venue, they also won our Best Bottleshop award last year and almost the Best Online retailer too.

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “The crown jewel of the Melbourne craft beer scene. Opened in Thornbury before it was cool, and boasting 20-plus taps of consistently mind-blowing beer, the only bad thing about this venue is the difficulty in deciding what to drink!”

WHAT THE PANEL SAID:

#4 The Local Taphouse

“For so many reasons this is a top beer bar – from the staff, the atmosphere, the location and their consistency, to a refined but eclectic selection of the very best beers and new beers from here and around the world. No two visits are ever the same.”

184 Carlisle St, St Kilda East VIC 3183 thelocal.com.au The 2015 winner and 2016 runner-up of our Best Beer Venue award, it’s been a fixture in the top 10 every year.

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “A consistently amazing selection of craft beer on a large and broad scale but they never lose sight of the customer and each and every individual tends to leave feeling like their experience was curated just for them. A benchmark venue from day one.”

#5 Dutch Trading Co 243 Albany Hwy, Victoria Park WA 6100

#6 The Union Hotel 576 King St, Newtown NSW 2042 unionnewtown.com.au

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “Throughout the craziness of the last 12 months Luke and the team at the Union Hotel have kicked their beer events and tap line-ups into hyper-drive with some stellar beers and showcasing some amazing breweries.”

thedutchtradingco.com.au The 2018 winner of our Best Beer Venue award, they’ve now placed inside the top five every year since 2016.

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “They just continue to hold their spot as the top beer venue in Perth with an impressive 26 rotating taps and insane selection of international varieties you won’t find anywhere else. Ask any beer snob in Perth where to go and they’ll invariably send you here.”

#7 The Winston Bar 381 Elizabeth St, North Hobart TAS 7000 thewinstonbar.com

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “No beer bar rises to the challenge of being ‘the local’ better than The Winston with a selection of their own beers alongside national and imported ones covering a range of styles. There’s always something interesting and importantly always something plain too. Old mate has his 4pm lager there every day and the total non-pretentious nature of the place is what makes this the best beer bar in Australia. Sometimes it’s more than just the beer that makes the place.”

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2021 Best Beer Venues

BEST BEER VENUES: STATE RESULTS

#8 The Grain Store 64-66 Scott St, Newcastle East NSW 2300 grainstore.beer

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “It brings everything that people love about craft beer together in the one great venue. Their amazing craft beer-inspired food matches a huge, vibrant and diverse beer list with 21 taps pouring well looked after, fresh beer. Their focus on locally crafted beer and independent Aussie breweries is second-to-none.”

#9 Saint John Craft Beer Bar

TOP 10 NSW #1 Royal Albert #2 Bitter Phew #3 The Union #4 The Grain Store #5 The Taphouse #6 Forrest Lodge #7 The Noble Hops #8 Shady Pines #9 Hotel Sweeney’s #10 Beer Deluxe (King St)

TOP 10 VIC #1 Carwyn Cellars #2 The Local Taphouse #3 Mr West #4 Beermash #5 Great Northern #6 Boilermaker House #7 Wye Beach #8 Beer Deluxe (Fed Square) #9 Near & Far #10 Hop Temple

33 St John St, Launceston TAS 7250 saintjohncraftbeer.com.au

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “The place that brings people together in a small town, catering to the most arrogant craft drinker and their no bullshit macro drinking father-in-law. There are few towns or cities that ensure you make the trip to a particular bar every time - Saint John is the exception.”

TOP 5 WA #1 Dutch Trading Co #2 BESK #3 Petition Beer Corner #4 Old Faithful #5 Clancy’s Dunsborough

#10 (tied) Mr West 106 Nicholson St, Footscray VIC 3011 mrwest.com.au

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “No matter what your poison Mr West will more than look after you and do so in a manner that raises the level of expectation each time you visit. Yes they rotate taps and bring in the best and the freshest but there’s an added touch of refinement going on at Mr West.”

TOP 5 TAS #1 The Winston #2 Saint John #3 New Sydney #4 Preachers #5 Boodle Beasley

TOP 5 ACT #1 Old Canberra Inn #2 Brew Nation #3 To All My Friends #4 Hopscotch #5 The Durham

TOP 5 QLD

264/270 Railway Pe, West Leederville WA 6007 besk.com.au

#1 Netherworld #2 Bine Bar #3 Saccharomyces #4 Brewski #5 Scratch

WHAT THE PANEL SAID:

TOP 5 SA

“Perth craft beer lovers are spoiled for choice with specialist craft beer bars and they are as good as any in the country. Besk’s level of service, location, beer offerings (in particular fresh, wild and farmhouse ales) and the dangerously good bottle-shop make them a stand out.”

#1 NOLA #2 Wheatsheaf #3 Gilbert Street #4 The Franklin #5 West Thebby

#10 (tied) Besk

WINTER 2021 33

BEST BREWPUBS

2021 Best Beer Venues

BEST BREWPUB WINNER 2021

“WE’VE GENUINELY ALWAYS TRIED TO BE THE BEST PLACE TO HAVE A BEER IN A BREWERY IN AUSTRALIA,” JUSTIN JOINER, TOP, WITH FELLOW CO-FOUNDERS STEVE JEFFARES, LEFT, AND GUY GREENSTONE

#1 Stomping Ground Brewery & Beer Hall 100 Gipps St, Collingwood VIC 3066 stompingground.beer This award took a year off in 2020 as it normally appears in our Spring magazine but that was when many venues were closed or only partially open. With most now operating at capacity or thereabouts we’ve brought it back early and run it concurrently with the Best Beer Venue award. So technically, for the fourth year in a row, the winner of the Beer & Brewer Best Brewpub in Australia award remains the same after Stomping Ground was named number one in 2017, 2018 and 2019 as well. Which is a remarkable feat because in the intervening years since it was established, when it set the benchmark for brewpubs in Australia, an influx of equally world-class hospitality venues have been opened by breweries across the country. For co-founder Justin Joiner the answer to their successful run is the fact the entire team, since day one, hasn’t lost the passion to be the absolute best. “We’ve genuinely always tried to be the best place to have a beer in a brewery in Australia because of that all encompassing experience – you can see it being made, you can smell the ingredients, you can see the brewers doing their thing and then you can sit there and have a few pints. We’ve tried to create a space where people feel comfortable and tried to create beers with everybody in mind. And the broader offer is one that is accessible to everybody: we’ve got a kids’ cubby house; we’ve got food for lunch and dinner seven days a week; if you’re not in to beer we’ve got wine, spirits and cider as well. We pride ourselves on being a place that is welcoming and accessible to people and we strive to do that everyday – even after trading for almost five years.”

www.beerandbrewer.com

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “With so many amazing brewpubs and taprooms opening in recent years we felt surely this would be the year that someone would knock Stomping Ground from the perch they’ve held since 2017. But Collingwood just consistently appeared on the judges’ picks time and again and its Broadchurch appeal is therefore its greatest strength.” “With fame comes patronage and despite it often being busy the staff and the service are never flustered and you’re able to sink into a relaxing environment and sink whichever beer takes your fancy.” “It’s always raised the bar for brewpubs in Australia.”

The ultimate travel guide showcasing Australia’s amazing breweries, taprooms & brewpubs

THE

GREAT AUSTRALIAN BREWERY GUIDE Free with the Spring issue of Beer & Brewer! Not yet a subscriber? Head to subscribe.beerandbrewer.com

For breweries wanting to be involved, or to find out more information, contact Beer & Brewer’s sales manager Craig Manning cmanning@intermedia.com.au 0418 869 853

BEST BREWPUBS

#2 The Seasonal Brewing Co

#3 Capital Brewing Co

75 Guildford Rd, Maylands WA 6051 seasonalbrewing.beer

3/1 Dairy Rd, Fyshwick ACT 2609 capitalbrewing.co

WHAT THE PANEL SAID:

“Such a well considered place, with all its moving parts oiled and working in unison – from the beer selection through to the staff, the atmosphere and the food to boot. It offers something for everyone – even the dog and the kids.”

“Every time we get to visit Capital we’re always blown away by the great customer service and friendly bar staff. A great team and an amazing space to sit and have a beer. Best burgers in Canberra for sure!”

#4 Hop Nation Brewing Co 6/107-109 Whitehall St, Footscray VIC 3011 hopnation.com.au

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “Hidden away down an industrial laneway the multi-level brewery belies their recent commercial dominance, with a quaint, casual venue where everything is about the beer. Fifteen taps showcasing hefty IPAs, expertly crafted lagers and exquisite barrelaged sours.”

#5 The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel 19 Kent St, The Rocks NSW 2000 lordnelsonbrewery.com

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “When you go back to The Lord Nelson you remember just how good a pub it is and wonder why you stopped going. Great venue, with great beers and fresh Three Sheets on tap. Perfect.”

#6 Moon Dog OG Abbotsford 17 Duke St, Abbotsford VIC 3067 moondogbrewing.com.au

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “If you want waterfalls and tropical lagoons Moon Dog can sort you out at their other venue but here you’ll find a little less shine but no less charm. It’s your friendly neighbourhood fun place to hang-out that just happens to do great beer too.”

www.beerandbrewer.com

2021 Best Beer Venues

#7 The Incubator: Fixation Brewing 414 Smith St, Collingwood VIC 3066 fixationbrewing.com.au

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: “The house of hop worship with a fixation for IPAs – this is where you’ll find the freshest and often the best representations of the style in a friendly, welcoming location. What more could you wish for?”

#8 Beerfarm

#9 Atomic Beer Project

177 Gale Rd, Metricup WA 6280 beerfarm.com.au

158 Regent St, Redfern NSW 2016 atomic.beer

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: WHAT THE PANEL SAID:

“Beerfarm takes best advantage of its location with a low-key but fun venue, with good food offerings and a generally great vibe. More than just a brewpub. It’s an experience.”

“With Atomic we may have seen the future of the brewpub in Australia. Only open since September last year it has redefined Sydney’s taproom scene, matching a classy aesthetic and dining experience with quality, fresh beer.”

#10 Blasta Brewing Company 84-88 Goodwood Pde, Burswood WA 6100 blastabrewing.com

BEST BREWPUBS: STATE RESULTS

WHAT THE PANEL SAID: TOP 5 NSW

TOP 5 VIC

TOP 5 WA

TOP 5 TAS

TOP 5 QLD

TOP 5 SA

#1 Lord Nelson

#1 Seasonal

#1 Hobart Brewing

#1 Milton Common

#1 Little Bang

#2 Atomic

#1 Stomping Ground

#2 Shambles

#3 Foghorn

#2 Hop Nation

#2 Range

#4 Young Henrys #5 Philter

#2 Beerfarm

#3 Blasta #3 Fox Friday #3 Moon Dog OG #4 Shelter #4 Miner’s Gold #4 Fixation #5 Nowhereman #5 Buttons #5 3 Ravens

#3 Precinct #4 Moffatt Beach #5 Felons

#2 Sparkke at The Whitmore #3 Prancing Pony #4 Woolshed #5 Swell

“Much like Blasta’s beers, their venue is going from strengthto-strength as they refine the customer experience and further ingratiate themselves with the community who make the pilgrimage here. Head here for the steak sarny alone.”

WINTER 2021 37

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WINTER 2021 39

HOMEBREWER

40 42 44 46 49 50

Editor’s letters Q&A with John Palmer Jake’s Brew Log NZ brewing scene Show us Yours Recipes

Editor’s letter Howdy folks! Welcome to another frothy issue. This edition sees us travel back to Old Blighty to explore Brown Ale, cross the ditch to look at the New Zealand brew scene and hop back to Canberra where we have a look at a sweet home brewer set up in our continuing Show us Yours series. John Palmer enlightens us on some water chemistry questions and Cryer Malt and Andrew Childs share their tasty recipes with us. Sadly, it will be the last time Andrew sends us one of his recipes as Behemoth become behemoth by nature as well as by name. And don’t forget to hit me up with your home brew set ups and for any queries you would like me to answer.

Jake Brandish HomeBrewer Editor jake@beerandbrewer.com

Cheers, buckle up!

Letters

WRITE IN FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN! TELL US WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND BY EMAILING JAKE@BEERANDBREWER.COM OR THROUGH OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS, FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM: @BEERANDBREWER

HI JAKE, I’ve been on my home brew journey for about 15 years now and it’s been a good hobby to make stuff that I can otherwise get perfectly good examples of from a shop and buy more stuff to make that stuff. The latest itch I have been looking to scratch is growing my own hops. I recall seeing plenty of features about hops and about commercial growers in Australia but I can’t remember one about growing your own. What I would love to see is a feature stepping into the gardening world talking about the ins-and-outs and ups-and-downs of growing hops at home. They seem to grow pretty rigorously, so hearing about tips to contain them in your average Australian backyard while still yielding a good crop would be good. And once you have them, what’s the best way to use them? Going in fresh? Or drying them to keep them for a few brews? How would I keep the crop growing for years to come? What varieties are available to grow at home (as I think only a few are available to commercial hop farms)? Cheers, Paul Thanks for your email Paul. This is a great topic as I am sure many of us have had varying results. I have hops growing in the garden, but the Perth climate is not so kind to them. You are talking to a guy who can kill the hardiest of plants, so let’s find out what the experts say and I will publish the answers in an upcoming edition!

www.beerandbrewer.com

Editor’s Choice HI JAKE, As with all things brewing, trends come and go, and it appears of late fermenting under pressure is in vogue. This is likely due to some lower cost fermenters that are capable of pressurised fermentation becoming available in recent years. From my limited experience and knowledge I’ve been fermenting at around 7.5 PSI, increasing to about 10 PSI in the last few days of fermentation before cold crashing, which reduces the pressure in the vessel. To be honest I’ve been running blind and would like more details on how to go about pressure fermenting. Do you have any tips or traps? What are some of the pros and cons of fermenting under pressure and are there any beer styles that are more or less appropriate to do so? Cheers, David Thanks for your email David. What an awesome question, and yes it is becoming more popular these days. Here is what Chris White of White Labs had to say in answer to you: “Fermenting under pressure is a practice that is commonly done with lagers. Fermenting under pressure reduces yeast growth, which reduces ester production. So if you ferment a lager at 18°C instead of 10°C, it can ferment faster but still produce the lower esters you get with fermenting cooler. People are now experimenting with ales, so you can save energy cooling a fermenter but get a similar result. Lagers fermented under pressure for this effect are usually carried out at 15 PSI.”

