LETTER
FROM
THE
EDITOR
What ho, ladies and gentlemen! Sorry I’ve been reading a lot of P.G. Wodehouse lately and mentally I’m feeling like a 1930s upper-class gent wearing spats and a carnation in my buttonhole. I will endeavour to get that out of my system, but in the meantime, let’s talk about what you can expect in this edition of Froth! It’s the HYPE edition, so we thought we would have a little fun exploring all the silly and sassy beers that are coming our way, and find out whether traditional beer styles are as dead as the dodo or whether drinkers prefer an ESB to something with glitter in it. (We had a lot of fun with the front cover, trying to balance donuts on shaving cream masquerading as beer foam - I don’t think I can ever eat donuts again, which might not be a bad thing.) We explore the fragrant mysteries of the hop cannon, investigate how breweries are connecting with their fans, and take a bike ride through the beautiful Barossa Valley to see if wine is as good as beer. Aunty Frida whips up some tasty beer bread, and my Mum TOTALLY ENJOYS SOME BEERS, I’M NOT EVEN KIDDING!! Read on to discover what tickles her fancy. We hope you enjoy this edition of Froth, and have a lovely March. Cheers, Emily Day
CONTENTS REGULARS
BEER NEWS HOP OF THE MONTH BAR REVIEW MUSIC + BEER MATCH BEER LABEL DESIGN BEER REVIEWS MUM’S REVIEWS - Sh*t My Mum Says About Craft Beer 27 AUNTY FRIDA’S KITCHEN - Frida Rowe makes beer bread with IPA 28 HOME BREW HEROES Oscar Casley reveals the three rules of home brewing 30 FUN PAGE Crafty Comic, Beer Quiz, Frothword and more! 6 10 10 11 12 12 26
FEATURES
16 HYPE BEERS - P16 Don’t Believe the hype … or should you? We probe whether all that glitters is actually golden 20 FANNING THE FLAMES How Australian craft breweries are reaching out to their supporters 22 IN THE LINE OF FIRE Emily Reeves reveals the explosive truth about hop cannons 24 BIKE TO THE FUTURE Cycling beer lover Jeff Sambur tries wines in the Barossa Valley
Subscribe at: frothbeer.com/subscribe
Clint and Emily a.k.a Team Froth. Photo by Rob Townsend @cmft_
INFO
THANKS
Editor Emily Day / emily@frothbeer.com
Thank you so much to all of our advertisers who enable us to pay our printer every month! Penny Young, GBW, Good Drinks Co, Urban Alley Brewery, Bridge Rd Brewers, Stone & Wood, Mountain Goat, Grain & Grape, Kaiju, Carwyn, Kekou, Flowcrete, Bonehead Brewing, CoConspirators, Beer 360, McCoppins and Bodriggy Brewing - y’all are amazing!
Cover Photo: Mark Murray
Cover art Clint Weaver / pocketbeagles.co
Design Clint Weaver / pocketbeagles.co
Contributors Clint Weaver, Liam O’Hare, Clayton Waters, Matt Hofmann, Alan Lam, Blair Hughes, Emily Reeves, Jeff Sambur, Silvia Day, Frida Rowe, Oscar Casley Crafty Comic Michael Alesich / instagram @ironoak Frothword Oliver Hayes
Editorial enquiries emily@frothbeer.com
Thank you to all our contributors for gracing our pages with your talent and flair. We love you! Thank you to all our friends and supporters who keep us going and help us to distribute and post out Froth. Special thanks to Froth designer and all-round legend Clint Weaver for his tireless work and kickass design skills! Very special thank you also to the amazing Mark Murray for spending eight hours photographing the front cover for us! And thank you to our readers for reading Froth!
Advertising enquiries Clint Weaver clint@frothbeer.com Independent. Awesome. Free. Printed by Printgraphics in Melbourne on paper produced using sustainable forestry practices. Distributed by Step Right Up Distribution, St Kilda. All information © Alfie Dog Media. The opinions of the contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher. Find Froth at your local bottle shop, bar or pub. For where to find Froth, head to www.frothbeer.com. Subscribe for your home or venue at frothbeer.com/subscribe. Froth is a proudly “no sponsored content” publication ‒ we keep our ads and our articles separate. Support independent media and the local beer industry by advertising in Froth!
WWW.FROTHBEER.COM facebook.com/frothbeermag
@frothbeermag
DESIGNS FOR BEER Hi i’m Clint. I put this magazine together each month. I hope you enjoy it. I specialise in branding for beer and hospitality, so if you are looking for a designer let’s have a chat. my studio is called pocketbeagles my instagram is @pocketbeagles and my email is clint@pocketbeagles.co or if you’re the chatty type or just want to send me pictures of frogs my number is 0425 605 430. @frothbeermag
Tag your photos enjoying Froth mag with a beer #frothbeermag
SOLD OUT
BEERNEWSBEERNEWSB
ALL THE BEER NEWS FROM AROUND AUSTRALIA / ALL THE BEER NEWS FROM AROUND A By Emily Day toasted up some coconut flakes,” the brewery reports. “Fruit and coconut were added to the brew during fermentation.” Aloha F**kers pours hazy with a vibrate pale gold colour, the nose is bright and effervescent with passionfruit and pineapple. Fresh tropical fruit vibes meet subtle coconut and it’s all capped off with a refreshing tartness. nowhereman.com.au
Otherside experimental release Perth’s Otherside Brewing Co is getting weird with its latest ‘Experimental Series’ release, the Banana Shake IPA. “It’s a blatant attempt to capitalise on the latest styles trending on Instagram,” brewer Rhys Lopez jokes. The tongue-in-cheek comment distracts from how seriously he’s taken getting this beer just right. “A lot of brewers told me this beer wasn’t going to work,” he said, “typically a Hefeweizen yeast strain, which brings the banana flavour, doesn’t go well with bitterness, so using this strain in an IPA is difficult to pull off. Having said that, this has come together really well and we’re very happy with it. The banana from the yeast and the melon and pineapple characters from the hops work really well together. We’ve also added vanilla and lactose to give it that big milkshake energy.” The Banana Shake IPA debuted in the Otherside Brewhouse in late February. It also joins a growing list of Otherside beers making their way to the east coast, with Beer DeLuxe in Federation Square, Melbourne, hosting a launch party for the Banana Shake IPA and another yettobe-released Otherside beer on March 9. othersidebrewing.com.au
Nowhereman gets tropical Grab your lei and transport yourself to a tropical island, find a deck chair with ocean views, kick back and relax. WA brewery Nowhereman has created Aloha F**kers, a tropical sour beer perfect for a hot Perth summer! “We took dragonfruit, passionfruit, mango and pineapple and blitzed them up and our rad kitchen crew
Wild Hop Brewery Opens WA is adding a new brewery to its stable of awesome offerings, with Wild Hop the newest addition to South West WA, near Rocky Ridge and Beer Farm, with a full restaurant and playground. Their beers are all one-offs, with every beer updated and changed as the kegs run dry. Wild Hop’s line-up covers a range of styles, with standouts including the new-world Nectarine Gose, NEIPA and American Wheat. Brewers Matt Scott-Malcolm and Andrew Caldwell are working overtime at the moment to keep up with demand after their debut at the South West Beer Fest in February. Family-owned and open every day from 11am-6pm. wildhopbeer.com.au Asylum Seeker charity beer Mongrel bar in Brisbane has teamed up with Maleny brewery Brouhaha and Calibre Craft Beer Trading Co to create a new beer to raise money for Asylum Circle, a collaborative project in Queensland that contributes to the support of people seeking asylum. The beer is a blood Matt Jancauskas, head brewer at orange and Brouhaha. Pic by Toby Stodart passionfruit sour called Sunburnt Country, with the philosophy that it “tastes best shared”. The charity beer will launch in the the first week of April at venues in Brisbane and surrounds including Mongrel, The Scratch, Netherworld, Newstead Brewing, Tippler’s Tap, The End, Oxford Tap House and Brouhaha. mongrelbrisbane.com
Bar SK mixes beer and games Bar SK has commissioned 10 of Melbourne’s most interestingly playful artists to create games specifically for display in their small Smith Street Bar. Each artist will present their work on the first Thursday of the month, alongside two supporting works chosen by bar owner Louie Roots. This commission series is currently the only support in Australia for creating small-scale, exhibition-friendly games, something Bar SK believes is incredibly important. The funding wouldn’t be possible without the help of Melbourne’s independent craft beer scene, with each month supported by local breweries, often featuring one-off collaborations. “It’s great to see independent beer supporting independent arts at such a small and experimental scale,” says Louie. The first exhibition, currently running at the space, is themed “Jump”, featuring a work by Zachariah Chandler, a recent RMIT graduate whose current game “Nth Dimensional Hiker” is currently nominated for a Nuovo award at IGF. The themes will be announced during the year, but the list of artists involved is available at barsk.com.au/2019 Brick Lane and ice cream floats Brick Lane Brewery’s taphouse is now open at their Dandenong South brewery from Thursday to Sunday from midday. On tap are Brick Lane beers, including the new Red Hoppy Ale, and guest beers from their brewing partners such as Hop Nation. Brick Lane will also be revealing a collab with Popstic Icecream, bespoke sorbet and icy pole maker. Popstic have taken Red Hoppy Ale and added toffee pieces to make an amazing creation, which will be shared at Beer InCider Festival in Melbourne and Brisbane this month. bricklanebrewing.com
SBEERNEWSBEERNEWS
D ALL THE BEER NEWS FROM AROUND AUSTRALIA / ALL THE BEER NEWS FROM AROUND Modus Operandi go bigger Sydney brewery Modus Operandi have a new national release for 2019 - the Future Factory IIIPA (below), a hazy hop-laden triple IPA bursting with tropical citrus. “People have been asking for Future Factory but if we went back to such a popular beer – we wanted to go bigger and better,” the brewery says. Out now in bottle shops and bars nationwide. mobrewing.com.au
Stone & Wood go against the grain Independent Northern Rivers brewer, Stone & Wood Brewing Co has announced the launch of a new range of rotating beers that will be brewed under the Counter Culture label for drinkers on the East Coast. Embodying the innovation that Stone & Wood has always strived for, Head Brewer Caolan Vaughan says the Counter Culture range will consist of “recipes we’ve never tried before, pilot catch beers enjoyed at the tasting room by drinkers, local and from afar, collaboration beers and anything else that our brew team is inspired by from the broader brewing community!” The past few years has seen Australian drinker’s palates continually evolving. A large portion of beer drinkers have their go-to beers but also mix it up with interesting and thought-provoking limited release beers from independent brewers around the country. The first beer will be released in March at the Good Beer Week Gala and launched at Stone & Wood’s Counter Culture Launch Party at The Mill on March 18. This beer will be super limited and the brewery is encouraging drinkers to sign up via stoneandwood.com.au/counter-culture to find out where it is available and how to buy it from their online store. Instagram @counterculturebeer
Club Brewing brews Best-Of After brewing 27 exclusive beers since December 2016, the Club Brewing Co. team have finally given in to member requests and have committed to re-brew three of their most popular beers for their Autumn pack.
only available to Club members (www. clubbrewing.com) who receive a fresh pack with three new collaborations every quarter. The Best-Of pack will be out in early April, so become a member now to have this pack delivered to your door. clubbrewing.com
An online poll was recently conducted for members to pick their three most popular beers.
