Dubai Scene

MEET SCOTTY HARGRAVE,

HEAD BREWER OF BALTER

Read on with envy as we get to know how Scotty’s dream of becoming a pro-brewer came to reality.

(opposite) Mick Fanning pro surfer and co-founder of Balter Brewing

Scotty Hargrave (left) with Mick Fanning (right)

Lukas Raschilla: How did you get started as a brewer? Did you ever imagine this would be your career? Scotty Hargrave: It’s the whole home brewer to pro-brewer fantasy story, but it’s all true… I was a concreter who enjoyed creating home brews; I entered a few competitions and started to win awards, medals, comps etc… From there I started to get asked to interview for brewing jobs and then I got an opportunity to brew commercially, so I took it!

I always hoped to be a brewer one day as I had been bitten by the brewing bug, but wasn’t game enough to dream it…then it all happened and my dreams came to reality.

LR: What is your favourite aspect of being a brewer on a daily basis? SH: That people get pleasure out of my work. That someone’s day just got that little bit better because they had one (or more) of my beers is pretty cool and humbling. Let’s not forget the pure craftsmanship involved in making beer… that’s immensely important to me as well.

LR: How many beers do you taste on average per day? SH: It can be one or two, or it can be 20. It can be 20 different beers tasted once or it could be one beer tasted 20 times.

LR: What are your favourite food and drink pairings (doesn’t have to be beer)? SH: Stinky blue cheese and IPA, French triple cream brie and our XPA or a great pilsner, chocolate mud cake and schwarzbier or stout, jalapeno poppers and a big fat margarita.

LR: Speaking of entertaining, what do you like doing in your spare time? SH: Enjoying beer and cheese with my wife, beach time with the family and occasionally entertaining, cooking (with a beer in hand) and hanging at Balter HQ watching people enjoy my work.

LR: Do you have one vice or something that’s a bit of a guilty pleasure? SH: Salt and vinegar peanuts. My youngest daughter has a very serious peanut allergy so it really is a guilty pleasure. I can’t eat them around her obviously, so I scoff them at work and still feel guilty.

LR: Is there a beer you have developed that you’re most proud of? SH: At the moment it would be Balter XPA. I’m utterly blown away by the response we’ve had with that beer. I thought I had designed a great beer that I could build a brewery around and it turned out to be pretty well true.

LR: After a long day at the brewery, what is your go-to drink? SH: Usually, the most recent run of our beers. We’ve got a bunch on tap at Balter HQ that I’m always keen to keep tabs on. I also get given a lot of beers from other brewers to have a look at, so that’s always fun to taste while I’m cooking dinner.

LR: What type of music is your jam? SH: I’m an old metal dude at heart. The last three gigs I’ve seen have been High on Fire, The Melvins, and Sleep - that should give you some idea. Also the usual suspects - Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Mudhoney etc.

LR: Is there a soundtrack at the brewery you and your co-workers have developed? SH: Not really, no Coldplay is my only rule.

LR: Given some of the folk behind Balter are pro-surfers, I have to ask, do you surf? If so, have been out for a surf with the guys? SH: Nah, we have a kind unwritten law. I’ll do the beer and they do the surfing, although they have threatened to drag me out there, but it would be silly to drown the brewer. I do body surf during the summer as I live in Byron Bay and the beach it literally a five-minute walk.

24 hours in DUBAI?

Here’s our guide on where to drink

Love it or hate it, there’s nowhere quite like Dubai – exciting, brash, seemingly changing by the second. In fact, stand still long enough and someone will surely build a speciality restaurant or kick ass vegan juice bar around you, which is convenient if a little confusing at times. However, more than anywhere else, it pays to know where you’re going, as local alcohol laws restrict the visibility and even the location of licensed premises, making it unlikely that you’ll just stumble upon the next big thing.

WORDS LINDSAY TRIVERS

With that in mind here are some suggestions where you can enjoy a great drink, great service and the atmosphere to match in order to get a taste of this incredible city.

COMMON GROUNDS

It might seem strange to go for coffee in a mall, but then most malls don’t offer an indoor ski field. Founded by two pioneers of the ever-evolving Dubai coffee scene, Common Grounds is a Melbourne style café that’s almost supernaturally laid back, except when it comes to the dark gold on offer. True coffee lovers will adore ‘the magic’, a spin on the classic flat white, while if you’re hungry the food is hearty, healthy and appealing. If that’s not enough, you’ll also be supporting a small independent business thriving in this super competitive industry.

Level 2, Mall of The Emirates (near Vox Cinema), Al Barsha, Dubai T: +971 (0)50 497 1094 W: www.commongroundsdubai.com Opening hours: 8am – 10pm

Set on the trunk of the iconic Palm Jumeirah with a slice of perfect golden sand right outside, Ají serves Nikkei cuisine – a heavenly blend of Japanese and Peruvian, which might well be your next foodie love affair. With an environment that’s best described as quirky, the award-winning bartenders here blur the line between a mixologist and mad scientist and they even have a sake sommelier on hand should you need them.

Adjascent Tiara Residences, Club Vista Mare, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai T: +971 (0)4 552 0244 W: www.aji.ae/ Opening hours: Sat – Wed: 12pm – 1am Thurs – Fri: 12pm – 2am

COCKTAIL-KITCHEN

With a bright, minimalist interior and staff that redefine great service, Cocktail-Kitchen is another independent gem, this time specialising in all things vermouth - from refreshing spritz to classic aperitifs, perhaps with a side order of Padron peppers or fig and blue cheese bruschetta thrown in for good measure. There’s even a special area where you can book a private cocktail lesson and a welcome non-smoking policy at the bar, as smoking indoors is still, unfortunately, commonplace in the Emirate.

Armada BlueBay Hotel, Cluster P Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), Dubai T: +971 (0)56 828 0727 W: www.cocktail-kitchen.com Opening hours: Sun – Thurs: 5pm – 2am Fri – Sat: 1pm – 2am

WILD AND THE MOON

One of Dubai’s most popular, and indeed most hipster cafés, Wild and the Moon specialises in all things healthy, in particular delicious, organic cold pressed juices and an unrepentant passion for all things matcha. Added to which, there’s absolutely no chance of a body blow to your karma involved in a visit.

Unit H77, Street 8, Alserkal Avanue, Al Quoz 1, Dubai T: +971 (0)4 343 3392 W: www.wildandthemoon.com Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 8am – 7pm