HI JAKE, I really enjoy the recipes published in Beer & Brewer and I’ve brewed pretty much all of them since becoming a subscriber. However, since water chemistry can make or break a beer, I’m often left wondering why you don’t publish a recommended target water profile with the recipes? For me, other than transitioning to all grain, water chemistry has made the single biggest improvement to my beer. With the recipes you post, I’ll often come up with something that I think will suit the style. For example the Behemoth Shower Beer (loved it btw!) in your Summer 2020/21 issue, I chose a chloride heavy NEIPA profile, but for all I know the good folk at Behemoth could have intended this as a high sulphate bitter IPA. I’m curious as to your thoughts on this and if it is something you might consider for recipes in the future? Cheers, Tim

Thanks to New Era Brewing, this issue’s Editor’s Choice letter has won the Ss Brewtech 26 litre Brewbucket fermenter made with only the finest brewer’s grade 304 stainless steel. It features a

This is a great topic Tim, and one that could easily be an entire magazine on its own but I do agree water chemistry can make or break a beer. Water chemistry is such a complex topic that it may put off many brewers so we tend not to go into it very much. But if I could ask one person this question, it would be John Palmer! So let’s see what advice he has for us in his Q&A section on page 42.

stackable design, a conical bottom which allows trub to settle and a rotatable racking arm which allows the brewer to rack off clean beer. RRP $269.

Go to: newerabrewing.com.au for more great home brewing equipment.

WINTER 2021 41

Q&A

Water profiles JOHN PALMER, THE GURU OF HOME BREWING, RESPONDS TO A READER’S LETTER REGARDING WATER CHEMISTRY.

ometimes it’s hard to see

MALTY, BALANCED OR HOPPY

information to the previous edition (2006).

the forest for the trees

Fortunately, it is not a difficult choice.

I took everything I learned about adjusting

and so it is with choosing

You have essentially three options: malty,

brewing water from the Water book (2013)

a water profile for your

balanced or hoppy. If you want to accentuate

and distilled it into chapters 21 and 22. One

recipe. But hopefully I can

the maltiness of a beer, you would look at

of those distillations is the Brew Cube on

help you see that forest

your water profile and add more chloride

page 364. The Brew Cube is an easy way to

for what it really is. The primary reason we

than sulfate, such that the concentration of

get a better understanding of how beer style

adjust our brewing water by adding salts

chloride ion was between 50-150 ppm, and

and water profile relate to one another.

and acid is to hit our target mash pH. This

the sulfate concentration in the water was

Briefly, the colour of the beer correlates with

is in the range of 5.2-5.6 as measured 5-15

approximately half of that. If you wanted

the Residual Alkalinity of the water profile,

minutes after doughing in, by taking a

a more balanced profile, equally malty and

with the goal being to achieve your target

sample of wort and cooling it to near room

hoppy, you would make the concentrations

mash pH. The beer style flavour balance

temperature before measuring it with a

more even. They don’t have to be exact,

corresponds to the sulfate to chloride ratio,

calibrated digital pH meter.

but within 10-20 per cent of each other.

and the mineral structure (of the style soft,

If you want to accentuate the dryness and

medium, or firm) is the magnitude of the

to accentuate the beer flavours. There is

hoppiness of the beer, then you would

seasoning and corresponds to the calcium

no single answer to what the correct water

add more sulfate than chloride, to a ratio

concentration of the water profile that you

profile for a recipe should be because it

of 2:1 or 3:1 – even up to 5:1, but I don’t

build. I should note that most beer styles are

depends on the ingredients in that beer

recommend exceeding 300 ppm sulfate, even

soft or medium, meaning the total amount

recipe and on your tastes. Do you stress

for a West Coast IPA. The amount of calcium

of salts that you add to the water (as

about the water profile for your soup? No,

salts that you add, and the final water profile

represented by the final calcium

because you adjust it to your taste and it

is up to you. There is no optimum profile,

concentration) should be low or medium,

should be the same with your beer. Once

there are only guidelines and what you think

otherwise the beer could taste minerally or

you have the mash pH in the right ballpark,

tastes good. Typically, you need at least 50

even metallic.

the beer pH should fall in line as well

ppm of an ion to have an effect, and you

(typically 4.0-4.6). As I say in the 2017

don’t want to exceed 150 ppm, although

how do you know what mineral profile to use

edition of How To Brew, chapter 21, page 332,

sulfate is the exception.

for the Behemoth Here Comes a Shower Beer

The second reason is to season the beer

using the spaghetti sauce example: “The

So, getting back to your original question of

Hazy Session IPA? Well, given the fact that

pH of the beer controls the way flavours are

THE BREW CUBE

it is a hazy IPA, you surmised correctly that

expressed to your palate, while the water

I explain all of this in chapter 22 Adjusting

you would want more chloride that sulfate.

profile – the minerals in the water – are the

Water for Style in How To Brew. If you don’t

But that is Step 2. We need to begin with the

seasonings for your beer”. And that choice

have the 2017 edition, I strongly suggest

source water. Since I don’t know what your

is yours to make.

you get it because I added 200 pages of

(or their) source water might be, I will use the

Home Brewer

BEHEMOTH HAZY SESSION IPA Step 1 Source water: Here’s an example surface water profile for Wellington. The mineral levels are all less than 20 ppm, with the exception of the Total Alkalinity, but even that is less than 50 ppm. This water is fine to use as-is, although you may want to carbon filter it, or add ascorbic acid to remove any residual chlorine/chloramine.

WELLINGTON NZ SURFACE WATER PROFILE Calcium

Magnesium

Total Alkalinity

Sulfate

Chloride

Sodium

Residual Alkalinity

Step 2 Adding Salts: The first priority is to achieve target mash pH and we can help that by increasing the calcium and magnesium. The hazy IPA style is typically soft, and this is a session hazy, so it should be softer as well, therefore a suggested calcium level of 50-75 ppm per the Brew Cube. Using brewing software, such as the Palmer Water Adjustment app on your phone, you can add 6 grams of calcium chloride and 2 grams of magnesium sulfate to 30 litres of water to achieve a profile of: water report for Wellington in New Zealand. There are two basic kinds of water: surface and ground. Surface water is low mineral, high organics. Ground

SALT ADDITIONS TO WELLINGTON SURFACE WATER PROFILE Calcium

Magnesium

Total Alkalinity

Sulfate

Chloride

Sodium

Residual Alkalinity

106

(–20)

water is usually high mineral, low organics. The low mineral content of surface water – all mineral concentrations less that 50 ppm, indeed, often less than 20 ppm – means that you can add your brewing salts to it without really worrying about the initial composition, because you are generally looking at additions that will result in concentrations between 50-100 ppm or higher. Ground water on the other hand, often has significant mineral levels (50-ish ppm) and high alkalinity – often greater than 100 ppm. Alkalinity generally needs to be neutralised with acid before brewing pale beers, but it balances the acidity of caramel and roast malts in amber or

This is a better profile because it boosts the calcium to the recommended minimum level of 50 ppm and increases the magnesium, which is always good for the yeast health. The chloride is about 100 ppm, which is decent, and the sulfate level is low, which will help the beer taste fuller and less dry. The residual alkalinity is better, but probably should go lower, towards –100 per the Brew Cube. Step 3 Adding Acid: To achieve a residual alkalinity of –100, the brewing software recommends the addition of 4ml of 88 per cent lactic acid to the 30 litres of water we are treating. This changes the profile to:

ACID ADDITION TO WELLINGTON SURFACE WATER PROFILE

dark beers.

Calcium

Magnesium

Total Alkalinity

Sulfate

Chloride

Sodium

Residual Alkalinity

(–49)

106

(–98)

Step 4 The actual additions: This water profile should produce a very good session hazy IPA. It is a soft profile, but provides sufficient calcium and magnesium for yeast health, the right sort of sulfate to chloride ratio and chloride level for the style, and enough negative residual alkalinity to hit a mash pH target around 5.4. To actually build this water, I would put the 30 litres in either the hot liquor tank or mash tun and add the 4ml of lactic acid. I would stir to mix the acid and neutralise the alkalinity, and then add the 6 grams of calcium chloride and 2 grams of magnesium sulfate. Adding the acid first will help the salts to dissolve more easily. Stir until the salts are dissolved, then proceed with the brew. In summary, you need to understand that there is no single perfect mineral profile because it depends on what you like. The calcium chloride could easily be swapped for calcium sulfate to change the hop character to a more West Coast style, or both could be used to make it more balanced. That choice is up to you. Remember: beer and brewing is food and cooking.

WINTER 2021 43

JAKE’S BREW LOG

Brown (Mild) Ale AS WE MOVE INTO THE COOLER MONTHS, MANY DRINKERS ARE TURNING TO DARKER ALES AND LAGERS TO WARM THE COCKLES OF THEIR HEARTS. A BEAUTIFULLY RICH BROWN ALE HAS TO BE ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BEERS – AT ANY TIME OF THE YEAR! JOIN ME AS WE GET INTO SOME FUDGE, DARK CHOCOLATE, CARAMEL BEERS!

ast your mind back to Old

different style of beer than its original self.

Blighty around the 1800s.

I do remember working in a pub in the UK,

relatively low ABV ales – around the 2.8 to 3.4 per cent mark with low levels of bitterness

London was a very dark and

where Davey boy would insist I keep his bottles

– so they were very common among the

gloomy place and there was

of Mild next to the fan of the chiller – which as

working class. Not many of these Brown Ales

a style of beer emerging

you may or may not know blows out warm air.

exist any more. Of course Brown Ales and

that was becoming quite

If they were not warm, he would abuse me – in

Milds were brewed in a great many breweries

a friendly barkeeper kind of way!

and one of my absolute favourites is a

popular. Moving away from the Pale Ales and IPAs, a brown ale was gaining popularity and

Belhaven 60/- (shilling) ale. These were all

was mostly known back then as a ‘Mild’. This

BROWN IS THE NEW… BROWN

may have been due to the fact that darker

When we start looking at Brown Ale, we also

roasted malts were not only easier to get a

have to consider where they came from and

ale and marketed theirs with great success in

hold of, but also cheaper, so many of the

where they went. As the popularity of the

the early 1900s. A few decades later the world

early Milds or Brown Ales would have been

term Brown Ale caught on, the term Mild was

famous Newcastle Brown Ale was introduced.

brewed with 100 per cent brown malt. Later,

not so common any more. The low ABV ale

“Newkie Brown” is a sweet, malty beer that’s

as malting became more precise and efficient,

soon became more robust, more bitter and

wonderfully rich and not too roasty. This beer

pale and ale malts were used as the base malt

in the case of our US cousins quite a bit more

really made Brown Ales popular again and

with a smaller amount of darker malts added

hop forward. With evolution it could be said

gained global recognition.

to the grist to achieve the same Brown Ale

that the original Brown Ale doesn’t really

properties. This Mild ale later became known

exist any more. So when does a Brown Ale not

THE ‘POPE OF FOAM’ SAYS

as a Brown Ale, and, like many other styles,

become a Brown Ale?!

I got in touch with Professor Charlie

has changed and morphed into an entirely

44 Home Brewer

The original Mild or Brown Ales were

very much malt-dominant beers. Mann’s Brown Ale revived the old style of

Bamforth to get his views on Mild – a beer

close to his heart: “Mild Ale is perceived as a drink for oldies (like me I guess!). That’s such a shame, because it is a style that can be beautifully

The Scottish Mild Belhaven 60/- Clone Recipe

rounded and drinkable. It is very much to do with the malt and not the hops. When I think about Mild these days I have in mind a pronounced toffee, nutty richness coming from caramelised malts and not too much alcohol but superbly drinkable. Of course, the original Milds were simply the young beers from a brewery and not necessarily darker ones. On my first undergraduate day at University in 1970 my lunch was a bag of crisps and a pint of Mitchell & Butlers Mild – a beer from the Black Country in the English West Midlands of course. Workers way back when in the steel foundries thereabouts used to have Mild Ale brought into the

All grain (expected figures) OG: 1.034 FG: 1.006 ABV: 3.7% IBU: 21 Volume: 19 litres

factories: it was rehydrating, easy on the parched throat and nutritious.

Extract with specialty grains (expected figures) OG: 1.034 FG: 1.006 ABV: 3.7% IBU: 21 Volume: 19 litres

My personal favourite is Banks’ Mild (pronounced “Bonksies”) from

Ingredients

Wolverhampton (home of my beloved Wanderers). Just 3.5% ABV but

2.3kg Pale malt

Ingredients

50g Light/med crystal malt

1.9kg Pale malt extract

50g Black Malt

50g Light/med crystal malt

31g East Kent Goldings hop pellets

50g Black Malt

simply succulent. In these days, when so many are shooting for ever higher ABV and also bigger and bigger hoppiness, there is much to be said for a Mild Ale like this one to illustrate the beauty that can be had from malt. High time for a lot of folks to get retro and discover the

6g Fuggles hop pellets

31g East Kent Goldings hop pellets

BREW DAY

Whirlfloc tablet (optional)

6g Fuggles hop pellets

Today we’re going to brew a Scottish Mild - in fact a 60/- (shilling) ale.

Scottish Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1728 or similar)

Whirlfloc tablet (optional)

tremendous potential of Mild Ales in the lower alcohol sector.”

Beautiful rich toffee, caramel and malt tones should dominate this beer with a low to moderate hop bitterness with a bittersweet, dry finish. This is my version of a Belhaven 60/- ale, so go on and get yae kilt on and crack intae it. If you can get some Golden Promise malt, substitute

Method 1.

that for the Pale. Getting your water right is going to be crucial so look for an Edinburgh water profile. Get a good quality Scottish Ale yeast and

Mash all grains at 67°C for 60 minutes.

Sparge and transfer to kettle, and bring to boil.

Once boiling add 25g EKG hops for a 90 minute boil.

With 10 minutes left on the boil, add 6g of EKG hops, 6g Fuggles hops, and whirlfloc if using.

ferment at 16°C.

Charlie Bamforth

Scottish Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1728 or similar)

Transfer to the fermenter and cool to 16°C, then pitch yeast.

Maintain ferment temp at 16°C.

Once FG stabilises, keg or bottle conditioning for 4 weeks minimum. Slainthe!

Method 1.

Steep cracked grains in 5 litres of 67°C water for 60 minutes, then drain.

Slowly dissolve the extract in 3 or 4 litres of warm water along with the 5 litres of wort from mini mash whilst bringing to the boil.

Once boiling add 25g EKG hops for a 90 minute boil.

With 10 minutes left on the boil, add 6g of EKG hops, 6g Fuggles hops, and whirlfloc if using.

Add fresh clean and cool water to a volume of 20 litres at 16°C.

Check the temperature then pitch yeast.

Maintain ferment temp at 16°C.

Once FG stabilises, keg or bottle condition for four weeks minimum. Slainthe!

WINTER 2021 45

FEATURE

Hopping across the ditch JAKE BRANDISH LOOKS AT THE BREWING SCENE IN NEW ZEALAND.

ou’ve got to hand it to the

the craft beer scene over there is nothing

Kiwis, they really know how

less than impressive.

to do things properly. Just

While commercial beer has been brewed in

For a small country with a population of 4.8 million people, their brewery scene is impressive by any measure. With more

take a look at their Prime

New Zealand since 1835, their craft brewing

than 200 listed breweries, they have more

Minister Jacinda Ardern –

industry is fledgling by global standards and it

breweries per capita than Australia, USA, and

who in my book is a legend.

wasn’t until the late 1980s that a few breweries

the UK! Thirsty bunch!