Holgate launches new beers Holgate has a couple of new releases that will excite lovers of sour and fruity beers. The Commissioner Grapefruit Sour IPA was brewed to put their new state-of-theart brewhouse through its paces. They brewed a hoppy sour beer, and also ran fresh grapefruit and hops through the new hop back. This kettle sour is hopped with Topaz, Mandarina, Bavaria and Wakatu and loaded with Australian ruby grapefruit for extra zing!
“We felt a bit like Bryan Adams back in ’93,” said brewing manager Chris Thomas. “We knew we had a great back catalogue, but we’re a long way from done. After making so many unique and awesome beers over the last couple of years, we thought we owed it to our members and the breweries we’ve worked with to do three of them again.” Unsurprisingly, IPA dominated the top of the order. “The Club Brewing and Lagunitas collaboration from our winter pack last year came out comfortably in front,” says Chris. Next in line was the first beer Club Brewing Co made, with Mr IPA himself, Mitch Steele. “When we got Mitch on board he was still with Stone, and when he left he wasn’t sure if we would still be keen,” Thomas remarked. “We were still keen as – brewing with Mitch Steele isn’t something you get to do everyday!” Rounding out the pack is a wet-hop IPA called Point Break, brewed with Salt Brewery (previously Rogue Wave) in Victoria. Inspired by old-school IPAs from the late ’90s and early 2000s, the IPA also takes advantage of fresh picked Chinook Flowers from Ryefield Hops in NSW. Club Brewing’s exclusive beers are
Holgate has also whipped up a Citrus Saison with a tangy twist from fresh ruby grapefruits, limes, mandarins and oranges alongside zesty Saphir, a new German hop. Expect citrus zing and farmhouse funk – a seasonal ale with real flavour. holgatebrewhouse.com
FESTIVAL CALENDAR
GABS heads to Brisbane We are thrilled to announce that GABS (Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular, pictured above) is returning to Melbourne and Sydney for 2019, and we are proud to present for the first time ever, GABS Brisbane!! Renowned as one of the world’s leading beer festivals, GABS brings together the best breweries from Australia and New Zealand to rethink and celebrate the way we drink craft beer and cider. The event offers 170 unique craft beers and ciders that are made specifically for GABS. Although Vietnamese pho, donuts, wine, hemp, popcorn, and green ants (yes you read that right) aren’t the first thing you think of when you think great craft beers and ciders they are just a few of the ingredients mixed into this years brews. With brewers teaming up with teahouses, gin distilleries and even an American BBQ Smokehouse, GABS 2019 is set to be a wild and tasty year. Tickets will be available from March 1.
Beer InCider countdown Melbourne gets their first taste of Brisbane’s Beer InCider festival on Saturday 2 March. With a mix of top Aussie bands including Something for Kate, a great foodie line-up and the Brewers Stage led by key voices and industry experts (including Froth editor Emily Day, who will be hosting a discussion panel with CoConspirators Brewing), there will even be a “Little Smith Street Precinct” set up by Fixation Brewing and Red Sparrow Pizza, a giant Connect 4 tournament, and Balter Brewing’s Tins of Glory will ensure mass game action is had by all.
GABS Melbourne Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Friday 17-19 May
Kaiju are bringing their cider slushies to the festival, and there will be various exclubrews offered only at Beer InCider, be sure to try Green Beacon’s róse sour (pictured), aptly called Blush, perfect for the festival tasting paddle which takes the form of a ping pong racquet. Search for the official Beer InCider 2019 playlist on Spotify, created by redhairevents.
GABS Sydney Sydney Showground, Olympic Park Saturday 1 June
Beer InCider Melbourne Saturday 2 March, 11am-10pm Melbourne Showgrounds
GABS Auckland ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane Saturday 29 June
Beer InCider Brisbane Saturday March 9, 11am-10pm Brisbane Showgrounds.
gabsfestival.com
beerincider.com
GABS Brisbane Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Bank Saturday 27 April
Our vision starts with a 120 year old building, celebrating its historic charm & the complexity of its design with our love of craft beer (18 rotating taps!) & Eastern delicacies.
WE ARE EXCITED TO BE OPENING OUR DOORS ON THE 12TH OF MARCH 2019 396 Bridge Rd, Richmond
HOP OF THE MONTH HOP: Eureka GROWN: Mainly US AROMA: Black Currant, Dark Fruits,
Strong Herbal Notes and Pine Tree
When I think of Eureka I either think of that ancient philosopher jumping out of his bathtub after an epiphany, or about gold miners and the Eureka stockade. Another association I’ll be adding to this list is a delightful hop variety, recently introduced to me by way of a ‘Single Malt and Single Hop’ (also known as SMASH) beer made by Last Rites Brewing Co in Tasmania. Last Rites’ Eureka SMASH delivered a mind-blowingly fresh aroma that came off the glass like a hurricane, and a pleasurably complex flavour profile that got my neurons and taste buds jumping in a way that the innumerable procession of hazy juice bombs (as much as I love ’em) have not. Mainly grown in America, Eureka is grown locally by Ellerslie Hop Australia, an 85-year-old familyowned company based in Victoria. Ellerslie suffered a catastrophic fire in April 2018 that destroyed processing equipment and their 2018 harvest (luckily no one was injured). After 309 days of tireless rebuilding, the Ellerslie crew are back up and running with a new harvest. Eureka is a fairly new variety with similarities to Simcoe and Summit hops. The progeny of hop varietals Apollo and Merkur (for those of you following the hop family tree), it has very strong bittering qualities and a complex and robust flavour and aroma profile. Expect flavours of citrus, resin, tropical and dark fruit along with aromas of grapefruit rind, citrus and tangerine.
BAR REVIEW
THE INCUBATOR FIXATION BREWERY
414 SMITH STREET, COLLINGWOOD VIC Open: Wed-Thu 4pm-10pm, Fri 4pm-11pm, Sat 12pm11pm, Sun 12pm-8pm fixationbrewing.com.au
When Fixation was created in 2015 by beer legend Tom Delmont, formerly of Mountain Goat, it caused a communal intake of breath in the craft beer community. A brewery that only makes IPAs? Is that even allowed? Luckily Fixation IPA was a total gamechanger, providing a consistently hoppy, always-fresh and delicious IPA that soon climbed into the top notches of hop-lovers’ favourite IPA lists. With variations such as the Squish Citrus IPA, Fixation showed that they could play with the formula while still delivering crowd-pleasing and tasty results. After looking for a home to base themselves, Fixation got hold of an old building in the tracksuit district of Collingwood (Smith St,
Woah, what the hell is going on out there?
Meanwhile at Bonehead Brewing.
SPICY 3
HERBAL 4
Graphic: ellersliehop.com.au
ONLY CRAFT!!!
20 IPA or Pales in the top 25, what a joke!
11 OF THE TOP 100? WTF?
So glad I didn’t vote!
I love making awesome beer. Let’s make some more!
Hey did you see the guys down the road cracked the top 10 again?
#25, 30, 40, 44, 53, 58, 62, 75, 79, 81 and 100 is not good enough!!!
What the hell, millions spent and the best we can do is 10% domination. Sigh, why can’t we just buy Micko’s Boards?
...oh awesome! Good for them.
3.3
So what’s next?
So how did you do anyway?
RATED BY THE SMELL OF RAW HOPS ON A 0-5 SCALE
Imagine how the breweries feel.
You said 3.3 was good!
Everyone’s freaking out because it’s only a 3.3 on Uncoupled.
AROMA EVALUATION FRUITY 2
It’s the backlash from the hottest 100 Craft beers.
The world has gone mad because Big Beer made the top 25.
For more info on hops, check out www.hopslist.com
RESINOUS 3
north of Johnston) and after several months of suspense, opened up the Incubator, a laidback and simply fitted-out space with tanks, hop-shaped beer paddles and enough IPA choices to keep even the most ardent hopheads satisfied. Variations have included the Grapefruit IPA, The 86 Hazy IPA (named after the local tram line), the Little Ray Sunshine Hazy IPA and the Obsession Session IPA. Whether you like your beers hoppy, hazy, juicy or fruity, you will find something to love at the Incubator ‒ and with The Mill Brewery and Stomping Ground in walking distance, this is a great place to start a Collingwood brew tour.
Finish off Distraction Ale for GABS!
Pfft... no idea!
Don’t worry sweetie 3.3 is fine, you just be you.
Cool!