Anyone who plays Metallica with the kids

started to pop up. Some will argue about who

is OK by me and she even got behind the

is the oldest or the first – as would probably

THE HOP SCENE

awesome young band Alien Weaponry. If you

happen in any other region – but it seems that

Hops play a vital role in the success of New

haven’t heard of them, do yourself a favour.

Mike’s Brewery in Taranaki may be the first.

Zealand brewing. They can be quite a finicky

Then there are the All Blacks. Even if you’re

Once a lager dominated market, the craft

plant to grow, but when they are happy they

a Wallabies supporter you have to admit they

beer sector has seen phenomenal growth

flourish and as it turns out New Zealand

know a thing or two about egg ball. Add in the

in the intervening years with ales growing

has plenty of what they need! Latitude

Finn brothers, Lord of the Rings, Kiwi fruit

rapidly in popularity. The fact that many of

is a highly important component of that

and, well, you get the picture.

the original start-up breweries were run by

and New Zealand, or more specifically

ex-pats, who naturally brewed the ales they

the Nelson region in the upper reaches of

the ditch have been turning out world class

missed from home, it’s little wonder the

the South Island, is perfectly situated. NZ

drops for years. Steinlager was always my

industry took much of its initial inspiration

Hops’ CEO Craig Orr told Beer & Brewer hop

favourite of the big brewery lagers and it’s

from the British Isles. Along with a Kiwi can-

growing there dates back to the 1830s when

won multiple global awards over the years.

do attitude and the availability of high quality

they were first grown in Nelson. Today

The Kiwi approach to brewing is superb and

ingredients, the rest, as they say, is history.

they are producing over a million tonnes of

When it comes to beer, our cuzzies over

Home Brewer

New Zealand-style Pale Ale America’s Brewers Association now defines it as:

Perceived Bitterness: Low to medium-high.

Colour: Straw to medium amber.

Fermentation Characteristics: Low to medium fruity esters are acceptable but not essential.

Clarity: Yeast, chill and/or hop haze may be present in at low levels but are not essential. Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavour: Very low to medium Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavour: Medium to medium-high, exhibiting attributes such as tropical fruit, passionfruit, and/or stone-fruit, cut grass and diesel.

Body: Medium-low to medium with a dry finish. Additional notes: Overall impression is a well-integrated easy drinking, refreshing Pale Ale style with distinctive fruity hop aromas and Behemoth’s uses NZ flavours. Diacetyl is absent in these Cascade, Motueka, Nelson Sauvin, Pacific beers. DMS should not be present. Jade & Riwaka

hops per year with 85 per cent of their

With this has come global attention –

yield going to export markets. They

not just for the hop varieties but the

are responsible for giving the brewing

Kiwi brewing scene in general.

world unique and popular hops like

In February this year, in a response

Motueka, Nelson Sauvin, Wakatu,

to their popularity with international

Pacific Gem, Wai-iti, and the new kid

brewers, America’s Brewers

on the block Nectaron. There are 18

Association added the New Zealand-

varieties of New Zealand grown hops

style Pale Ale and New Zealand-style

in the global market, with six of them

India Pale Ale – which are defined,

being certified organic.

among other things, by the Kiwi hops

As hops have become the prominent

they feature – to their list of officially

force driving the international craft

recognised beer styles. So when

industry via hop-forward beers,

international breweries are brewing

New Zealand has made their varieties a

your native craft beers, you know an

unique and much sought after commodity.

impression has been made.

Garage Project founders Jos Ruffell, left, and Pete Gillespie

A PROJECT IN THE GARAGE Garage Project’s Jos Ruffell told me the Kiwi brewery he co-founded started out in 2011 on a 50 litre pilot system with the simple view of getting their hometown of Wellington interested in a different approach to beer and that “things really took off from there”. The willingness of locals to give something new a go and word of mouth were the keys to their early success he said while the uniqueness of the country’s hop varieties was why he felt the industry has taken off as a whole and why New Zealand products gain such global attention. Jos added that the industry has been sustained by the high number of new breweries and brewpubs opening on a regular basis – both in metro and regional areas. “Kiwis are just open to trying something different and new,” he said.

WINTER 2021 47

FEATURE

Kiwi Hazy Pale Ale Recipe All grain (expected figures)

Extract with specialty grain (expected figures)

OG: 1.062 FG: 1.012 ABV: 6.6% IBU: 35 Volume: 25 litres

Ingredients

5kg Pale Malt

4kg Pale Malt extract

1.5kg Pale Wheat malt

1.2kg Pale Wheat malt extract

750g Rolled Oats

250g Rolled Wheat

100g Nelson Sauvin

200g Nectaron

I had the pleasure of catching up with Mark and Jen from Freestyle

200g Riwaka

Brewing in Perth recently and honestly you couldn’t meet nicer

WLP008 East Coast Ale yeast

folk. They emigrated from New Zealand in 2009, bringing their

Method

KIWI STYLE

Kiwi can-do attitude with them, and their small, family-owned

Pre heat water to 77°C, adjust pH to 5.6.

Mill grains then mash with rolled oats/wheat at 67°C, adjust mash pH to 5.3 - 5.4.

and operated brewery in Bassendean is the epitome of Aotearoa craft beer. Their beers are super fresh and of the highest quality. Mark paid tribute to Epic, Tuatara, 8 Wired, Monteith’s and Mac’s and said his first Epic Armageddon IPA set him on his craft beer journey, changing his life forever. Jen said she can remember going to Bar Bodega in Wellington when it was the only place in

They said there were many reasons why the Kiwi brewing

Add 100g Nelson Sauvin hops at 5 minutes left on the boil.

Add 100g Nectaron and 100g Riwaka at flameout and wort has dropped to 90°C.

Cool wort to 21°C and transfer to fermenter.

Pitch WLP008 ale yeast into well aerated wort and ferment at 19°C, for best results prepare a yeast starter.

Transfer to fermenter and top up with cool fresh water, making sure wort is 21°C.

Pitch WLP008 ale yeast into well aerated wort and ferment at 19°C, for best results prepare a yeast starter.

Dry hop with 100g Nectaron and 100g Riwaka for two days

Crash cool, bottle or keg as usual.

pointed to the availability of high quality ingredients and brewing water. As New Zealand has perfect growing conditions They said Epic was the brewery to watch in the early days as they were pushing the envelope and bringing foreign styles to New Zealand. But nowadays Garage Project have taken the reins and are leading the scene with their innovation and attitude of challenging style guidelines and, of course, a dedication to producing consistently high quality beer.

Dry hop with 100g Nectaron and 100g Riwaka for two days.

Crash cool, bottle or keg as usual.

BREW DAY, BRO! This Kiwi Hazy Pale Ale recipe, which showcases fabulous New Zealand hops, has been kindly shared by Mark and Jen from Freestyle. Mark said: “This hazy has low bitterness but just enough perceived bitterness to balance the beer and let the juicy Kiwi hops shine. The key to a good haze is lots of protein malts, lots of late kettle hop additions and lots of dry hops. Keeping the malt profile simple will also put the New Zealand hops at the forefront and bring out their fruity character. It is also important to source fresh vibrant hops from the current season for maximum impact”.

48 Home Brewer

Slowly dissolve the extract in the 5 litres of mini mash liquid, add 3 litres fresh water and bring to the boil.

of new things and brewing is no exception. Mark and Jen also

for barley and hops, they have access to first class ingredients.

Transfer to kettle and boil wort for 60 minutes or until OG is reached.

scene was flourishing but that the overall culture of the people was the key aspect. Kiwis are very supportive and accepting

Steep oats and wheat (in a muslin bag or hop bag) in 5 litres of 67°C water for 60 minutes, then drain.

the whole country where you could get all three beers Tuatara had on offer at the time. How times have changed!

PHOTOS PAGE

Show us yours HOWDY FOLKS! IT LOOKS LIKE THE NEW SEGMENT IS POPULAR! IT’S BEEN SO GREAT TO SEE ALL YOUR SET UPS SO PLEASE KEEP SENDING THEM TO JAKE@BEERANDBREWER.COM.

n this edition we’re featuring Tim from Canberra and I’m sure you’ll agree with me – dude has a pretty sweet set up! Well done Tim. He writes: “My system is a 50 litre, three volt set up using a home-made controller based on a Raspberry Pi computer board running CraftBeerPi 3. Everything is controlled by the touchscreen which is just a repurposed ASUS tablet but I can also control it remotely from my phone or laptop. I went a little

overboard with LEDs so the box glows red while booting up or if I’ve forgotten to put the key in the ignition, and then green when it’s ready to brew. “The controller has five temperature probes currently monitoring the HLT, MLT,

HERMS, BLK and the plate chiller as well as full control of the three pumps. After some tweaking and mucking around, the controller is now more than capable of maintaining temps with scary accuracy using a PID algorithm. The only thing not connected to the controller is the gas burner for the boiler as I’m too worried about an earth shattering ka-boom. I have also built in additional relays and a power supply to drive up to seven solenoids to fully automate the transfers – which is a work in progress. I’m also in the process of building a hop-dropper for the boil kettle for automated hop additions as well as integrating some flow sensors to help monitor pot levels (for when the solenoids go in). “Stainless-wise, it currently consists of a 50 litre mash tun, a 50 litre HLT using a converted keg and a 70 litre LPG powered boiler. There’s only one element in the system located in the HLT which in turn heats the MLT via a HERMS coil. For my brew stand I’ve just used an old coffee table and lamp table that I reinforced and added some galvanised sheeting to. Fermentation is currently a SS Brewtech Unitank running off a slightly modified Kegland G20 glycol chiller (modified to run the pumps off an external source ie. Brewtech FTSs). I have also converted a 50 litre keg by adding a cooling coil and a home-made neoprene jacket as a second fermenter if I need the space, otherwise it sometimes also gets used as a bright tank”.

Send pics of your own set up to jake@beerandbrewer.com and you might see yourself in the mag one day!

WINTER 2021 49

RECIPE

Mocha Madness

All grain (expected figures)

Extract with specialty grains (expected figures)

OG: 1.080 FG: 1.018 ABV: 8% IBU: 65 Volume: 19 litres

Ingredients

5.3kg Pale Ale Malt

3.8kg Pale Malt Extract

250g Bairds Pale Chocolate Malt

250g Bairds Light Crystal Malt

250g Bairds Medium Crystal

250g Bairds Medium Crystal Malt

150g Bairds Dark Chocolate Malt

250g Malted Oats

250g Bairds Light Crystal Malt 250g Malted Oats 150g Bairds Roasted Barely 400g Lactose

Mocha Imperial Stout

150g Bairds Dark Chocolate Malt 150g Bairds Roasted Barely

150g Simcoe hops

AFTER EIGHT YEARS CONTRIBUTING RECIPES TO BEER & BREWER BEHEMOTH’S FOUNDER ANDREW CHILDS FINALLY CALLS LAST DRINKS BUT NOT BEFORE DISHING UP ONE FOR THE ROAD – THE 2018 GABS AUCKLAND PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD WINNER.

400g Lactose

100g cocoa powder

25g Columbus hops

2 litres Cold brew coffee

150g Simcoe hops

Whitelabs 001, Wyeast 1272 or Safe Ale US-05

100g Cocoa powder

25g Columbus hops

2 litres Cold brew coffee

Method

Whitelabs 001, Wyeast 1272 or Safe Ale US-05

Smack liquid yeast pack or hydrate dry yeast.

Bring 4 litres of water to 66°C then add cracked malt (in a muslin sack) and mash for 30 minutes.

Remove grain, add 2 or 3 litres water, stir in extract and bring to the boil.

Method 1.

Smack liquid yeast pack or hydrate dry yeast.

chocolate into one big

Mash all malts at 66°C.

Mocha Madness. When

Sparge and bring to a boil.

Add 25g Columbus then boil for 60 minutes.

Add 25g Columbus hops then boil for 60 minutes.

Shortly after flameout add lactose and 150g of Simcoe hops, then whirlpool for a few minutes.

Cool to 19°C and pitch yeast.

Add fresh cool water to reach 20 litres at 19°C.

Brewer as life gets busier.

Ferment at 19°C.

Something’s gotta give!

After initial ferment has subsided, sterilise all the equipment you will use to stir cocoa powder into the cold brew coffee and add to fermenter.

Once at 19°C, pitch your yeast and maintain temperature.

After initial ferment has subsided, sterilise all the equipment you will use to stir cocoa powder into the cold brew coffee and add to fermenter.

Do a diacetyl rest at 22°C towards end of fermentation.

10.

Bottle or keg as usual then enjoy with mates.

“We decided to really bring our love of coffee and

brewing this, be careful as the cocoa powder can stay in suspension if not conditioned for long enough. Also, don’t drink this too late at night or the caffeine may get ya. On a sadder note, this will be my last recipe for Beer &

So I hope you’ve enjoyed making and drinking these beers as much as my team and I have since starting to contribute recipes before

Behemoth even existed. Enjoy and brew well!”

10.

Home Brewer

Do a diacetyl rest at 22°C towards end of fermentation. Bottle or keg as usual then enjoy with mates.

RECIPE

Cryer Malt’s Smoke on the Porter Recipe (expected figures) OG: 1.060 FG: 1.013 ABV: 6.2% IBU: 42 Volume: 20 litres

Ingredients 3.6 kg Thomas Fawcett Golden Promise Malt 1kg BESTMALZ BEST smoked Malt 500g Bairds Medium Crystal Malt 250g Bairds Black Malt 8g Yakima Chief Hops Pahto Hop Pellets 45g Yakima Chief Hops Chinook Hop Pellets 2 x packets of the 40mL WLP001 California Ale Yeast sachets

Method

Cryer Malt’s SMOKE ON THE PORTER OUR GOOD MATES AT CRYER MALT HAVE BEEN KIND ENOUGH TO SHARE THIS RECIPE WITH US AND IT LOOKS TO BE A RIPPER! IF YOU’RE NOT LIPSMACKING WHILE READING IT MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR GP. NOW, GO BREW!

inter is here which means it’s time for those darker beers which can

1. Mill grains and prepare strike water.

2. Mash at 67°C for 60 minutes.

Recirculate, sparge, and transfer to kettle.

Bring to the boil and add the Pahto hops for a 60 minute boil.

Add 15g Chinook hops with 10 mins left on the boil.

Add 15g Chinook hops with 5 mins left on the boil.

Once the boil has finished, whirlpool for 20 minutes.

Transfer to the fermenter, cool to 18°C and pitch yeast.

Once fermentation begins, allow the temperature to free rise to 22°C.

10.

Once terminal gravity has been reached, add 15g Chinook hops. Dry hop for four days.

11.

After four days crash chill to 0°C for three days.

12.

Bottle or keg and enjoy.

stoke a fire in the belly! Cryer Malt has crafted up this recipe for a Smoky Porter with an American twist. One of the world’s most-loved base malts, Thomas Fawcett’s Golden Promise, provides the backbone for this delicious delight. The robust, dark body is crafted with Bairds Malt specialty malts which also add nutty, chocolate, vanilla flavours and

malty sweetness. The real secret ingredient comes from BESTMALZ® Smoked Malt which provides the beer with an elegant smoked note that ties everything together nicely. Finally, a dose of Yakima Chief Hops’ Chinook gives this beer the classic American pine and spicy notes which sit in harmony with the darker malts.

WINTER 2021 51

CANNED BEER

“CANS HAVE CHANGED THE FACE OF HOW WE DO BUSINESS,” ANDREW CHILDS, BEHEMOTH

www.beerandbrewer.com

CANNED BEER

Canned Goods NEW ZEALAND’S BEHEMOTH BREWING HAS BEEN A PIONEER OF THE CANNED BEER FORMAT IN A COUNTRY THAT TO THIS DAY STILL LOVES PUTTING ITS CRAFTIES IN BOTTLES. BUT AS BEHEMOTH HAVE GROWN SO TOO HAS THE KIWI TASTE FOR A TINNY AND FOUNDER ANDREW CHILDS THINKS THERE’S NO LOOKING BACK NOW. GIFFORD LEE SPOKE WITH HIM ALONGSIDE SOME OF THE LEADING CANNING EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS AND MOBILE OPERATORS IN AUSTRALASIA.

ive to six years ago, after taking inspiration from Colonial Brewing’s 360-degree rip-lids on their Small Ale cans, Andrew Childs, founder of New Zealand’s Behemoth Brewing Company, for the first time put his

beer in a tinny – something that generally has a very different meaning on that side of the Tasman (look up the likes of Behemoth’s own Reeferendum IPA for ideas here). Fast-forward to the present and the now multiaward winning brewery has one of the most prodigious canned beer outputs in the Southern Hemisphere. In 2020, where they grew 115 per cent compared to the previous year’s production levels, they released a whopping 108 limited edition beers of which at least 90 came in their beloved 440ml canned format. And a lot of that was done via contract means as it wasn’t until

WINTER 2021 53

CANNED BEER

“WE’VE HELPED LEAD THE CHARGE FOR THE 440ML CAN IN NEW ZEALAND AND IT’S NOW BECOME THE BIGGEST SINGLE SKU FORMAT FOR CRAFT BEER,” ANDREW CHILDS

October of last year they finally had a place to call home when their production facility opened on the storied strip called Dominion Road in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden. As the brewing team truly begin to harness the potential of their new set up, supplied and installed by FB*PROPAK, it will no doubt be a case of Behemoth by name, behemoth by nature for Andrew and his team.

AHEAD OF THE PACK Behemoth’s first beers to appear in the then 330ml cans with fully rippable lids were their Hopped Up On Pils NZ Pilsner and the Tasty Beverage Extra Pale Ale which previously, like all of their other beers up until that time, had come in 500ml bottles – which remain a treasured vessel for many Kiwi breweries and beer drinkers alike. It wasn’t long, however, because of the attributes those rip-lid cans exhibited, before Behemoth would follow in the footsteps of less than a handful of other Kiwi breweries, Garage Project and Boundary Rd Brewery among them, and use 440ml cans as their dominant packaging format. This was at the time when New Zealand boasted at least 200 craft breweries. “We’ve helped lead the charge for the 440ml can in New Zealand and it’s now become the biggest single SKU format for craft beer,” Andrew said. “We’ve never looked back at it being the best way to release new and innovative

www.beerandbrewer.com

Alpha canning & brewing equipment now available in Australia and New Zealand exclusively with FB*PROPAK fbpropak.com

info@fbpropak.com

(03) 9487-1150

CANNED BEER

“WITH CANNING LINES THE COST BENEFITS CAN BE VERY EASY TO QUANTIFY,” CHRIS CHRYSTIUK, FB*PROPAK beers that have the maximum impact. A 440ml can with a label on it just gives us the flexibility to achieve some pretty awesome concepts and to do that on a fairly regular basis.” Aside from the opportunity to regularly showcase Behemoth’s irreverent sense of humour via a larger labelling space, Andrew said the positives of cans far outweigh those of bottles. “Less UV gets into the beer; freight is cheaper because a can weighs almost nothing where as a bottle weighs almost as much as the beer itself; they chill down quicker; they’re easier to store. There are so many benefits. “In New Zealand I believe the people sticking with bottles tend to be the older figures in the industry whereas with the new and younger generation I think cans will

Check out Andrew’s Mocha Madness Mocha

Their range was changed to 25, 50 and 100

become the acceptable norm. Bottles will be

Imperial Stout DIY recipe on

cans-per-minute (CPM), giving options from

more of a rarity. And that’s because it’s hard

page 50.

a well-priced entry level unit up to something capable of filling 6,000 cans per hour for the

to ignore all of the benefits.” Getting all that canned beer to market has

THE KING OF THE PACK

medium to larger sized breweries.

become Child’s play – so to speak – following

For FB*PROPAK, supplying and installing

the installation of Behemoth’s Alpha canning

the entirety of Behemoth’s production

April 2020 due to the pandemic) to unveil

line and Framax labeller by FB*PROPAK.

facility in late 2020 was just one aspect

the units we got straight into production

of a year the company had never seen the

and a bunch of Australian and New Zealand

are often canning every day and Andrew said

likes of before in their more than half a

breweries have been lucky enough to get

having a local FB*PROPAK representative on

century of providing tailored processing and

their new lines shipped and installed already

the ground in Auckland meant their ability to

packaging engineered solutions to the food

over the past six months,” Chris added.

stay efficient was enhanced.

and beverage industries.

Due to their mammoth output Behemoth

“We know we’ve got that support if things

Before the pandemic even hit, and drove

“With no Craft Brewers Conference (in

“Payback modelling is a key element to any capital equipment purchase and with

go wrong – and because we’re so busy, and

so many breweries to start small format

canning lines the cost benefits can be very

pretty much canning beer everyday, we can’t

packaging of their products at rates never

easy to quantify. A depalletiser and PakTech

afford that down time.

seen before, FB*PROPAK had been fielding as

applicator may be seen to some as extra

many new canning line enquiries as they had

costs not worth pursuing but the reality is

for new brewhouses and keg washers.

even basic automation will eventually save

“The fact the canning machine has an auto reject feature for under-filled cans is invaluable too. It just helps to decrease those

“But once venues closed, packaged beer

a brewery many thousands of dollars over

bad experiences that people can have with

became king,” FB*PROPAK’s sales manager

time. That being said it’s important for us to

beer that can happen every once and a while.”

Chris Chrystiuk said. “So we spoke with many

understand that not all cases are the same

Andrew said his beers are now “tasting better

breweries about how we could get them set up

and barriers to entry are not something we

than ever” since the brewery started operating.

with their own canning lines to keep them up

want people to encounter, so we’re always

And by all accounts the proof is in the pudding

and running self-sufficiently from now on.”

happy to discuss with breweries the best way

as Behemoth have won a number of key awards

Fortunately, throughout 2019 and early

they can get themselves set up with a view

in the time they’ve been on their own tools –

2020, one of their closest partners, Alpha

to growing in the future. What is so great

including the announcement in May that two of

Brewing Operations from Nebraska in the

about the Alpha 50 CPM line is that it is easily

their beers made the coveted Top 30 in the 2021

USA, were developing upgrades to their

upgradable to a 100 CPM line when the time

New World New Zealand Beer and Cider Awards

existing range of canning lines with a focus on

comes in the future, without increasing the

with five in total inside the top 100.

better speed, efficiency, footprint and cost.

canning line footprint whatsoever.”

www.beerandbrewer.com

CANNED BEER

Yes we can!

runs. We understand the

The team at Australian mobile

size of the market and the

canning company East Coast

brand impact some of these

Canning has had a closer

small runs can have.”

view than most as the boom

CK knows his company

in the format’s preference

possesses equipment and

has rolled on in recent years

expertise that would be

– not just in craft beer but

beyond the means of many

with the likes of cider and

breweries and he said by

most recently hard seltzers

engaging with a mobile

and even canned wine. For East Coast, the easiest solution to meet the phenomenon has been to simply operate

service they can then spend their time and money on growing revenue. “While our customers focus on

more canning lines and they now boast

all those things, we can deliver with

five – including the equivalent amount of

packaging technology that puts them in

PakTech handle applicators – that service

safe, experienced hands and provides

both metro and regional operators in South

great business outcomes. Further, it

East Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South

doesn’t matter to us what size, diameter,

Australia and Tasmania.

temperature, carbonation, or almost any

But more equipment isn’t the only

other parameter that our customers’

reason East Coast have become many a

products are limited to, we can package

brewery’s first choice for their canning

them with success.

needs – it’s their can do attitude. “Ultimately it’s been about flexibility of

“We can pre-label and fill slim, sleek and classic style cans in all sizes from 200ml to

work flow, foremost with our customers,

500ml. We have a liquid nitrogen program

but also with our staff,” founder and

for still products and certain types of

general manager Chris ‘CK’ Kelly said.

carbonated beers, a cleaning system that

“Traditionally we have worked with our

has allowed us to package water products,

customers during normal business hours,

counter pressure machines that allow us to

but now we have been able to provide

consistently package products of varying

multiple filling jobs in a day. This has

carbonation and temperature levels. The

also helped the efficiency for smaller

vast majority of our customers use us for

producers or even bigger ones doing short

more than one product.”

www.beerandbrewer.com

“WE UNDERSTAND THE SIZE OF THE MARKET AND THE BRAND IMPACT SOME OF THESE SMALL RUNS CAN HAVE,” CHRIS KELLY, EAST COAST CANNING

CANPRO FEATURES

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CANNED BEER

“IT WOULD APPEAR CANS TICK ALL THE BOXES AND ARE GAINING IN POPULARITY,” ROB SPLATT, SPLATT ENGINEERING CANNING PROS Splatt Engineering Group, the family-run company that’s been servicing the Australasian food and beverage industry with their expertise for over 50 years, has been witnessing an explosion in canning’s popularity in the last three years as the trend here away from glass has been in direct line with the experiences in the North American market. During that period they have researched what they consider to be the best new canning equipment to offer their clients – which range from the likes of Hawkers, Deeds and Holgate in the beer industry to Mars, SPC and Nestle, to name a few, in the food sector. To match their own family values, where three different generations of the Splatt family are at the company’s helm, they went with CIME and CANPRO rotary can filling and seaming equipment – both of whom have been in operation for over 40 years. “Our choice in supplying rotary filling and seaming equipment stems from their smooth operation and the lowest dissolved oxygen (D.O) rates over the alternative intermittent inline filling and seaming systems,” CEO Rob Splatt said, who added that Hawkers are currently witnessing D.O levels of less than 20 parts-per-billion with their rotary CANPRO filler – which, for the layman, is remarkably good. “Consumers have embraced cans with great gusto for ease of handling at all types of venues, (the fact they’re) fully recyclable, crushable, chill quicker than glass with no breakages or safety issues and allow fabulous graphics

www.beerandbrewer.com

“(THE CANPRO) REDUCES OUR LABOUR COSTS, IT REDUCES OUR D.O LEVELS – SO IT GIVES US A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN WHAT WE DO,” MAZEN HAJJAR, HAWKERS

CANNED BEER

and no damaging light strike. It would appear cans tick all the boxes and are gaining in popularity.” The CIME’s fill speeds range from 1,800 cans-per-hour (CPH) to 3,500 CPH for 330ml cans while CANPRO’s filling and seaming speeds range from 5,500 CPH to 60,000 CPH for the same size – while both will run either slim, sleek or classic cans in various sizes. CIME’s Diamond filling machine was designed and built with a modern-day brewery in mind as it’s specifically for multi-sized cylindrical aluminum cans and is capable of filling and seaming all types of liquid products – both carbonated or without CO2. Splatt have supplied Hawkers with their packaging equipment for a number of years and their founder Mazen Hajjar said he’d never seen better service. “They do all the maintenance and servicing on our whole line and we’re super, super pleased with the service of the technicians. If it’s an emergency they’ll be there quick,” Mazen said. “The CANPRO is one of the best priced rotary can fillers. It reduces our labour costs, it reduces our D.O levels – so it gives us a lot of confidence in what we do. It’s not overly complicated either – it just works so well.”

Craftmate #GermanBlingBling #Craftmate

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FOOD MATCHING

BEER & VEG

COMBINING GREAT CRAFT BEER WITH VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN FOOD

AS WELL AS DISHING UP OVER 70 RECIPES THIS EXCELLENT BOOK FROM MARK DREDGE IS THE IDEAL COMPANION FOR ANYONE WANTING TO LEARN THE ART OF MATCHING A WORLD OF FOOD WITH THE FULL SPECTRUM OF BEER STYLES.

eer is the ultimate plantbased drink. It’s a product of the ground, the seasons, and different regions. It sprouts, grows, flowers, gets harvested, and then it begins its change

into beer, helped by the hands of the brewers, and shaped by time and place. Beer is made from plants and it goes really well with plants. It’s time to celebrate that with this book. Look around the world at the most famous dishes that go with beer and it’s all meat, meat, meat: Belgian beer stews, meat and ale pies, schnitzels, knuckles, sausages, wings, fried fish, steamed mussels…. Beer food means meat. Or it meant meat, because those old, traditional dishes no longer truly reflect the modern world and the drinker who’s likely to eat a broader diet, one more focused on plant-based foods. And this book looks to right the ledger. Before it even goes into the recipes to make at home it provides comprehensive detail about which characteristics of food and beer are complementary and therefore setting the reader on the path of understanding how to pair the flavours in food with the different styles of beers. It might be a British book but Australian beers feature heavily with the likes of Balter’s XPA (roast veg, mozzarella and pesto sandwich), Your Mates’ Larry (laksa) and Modus Operandi’s Former Tenant (tomato and herb focaccia) getting singled out with food matching ideas.

www.beerandbrewer.com

This is an edited extract from Beer & Veg by Mark Dredge published by Dog n’ Bone, Ryland Peters & Small. RRP $39.99

FOOD MATCHING

IPA BHAJI BAKES & MANGO IPA CHUTNEY Vegan, serves 8 – match with a Hazy Pale Ale, Hazy IPA or Pilsner Ingredients For the chutney: 1 mango, peeled and diced 1 garlic clove, crushed 1cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated 3 tbsp caster sugar Pinch of cumin seeds Pinch of chili flakes 1 tsp salt Juice of 1⁄2 lime 60ml white wine vinegar 30ml Hazy IPA For the bhajis: 3 tbsp vegetable oil 100g chickpea flour 60–90ml Hazy IPA 1 tsp salt 1⁄2 tsp each: ground cumin, ground coriander, ground turmeric, chili powder and black pepper Pinch of cinnamon Pinch of fennel seeds, crushed 1 large carrot, grated 1 large cooked beetroot, grated 1 large white onion, cut into rings

Method 1. First, make the chutney. Put the mango, garlic, ginger and sugar in a pan over a medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves. Add the rest of the ingredients, saving the beer till last, then simmer until it’s thick and sticky, and the mango is very soft. Set aside to cool. 2. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a large baking sheet with baking paper and 2 tablespoons of the oil. In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of oil, and enough beer for it to form a thick batter. Stir in the spices and seasoning. 3. Squeeze out excess water from the carrot and beetroot and add to the batter along with the onion. Stir into a thick mix, adding more beer if necessary—it should be thick enough to shape with your hands into balls. 4. Shape the mixture into 8 balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and properly cooked through.