BREWERY AND TAP ROOM
86 Parsons Street,, Kensington VIC 3031 PH +61 490 334 892 THU 4PM-10PM FRI 4PM-11PM SAT 12PM-11PM SUN 1PM-8PM
@BoneheadBrewingAU
MUSIC + BEER PAIRING BEER: Green Beacon Brewery “Siren Song Raspberry Cherry Sour” SONG: Ariana Grande - “thank u next”
What do Ariana Grande and kettle sours have in common? They’re both awesome and totally smashable but you feel kind of guilty for liking them because they are not considered particularly culturally elevated. I went to Brewers Feast last week at the Abbotsford Convent and had a ripping time - it was about 30 degrees, the sun was shining, bands were playing, people with kids and dogs and friends were sprawled out on the grass enjoying the vibe. There were excellent beers,
including Holgate’s crisp Czech lager, CoConspirators’ The Editor (of course!) and Watts River’s delicious barrel-aged farmhouse brew called Daryl. But my favourite tipple of the day was a raspberry cherry sour from Brissie brewery Green Beacon called Siren Song. A stunningly deep pink Berliner Weisse that clocks in at a very drinkable 3.5% ABV, it was the perfect refresher with its superb mix of sweet raspberry thirstquencher and tart cherry finish. Ideal for warm autumn days, preferably while listening to Ariana Grande bopping through one of her own siren songs – such as her chart-topping earworm thank u, next, the upbeat break-up song that relishes selfworth, inner strength and, according to Spencer Kornhaber from The Atlantic, is “a feminist rewriting of the public narrative – about a woman defined by, and perhaps even brought down by, men – pulled off with lightness”. By Emily Day
BEER LABEL DESIGN CLINT WEAVER PICKS HIS FAVOURITE BEER LABELS OF THE MONTH
Anyone who knows me, knows my fondness for pastel pinks and yellows, so when I was introduced to Left Handed Giant, a UK brewery based in Bristol that recently launched its beer in Australia, and their gorgeous cans I was hooked immediately. The outlines of twisted, stretching characters exploring quasi-futuristic scenes, somewhere in between a 2D and 3D landscape filled with gently alluring modern colour palettes. Employing the increasingly popular method of not displaying the brand name on the front of the can, the viewer is compelled to pick it up and explore the label themselves.
“THE STRENGTH OF HAVING AN ART-MINDED DESIGNER FOR A BRAND CAN’T BE DENIED” The visuals of the brand are created by James Yeo, a Bristol-based illustrator who uses these cans as the canvas for his artwork. The strength of having an art-minded designer for a brand can’t be denied (Moo Brew, Kaiju!, Chur, Bonehead, Nomad, Boston Brewing) and is on full show with LHG. Each iteration is new and exciting and instantly recognisable, with every new addition strengthening the brand in the process. There’s nothing better than walking into a bottleshop and seeing a brewery’s range lined up on the shelf together, like a delicious little art exhibition. lefthandedgiant.com instagram.com/yeo_design
BEER REVIEWS
BY CLAYTON WATERS,
ALAN LAM, MATT HOFFMAN, LIAM O’HARE & EMILY DAY
BY CLAYTON WATERS
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM (@WATERSTOBEERS) FOR LATEST REVIEWS AND BEERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD! Brewery: BALTER Beer: HAZY IPA ABV: 6% Brewed: GOLD COAST, QLD
Off the back of a strong showing in the GABs Hottest 100, Balter has released a brand new Hazy IPA. To its name it’s true, with a hazy look and feel which is loaded with big juicy hops. As I tasted it I immediately said ‘mango’ as it hit me quicker than the other notes of passionfruit and the juicy nectar-like flavours. The juiciness and lingering bitter flavour is Balter-esque and is a beautiful part of this IPA and something we come to expect from the QLD brewery. The hazy element is pretty to watch and flirts so dangerously close to an NEIPA but brings you back to the world of IPAs quicker than you can think it. Hard to fault this beer, and again Balter stand by their promise: ‘From us to you with enjoyment’. You got that right. Brewery: THE BRUERY Beer: BAKERY Style: IMPERIAL STOUT ABV: 13%
Brewery: HAIRYMAN BREWING Beer: GUSTY PALE ALE ABV: 6.3% Brewed: SYDNEY, NSW
Relatively new brewers Hairyman have come out swinging with a wide range of beers. The funny story surrounding this beer was its initial name. The ‘Gutsy’ Pale Ale, turned into ‘Gusty’ with the proof-reading element seeming to fall down (maybe too many Gustys to celebrate?). In good spirits, the team at Hairyman Brewing have laughed and owned the new ‘windy’ name which provides a chuckle to the staff when ordered over the bar. The GPA is an American pale ale jacked full of two hop types, Centennial and Pacifica, which create a boozy citrus/ orange punch, followed up with a settling bitterness. This beer also has that little spicy element that plays with the bitterness notes and enhances the flavour profile. Due to its big nature, you could be tricked into thinking this is an IPA, but the addition of the sweet citrus flavours and slight malt profile keeps this beer in the American pale ale region. Fan of big pales? Don’t look past this little Shire brewer.
With all my talk about stouts, I think it is probably fair for me to review them too. And to start, I am going with one of my favourite beers of 2018: The Bruery’s Bakery: Coconut Macaroon. According to the can, it says that it is “Barrel aged imperial stout blended with a pastry imperial stout with coconut and vanilla added” (Which if you ask me, sounds pretty delicious already). Coming from The Bruery, I would say I was pretty excited to try this one as they make some of the best dessert imperial stouts in US. When the drink was first poured (cold, because I would like to feel the whole temperature profile), it smelled of mostly bourbon and tasted mostly of bourbon with a slight hint of coconut. However, the aftertaste did taste like coconut and a bit of vanilla. As the beer gets warmer, the coconut and vanilla taste got more intense. Therefore, the beer is at its best close to room temperature, when the sweetness and intensity from the coconut and vanilla really came through with still a hint of bourbon. Or maybe it’s the alcohol? (Which is not surprising, as it is 13%.) With all that said, the flavours are pretty balanced while still remaining intense, which made the beer from great to amazing. Overall, I would say drinking this stout is like drinking a nice alcoholic coconut cake in liquid form. By Alan Lam
BY MATT HOFMANN
“MATT HOFMANN IS A PHOTOGRAPHER, BEER ADMIRER, MUSE, AND FRIEND OF ALL CHIPS.”@MATTHOFMANN.MEDIA Brewery: EXIT BREWING Beer: RASPBERRY SAISON ABV: 6.3% Brewed: VIC
When Exit Brewing released their much-lauded saison as the first in a line-up of their core range a number of years ago, it was seen as madness from an industry used to breweries pumping out lagers and pales as their entry into the market. Frase and Grum have had the last laugh however, with their saison still viewed as one of the country’s finest. Fast-forward to 2019, and they have now released their 20th limited-edition in the form of a raspberry version of their popular brew. Sticking with the original recipe, albeit with a generous helping of raspberry puree, has proved a winner, with the tartness and slight sweetness of the raspberries complementing the saison’s dry finish and solid mouthfeel. While the raspberry saison is not a new addition to the Australian craft beer repertoire, the boys at Exit have put forward a cracking version worthy of your fridge. Brewery: SAILORS GRAVE BREWING Beer: SUMMER PUDDING CREAM SOUR ABV: 4.8% Brewed in: VIC
At this point I will give anything from Sailors Grave a try, such is their outstanding catalogue of beers thus far. This time up is the Summer Pudding Cream Sour, a collection of words that instantly made my mouth water when asked if I could write words for it. The only problem with Sailor’s Grave is that delving into a new beer is always treated with caution, lest their track record be upset. Not this time though, as the latest in their strong line-up lives up to the hype-slash-anticipation. The brilliant bright, reddish-pink pour of this kettle sour is courtesy of a truckload of mixed berries (a 100kg truck), that perfectly balances with its creamy mouthfeel and tart finish. The side of the can explains the inspiration as being a classic English dessert made with white bread and berries. Something I will be speaking to my mother about after withholding such a thing from my childhood. Reading through again, I do feel like this review is slightly redundant. Look at the name. Summer Pudding Cream Sour. C’mon.
Brewery: GARAGE PROJECT Beer: RED ROCKS RESERVE Style: STEINBIER ABV: 6.5% Brewed in: NZ
Having been one of the first Garage Project beers I’ve ever had, I was thrilled to see this make the transition from 650ml bottles to cans. Coming out as an annual release, ‘Red Rocks Reserve’ is a fairly unique beer. This is a very old-school beer (Steinbier - from German, stone-beer - is brewed by putting hot stones into the beer wort; the heat of the stones caramelises the sugars in the wort; sometimes also some smoke character can be detected in steinbier) with a modern Kiwi twist, using hot stones heated up to over 500C through a manuka wood fire. Utilising volcanic rocks from the south coast of Wellington which were formed over 200 years ago (if you get the chance, please go, it’s a stunning part of Wellington), basically this beer is Wellington in a glass. Kind of dark, kind of sweet and very different. On to the beer! Pours a dark red hue, very sweet nose that drops off massively after the first sip. Really nice hop bitterness (from the NZ Nelson Sauvin hops) which overshadows the subtle malt sweetness. If you see this floating around Melbourne or elsewhere get it - if not for the taste, then for the process and story. By Liam O’Hare
Brewery: STOMPING GROUND X HEARTBREAKER Beer: ‘PINEY DANCER’ PINEAPPLE IPA ABV: 6.1% Brewed in: COLLINGWOOD, VIC
The good-time guys and gals at everyone’s favourite Melbourne haunt Heartbreaker have teamed up with the ever reliable Stomping Ground to knock out a reasonably well-dressed IPA bearing some sweet and juicy pineapple.I gave this one a crack while sitting in the back bar of said Heartbreaker, crooning along to London Calling and transferring money from my savings account to order two vegan cheeseburgers from Hungry Jacks on my future stumbling way to the tram. While the IPA is probably lacking the punch of their core version, the addition of pineapple juice does what every pineapple does when added to anything. Made it better. I even tried to get pineapple on my burgers at Hungry Jacks after this. They said no. Is this a compliment? Probably. I liked it. And I’d have it again.