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FOOD MATCHING

PORTER BBQ PULLED JACKFRUIT Vegan, serves 4 – match with a Hazy Pale, hoppy Lager or Porter Ingredients 1⁄2 white onion, sliced 2 garlic cloves, crushed Vegetable oil 400g can jackfruit, drained 1⁄2 tsp ground cumin 1⁄2 tsp chili powder 1⁄2 tsp smoked paprika 2 tbsp tomato paste 2 tbsp brown sugar 3 tbsp tomato sauce 3 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp liquid smoke 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 tsp Dijon mustard 100ml water or vegetable stock 180 ml Porter, Dubbel or Dark Lager Salt and pepper

Method 1. Soften the onion and garlic in some oil for a couple of minutes. Add the jackfruit and break it apart — the easiest way to do this is by using a potato masher. Add the spices, tomato paste and sugar and cook for a few minutes, then add everything else, saving the beer till last. 2. Bring to a simmer and hold it there until the sauce reduces and gets really thick, which should take around 30 minutes (make sure you stir it a few times). Check the seasoning and then it’s ready. If possible, let it cool and refrigerate to serve the next day. Reheat in a pan on the hob over a medium heat for 5–10 minutes, or in the oven at 200°C for 20 minutes to get it crispy.

www.beerandbrewer.com

FOOD MATCHING

WEISSBIER DOSA WITH SPICED POTATOES AND SAMBAR KETCHUP Vegan, makes 6 dosa match with a Weissbier, Belgian Blonde or Pale Lager Ingredients For the sambar ketchup: 1 white onion, finely diced 1 tbsp vegetable oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2.5cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped 2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped 1⁄2 tsp each: ground chili, cumin seeds, ground coriander, ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, and allspice 1⁄4 tsp fennel seeds 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp tomato paste 50g red lentils, rinsed in cold water 2 tbsp tamarind paste 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 3 tbsp soft brown sugar 400g can tomatoes 120ml Weissbier For the spiced potatoes: 400g new potatoes 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil 1⁄2 tsp black mustard seeds 10 dried curry leaves 1⁄2 tsp cumin seeds 1⁄2 white onion, finely sliced 2 fresh green chillies, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 1⁄2 tsp ground coriander 1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric Black pepper, to taste For the Weissbier dosa: 100g chickpea flour 50g all-purpose flour 1⁄2 tsp salt 1⁄2 tsp baking soda 200ml Weissbier Vegetable oil

Method 1. Start by making the Sambar Ketchup, which can be made up to a week in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator. Soften the onion in the oil for a few minutes, then add the garlic, ginger, and chili. Add all the spices and stir together for a minute, then add the rest of the ingredients in order and simmer until thick but pourable: around 30–40 minutes. You may want to add more beer (or water) if it gets too dry. When cooked, season to taste — it should be sharp, sweet, and spicy. Blend until smooth. 2. Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft — around 15 minutes — then drain. 3. While the potatoes are boiling, make the Weissbier dosa batter by simply combining everything, apart from the oil, in a bowl and whisking together — it should be the consistency of heavy (double) cream, so add more beer or water to achieve that if needed.

4. In a large pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, and cumin seeds, frying until they all pop and sizzle. Then add the onion, chili, and garlic and fry to soften the onion, being careful that it doesn’t burn — this should take around 10 minutes. Add the ground coriander and turmeric, then add the potatoes, using a fork to crush them open and mix them into the spicy onion mix. Cook for 5–10 minutes while you fry the dosa. 5. Add a little oil to a large frying pan over a medium heat. Take a ladle of the batter and add enough to the pan to form a thin layer, then fry for a minute or two before flipping it over and cooking for another 30–60 seconds. Wrap in foil to keep warm while you repeat with the rest of the dosa batter. 6. To serve, take a dosa and place a large spoonful of potatoes in the middle Add some sambar ketchup, then wrap it up and eat.

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The Brew Review L

From 16 outstanding panel picks to 70* O AS N more reviews, our Winter Brew Review is brimming with the latest and recent releases that you’ll want to try at home. FO This issue we are unsurprisingly paying CUS particular focus on all those lovely darker What’s our beer styles but you’ll find everything from Seasonal Focus? a Farmhouse IPA to a non-alc XPA in the Winter warmers following pages. There’s even a 29.2% Quadruple IPA to seriously watch out for. And turn to page 81 for the winner of the fantastic Rastal glassware gift pack from our friends at CraftyMerch. *Not all submissions to our tasting panel are featured here. This could be because we had too many to sample 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.

Currently head of sales at Bintani, Justin has had a long and decorated career in the beer industry – from the likes of heading up Colonial’s brewing to appearing on many a beer judging panel.

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.

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.

Michael Capaldo, NSW A 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).

Liam Pereira, NSW

Sean Symons , WA

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.

Founder and head brewer at White Lakes Brewing, Sean’s decorated beer career includes five years as Chief Judge of the Perth Royal Beer Show where he currently serves on the committee.

Now calling Sydney home, Certified Cicerone® Rosemary has spent the last five years working in premium beer outlets in both the on-premise and retail channels. @libationslady.

www.beerandbrewer.com

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.

Justin Fox, VIC

Rosemary Lilburne-Fini, NSW

Josh Quantrill, NSW

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.

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Panel’s Top Picks

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La Sirène Farmhouse Red

La Sirène Praline

Shelter Brewing India Pale Ale

Wilson Brewing Akoya Dark Pearl

ABV: 5.5% Style: Red Farmhouse Ale This is comfortable in its own skin and self-assured without being self-absorbed. It’s light burgundy with some haze and a pinkish, off-white foam that dissipates quickly. Aromas of tart red fruits and berries dance closely with light, Turkish Delight-like floral notes as hints of toffee malt and dried fruit step forth as it warms. Raspberry and blueberry flavours, with waves of swirling floral, are given an oaky embrace coupled with a musty kiss on the cheek and the lightest peck of styrenelike phenolic notes. It has a loose, freewheeling mouthfeel with a playful acidity and gregarious house character. Ideally savoured during an epic early Winter sunset. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Washed rind cheese lasirene.com.au

ABV: 5.8% Style: Cacao, Hazelnut & Vanilla Stout There are lashings of hazelnuts, both roasted and raw, on the nose and palate, met with an almost creamy vanilla sweetness and a decadent milk chocolate. Though deeply indulgent it doesn’t smother with sweetness. The creamy nuttiness and milk chocolate is tempered by the bitterness of real cocoa nibs, dark chocolate and subtle coffee. The beer offers a quick flash of black cherries adding an almost undetectable but greatly appreciated aspect of acidity. Light on the palate considering the intense flavours floating around and its pitch black colour. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Cherry pie lasirene.com.au

ABV: 6.8% Style: West Coast IPA The Busselton brewery only opened at the tail end of last year but their hop-driven core range IPA is a refreshing, well put together offering – and as one of their flagship beers they’ve made sure it’s ticked all the right boxes from day one. West Coast in style, and a refreshing change from the slew of hazy IPAs dominating tap lists, it makes all the right moves – from a palate thick with resin, grapefruit and citrus pith and aromas of fresh citrus and pine, to the slightly chewy, modestly malty body and a moderate bitterness that holds everything together. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Spicy, salty, citrusy Thai curry shelterbrewing.com.au

ABV: 7.5% Style: Oyster Pale Ale A curious and complex beer showcasing Leeuwin Coast Akoya Oysters and Wilson’s strength in brewing malt-driven ales. A slightly hazy dark brown with a light but persistent crema head, it’s initially dominant in its malt derived characteristics – with biscuit, toffee and an earthiness dominating the nose as some underlying citrus and fresh cut grass slice through its robustness. Those same characters are present in flavour but with a subtle and refreshing salinity thanks to the addition of Akoya Oyster shells during the boil. A rich mouthfeel, moderate bitterness and long finish are all noteworthy, creating a beer that is both balanced but full flavoured. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Akoya Oysters – of course wilsonbrewing.com.au

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Panel’s Top Picks

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Otherside Brewing Harvest Red Ale

BentSpoke Brewing Crankshaft

BentSpoke Brewing Red Nut

Oak & Organisms 2021 Berliner Weisse

ABV: 5.4% Style: Red Ale You would not get much fresher than this cryogenically transported sample straight off the Otherside filling machine. Harvest Red Ale is a fresh, hoppy example of the style where there is great balance with the malt and perfect carbonation and memorable lacing. Originally Otherside’s first ever ‘Pilot’ series release it is now, by popular demand, part of their permanent line-up – and we can see why. This is a very good beer that achieves both flavour intensity and balance in the glass. Any extra samples vapourised suddenly at the end of the tasting which is probably a yardstick with greater resolution than any of our notetaking! A firm favourite of the panel. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Two Food: Hors d’oeuvres othersidebrewing.com.au

ABV: 5.8% Style: West Coast IPA Deep gold in colour with thick off-white head and a slight haze, citrus orange hop notes are up front followed by some resinous pine and backed by some chewy caramel malts. The punchy hops continue on the palate with notes of juicy and candied orange as the same chewy caramel malts on the aroma follow through too and lend some serious body and back-end that finishes with a bold persistent hop bitterness. The big malts give this beer some heft while good carbonation and late alcohol warmth round out its fullness. A really enjoyable example of a big malty West Coast-style IPA that’s well rounded and superbly executed. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: The best rib-eye steak money can buy bentspokebrewing.com.au

ABV: 7.0% Style: Red IPA BentSpoke have been turning out interesting and well made beers for longer than we can remember and this is no exception with big malty, boozy noises shouting at you from the glass and a heap of hop aroma and bitterness to follow it up. It says ‘red’ and ‘hoppy’ on the can and that’s exactly what you get alongside the creature comforts of oozy toffee and caramel and freshly made marmalade. For all of its exclamation marks, and there are a few, mainly the hop-driven ones, it remains moreish and effortlessly drinkable. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Blue cheese burger bentspokebrewing.com.au

ABV: 4.5% Style: Berliner Weisse In the second release of Aether’s Oak & Organisms barrel-aged series (see page 75 for a review of the first) Dave and the team turn to the light side, with a lactobacillus soured Berliner aged on both French and American oak for four months. Light golden with good clarity, the time in barrel has imparted colour and taken some cling as to be expected. Sweet wheat characters integrate with oaky tannins and shades of vanilla on the nose and tongue. A mild Brettanomyces-driven earthiness emerges late and works to cut the acidity. This beer demands to be enjoyed with a meal of rich fatty deliciousness. Turn to page 18 to go behind this beer in greater detail with Dave from Aether. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Sticky ribs, thrice cooked chips aetherbrewing.com.au

www.beerandbrewer.com

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Panel’s Top Picks

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Jetty Road Banjo Brown Ale

Slow Lane Brewing Weka Island

Slow Lane Brewing Threefold

Deeds Brewing Double Juice Train

ABV: 5.0% Style: English Brown Ale English Brown is one of those styles where complexity lies in plain sight of simplicity. Banjo Brown delivers on both fronts. There is plenty of chocolate, hazelnut and a “length of toast” Miro would be proud of (Google “Sh!t beer geeks say!” if you don’t get that reference). At the same time, the brew doesn’t demand attention, attack the palate, or challenge the senses with careless vigour. The subtlety is measured and poised, much like the loyal laidback sidekick it’s named after. A well balanced and tasty brown, dependable and steadfast to the last drop. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: The snag that fell off the plate jettyroad.com.au

ABV: 5.8% Style: Hazy Pale Ale It’s exciting to see the Slow Lane brewers apply their proven skill in traditional open fermentation to a modern, hyped-up style – a reverse approach of sorts to their modern interpretation of old-world styles ethos. Their Hazy Pale Ale pours with an enticing cloudiness, the kind you would historically just call ‘normal’ for a Pale Ale. Punchy from the start, hops throw forth strong lime zest notes that marry perfectly with a spicy yeast character. Great balance on the palate, sweet malt carrying both spice and a moderate bitterness that delights the taste-buds. It’s sophistication exceeds expectations for a Pale Ale, demanding it to be shared and enjoyed. Glass: Rastal Fresh Food: Fat lamb and rosemary snags with mash potato slowlanebrewing.com.au

ABV: 8.4% Style: Belgian Tripel Pouring a deep golden hue with a thick persistent head and plenty of fizz, it’s the instant waft of banana, clove, pepper and honey that scream of the classic Tripel. A rich complexity greets you as you prepare to sip, with hints of the alcoholic power underpinning the sweet versus spice flavour party. Can conditioning has worked well in tying yeast and malt components together and softening the palate weight, a dangerous drinkability the result. A proven style interpreted with precision and a pinch of personal pizazz. Another winner from Slow Lane. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: One inch thick gruyère & prosciutto toastie slowlanebrewing.com.au

ABV: 9.0% Style: Double NEIPA In honour of the first (of many) hazies Deeds ever produced, this is a case of double the hops and double the fun for those wanting to get on the Juice Train – and we’re on board! A glorious bold haze greets the eye and is a sign of the uncompromising nature that this beer will deliver while staying tightly wound and refined. Intense aromas of passionfruit, berries and Christmas tree needles whack you right on the tongue, all the while a lurking monster of alcohol seemingly sits in the background and balances this incredibly complex beer to perfection. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Peking duck with Mandarin pancakes deedsbrewing.com.au

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Panel’s Top Picks

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Sanctus Brewing Let There Be Bock

Stomping Ground Bunker Porter

Mountain Culture Double Red IPA

Batch Brewing Elsie The Milk Stout

ABV: 5.2% Style: Bock The fact this is lower in alcohol than your more traditional Bock is actually a good thing as it lends itself to more everyday drinking than the special occasions the style is more accustomed to – without losing flavour or complexity because of it. Pouring amber with ruby red accents, heightened aromas of cola-like caramel sweetness and coriander spice spit and fire above a lively spritz with toasted malt notes enhancing the moreish introductions. Aromas defy the drinking experience as all the complexity on the nose is counterbalanced by a lithe, clean body where you find a restrained harmony between toasty, dry nuttiness and light toffee. Let there be Bock indeed. Glass: Rastal Fresh Food: Stuffed pork loin roast sanctusbrewingco.com.au

ABV: 6.2% Style: Porter It’s always refreshing when a Porter is brewed as a Porter rather than some abstract version of a Stout. Dark in colour, soft on roasted malt, heavy on flavour but light on the palate and in the case of Stomping Ground’s version, a lovely little twist of American hops embracing the adage that if the opportunity is there to add a few hops, do so. And as you would expect from Ashur and the crew, it’s well conceived, well-brewed and well packaged. The holy trinity of brewing that too often misses a brethren or two somewhere between the brewery and the customer. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Battered fish & chips stompingground.beer

ABV: 8.0% Style: Double Red IPA A veritable thunderstorm over the Three Sisters in a can. It’s a red hued-deep copper toffee colour with sumptuous offwhite foam. Rich melanoidins give the hefty malt notes muscles while some light pine and citrus hop notes are in reverential support. Complex, deep, well-structured malt notes lead the flavour charge with piney, spicy, earthy hop characters supporting on the flanks. The rich, creamy mouthfeel is like rolling thunder across the palate with clean, focussed bittering adding the flashes of lightning into a lengthy, spicy finish. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Sticky BBQ buffalo wings mountainculture.com.au

ABV: 4.4% Style: Nitro Milk Stout She pours a captivating cascading, super dark ruby with a polished and solid tan head. The nose has a sweet coffee and cream feature which is maintained throughout. An almost smoky rich malt character forms the backbone with chocolatey sweet richness making up the majority of the brilliance about this Milk Stout. Decadence is the word, which is only added to by the presence of nitrogen coating the mouth in everything beautiful about Elsie. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Slow cooked short ribs batchbrewingco.com.au

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TASTING

ABV: 4.6% Style: Chocolate Orange Porter Deep brown to black in colour with a light brown head that dissipates, chocolate and dark fruit, with a subtle orange essence, lead aromas with a touch of yeast phenolics. Chocolate flavour is upfront as orange arrives late for a finish reminiscent of a Jaffa lolly (maybe a little more orange may have balanced it a bit better?) The body and carbonation are light. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Terry’s Chocolate Orange Ball batchbrewingco.com.au

Batch Brewing MacBatch ABV: 7.0% Style: Oak-aged Ale It pours a cosy copper with minimal head as aroma is all toffee and spice and dried cherries. The taste doesn’t disappoint. It’s full of toasty vanilla cherry but is smooth and drinkable and finishes wonderfully dry with a lingering oakiness from the 30 days this malt bomb spent in oak. You don’t expect a beer this big to be more than an evening sipper, but this one goes down (a little too) easy. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Polish cherry cake batchbrewingco.com.au

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ABV: 5.5% Style: Stout The name couldn’t be any more true! It pours dark golden with bright clarity and the aroma is the first thing that belies its colour as notes of black coffee and honey merge with a pleasant floral character. When it hits your tongue it’s sweet, but not overbearing so. The palate is mid-weight and surprisingly well balanced. It finishes with the slightest coffee bitterness to round out an exciting and surprising beer. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Coffee cake batchbrewingco.com.au

Batch Brewing Don’t Judge A Beer By Its Colour

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ABV: 4.6% Style: Pastry Stout A touch on the sweet side for some drinkers but this is very well made and balanced with all the flavours you expect. It drinks way too easily for such a big ABV and full-bodied beer too. Black with a dark brown head, aromas of dark chocolate, vanilla and campfire marshmallows are distinct as the latter carries through to the palate where it’s met with caramel and toffee for a decadent experience. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: A dessert in itself batchbrewingco.com.au

ABV: 4.0% Style: WheatAle An eclectic mix of raspberry lollies, lime peel and fresh rockmelon hit the nose while the sipping experience is exactly as described on the can – where raspberry confection and a cake-like oat cookie and vanilla sweetness meets big hibiscus notes. The mouthfeel is fluffy with a measured tartness that doesn’t make you wince making this perfect for those who like their fruited Berliners, kettle sours or are looking to explore. Glass: Rastal Fresh Food: Vanilla ice cream batchbrewingco.com.au

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ABV: 6.5% Style: Red IPA Deep amber with a thick white head, the body is full and sweet but lean on the finish. This serves to not overwhelm the palate which is exceptionally well integrated with a measured hop character for balance. The herbaceous nose has notes of gooseberry, apricot and strawberry. A touch of milk chocolate from the malts and a spicy trace fold into an assortment of tropical fruit and citrus on the finish. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Slow roasted meat recklessbrewingco.com.au

Batch Brewing Little Lou’s Creme Brûlée

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Batch Brewing Choc Orange Porter

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Batch Brewing Raspberry Crumble

Reckless Brewing Red IPA

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Mountain Culture Big Richard

Mountain Culture Wildcard

Mountain Culture Moon Dust

Moo Brew Winter IPA

ABV: 10.4% Style: Chocolate Stout Black with a latte head, this is a big beer at its best when allowed to warm. Notes of chocolate, cherry cola and subtle waves of sarsaparilla meet alcohol warmth on the nose as dusted cocoa powder and melted dark and milk chocolate create the sense of a liquid version of a brownie. It’s deeply decadent and rich with a lingering bitter coffee finish with a softly nutty aspect like charred macadamias. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: A handful of nuts mountainculture.com.au

ABV: 8.0% Style: Double NEIPA Ripe mango and pineapple aromas duck and weave around yeastdriven esters of berries and orchard fruits while oats deliver a creaminess against a flurry of pine. Those same fruit flavours trade punches with spicy booze and a flash of sweet berry. A little pine keeps it all on target, as does the full mouthfeel, moderately firm body and spicy bittering to finish. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Pork belly & nam jim mountainculture.com.au

ABV: 5.6% Style: Stout A great sessionable dark ale with yummy chocolate notes but balanced in body and malt bitterness. It’s black with a hint of brown on the edge of the glass and has a thick persistent tan head. Milk chocolate aromas mix with cocoa, a hint of coffee and some nice toasty dark malts. The latter leads flavours of cocoa, chocolate and a hint of raisin. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Chocolate mousse mountainculture.com.au

ABV: 6.5% Style: Black IPA Winter IPA? Cascadian IPA? Call it what you want when you make it this good. Even before you see its pitch blackness you know it ain’t no stout as big Galaxy and Simcoe hop aromas dish up citrus and pine as malts offer roasted sweetness and ground coffee. Flavours strike a perfect balance as the hop notes, where Sabro’s coconut is revealed, are in tune with a light and dry body of biscuity malts and firm bitterness. Glass: Rastal München Food: Braised lamb moobrew.com.au

www.beerandbrewer.com

https://www.kaijubeer.com.au/home

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Wilson Brewing Dirty Oar

Wilson Brewing Lost Sailor

Nowhereman Crate Digger

ABV: 6.2% Style: Brown Ale This is a classic Brown – well until all the extra hops are added that is! A warming and moreish contrast of rich caramel and bready malt character cut with fresh, citrusy and grapefruit characters. A modest IBU is the perfect match for the medium, malt driven body while fresh hops lift vibrancy and offer a fresh edge not often seen in the style. A slightly estery yeast profile and a lasting finish boost complexity. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Cheese & cured meats wilsonbrewing.com.au

ABV: 5.3% Style: Dark Ale A text book offering from the Albany brewers who don’t shy from brewing malt driven beers. It’s big on complex malt flavours, like brown sugar, maple and dried fruit, but has been cleverly brewed for ease of drinking too. A lighter style body and matched carbonation pair well with the modest 30 IBUs and a touch of grassy hop character. Rich and malty by design but a refreshing choice no matter the season. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Chocolate & fresh berries wilsonbrewing.com.au

ABV: 5.4% Style: Pale Ale A well executed classic and its oh so easy drinking make it a recommended fridge filler. It stands up well in the glass with well rounded carbonation showcasing bright orange and tangerine notes while the clean hop aroma and balanced flavour fulfils all the ambition on the can. And full marks to the Nowhereman team for the egg hunt to find these beers as well – top entertainment! Glass: Rastal Willi Becher Food: Pork knuckle nowhereman.com.au

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ABV: 5.0% Style: Porter In collab with Kuld Creamery this is a decadent offering perfectly suited to colder weather and slower sipping. It’s a rich, roasted malt driven Porter that is loaded with vanilla and chocolate flavour and laced with an underlying sweet mint character. A viscous, long lasting body carries the well-integrated flavours through to a long-lasting finish. Undoubtedly a dessert in a glass. Glass: Rastal Harmony 40 Food: Choc-mint ice cream blackbrewingco.com.au

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ABV: 4.5% Style: Milk Stout A staple in the Black Brewing Co line-up, it’s a much loved offering from the Caves Road stalwarts. Rich chocolate flavours dominate with a generous but balanced sweetness from lactose. A modest bitterness keeps balance in check while Caramalt and dark malts add complex flavour and aromas like coffee, toast and burnt sugar. A clean yeast profile, slick mouthfeel and a long finish allows lasting enjoyment with each sip. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Fruit & custard blackbrewingco.com.au

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Boston Brewing The Right

Boston Brewing Shark Eye

La Sirène Funq IPA

Stomping Ground ‘Into the Wood

Stomping Ground PRIDElweiss

ABV: 5.7% Style: Nut Brown Ale We put it down to elevation, or perhaps the rarefied air down south, that left the cans just a tad squishy. However, aside from a stylistically appropriate lower carbonation, the beer was in great shape showing only a mild roundness in oxidation. Good balance of biscuity malt base and choice of hops to offset the malt sweetness. A robust 5.7% makes this an appropriate warmer for the colder months. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Roast dinner bostonbrewing.com.au

ABV: 5.6% Style: Oak Aged Stout This oak aged oatmeal Stout is inky in its blackness. The carbonation was a little low on our examples but underneath was the makings of a nice balanced Stout. Clean fermentation with notes of milk chocolate and vanilla rounding out the roast profile. A great rendition from the team in Denmark. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Cooked breakfast with black pudding bostonbrewing.com.au

ABV: 5.8% Style: Farmhouse IPA Exceptional quality with a definite twist. Practically dripping tropical fruit is met by a grassy nose reminiscent of pineapple leaves and coriander stems. A gorgeous phenolic note of candied banana, fresh vanilla and clove sets it apart. The plush, hazy body is supported by a strong malt backbone imparting a soft sweetness with traces of limestone minerality lengthening the beer. Perfectly balanced.. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Kingfish crudo lasirene.com.au

ABV: 6.5% Style: Cherry Saison Pouring pale amber with a pinkish plum tinge, a bold acidity punches through the nose with a combination of cherry and lime juice (and pith) with a tart and sweet balsamic note. Flaked oats add a softness to the palate with rye malt delivering a zip of spice. Mouthfeel is moreish, dry and not as acidic as it smells while barrel characters are pretty restrained in the drinking experience. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Charcuterie board stompingground.beer

ABV: 4.4% Style: Wheat Ale Pale and cloudy with a satisfyingly prominent and long-lasting all white head, aromas are soft and inviting with a delicate and complex mix of green melon, faint citrus with pepper and spice balanced by some gentle vanilla sweetness. A fresh, lemony-lime citrus body delivers a seriously refreshing, crisp drinking experience that’s only enhanced by its dry and snappy finish. Glass: Rastal Fresh Food: Smoked trout pâté stompingground.beer

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Moo Brew Dark Ale

Slow Lane Brewing Resting Place

Slow Lane Brewing Continuum

Heaps Normal Quiet XPA

Aether Brewing Hop Skip & Jump

ABV: 5.0% Style: Brown Ale “Not a stout, not a porter. It’s an American Brown Ale” read the tasting notes on the can and that it is. Chocolate and caramel malt character and lightly resinous hop flavour sit well together overlayed with a restrained ABV. Pouring a deep mahogany red, it strikes for its sessionability as it’s a beer with all the flavour notes without being overzealous. Best enjoyed in six pack form on a Winter’s afternoon. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Loaded jacket potato moobrew.com.au

ABV: 4.4% Style: Hoppy Sour Ale Light straw in colour with a big, fluffy, persistent off-white head, big bursts of bright and inviting zingy citrus lead the aroma with a hay-like Brett undercurrent and a slightly earthy noble hop note. A pleasant and balanced tart citrus bite leads the flavour that’s not too sharp as soft wheat dominates the mid-palate and finishes with a subtle hop spiciness. Light in body and mouthfeel. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Soft cheese, sourdough slowlanebrewing.com.au

ABV: 6.4% Style: Barrel-aged Farmhouse Ale This is no “how much sour can you handle” punch in the nuts but rather balanced, considered, subtle and lovingly constructed and it’s all the better for it. Lemon and lime zest aromas are balanced with a whiff of barnyard while citrus and spicy yeast flavours play off the fluffy wheat and oat additions. Mild acidity and pineapple Brett notes meld with the light oak barrel influences. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Lamb shank tagine slowlanebrewing.com.au

ABV: <0.5% Style: Non-alc XPA A leader in the pack of the new wave of non-alc beers. A great, clean, hoppy, easy drinking beer. Tasty malts, refreshing hop bite and a crisp finish makes this a go-to option when watching your ABV intake. It is light in body with a slightly watery mouthfeel but for a non-alc beer it holds up really well. The lightness of carbonation enhances drinkability. Glass: Rastal München Food: Backyard BBQ heapsnormal.com

ABV: 6.4% Style: West Coast IPA A big old school West Coast IPA that’s just the right amount of big, bold and warm. Pale-medium amber with bright clarity and a thin head, pine and citrus hops lead the aroma followed by dark caramel malts. Resinous hops hit the palate first with notes of burnt orange followed by dark caramel and toffee. It’s full bodied with mediumhigh carbonation and a lingering dry bitter finish. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Beef stew aetherbrewing.com.au

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Jetty Road Milk Choc Stout

Bad Shepherd Hazelnut Brown

ABV: 5.5% Style: Barrel-aged Sour Brown Ale A modern take on the Old Bruin style with nice barrel character on the nose with robust souring. It’s dark amber-brown with medium clarity and a persistent tan head as a dark, dried fruit ester profile drives aroma backed by French oak vanilla and sweet cola with hints of chocolate. The palate is met with sourness and a sharp acidity before malty cola arrives ahead of a pleasing, dry finish. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Black Forest gateau aetherbrewing.com.au