Brewery: RED HILL BREWERY Beer: EAST COAST SESSION IPA Style: IPA ABV: 5.5% Brewed in: VICTORIA
Red Hill Brewery in Mornington have released two new beers in cans, the Two Bays Pale Ale and the East Coast Session IPA. The cans feature the brewery’s new branding by local artist Darren Doye and Design by Bird, with the tinnies sporting black lids to help them stand out from the crowd. The Two Bays pale is crisp, bitter and refreshing with a subtle passionfruit aroma, while the East Coast Session IPA (East Coast IPAs are more malty and balanced than the hoppy West Coast variations) features Cascade hops, known for its spicy citrus aroma with hints of grapefruit. Two cracking tinnies definitely worth checking out from one of the most beautiful parts of Victoria. By Emily Day
BEER REVIEWS
This is a fancier beer than the simple can implies, using traditional Norwegian kveik yeast, rye malt and US Citra hops to create an intriguing brew. Kveik yeast has started popping up in beers lately thanks to the fascinating flavour it lends to the beer that differs from other brewing yeast. Ocho Brewery: OCHO has used Hornindal Beer: HAPPY PLACE kveik, which produces Style: HOPPY FARMHOUSE a tropical flavour and ALE ABV: 3.5% complex aroma which Brewed in: TASMANIA complements fruitforward hops, such as the Citra hops used here. Pouring with a fluffy white head, this apricot jam-coloured beer goes down super easy thanks to its low ABV, and will delight fans of funky and farmhouse brews.
Brewery: EXIT BREWING CO Beer: HAZY IPA Style: IPA ABV: 6% Brewed in: VICTORIA
When I saw this beer in the bottle-o, I have to say I gaped at the fascinating list of ingredients and intriguing collaboration. A Lichtenhainer is a sour, smoked, historical German wheat beer, which as a lover of German beers, history, wheat beers and things that taste like salami, means this style is right up my alley. Usually a pale beer, this Lichtenhainer is squid-ink black with a fast-dissipating brown head that whiffs of smoked wood and delicious things you might find hanging from the ceiling in a traditional deli. The taste is surprisingly salty, like a refreshing splash of sea salt, with a lemony sour finish. There is a umami aftertaste that is reminiscent of mushrooms and seaweed, which I guess is the bull kelp coming into play. So if you can imagine having a sip of salty seawater, a lemon Breweries: BODRIGGY X SAILORS GRAVE BREWING drop, a lick of Beer: ‘MIDNIGHT ZONE’ Vegemite and sip Style: BLACK LICHTENHAINER BREWED WITH of miso soup, in BLOOD LIME AND BULL KELP a good way, this ABV: 4.8% Brewed in: VICTORIA is it.
Brewery: 4 PINES BREWING Beer: KIWI BRUT IPA Style: IPA WITH NZ HOPS AND KIWIFRUIT ABV: 7% Brewed in: NSW
Exit released a humorously named ‘Better Late than NEIPA’ beer last year, to poke fun at their coming late to the party when it came to releasing a juicy beer, which has been very much all the rage in Australia for the past couple of years. This Hazy IPA distances from the NEIPA name and the NEIPA definition, it definitely fits the bill appearance-wise, being a cloudy, opaque golden hue, and does impart a fruity hops with its combination of Mosaic, Amarillo, Galaxy, Citra and Nelson Sauvin hops. As well as being fruity it also has a strong bitterness to finish which does distance it from the usual definition of a NEIPA as having a restrained bitterness (although the Australian International Beer Awards, which recently added NEIPAs to its IPA subclass, allow beers of this style to have up to 100 IBUs, so who knows what anything means anymore.) With a jazzy new-look can designed by Lauren Breadmore, creator of Pirate Life’s fabulous tinnies, this hazy creation is worth checking out.
4 Pines have their Keller Door range which allows them to play around with limited-release beers and mix things up on a regular basis. This Brut IPA uses 100% New Zealand hops plus kiwifruit to create a clear, apple-juice coloured beer with a finely carbonated head. This delicately crafted beer is hopped with Taiheke, Riwaka, Wai-iti and Moutere hops, the kiwifruit flavour is only faintly discernible, and with its spritzy carbonation and dry, refreshing finish, this fits the description of Brut IPA to a tee.
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ALL THAT GLITTERS... ARE HYPE BEERS THE NEW NORMAL? EMILY DAY PROBES THE SPARKLY, DENSE AND JUICY STATE OF AFFAIRS IN TODAY’S CRAFT BEER SCENE To state the obvious, the Australian beer industry has been going through some massive changes. With a new brewery opening up about once a week around the country, trying to attract the drinker in a crowded bottle shop is like being a bloke in one of those places in China where there’s one woman for every ten guys. You have to strut a bit. Do your best peacock impression. For breweries, the strutting may come in the form of chucking everything you can into a beer to make it hazy, or squashing in a bunch of dessert items and ageing it in barrels, or giving it a wacky name and a silly label. Sure, this might catch the punter’s eye, but will it create a memorable and lasting (good) impression? Will the drinker want to share it with their friends? But then again, if you ditch the strut and pray that your beautiful personality will be enough, will you even get a look in? It’s a tricky path to tread (for breweries, we can probably drop the Chinese man metaphor
now). How does a brewery maintain respect for traditional beer styles and create consistently good beer, while also coming up with new ways to catch the fickle consumers’ eye? While many believe that well-crafted beer should be enough to earn the consumers’ respect, it’s becoming evident that some kind of evolution may need to take place to remain relevant and visible in today’s turbulent marketplace. Red Hill Brewery, a family-owned that has been creating traditional-style beers on Victoria’s beautiful Mornington Peninsula since 2005, are concerned that the industry has strayed a little too far of late when it comes to gimmicky beers and wacky concepts, such as glitter beer. “Wading through the list of ever outrageous, random flavour combinations of beer styles emerging, one might ask if this new beer
brewing movement is so intent on standing out from the crowd, they have forgotten the crowd,” says Red Hill’s Karen Golding. Red Hill believes that balance and consistency are key to great craft beer, but are also aware that brewing new beer styles and updating their branding is also an important part of the strategy. Red Hill has a strong stable of traditional beers such as a Wheat Beer, Belgian Blonde and Scotch Ale, to which they’ve recently added an American-style East Coast Session IPA and a Two Bays Pale Ale, both packaged in stylish cans with their new branding and featuring black lids to further stand out from the crowd. Nearby at Mr Banks Brewing in Melbourne’s south-east, owner Chris Farmer thinks that socalled gimmicky beers are not as bad as they’re made out to be. “They might be easy to put together, but to do it well [is harder] ... and I wouldn’t even say we are doing them well yet, we’re still working on it.” He also says that just because they are easy to drink does not mean they are easy to create. “We’ve had beers where we’ve got the label printed and we’ve called it a hazy IPA, and then we transfer it to the bright tank and it drops clear, and we’re like ‘Oh my god. What do we do?’”
“IT’S BECOME NOT ABOUT THE BEER ANYMORE, BUT ABOUT THE MARKETING” He’s also had to deal with ‘tank volcanoes’, where the addition of hops to the fermenting brew reacts with the Co2 and results in the beer hurtling towards the open tank porthole like an avenging demon. “I think we are getting better at it, and that’s what I think it’s all about,” he says. “They’re only gimmick beers if you make them gimmick beers.
[in 1999], the number of small breweries was about six, and only three in Victoria. So what do people do? They try levels of crazy to create some noise, but what actually sells, I believe, is not what looks good on social media, but the volume beers that sell are the more regular standard sort of beer.” I don’t think hazy IPAs are a gimmick style. That style isn’t going anywhere.” He also admits that he is a huge fan of the hazys. “I love them. And whenever we have them they sell so quickly. It’s like saying kettle sours are gimmicky. I don’t think they’re gimmicky, I think they’re delicious.”
Paul is concerned that quality is often taking a backseat to Instagrammability and hype. “It’s an interesting time for the industry because some of those crazy beers, they’re not actually drinkable, they’re just there to create a headline or look fantastic on a can. I was at a conference in South East Asia last year, and the owner of [Japanese brewery] Hitachino Nest was lamenting that the end of craft beers was the
“I DON’T THINK THEY’RE GIMMICKY, I THINK THEY’RE DELICIOUS” Chris is keen to continue to refine his beers. “We will just always continue to tweak, even our core beers. We just changed all our base malts on our core beers recently, just because I think it gives it a bit of an edge.” Beer journalist Luke Robertson from podcast Ale of a Time agrees that quality and fun beers are not necessarily incompatible. “I think maintaining integrity captures attention,” he says. “Because you can do dumb shit, you can do crazy IPAs, but if you’re doing it with integrity, it’s going to mean more to you and more to your consumers.” Some breweries though are finding that sticking to a solid core range is paying dividends. Xander Brown from Moo Brew says that the Tasmanian brewery is a case in point. “Our brand model has never been to do with anything outside the mainstream. It’s about just doing the core styles well,” he says. “And I think that’s worked for us - our pilsner is a really traditional pilsner and it’s quite a popular beer, we sell a lot of it. Same with our pale ale - it’s a really crowded pale ale market but our pale is still our core product, and we sell a lot of it. So we just stick to doing core styles well and don’t branch too far from what we know.” Paul Holgate from Woodend brewery Holgate Brewhouse in Victoria has a similar ethos. “I think there is a tendency with breweries trying to outdo each other with levels of crazy, because with the level of competition - there are 600 breweries in Australia, and when we first started
seeking to pin down both sides of the market the regular core beer drinkers and those seeking something edgy and new - by creating an experimental range alongside their flagship pale ales and lagers. Two Birds have started releasing new beers on a regular basis, including a Sakura Cherry Sour and a Peach and Mangosteen Sour. Fury & Son have created a branch of beers under the name ‘The Brewers’ where they can release quirkier beers such as a Pine Lime Lactic Lager Sour, which not only abbreviates to PILLLS but also has a reference to pill-tasting on the label, (and probably won’t be purchased any time soon by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian). Craft beer fan Suzi Owen, who has worked in the industry for 10 years, says that the most successful breweries will often have a great core range but will also do a new beer every month to reel people in, “because the craft beer scene is all about trying something new”. “Mornington Peninsula have a solid core range and then they have their Squid range which is immensely successful. You could say the same about Hop Nation.” She reckons that craft beer is all about breaking new ground, because so much of it stems from the home brew culture of experimentation and playfulness. “Who says what is or isn’t a viable style of beer?” she questions. “What makes a NEIPA not deserving of its own style? I guess a lot of brewers might feel resentful about being compelled to brew something that they don’t want to brew.” She does admit though that the zanier edge of the craft beer world is a fun place to visit, but perhaps not somewhere you would live all the time.
arrival of NEIPAs and hazy beers. And I know some of those beers are really nice to drink, but it’s sort of that direction that’s like, where do you go from there? It’s become not about the beer anymore, but about the marketing.” There are several craft breweries that are
“I don’t know how many hype beers made it into the Hottest 100 - I don’t know how many people said ‘The triple donut truffle beer should have come No.2’. That stuff is fun to have once but you wouldn’t drink it all the time.”