ABV: 4.8% Style: Sweet Stout A decadently rich aromatic of cacao, chocolate malt and vanilla bean all play their part, accelerating in vigour as the beer warms. For a Sweet Stout, there is a delicate robustness on the nose that prevents any sickly dominance. Sure, lactose and vanilla play strong hands on the back palate, but it’s this roast malt undertone that greets the next sip and cuts and enhances the overall balance. Light the fire, crack the can. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Charred Tomahawk jettyroad.com.au

ABV: 5.6% Style: American Brown A deep copper hue and fluffy head present beautifully in the glass, while nutty aromas of hazelnut, walnut and cashew emanate from the glass in a wonderful exhibition of balance and intrigue. Brewed with real hazelnuts, vanilla and a splash of Frangelico the flavour is consistent with the aroma, and provides wonderful dark toffee and some appropriate chocolate astringency on the palate. A cosy Winter warmer! Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Boeuf bourguignon badshepherd.com.au

Oak & Organisms 2020 Sour Brown

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Bad Shepherd Double Choc Hazelnut Brown ABV: 7.2% Style: American Brown The ramped up version of their core range Hazelnut Brown is a delightful deep amber-brown that acts like a prelude for the drinker to this Winter warmer bursting with flavour they are about to encounter. Rich, deep flavours of toffee, cocoa and hazelnut perforate the senses, while the bold body is balanced by a mischievous alcohol bite that regulates the palate perfectly. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Fancy sausage roll badshepherd.com.au

Bad Shepherd Aries ESB ABV: 4.9% Style: ESB Pours a clean, copper colour with a strong white head. Aromas of caramel and toffee are joined by some subtle but delicious red fruit and raisin notes. A complex toast and bready malt profile is balanced by a great and solid bitter backbone making the beer an easy drinker. As promised by the nose, red fruity flavours come to fruition and are accompanied by a resinous, earthy aspect making the beer balanced and beautifully drinkable. Glass: Rastal Willi Becher Food: Shepherd’s pie badshepherd.com.au

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Bad Shepherd Oatmeal Stout

Brick Lane Supernova IPA

Brick Lane Avalanche Hazy IPA

Brick Lane Red Hoppy Ale

Brick Lane Red Right Hand

ABV: 5.1% Style: Oatmeal Stout A beautifully deep dark ruby colour fills the glass and a solid, perfect, ever-staying head follows the glass all the way down. On the nose, oat sweetness and espresso bitterness battle it out creating a balanced, enticing aroma. The richness continues throughout the beer with roast notes galore and with a refreshing bitterness that lingers only slightly, this stout drinks with a fire pit and marshmallows in mind. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Campfire marshmallows badshepherd.com.au

ABV: 6.8% Style: IPA Not a Brut IPA as perhaps implied by the “Champagne Supernova” on the can but certainly a very good tropical IPA. Piney and resinous Cryo hop characters combine with more contemporary tropical hop flavours. The hops are met with a balanced malt bill that give a somewhat thick mouthfeel and hints of caramel. High bitterness, lots of hop flavour and all-round good times are to be had with this rather good IPA! Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Grilled trout bricklanebrewing.com

ABV: 6.7% Style: Hazy IPA A classy golden haze salutes the eye from the glass with the promise of something more to come. Punchy pineapple and piney aromas are distinct but not overpowering while there is the faintest hint of tobacco. While it is loaded with glorious hops (Mosaic, Centennial, Idaho 7 and Citra) it could be further improved with either another hop to fill the flavour profile or a slightly lower acidity. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Grilled barra with lemon, butter & thyme bricklanebrewing.com

ABV: 5.3% Style: Amber Ale Brick Lane beers are often slick, dependable and hard to fault and this Red/Amber Ale is the same. It’s extremely well made and rather than the expected punch of the hop aroma and bitterness fighting with the sweet malty aroma and palate there’s more of a refined conversation happening along those same lines. The separate elements work in unison for a measured result. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Two Food: Blue cheese burger bricklanebrewing.com

ABV: 7.8% Style: DDH Red IPA Red Right Hand’s deep rustic red appearance with a tan head is appealing. Aroma offers notes of resinous pine and stewed fruits such as raisin and prune. The double dry hopping supports the rich palate and aroma. The palate offers layered malt of biscuit, toffee, molasses and brown sugar sweetness. The balance is excellent and the resinous pine finish lingers. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Slow cooked lamb shanks bricklanebrewing.com

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Deeds Brewing Cut the Red Wire

Catchment Brewing Vulture IPA

Catchment Brewing Cow Tipper

Moffat Beach Social Jam Pale Ale

Moffat Beach Moff’s Summer Ale

ABV: 7.0% Style: DDH IPA Showcasing Strata, Galaxy and the rarely seen Belma hop variety from the Yakima Valley, this presents with a deeply hazy, creamy appearance with a golden touch on the eye. An explosion of aroma penetrates the top of the nose with all types of fruity, estery, citrus and banana notes. The body complements the aroma perfectly resulting in an immaculate execution of beer to the style. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Banana split with a cherry on top deedsbrewing.com.au

ABV: 5.8% Style: American IPA There’s no doubting the instantaneous waft of hoppy goodness is reminiscent of exotic fruit salad with tropical notes of stone fruits, berries, a hint of citrus and resinous, slightly grassy notes in the tail. Beautifully followed through in the palate and while the bitterness is bold, it’s well rounded and balanced by a good malt sweetness that borders on caramelised toffee. Finishes with a lingering hop savouriness. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Scotch fillet yakitori catchmentbrewingco.com.au

ABV: 5.6% Style: Milk Stout Wow! What a delicious little (well, maybe not so little) stout this is. No mistaking the milky chocolate, light freshly ground coffee and gentle vanilla notes in the aroma that provide a foray to the smooth and luscious flavours that just roll off the palate. With a more persistent foam this stout would be perfect.. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: St Agur & dried fig catchmentbrewingco.com.au

ABV: 3.5% Style: Mid-strength Great in both colour and foam, it boasts strong hop aromas, with grapefruitdominant citrus, resinous and ripe tropical fruit taking charge. The slightly sweet, toasted malty palate provides some balance for the firm bitterness and lingering resinous, slightly peppery hop astringency that is likely more evident for a low ABV beer. Glass: Rastal Willi Becher Food: Woodfired pizza topped with spicy salami, buffalo mozzarella & sugo moffatbeachbrewingco.beer

ABV: 4.5% Style: Pale Ale Holding on to those Summer days won’t be hard with this ale. Vibrant notes of topical fruit, tangy mangoes and passionfruit are carried through from aroma to palate. The body is relatively light with an initial resinous hop note and a bitterness that lingers slightly but rounded out by a delicate malt sweetness. A great example of this classic Australian style. Glass: Rastal Willi Becher Food: Chip shop fish & chips, crab sticks & scallops moffatbeachbrewingco.beer

www.beerandbrewer.com

Our Newtown Brewpub brings Mountain Goat straight to the OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK MOUNTAIN GOAT BREWPUB 435 King Street, Newtown NSW heart of Sydney, with 12 taps featuring all your favourite Mountain Sun-Wed from 12pm to 10pm Goat beers and a cocktail menu celebrating our Hopped Gin. Thur-Sat from 12pm to midnight goatbeer.com.au

YOU BREW IT, WE’LL PROTECT IT. 1300 136 055 brewery@midlandinsurance.com.au

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Moffat Beach Passenger Pale Ale

Moffat Beach Hazed & Confused

Balter Brewing Eazy Hazy

Beerfarm Milk Stout

Beerfarm Royal Haze

ABV: 5.2% Style: Pale Ale A light tropical, stone and passionfruit hop aroma from Tasmanian Galaxy is softened slightly by the light toasted Pilsner malt notes. Full flavoured and moderately sweet up front but this quickly transitions with a midpalate bitterness that lingers. A mild sweetness returns and is a little mouth coating reducing the anticipated crisp finish. Glass: Rastal Willi Becher Food: Chicken quesadilla

ABV: 6.0% Style: Hazy IPA Bursting at the seams with hoppy goodness, this hazy is certainly a journey of flavour exploration. Kicking off with sweet citrus peel, exotic tropical fruits (hint of guava), pineapple and a little pine in the background, the first sip just reaffirms the carry over into the palate. Juicy and sweet up front, an assertive yet smooth bitterness from mid-palate through to the end, this beer is definitely one to savour. Sit back and enjoy! Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Haloumi burger

ABV: 4.0% Style: Session IPA If this wasn’t a limited release it would have all the attributes of being the ultimate everyday beer with its light ABV, bigness in hop flavour and fine balance that leaves you wanting more. It’s very hazy with aromas of citrus, mango and pineapple with a slight finish of coconut while the hop flavours of mango, passionfruit and grapefruit are clean and balanced. Body is a little thin but to be expected and finishes dry. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Spicy burrito balter.com.au

ABV: 5.5% Style: Milk Stout Very well balanced with a big dark malt presence that’s kept on track with a sweetness that works perfectly. Very dark to black, there’s a slight smokiness to the aromas alongside dark chocolate and coffee. Strong roasted malt flavours are allowed to shine by a subtle sweet finish without any malt bitterness or astringency. Definitely a stout you’re going to want more than one of. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Sticky date pudding beerfarm.com.au

ABV: 5.8% Style: Hazy IPA A self-assured hazy with a firm mouthfeel which aides drinkability, as does a clean and precise bittering leading to an even, agile finish. Its golden haziness is dense, as is the solid white foam, while light mango, pineapple and citrus aromas are met with a touch of pine. The light tropical flavours play off piney, grassy resin and melon while solid bready-biscuity malt notes keep it all tight but bright. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Hot Tamales beerfarm.com.au

moffatbeachbrewingco.beer

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Beerfarm Double IPL

Nomad Brewing Brookie Dark

Nomad Brewing Supersonic RØD

Sanctus Brewing Sweet Disposition

Exit Brewing Pale Ale

ABV: 7.8% Style: Double IPL Pale gold and clear, there’s an immediate smack of zingy, sherbety citrus and heavy tropical fruit notes with delicate doughy malt and a clean fermentation profile. The high end aromas carry through on a velvety, textural body as the full flavoured aspects of an IPA dish up spicy marmalade, coconut fudge and assertive citrus bitterness before its spritzy fizz and crisp clean finish remind you this is equal parts lager. Glass: Rastal Fresh Food: Fish tacos beerfarm.com.au

ABV: 4.5% Style: Dark Ale Playing on the culinary brownie-cookie cross this could easily be named after that rather than Nomad’s home suburb of Brookvale. Deep brown in colour with low foam and a tan head, aromas are of chocolate, nuts and caramel. The flavour of toasted, biscuit malt with licks of chocolate and caramel are nicely balanced. Some slight roasted malt bitterness on the finish nicely rounds out this ale. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Brookies nomadbrewingco.com.au

ABV: 7.8% Style: Double Red IPA A warming, earthy Red with Kveik yeast lending a bouquet of tropical fruit and citrus nuance. Pouring a deep amber to rich mahogony with an off-white head there’s a luscious mix of citrus and pine forest freshness wrapped in an oozy caramel sweetness on the nose. Flavours are a swirling, decadent medley of plump dark fruits, pink grapefruit and a robust earthiness that are all carried along with textural, velvety smoothness. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Crispy Chinese pork belly nomadbrewingco.com.au

ABV: 6.7% Style: IPA Like the song it takes its name from this builds its tempo, drawing you in before reaching its inevitable crescendo and you’re drinking with “reckless abandon like no one’s watching”. Bright gold with brilliant clarity, floral spice and mango aromas work in unison with sticky toffee sweetness. The pace picks up across the palate as buttery popcorn pops across the tongue alongside pronounced but balanced citrus pith. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: BBQ brisket sanctusbrewingco.com.au

ABV: 4.6% Style: Pale Ale Pouring straw to pale gold with a billowy white head, its freshness is imbued by enticing tropical fruit and in-season citrus aromas met by homely, breadbaking-in-the-oven toasty notes . With tropical fruit leading flavours on the palate with a firm malt body, lingering bitterness and crisp dry finish means this has more than enough going on to be enjoyed on its own in reverence or for all-day (responsible) drinking. A great representation of style. Glass: Rastal Willi Becher Food: Spicy tuna poke bowl exitbrewing.com

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Exit Brewing Milk Stout

Gage Roads Rock Dance

ABV: 5.2% Style: Milk Stout Pouring creamy and black with ruby red accents and a foamy tan head, you’re met with welcoming and nourishing aromas of chocolate ice cream and crème brûlée with a touch of alcohol warmth. Alongside roasty espresso, flavours follow aroma and are lush on the palate whilst its ABV is barely detectable. It’s beer’s version of a Winter’s blanket by the log fire. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Steak, mushroom sauce exitbrewing.com

ABV: 6.5% Style: West Coast IPA Pours dark golden with amazing clarity and a tight white foam as aromas of orange peel and pine needles are not too strong but most definitely identifiable. On the mid palate there’s some lingering sweetness but a delightful tangerine note lays down from the beginning and stays until the end. It’s not an earthshattering IPA, but it’s the kind of beer you want to keep in your fridge for a knock off, and then another. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Cheeseburger gageroads.com.au

ABV: 7.0% Style: Fruit Sour Pours a crazy bright orange with a lively head and even clings to the glass like pulpy orange juice. Strong aromas of stringy mango and pithy orange abound and the flavour is straight breakfast juice that’s all sweet mango and pithy orange. The finish is clean and appetising. Where’s the 7.0%? Definitely the best replacement for a mimosa we’ve had in a long time. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: Cheese & fruit plate piratelife.com.au

Pirate Life Ice Beer (Eisbock) ABV: 29.2% Style: Quadruple IPA Not for the faint hearted as we nearly fell off our chairs on the first sip. Please take Pirate Life’s advice of “best shared” with this. The liqueur-like viscosity of the amber liquid appears to suspend bubbles as aromas of malt sweetness and dank American hops are punch-uated with spicy, hot alcohol that clears the senses. Once alcohol heat eases you’re left with flavours of liquorice, orange peel and a bitterness that bites as hard as the alcohol hit. Glass: Rastal Lawrence Taster Food: Water! piratelife.com.au SE

Pirate Life Choc Chip Hot Cross Bun ABV: 9.5% Style: Pastry Stout The debate that rages every year of whether you like hot cross buns with fruit or with chocolate or toasted or not will go on for eternity. But what’s never in question is if you want your hot cross bun in beer form and this beauty from Pirate Life is testament to that. It’s dark and chocolatey with hints of sweet and spice notes while the spice and chocolate flavours are subtle for such a big beer. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Choc chip hot cross buns piratelife.com.au

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Pirate Life/Dilmah Tea & Biccies