KNOW YOUR HYPE BEERS What is a hype beer? A beer that gets everyone talking. A beer you know the name of even though you’ve never tried it. Hype beers are released on a special day, they get eager fans queueing up in the snow to buy them or begging friends to get them a bottle. These hype beers often share the similar qualities of being a) expensive, b) scarce, c) high in alcohol content and d) hard to get. They acquire something of a mythical, white whale aura that makes the craft beer lover yearn to capture it and take it home. Perhaps it could even be argued that capturing these white whales - by purchasing, consuming them and sharing pictures on social media also proves our own strength that we can not only handle these strongalcohol beers, but we can track them down and secure them… is anyone else getting a bit of the primal hunter-gather urge here? Instead of returning to the cave with a yak around your shoulders, the modernday hunter-gatherer of crafty brews returns home triumphantly with a Mornington Brewery Squid Supremacy or a Modern Times Bourbon Barrel-Aged Barleywine. Here are our Global Top 10 Hype Beers. Are they worth the hype? That’s up to you. 1. BREWERY: BOATROCKER BREWING CO BEER: RAMJET COUNTRY: VIC, AUSTRALIA STYLE: WHISKY BARREL AGED IMPERIAL STOUT ABV: 13.4%
Boatrocker Brewing’s Imperial Stout aged in Starward whisky barrels is a standout in its field, and has its own day (Ramjet Day) when each annual iteration is released.
2. BREWERY: CANTILLON BEER: ZWANZE DAY BEER COUNTRY: BELGIUM STYLE: LAMBIC ABV: AROUND 5% Events are held once a year in bars around the world to celebrate the release of this special, limited-edition lambic from Belgian brewery Cantillon.
3. BREWERY: FERAL BREWING CO BEER: TUSK BEER COUNTRY: WA, AUSTRALIA STYLE: IMPERIAL IPA ABV: 10.8%
First brewed nine years ago, this double IPA uses what the brewery has described as “a metric shit-tonne of hops” to deliver aggressive bitterness and high hop aromatics of mango, citrus and grapefruit, “then finishing drier than most rocks”. This beer is released in a small batch twice a year.
4. BREWERY: THE ALCHEMIST BEER: HEADY TOPPER COUNTRY: VERMONT, USA STYLE: NEW ENGLAND IPA ABV: 8%
Mythologised as the originator of New England IPAs, this hazy brew from Vermont’s The Alchemist brewery made nebulous juice bombs something to be celebrated and relentlessly imitated worldwide.
5. BREWERY: RUSSIAN RIVER BEER: PLINY THE YOUNGER COUNTRY: USA STYLE: TRIPLE IPA ABV: 10.25%
Brewed once a year and released the first Friday in February, this triple IPA from California’s Russian River builds upon the brewery’s Pliny the Elder IPA while pushing the envelope with malt, hops, and alcohol.
6. BREWERY: WESTVLETEREN BEER: WESTVLETEREN 12 COUNTRY: BELGIUM STYLE: ABBEY QUADRUPEL ABV: 10.2% Hailing from a Belgian Trappist brewery, this beer is sold in small quantities weekly from the doors of the monastery to individual buyers who have ordered ahead (although I picked up a bottle from a bottle shop in Bruges). Thick, sweet and rich like something you’d pour on pancakes.
7. BREWERY: GOOSE ISLAND BEER: BOURBON COUNTY STOUT COUNTRY: USA STYLE: IMPERIAL STOUT AGED IN BOURBON BARRELS ABV: 14.4%
Released yearly dating back to 1992, this hefty brew from the Chicago brewery, now owned by drinks giant AB InBev, gets beer nerds excited on an annual basis.
8. BREWERY: FOUNDERS BREWING CO BEER: KENTUCKY BREAKFAST STOUT (KBS) COUNTRY: USA STYLE: BOURBON BARREL-AGED BREAKFAST STOUT ABV: 12.2%
Strong, smooth and luscious, this highly sought-after American brew seems to be perfectly acceptable to drink in the morning thanks to its name, although it packs a mighty punch.
9. BREWERY: 3 FLOYDS BREWING CO. BEER: DARK LORD COUNTRY: USA STYLE: RUSSIAN-STYLE IMPERIAL STOUT ABV: 15%
A demonic Russian-Style Imperial Stout brewed with coffee, Mexican vanilla and Indian sugar, bottle of this brew are available one day a year - Dark Lord Day - at the brewery in Munster, Indiana.
10. BREWERY: BREWDOG BEER: SINK THE BISMARCK COUNTRY: UK STYLE: QUADRUPLE IPA ABV: 41%
Lauded as the world’s strongest beer when it was released in 2010, Sink the Bismarck by Scottish brewery BrewDog weighs in at a powerful 41%. Created to trump a German brewery who created a 40% beer, which itself was created to trump BrewDog’s 32% Tactical Nuclear Penguin, this quadruple IPA named after a German warship contains four times the hops, four times the bitterness and is frozen four times to create a staggering 41% ABV.
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HOW AUSTRALIAN CRAFT BREWERIES ARE ENGAGING THEIR FOLLOWERS
FANNING THE FLAMES By Blair Hughes
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reviously in Froth Magazine I have highlighted the emergence of commercial partnerships between Australian craft breweries and the sports business to illustrate how this particular fan engagement initiative is driving deeper emotional loyalty between sports fans, craft breweries and our local communities, while enhancing the game-day fan experience across the country.
The term ‘fan engagement’ is a buzz marketing phrase that’s become synonymous within the sports business due to a number of current global challenges it faces, such as the increasing competition from other leisure activities and the rising costs of attending matches. Consequently, teams and venues have put an emphasis on putting ‘fans first’ with strategies that involve everything from offering cheaper pricing on food and beverages, creating innovative tech-driven fan zone activations, to more simply improving customer service to ensure that fans are given more bang for their buck on game days.
Collaborations for instance between Newstead Brewing and the NBL’s Brisbane Bullets with their ‘Ale-y Oop’ beer, along with the increasing availability of craft beer Best-practice fan engagement involves in our sporting venues being consistent, listening such as Gage Roads brews to your fans’ needs as “STONE & WOOD now at Optus Stadium well as providing them in Perth emphasise the WAS INSPIRED BY THE with a sense of ownership positive outcomes and so that they can express IDEA OF CREATING A benefits that can be their love for a brand. achieved when a focus on It’s these principles of VILLAGE BREWERY” fan engagement is applied. fan engagement that are readily transferable With the Australian craft beer industry to a number of industries, especially the ever-expanding and becoming increasingly craft beer world. It’s clear from the brief more competitive, it is vitally important snapshot of the craft breweries showcased that craft breweries understand and below that while the local craft beer engage their fans and local communities industry faces its own issues, breweries with creative, memorable and authentic are successfully implementing impressive marketing strategies to secure their longinitiatives around their local communities term success. This article will look at a that are helping to win over new fans. cross-section of Australian craft breweries to showcase the successful strategies that In Queensland, Black Hops are going the some are using to turn craft beer fans into extra mile for their fans by producing hardcore brand ambassadors, and what a podcast and book as well as having other craft breweries around Australia can established a successful crowdfunding learn from these initiatives. campaign that led to their ambassador
group growing to over 1000 members. Black Hops are even making a beer that is a collaboration brewed with some of their most hardcore customers. Fellow Gold Coast locals Burleigh Brewing have set up a huge outdoor cinema to screen classic films over summer, while Range Brewing ran a non-perishable food drive over Christmas to help out their community. There’s plenty happening in New South Wales too, with Stone and Wood finding great success with their inGrained Foundation that supports grassroots environmental and social charities in the local areas where their fans live and work. They also took a fan-first approach when opening their brewery, as it was inspired by the idea of creating a “village brewery” that would be a meeting place to bring people together. Stone and Wood’s marketing manager Jasmin Daly further highlights that “meeting the people behind the brewery can give people a new level of depth and Two Birds Brewing Co’s ‘Trail appreciation. For us Blazer’ beer made in partnership with the AFLW Bulldogs team. it also allows us to receive feedback and personally connect. Having these real and authentic experiences humanises the brand or business.” In Sydney, Batch Brewing have brewed beers inspired by the local community such as
Another brewing company that greatly understands the importance of listening to their fans is Two Birds Brewing. As cofounder Danielle Allen says: “We’ve had many fans from all over Australia who have supported us from the get-go and are a part of our story. We’ll never forget that, and in turn we do our best to keep them engaged by offering giveaways, a loyalty program at our tasting room The Two Birds Nest (we call them Frequent Flyers!), and we listen to suggestions on new beers and what they want from us. It’s actually how Taco became part of our permanent lineup – our fans asked and we listened!”
Happy punters at Burnley Brewing
the ‘Marrickville Pork Roll’ beer, made with ingredients from a famous pork roll shop in the area. Canberra’s Bentspoke Brewing are also conscious of the importance of creating a community space, with their marketing coordinator Tash Shan stating that “their brewpub is an important place for beer drinkers to road-test new brews and grow the connection and engagement between our fans, brand and reach new craft beer lovers”. Bentspoke, like many other Australian craft breweries, have also partnered with major sporting teams and also donate their spent grain back to farmers in an effort to further engage with their community.
Stomping Ground are another Victorian brewery who have done plenty of good things in the community with their Pridelweiss and Movember brews having
Skipping north-west across to South Australia and Prancing Pony are also big supporters of emerging local artists, hosting live music and exhibitions at their brewery with co-founder Corinna Steeb stating that by “working closely with the local community we can make sure that we’re building a healthy and prosperous community for everyone around us”.
“BATCH HAVE BREWED BEERS INSPIRED BY THE LOCAL COMMUNITY SUCH AS THE ‘MARRICKVILLE PORK ROLL’ BEER” Finally, over to Western Australia and Black Brewing have recently launched their new venue ‘Caves Road Collective’ where they’ve brought together their partners Dune Distilling and Ground to Cloud Wines all under one roof to showcase the three disciplines of brewing, distilling and winemaking – combined with the delicious food from the Margaret River region. Fellow West Australian brewer Gage Roads is also supportive of their community’s grassroots events and has sponsored local Black Brewing’s ‘Caves Road Collective’
Another craft brewer that’s huge on fan and community engagement is Wayward Brewing, with initiatives such as ‘Craft for a Cause’ raising funds for a local charity, while their love of their fans’ furry friends extends to allowing pups on the premises even creating a #DogsOfWayward hashtag to showcase fans and their dogs. Wayward’s creative director Faye White explains: “We love thinking up fresh and exciting ways to engage our fans at Wayward. It is also so important to us that we give back to the community that gives us so much loyalty and support.” Meanwhile in Victoria, Venom Brewing add an element of fun to their marketing by running games like ‘tinnie toss’ and having a prize wheel to entertain fans at their promotional events. Richmond’s Burnley Brewing host events such as trivia nights, offer weekly merchandise giveaways on social media and also run free brewery tours and tastings every Monday – a brilliant way to showcase their beers to local residents.
collectively raised close to $200,000. They’ve also put a big focus on catering for families at their beer hall by creating a cubby house and colouring-in menu to keep kids and families entertained. Lastly, Footscray favourites Hop Nation continue to grow their fan base through local community initiatives by sponsoring local sports teams, schools and kindergartens, and recently made a collaboration beer ‘The Patron’ with the Footscray Historical Society. The focus on engaging with the local community continues further south with Tasmania’s Moo Brew sponsoring a range of events including charity balls, local art exhibitions and live music. Marketing manager Tim Dudgeon notes that “supporting our local community is key in developing our grassroots following. Doing so helps to build equity in the brand and familiarity with our product range. It also is a form of inspiration for us, enabling us to stay in touch with our core customers and learn from their experiences with our products.”
art shows, concerts, musicians and films – they recently sponsored a group of local surfers to create a surf documentary about their pilgrimage to a secret spot in the state’s north-west. It’s evident from these examples that many of Australia’s craft brewers are successfully finding positive outcomes that are driving deeper connections between their fans and local areas by implementing fan engagement strategies and ‘fan-first’ approaches to their marketing. Now all that’s left to do as craft beer fans ourselves is to continue getting out and about to support our local craft breweries to continue this positive success for the craft beer industry. Blair Hughes is an award-winning fan engagement specialist who helps clients in the sports, music and craft beer industries grow their fan bases, improve fan experiences and create new business and revenue opportunities. You can follow him on Twitter at @MrBlairHughes or www.MrBlairHughes.com
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EMILY REEVES REVEALS THE WONDERS OF DRY-HOPPING, HOP CANNONS AND HOW YOUR BEER GOT SO FRUITY
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In the modern craft beer industry many different methods of dry hopping are being used on the brew deck, including hand dry hopping or the use of mechanisms such as the hop cannon. The hop cannon helps to streamline dry hopping, and usually works by attaching to the fermenter in two places, creating a continuous loop where wort and hops can flow through the cannon and fermenter. In this method the hop pellets are loaded into the cannon, air is then purged out of the cannon with Co2, and then through Co2 pressure and with the help of a wet pump, the hops are shot into the fermenter and recirculated by the cannon. Another way the hop cannon can be used is by drawing beer into the cannon, recirculating it in the cannon itself, and then pumping back into the fermenter. Both methods almost completely eliminate any oxygen introduction in the process as they are a closed, looped system.
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ow often do you sit down with a cold one and wonder how the brewers managed to extract the aromas and flavours you’re tasting in your hopped-up beer? For a lot of people the answer might be “never”, but for beer enthusiasts all over the world the answer is all the time, especially while enjoying a new release or tap takeover! Hops help to create a beer’s character, and different varieties of hops with individual flavour profiles come from all over the world. With the rise in popularity of craft beer and styles like the IPA, NEIPA and Double IPA we’re seeing more varieties of hops being introduced into Australia’s craft beer production, and consequently streamlining the process of adding hops to a brew is high on a brewery’s agenda.
ANOTHER RISK IS THE FAMOUS POSSIBILITY OF A ‘HOP VOLCANO’
Hops can be added to the brewing process in a variety of ways. Hops are added to the boil in the early stages of the brew to add bitterness, as the bittering compound in hops, called alpha acids, have to be boiled to be released. After the bittering hops have been added, beer is given the majority of its aroma and flavour through a technique known as dry-hopping, which occurs after the wort (sweet malty liquid) has been cooled and transferred to the fermenter. At the appropriate time, the hops are added to the beer and left to steep to allow the beer to pick up big flavours and really highlight individual hop characteristics (for example, passionfruit from Galaxy hops or pineapple from Vic Secret).
When brewers dry hop manually the hops are added through the top of the fermenter and eventually settle to the bottom before being forced back into suspension over and over again with Co2 blasts that are manually done by the brewer. Because manual dry hopping involves physically opening the fermenter porthole it can increase the risk of oxygen coming into contact with freshly fermented beer, which can produce a paper or wet cardboard off-flavour. No one wants to drink cardboard, that’s for sure! Another risk with manual dry hopping is the famous possibility of a ‘hop volcano’. This is created when a brewer pours hops into the fermenter and subsequently agitates and releases the dissolved Co2 as a gas creating a volcano of hops which rapidly rises toward the porthole and the brewer as an exploding volcano of beer! The use of a hop cannon eliminates this risk, and also means that brewers get to keep their feet firmly on the floor during the dry hop phase. Hoppy beers are delicious, dynamic and completely fun! So next time you sink into that fruity, aromatic brew, take a second to say thank you to dry hopping, to all of the hop farmers in the world and to your brewers who may be standing on the top of an unstable ladder pitching in those kilos of fruity hops to the fermenter for you to enjoy in your next brew at the pub on a relaxing sunny afternoon. Emily Reeves likes dogs, beer and her friends, and finds it hard to write in third person.
Weisse, subtly hopped with Nelson Sauvin, that made me seek them out. Perhaps the most fascinating beer they make is called Tannenbaum Effekt. There is a tradition in Switzerland that gives special rights to citizens of a village who have lived there for generations. Historically this may have included money, food, etc, but these days it’s more of a token. In Tobias’s home village it means a free Christmas tree each year from the local forest. The family tends to go away each year for Christmas, so instead the tree ends up in the kettle and the annual Tannenbaum Effekt is born. It’s a complex beer quite distinct from the subtle balanced flavours they normally so masterfully create, but it’s a bit of fun, and a great story, so why not! The “keep it simple” process extends through to the brewery’s marketing. Simple, text-only black-and-white labels explain what the is in the bottle and how it was made. Interestingly enough, it’s this very practice that makes their products stand out on the shelves amongst a sea of colour and images. xpa Selling wild beer to the Swiss is no easy task. I came across their product at a craft beer bar in Zurich, but there are only three breweries in Switzerland making wild beer and up against a very dominant lager market. Tobias says the scene is changing, but Switzerland’s craft beer movement is only really at the IPA stage of its journey. Personally I think Blackwell Brewery is in pole position when sour beers are finally discovered in Switzerland.
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AGAR: Culture medium for gr COOLSHIP: Broad, open-top, cools and can be used to in ERLENMEYER FLASK: Co INOCULATE: To introduce such as yeast or bacteria, capable of supporting its g KETTLE SOURING: Quick method to make tart beer NELSON SAUVIN: New Ze with a fruity, white wine ar ORGANOLEPTIC: Acting involving the use of, the sense WORT: Unfermented beer
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GRAPE AND GRAIN Beer drinker Jeff Sambur hops on his bike to explore the wineries of the Barossa Valley I am a beer man. I’ll go as far to admit I couldn’t tell the difference between a Pinot Noir and a Pinot Grigio (I think one is white). However, I do know a thing or two about the production process of these libations. For starters, beers are generally made in factory-like buildings in an urban setting. Sure one could do a brewery-bicycle tour, but who wants to pedal in a city? On the other side of the bottle, wine comes from grape-growing regions. Many times the vineyards are intertwined between valleys and rolling hills. They are surrounded by quaint older towns where people slowly sip from delicate wine glasses with pinkies extended. They even speak in hushed tones. Sometimes they pluck oily olives from dainty bowls. All of this was a foreign concept to my blue-collar beer drinking ways. I felt the
need to investigate this wine culture in a land where no one knew my name. So if I made a wine faux pas, who would care? I chose the Barossa Valley near Adelaide, South Australia, for my bicycle-wine research, an area ripe with history. The Barossa Valley, originally inhabited by the Peramangk people, was settled by Europeans in the 1840s with the arrival of hard-working Lutheran Germans followed by folks from England. I guess it wasn’t all work and no play as these Germans began the foundation for the flourishing wine industry. I began my ride in Gawler, leaving Adelaide (the city of churches) behind. What luck! I found an all-you-can-eat “brekky” buffet to satisfy my neverending-bike-touring-hunger. As I sat and stuffed myself, Patrick Fitzpatrick, a local cyclist, came over to offer friendly advice. With my maps spread out between the eggs and toast, Patrick laid out a plan. It went something like this, “Go there! Ignore that area! Bloody boring! Take this road instead.” Such a deal: sustenance and solid info all at the same price. With a full-belly and a full head of facts, I decided to ride a few bonus kilometers and visit Williamstown. It didn’t take long before I noticed the very gnarly and humble grape vine, marching up the hills in well-behaved rows. Aside from the tawny grey leaves of the gums trees, the vines were the only source of green in this sun-scorched land. By taking a side road, traffic was at a minimum with scenery and the grapes at a maximum.