Pirate Life Point Nine

Devil’s Hollow Anonymous

Holgate Brewhouse Temptress

Holgate Brewhouse Hazy IPA

ABV: 5.6% Style: Brown Ale On first glance this looks exactly as to be expected, a gorgeous brown colour with a thin tan head. And like the appearance the aromas start as you would expect with nutty-toffee sweetness and rich tea biscuits. Then some subtle notes of tea leaves are noticed and are followed through on profile where hits of spice, tannins and a tea-like astringency come to balance the toffee and biscuit sweetness leaving the palate dry and refreshed. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Rich tea biscuits piratelife.com.au

ABV: 0.9% Style: Low-alc Ale Brewed for adult drinking occasions with moderation in mind Point Nine does exactly that. The low ABV kicks just enough to give all the hallmarks of an easy drinking ale balanced with a lean malt profile. The soft mouthfeel and delicate hop flavours would pair perfectly with fish and chips on a sunny afternoon. It certainly fits the style notes from Pirate Life: “drink wise without the compromise”. Glass: Rastal Fresh Food: Fish & chips piratelife.com.au

ABV: 5.7% Style: NEIPA Devil’s Hollow Brewery was conceived on safari in 2017 by four school friends and their partners and is now a must-visit live music and food venue. Their more than enjoyable Anonymous NEIPA pours hazy, golden yellow with good head. Aromatic expressions of pineappleled tropical fruits are reflected in the medium body flavour of the beer. Good hop intensity and full fruit flavour adds to the appeal. Lingering, oily bitterness is pleasing. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Pineapple chicken devilshollow.com.au

ABV: 6.0% Style: Choc Porter Temptress was first released in 2008 and remains a signature of the style and has a trophy cabinet and medal rank too numerous to count. Dark brown in colour with a tan top it delivers whirls of chocolate and vanilla notes on the aroma. The body has rich malt layering of chocolate, coffee, caramel and toffee. Flicks of vanilla and malt bitterness add to the complexity. Good lingering malt sweetness and chocolate carry the finish. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Black Forest cake holgatebrewhouse.com

ABV: 6.8% Style: Hazy IPA It pours burnished gold with deep haze and a fluffy white head as big juicy notes of mango, citrus and stone fruit from the all-American hop line-up abound with a decent chunk of spicy pine tying it together. The tropical fruit medley continues in flavour while bitterness is present but restrained as the oats and wheat soften the full-bodied mouthfeel whilst not completely overshadowing the warmth from the alcohol. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: American hot dogs holgatebrewhouse.com

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White Rabbit Dark Ale

White Rabbit Chocolate Stout

IronBark Hill Rough As Nuts

IronBark Hill Black Forest Stout

Burleigh Brewing Hop Nectar

ABV: 4.9% Style: Dark Ale A well awarded beer across multiple shows over a lengthy tenure, including Gold at the 2010 AIBA. Dark Ale is deep brown in appearance with good carbonation. Earthy hops and light roasted malt form an ensemble of scents. The palate has a wonderful balance of hop flavours including mushroom and truffle, and good malt expression of bitter dark chocolate and light roasted malt with good lingering malt sweetness. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Lamb skewers whiterabbitbeer.com.au

ABV: 5.6% Style: Chocolate Stout Pouring a deep dark ruby with a solid tan head that follows the glass. Blended with brandy, it certainly comes across on the nose along with sweet chocolate. The aromas don’t flatter to deceive either as the full flavour of brandy and sweet chocolate come firing across the palate with a little bitterness to balance. This richness leaves the palate coated in chocolate and espresso allowing you to savour the profile all the way through. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Sharp cheddar whiterabbitbeer.com.au

ABV: 4.8% Style: Flavoured Porter Rough as Nuts pours brown and has a good tan head. A biscuit malt aroma with classic roast notes of chocolate, hazelnut and licks of coffee. The palate unveils extensions of toffee and coconut and some deeper chocolate malt layering. The nuttiness stands up in the glass and supports the lengthy finish. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Sticky beef & cashew stir fry ironbarkhill.com

ABV: 5.2% Style: Sweet Stout Deep brown in colour, with a medium tan head, this is an easy drinking Stout for the style with mild roast characters and splashes of coffee and chocolate on the palate. Subtle cherry notes from fruit additions complement the beer and is a subtle differentiation. The aroma of chocolate and cherry gives a Cherry Ripe feeling to the beer. The finish is balanced and complements chocolate, cherry and malt sweetness. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Black Forest cake ironbarkhill.com

ABV: 6.0% Style: IPA Burnished gold to amber this limited release possesses excellent clarity with a creamy all white head. The aromas are restrained but distinct with a citrus freshness and notes of ripe tropical fruit. Flavour follows aroma in an easy drinking IPA where a lager-like crispness steals the show. It’s aided by the finely-tuned interplay of juiciness from the hops and malts with a balanced resiny bitterness to wrap it all in a bow. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Tropical burger burleighbrewing.com.au

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Colonial Brewing Robust Porter

Colonial Brewing Hazy IPA

Wayward Brewing Peaches & Cream

Six String Brewing Sleight of Hand

Black Hops Super G.O.A.T

ABV: 6.0% Style: Porter A fantastic beer from Colonial perfectly suited to the cooler weather. Coffee and chocolate malt flavours give the beer a silky mouthfeel and a rich explosion of flavour. Malt is the hero but the hop character brings a fine balance to the beer rounded out by the 6.0% ABV. Pouring a dark brown with a rocky head and drinking with a dry finish this beer is perfectly suited to fireside consumption. Glass: Rastal Craft Master Bowl Food: Roast dinner colonialbrewingco.com.au

ABV: 6.7% Style: Hazy IPA A cloudy yellow with good haze and creamy white head, the aromas are full and defined as tropical notes of green melon, pawpaw and ripe stone fruit are fresh and clean while balanced by a touch of sticky piney spice. The tropical goodness takes the lead on flavour too as wheat and oats aide a lush mouthfeel while maximum satisfaction comes from the delicate interplay of softly sweet malt and a gentle bittering. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Jalapeno poppers colonialbrewingco.com.au

ABV: 5.2% Style: Peach & Vanilla Sour Hazy and golden yellow like peach flesh, the nose is the epitome of peaches and cream lollies as the candied aromas of the Australian grown fruit and vanilla are highly distinct. It’s incredible how something that can smell so sweet isn’t once its tasted as a tangy peach souring and silky, velvety finish make for an impeccably balanced drinking experience. Glass: Rastal Teku Food: A dessert in itself wayward.com.au

ABV: 6.8% Style: White Stout Drinking blind you’d be hard pressed to guess the colour of this beer as aside from the absence of roasted astringency and acidity it’s got many of the hallmarks of a regular Sweet Stout. But you’re met with a clear, golden straw liquid with a creamy head. Notes of chocolate and vanilla sweetness are inviting while they are accentuated on the palate with luscious mochaliqueur flavours and a decadent mouthfeel. Glass: Rastal München Food: Roast lamb sixstringbrewing.com.au

ABV: 8.4% Style: Double Hazy IPA Much like a lot of Black Hops beers this is hop forward and delicious. Specifically, it’s hop forward, hazy and delicious! It’s boozy but with clean tropical hop flavours and sharp bitterness. Black Hops describe a complex hop profile and it shows in the broad expression of citrus and floral hop flavour. For such a big beer it is remarkably balanced and sessionable, certainly worth reaching for the second can! Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Pork ribs blackhops.com.au

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COMPETITION Akasha Brewing Azacca IPA

Prize Winner

ABV: 6.8% Style: IPA This ticks all the boxes for a top quality IPA but is so approachable, so balanced and oh so damn tasty. With a delicate citrus and tropical melon hop punch up front and a dry as a bone finish, this is an IPA you can easily enjoy a few of without fuss – just watch the ABV sneak up on you! Akasha are the leaders in hop forward beers in Sydney and possibly Australia, and this is no exception. Glass: Rastal Craft Master 1 Food: Brisket roll akashabrewing.com.au

The winner of our craft beer review competition from the last issue is Victoria’s Geoff O’Neill with his take on Akasha Brewing’s limited release Azacca IPA. Check out Geoff’s Instagram page @beardedbeerbros for more of his great reviews. Thanks to CraftyMerch he wins the Craft Beer Tasting Set four pack from Rastal and takes pride of place on this page.

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Business directory Breweries

VIC GYPSY HUB

NSW PRANCING PONY THE CRAFT & CO AUSTRALIAN BREWERY 350 Annangrove Road, Rouse Hill NSW 2155 (02) 9679 4555 brewer@australianbrewery.com.au www.australianbrewery.com.au Cellar door open 10am-10pm daily

HAIRYMAN BREWERY Contract Services Unit 10, 12-14 Northumberland Road, Caringbah NSW 2229 (02) 9525 4050 info@hairyman.com.au www.hairyman.com.au

Brewery. Distillery. Eatery. Micro Dairy. Incorporating a craft brewery, distillery, eatery and micro-dairy onsite, there’s always things to drink, eat or shop for at The Craft & Co! 390 Smith St Collingwood (03) 9417-4755 info@thecraftandco.com.au www.thecraftandco.com.au

COOPERS 461 South Road, Regency Park SA 5010 (08) 8398 3881 www.coopers.com.au Tours available 1pm Tuesday to Friday

The Pony is an Experience. Based in the Adelaide Hills, watch the brewers at work as the brewhouse is in the middle of the brewery restaurant. We offer food matched or cooked with beers and with 16 beers on tap there is something for everybody. Join us for a brewery tour and check out our live entertainment. Come as you are, the brewery is family and dog friendly. Open 6 days a week (closed Tuesdays), call to book your table or brewery tour now. 08-8398 3881 or info@prancingponybrewery.com.au prancingponybrewery.com.au www.facebook.com/ PrancingPonyBrewery twitter.com/prancingponysa www.instagram.com/ prancingponybrewery

CRAFTY CONTRACTORS Tanunda SA, 5352 (08) 8563 0696 (option 2) office@bvbeer.com.au www.facebook.com/ craftycontractors/ You bring passion. We provide expertise. The perfect partner to make your beer dreams a reality. Specialising in small batch craft brewing.

www.beerandbrewer.com

Gypsy Hub is a brand incubator working with brewers & distillers to bring their recipes to life on a commercial scale: -Planning & Logistics -Recipe Development -R&D -Onsite Packaging -Full Contract Brewing or Distilling -Gypsy Brewing or Distilling (03) 9924-4070 info@gypsyhub.com.au

SOUTHERN BAY CANNING NOW AVAILABLE We contract brew, can, bottle or keg all beverage types. www.SouthernBay.com.au Michael@SouthernBay.com.au Ph: (03) 5248 5710

Distributors

WA BEER IMPORTERS & DISTRIBUTORS COWARAMUP BREWING CO.

Contract Brewing

North Treeton Road, Cowaramup WA 6284 (08) 9755 5822 www.cowaramupbrewing.com.au Tours available by appointment Open 7 days a week 11am – 6pm

THE MONK BREWERY & KITCHEN 33 South Terrace, Fremantle WA 6160 (08) 9336 7666 beer@themonk.com.au Open every day 11:30am until late

Unit 5/20-28 Ricketty Street, Mascot NSW 2020 (02) 9667 3755 info@bidbeer.com www.bidbeer.com www.facebook.com/ BeerImportersDistributors Beers: Chimay (BEL), Duvel (BEL), Green King (UK), Frenchies (AUS), St Feuillien (BEL) plus many more.

HOME MAKE IT WHOLESALE

FB*PROPAK

Home Make It’s new wholesale and trade division has been launched to help supply home and craft brewing businesses nationwide with quality, unique brewing supplies and equipment. Contact: Steve Lamberto 0412 865 783 (03) 9487 1130 stevenl@homemakeit.com.au www.homemakeit.com.au/pages/ wholesale-trade

96 Chifley Drive, Preston. VIC 3072 (03) 9487 1150 info@fbpropak.com www.fbpropak.com This specialised team has more than 50 years of experience in providing various brewing equipment solutions, including turnkey breweries, bottling/ canning lines, filtration, tanks, labellers, pilot/custom breweries, refrigeration and much more.

Education VINIQUIP INTERNATIONAL

Equipment

Love Brewing Beer? Find out more about our brewing qualifications. www.central.op.ac.nz

Processing, Bottling and Packaging equipment Unit 4 Wineworks Complex 5 James Rochfort Place, Twyford (RD5) Hastings, New Zealand Tel: +64 6 8797799 Fax: +64 6 8794624 Mob: +64 21 588008 NZ Freephone: 0800 284647 AUSTRALIA Freephone: 1800 209370 www.viniquip.co.nz

Ingredients

FERMENTIS

MIDLAND INSURANCE BROKERS

15 MacDonald St, Mortlake NSW 0413 068 874 Fermentis is an agile and expanding company, dedicated to fermented beverage industries. It is a business unit of Lesaffre Group, global key player in yeast and all its applications for over 160 years.

brewery@midlandinsurance.com.au 1300 306 571 www.midlandinsurance.com.au Tailored and comprehensive insurance solutions, catered specifically for the brewery industry. Midland is about demystifying the complexities of insurance so clients don’t have to. No sales pitches or jargon. Just honest, simple and unequivocal service and advice.

HOP PRODUCTS AUSTRALIA

Testing

(03) 6282 2000 info@hops.com.au www.hops.com.au Proprietary Aussie (Eclipse®, Ella™, Engima®, Galaxy®, Topaz™, Vic Secret™), international and advanced hop products.

JOE WHITE MALTINGS joewhitemaltings.com.au Harvested from barley belts across the country, Joe White selects the finest sun-drenched Australian grains, before passing the plump kernels into the hands of their expert maltsters who carefully craft their Base, Specialty and Signature single source malts.

FERMENT Australia-wide beer testing. Phone 1300 302 242 for your free EastTest sample kit and free transport to your nearest laboratory. info@ferment.com.au www.ferment.com.au

Homebrew Directory VIC

BINTANI (03) 8587 9888 sales@bintani.com.au www.bintani.com.au A wholesale distributor proudly connecting brewers and distillers to the world’s best ingredients. Malt: Joe White, Weyermann, Simpsons, Briess & Gambrinus Hops: International hops spanning four continents. Yeast: Fermentis by Lesaffre.

NZ HOPS +643 544 8989 We are a cooperative of Master Growers, built on family values for over 150 years. Contact us for more info: sales@nzhops.co.nz

Insurance

HOME MAKE IT 4/158 Wellington Road, Clayton VIC 3168 265 Spring Street, Reservoir VIC 3073 (03) 9487 1150 info@homemakeit.com.au www.homemakeit.com.au Twitter: @HomeMakeIt Specialists in home brew, beverage and food-making equipment and supplies. Shop in-store or online.

INSURANCE HOUSE Tailored solutions for microbrewers 1300 305 834 www.insurancehouse.com.au

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With a qualiﬁed team of in-house engineers and technicians, FB*PROPAK has the scope and depth to supply, customise and install your ideal brewing, packaging and distilling equipment.

fbpropak.com

info@fbpropak.com

(03) 9487-1150