Upon arriving in Williamstown, a classy-looking building with a sign announcing Domain Day Cellars (named after its premier winemaker, Robin Day) caught my eye. I didn’t notice any wine connoisseurs lurking around, so I took the leap and went inside. James, the son of the winemaker stood behind the neat bar. There were about half-dozen wine bottles in front of him. I was a tad nervous. “I don’t know much about wines. I’m more of a beer drinker,” I declared with an up-front apology. “No worries, mate! He said. Try this Saperavi - the vines came from Georgia.” That’s when I made my first wine blunder, “I never realised the Peach Tree State grew grapes,” I said. James was gentle on me. “Not the state: it’s from the country of Georgia.” I made a valiant comeback, “Oh, I thought they were too busy fighting Mother Russia to have time to make wine.”
‘Hey mate, try sipping it slower next time,’ he advised. He poured me a splash of the red liquid and I immediately chugged it down. James shook his head. “Hey mate, try sipping it slower next time,” he advised. “You’ll taste more of the wine.” Hmm – there was more to this wine drinking than I realised. A few tastes later, I thanked James for my first wine lesson and drowsily ambled off to Tanuda, the town which would be home for two nights for my Tour de Grape.
Tanuda, an indigenous name for waterhole, claims to be at the epicentre of the Barossa. It’s a two-pub village, where the lads still swilled beers while their female companions quaff wine. I did notice a few husbands trying to score style points as they, too, partook in the fruit of the vine. The following morning, fortified on coffee and a hearty brekky, I rode out of town following the 57km Barossa Valley scenic loop. My first challenge was climbing Menglers Hill, which features an overlook of the bucolic valley and new age sculpture garden. When I topped out at 498m there was a sign specifically for bicyclists congratulating us. Isn’t that nice? After a careening drop I arrived in way-cool Angaston. There I chanced upon the local garden club taking a coffee break after a morning of weeding, mulching and pruning. “Good morning! I piped up.” I bet you folks know a few things about this area.” With this simple statement the stories flowed with an offering of coffee and biscuits. I said my goodbyes and took a detour to Light Pass (named after Colonel William Light, first Surveyor-General of the colony of South Australia, who named the valley in 1837) that possessed a lovely Lutheran Church as those gardeners predicted. After a quick once over of the new town of Nuriootpa, I decided to pay “Map the Miner” a call. It was a good excuse for some bonus kilometres anyway, so off I went north to Kapunda, where the grapes finally yielded to wheat and sheep. Copper mining was Kapunda’s claim to fame. Established
in 1842, it was Australia’s first mining town and once brought riches to South Australia. After a lunch break and a museum stop, I went to see the statue of Map, named for Map Kernow, from the Cornish dialect for “son of Cornwall”. He stood larger than life while wielding a pick over his left shoulder and a sledgehammer in his right hand. A miner’s helmet sat
and one or two more whose names escape me now. This was certainly the expressway beyond basic Wine 101. Finally, I exited and slowly moseyed back to Tanunda. I recall lots of palm trees, more grapevines, one Seppeltsfield Mausoleum and steep hills. I was smiling, too. That night found me at the Tanunda Pub for libations and “tea” (dinner). In front of
I felt the need to investigate this wine culture in a land where no one knew my name. on his oversized head. Surely this was not the kind of guy who drank wine. After saying g’day to Map, I turned south and back to the grapes. James from Domain Day suggested I make a stop at Seppelt Winery (making people jolly since 1851) to further my education. Seppelt is an impressive General Motorssized operation sitting inside a gentle valley. I had entered the Big Time of wine. Wine lovers were queued up listening in rapt attention to hostesses as they poured the amber and golden liquids. I overheard tasters say descriptors such as “fruity yet bold,” or my favorite, “this wine displays a mellow overtone”. After waiting patiently, a smiling hostess came by. “What type of wines do you enjoy?” she asked. I stammered, “Hmm! Semi-sweet red ones?” She was kind enough to see my dilemma while pouring, “Here’s a bit of sparkling shiraz…” which she followed up with a merlot, rose
me was one glass of Jacob’s Creek cabernet sauvignon. I stifled the urge to extend my pinky as I drank it off. I soon ordered up a schooner of Coopers Pale Ale, and sniffed its fragrant bouquet. I took a taste – serious yet subtle, with a pleasant tangy finish. This was more like it. I picked up the remainder of my brew and went to cheer the Australia cricket team on the telly. During commercial breaks, I thought about my day of riding among the eye-pleasing splendour of the Barossa Valley vineyards. I reckon in all those hectares of grape leaves, there’s still room enough for one cyclist who savours that barley, hops and water concoction. Jeff Sambur is a retired Colorado firefighter who travels and thinks too much. In between he’s drinks coffee or IPAs. Jeff is a blogger and author whose awardwinning book can be found on Amazon. He’s also running for President in 2020. Read more at jeffsambur.blogspot.com
photos left to right: “Map” the miner, The Lutheran Church, some grapes, Jeff Sambur, Seppeltsfield Road
SH*T MY MUM SAYS ABOUT CRAFT BEER Edition 38. Froth: It’s Autumn! (Hopefully!) I’m afraid the heat addled my brain last month. I couldn’t think! I forgot to wish you all a great 2019 & good luck with all your resolutions. So, I hope 2019 is everything you would like it to be. Forget the resolutions. No one sticks to them! It’s a bit like writing a “To Do” list. It gets longer & longer & you never do any of it & eventually, the sheer length of it depresses the hell out of you, so you just start a new list somewhere else. I speak from experience, believe me! Anyway, beer! Where do I begin? Watermelon Smash Sour Beer 4.2% (Stomping Ground Brewing Co.)
Stomping Ground either has a hell of a lot of beers or else they have a rapid turnover, I guess like a lot of Craft Breweries! This beer sounds appropriate for summer, which is when I’m tasting it, even if you don’t get this review until autumn. It’s very pale, almost like water with a tiny bit of fizziness. Smells like a sweet fruit, not beery. It tastes like a mixture of sweet & sour. Is that an Oxymoron? I guess not. I have had a lot of sweet & sour meals. It’s not hoppy, but tastes more like orange & grapefruit than watermelon to me. The can shows loads of watermelon slices which got me excited as I love watermelon, but I’m not convinced there are any in the beer. Still it isn’t too bad! Hop Skip & Jump IPA 6.4% (Aether Brewing)
Uh, oh, another IPA! This is a golden colour, fizzy & a bit murky with a big foamy head that dissipates very quickly. Smells hoppy, herby & yeasty, like a beer, no other smells I can detect. The taste is hoppy & soury but not as revolting as I expected of an IPA. I’m losing my immunities to beer! The second sip is rather sweet, like a thick, syrupy, pineapple juice. Confusion! Trick or treat? No idea what to think now, but at least there is still a bitterness in the back of my mouth! The can has a skeleton of a weird animal surrounded
Silvia Day investigates hoppy, fruity and sour beers
by hops. Also, there’s a warning to pregnant mums, (about the beer, not the skeleton)! Not my problem, I can assure you! Sour Puss Raspberry Berliner Weisse 3.8% (Wayward Brewing Co.)
One has to admit that regardless of the beer, these brewers are very clever at coming up with enticing names! This is another pale gold, clear but fizzy beer which smells of berries of some sort, (maybe raspberry!) It tastes both sweet & sour & like berries & there’s no hops! It’s drinkable & refreshing on this hot day that I am drinking it! A beer that tastes like the ingredients it promises! Not so common. Pop’s Passion Tart Gose 4.3% (Old Wives Ales)
A long time ago, I reviewed some Old Wives Ales. I suppose they’ve made a lot of other beers since then. Yesterday, I was given this beer by what may be a “Pop” referred to in the name. Given there were 4 guys involved in this brewery (may be more or less by now, who knows), there may be many Pops, (father? In-law? Grandpa?) Who knows!
“NO HOPS, NO BITTERNESS. I LIKE IT!” It is a very cloudy, pale yellow beer, like a pineapple juice. It also smells like pineapple juice with a tiny hint of passionfruit. It tastes a bit like a lemon soft drink, no pineapple, a bit sweet & a bit sour, with a very tiny whiff of fruit, but what? Passionfruit? No hops, no bitterness. I like it! It is great for this hot weather. Oh, oh, have I lowered the ranking of this beer by liking it! Sorry Nathan, Justin, Mattias & Shannon. I hope I haven’t disappointed you by liking your beer. Blame the Pop who gave it to me! It seems to me that I have tasted a lot of similar beers this time: sweet & sour, fruity, not hoppy, good for summer. Ah, I guess that’s it! The type of beers made for summer! Now I get it! It’s the brewers not me! Ok, I better stop now before I confuse everyone else as well as me!
Aunty Frida’s Kitchen
By Frida Rowe
Frida Rowe creates delicious beer bread!
Beer Bread Recipe Bread is good. It’s yummy. Unless it’s the sliced crap in supermarkets with rubbery crusts and zilch taste. Which is not bread. It’s just something to hold the bits of your sandwich together and stop it from being a salad. Butter it, toast it, dip it in soup. Put bits in it and experiment. It’s really easy once you make it a few times.
Ingredients
1 sachet dried yeast 4½ cups plain flour ½ cup warm water 1 teaspoon salt
1 can or bottle of beer (I used Phillip Island Brewing Co’s IPA because it has a gutsy flavour)
leave to prove for 1.5 to 2 hours until it doubles in size. Method Put the yeast, ½ cup of flour and the warm water into a big bowl. Stir until they are nicely combined, then cover with cling wrap and leave in a warm spot for half an hour. It will get all fluffy and gooey. Add the remaining 4 cups of flour and salt,
A light knead is all that’s kneeded. (Heheh. Aunty joke.) and the add beer while mixing until it forms a nice sticky dough ball that you can knead. Work the dough until it becomes smooth. I use a large stainless steel bowl for kneading. Easier to clean than a table or the kitchen bench. Cover with fresh cling wrap and
Sprinkle some flour over the risen dough and give it a bit of punch and a push. A light knead is all that’s kneeded. (Heheh. Aunty joke.) Roll it into a loaf shape and place it on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle a bit of flour over it and cover with a CLEAN tea towel. Leave it to sit for another 30-40 minutes. Score the top with a nice sharp knife and bake at 220 C for 30-40 minutes until it is golden. Check the bottom at 30 minutes to see if it is cooked. If it’s still doughy looking, turn it upside down. Chunk, rip or slice, depending on your sensibilities and enjoy with feta and olives, lashings of butter and jam, or a good hearty soup.
Find more recipes from Frida at auntyfridaskitchen.com
HOME BREW HEROES
ON CONSISTENCY AND PALE LAGERS Look, I’m not a pro at brewing, I wouldn’t even say I’m the best homebrewer in the world, hell, even Australia. But I work at a homebrew shop (voted #1 in Australia twice in a row) and that gives me total authority over all of you incredibly smart, savvy, basically (sometimes actual) freakin scientists who decide to use all their talent making their friends drunk. So to start this I want to say I’ve only just brewed my first pale lager: a German pilsner. The few gasps you just heard from the crowd are the few people who realise what this really means. There’s this paradigm shift that happens in every brewer’s life when they realise simplicity = difficulty. Those imperial stouts and IPAs that seem so complex must be so difficult to brew... But why does this homebrew kit can of malty slime called ‘draught’ not give me that clean, crisp taste I have so come to enjoy from the macro/ micro/nano lagers I drink at the pub? Surely that’s the easiest beer to brew? You’ve probably figured it out already, it’s because these types of beers offer nowhere for off-flavours to hide. They are completely unforgiving; any mistake you make will stand out like a sore
“ANY MISTAKE YOU MAKE WILL STAND OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB” thumb. So using good-quality ingredients is a good start but even more important is your process. This is what separates good brewers from OK brewers. It is as simple as making sure you plan out your brew, you’re vigilant in hitting your numbers and you take good notes. The reason for this isn’t so obvious either, it’s all about being able to confidently replicate what you’ve done before. For instance, you might have read that mash temperatures don’t have as big an effect as people once thought, but even if that’s true (sorry homebrewers) when you brew your favourite recipe again but are willy-nilly with the mash temps and you get a different result, who you gonna blame? BREWING IS CLEANING One of the first things you hear as a budding homebrewer is that you must clean and sanitise everything thoroughly (praise John Palmer). This is indeed one of the most important parts of brewing, and you will feel at times like it’s all you do. This is a way of removing any unknown variables. Sure, I’ve read an article where a person brewed a beer without cleaning or sanitising any of their equipment, and the beer turned out fine! So why should Home brew recipe
“DON’T MEAN TO BRAG” last month’s froth had the recipe for Oscar’s braggot, let’s find out how it turned out
AWARD-WINNING DOMESTIC ZYMURGIST OSCAR CASLEY SAYS CONSISTENCY AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITIES IN A HOME BREWER
I have to spend all this time scrubbing yeast scum out of my fermenter? Because I can guarantee you if that person continued to brew without cleaning or sanitising their equipment they would start to get very different results from their beers due to wild yeasts or bacteria sneaking their way in and again: who you gonna blame?
WHO YOU GONNA BLAME? You. You are going to blame yourself. Remember, homebrewing is meant to be fun. For most of us it’s a hobby, and even though it can be tiring and can cause us pain and stress it all pays off with delicious beer. Start to look at cleaning as part of the process rather than an inconvenience, and realise that with good organisation you can and will make good beer. None of us are perfect and there are always going to be things out of our control but as the brewer, we can make sure to reduce variables to a point where we get consistent results and confidently tell our mates that “Yes, that beer is meant to taste like horse butts and cat piss”. So after all that I’ll tell you what happened during the brewing of my German pilsner. I had a major stuff-up during the mash where after pouring 9kg of grain into 20-ish litres of hot water I realised I had forgotten to put the false bottom in my mash tun (in layperson’s terms: I forgot to put the strainer into my pot) and so I had to scoop out all 30ish litres of hot mash into buckets, fit the false bottom in the pot and scoop it all back in. Be comforted with the knowledge that even the 2018 #1 Australian Sparkling Ale brewer in Victoria isn’t perfect and can make mistakes. So when this beer turns out to be the best I’ve ever brewed, I guess I’ll have to repeat that just to make sure I will get the same result. Until next time and remember: I know nothing and you shouldn’t listen to me.
TASTING NOTES APPEARANCE Light
amber colour, brilliant clarity and a nice fluffy white head. Not much, very light sweet honey and smoky. MOUTHFEEL: High carbonation, honey coats the mouth. TASTE: Smoky and sour upfront with a lingering sweetness from the honey, no bitterness at all. OVERALL: This is a really nice drink. I really had no idea what to expect but it is perfectly balanced, I think any more honey and it would be too sweet. The smoke offers a nice umami savoury note which pairs well with the sourness, as it would in a Lichtenhainer. Really refreshing. I definitely will brew this again but maybe next time I’ll use Manuka smoked malt instead and maybe add some spices. I don’t want to mess with it too much though. AROMA:
Oscar Casley is a Melbourne home brewer who works at Grain & Grape home brew shop in Yarraville, Melbourne.
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E G N A U P F
BEERSTAGRAMMER OF THE MONTH
FROTH’S FAMOUS BEER QUIZ by Scott MacKenzie
1. What are yeast’s two waste products in the fermentation process? 2. Which colour glass bottle is the best for reducing the amount of UV light hitting beer? Clear, Green or Brown? 3. How many full years did Prohibition last in the United States? 4. Which phrase is suspected to have its origins in England, where bar keeps would tell rowdy patrons to look after their drinks? 5. Which precious metal is used to coat the electrodes in “fuel cell tester” variant breathalysers?
6. In ancient Babylon, beer brewing was taken very seriously: if a brewer produced a sub-standard beer, they would be put to death. How were they killed? 7. Which country currently consumes the most beer per capita each year? 8. What effect does a frosted (cold) glass have on the head or foam of a beer? 9. Founded in 1786, which is the oldest brewery in North America? 10. What did Cleopatra grind into her wine, in order to win a bet with Marc Anthony that she could host the most expensive dinner ever?
CRAFTY COMIC Crafty Comic by Michael Alesich / @ironoak
@burnleybrewing Our Beerstagrammer this month is @burnleybrewing. The Richmond brewery posts regularly about new beers, delicious dishes on offer at the brewpub and plenty of gratuitous shots of head brewer Michael Stanzel’s dog Harry, who has been trained to recognise diacetyl - an off flavour in beer! Follow Burnley Brewing on Instagram to keep up-to-date with the brewery’s news and the latest adventures of Harry the Hungarian Vizsla. For further misadventures of the Burnley crew check out @burnleybrewingbehindthebeer for an entertaining look into the life of the brewers!
FROTHWORD ACROSS 1. This brewery produces the limited release beer Bourbon County Stout (5,6) 5. 19th-century Trappist brewery in Vleteren, Belgium (12) 6. Style of beer that is supposed to be dry like champagne (4,1.1.1.) 8. Danish brewery that makes a beer called Beer Geek Breakfast (9) 9. Double IPA made by Russian River Brewing Company in California (5,3,5)
DOWN 1. Popular beer festival that will be held in Brisbane this year as well as Melbourne and Sydney (1.1.1.1) 2. Annual global event when Belgian brewery Cantillon releases a special limited-edition sour (6,3) 3. Belching Beaver Brewery makes a _ Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout (7) 4. NEIPA from Hop Nation (4,5) 7. Hazy IPA from 3 Ravens (5)
GUESS THE BREWERY AND BEER ABOVE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A PRIZE! Email your answer to emily@frothbeer.com Winners will be notified by email and announced in next month’s Froth.
Cryptic Frothword Solution Feb - Across 1. VILLAGERS 6. CASTOUT 9. POM 10. TINNIES 12. NIL 13. ELK 15. STUBBLY 17. ERA 18. GUNWALE 19. SUPPORTER Down 2. INSIN 3. LOONIES 4. GOT 5. RIPEN 6. SCATTERED 7. EMPLOYEES 11. STUNNER 14. KEANU 16. BRAVE 18. GAP
QUIZ Answers 1. Ethanol (alcohol) and Carbon Dioxide 2. Brown 3. 13 (13 years 10 months 19 days 17 hours 32 minutes) 4. Mind your Ps and Qs 5. Platinum 6. Drowned in their own beer 7. Czech Republic (142.4 litres consumed per capita) 8. More foam (the cold increases the rate of release of CO2) 9. Molson (in Canada) 10. A pearl (she ground the pearl from her earring into her wine - the value of each earring was believed to be the modern equivalent of $14.25 million)
The solution to last month’s Crafty Comics was Noisy Minor’s Swooping Saison. Thank you to all our entrants and congratulations to our winner, David Beasley!
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