Beer Radar for November 2013 WBM
By John Krüger
A few new beers have popped up on the radar and they’ll certainly get a hammering over the warmer weather.
The first is a new beer from Pikes in Clare. They already have a very drinkable stout and a cracker of a floral hoppy pilsener. Now they’ve added a Sparkling Ale to their line up. It’s a nice middle of the road beer, which could be sipped on a cool night or enjoyed by the pint on a warm day. It has a nice malty dry biscuit flavour and a lingering bitterness. It’s a medium bodied, nicely balanced ale with a clean yeast profile which really adds to the drinkability. It’s already available at multiple venues including the Kings Hotel in Adelaide as well as Leftbank Melbourne and Vic on the Park in Sydney.
The second new beer is from Mismatch Brewing Co. Aptly named Ewan Brewerton is heading up a small proactive group of “gypsy brewers” who have released their first beer, Archie’s Red Ale. It reminds me of a Little Creatures creation, it’s very well balanced while still delivering the goods. It leans slightly on the sweeter side but chock full of citrus hop flavour, complex malt character and mouth feel. It’s quite a big beer on the flavour delivery while still weighing in at only 5% alcohol. I’ve really enjoyed pouring Archie’s Red into a tulip glass and enjoying it as an after dinner beer. Giving credit where credit is due; Ewan insists on transparency to the point of even naming where the beer was brewed and ingredients used in press releases. Archie’s Red Ale isn’t available outside of South Australia just yet, but inside SA they’ve done a great job getting it in all the cool bars like Udaberri and craft beer friendly bottle shops like The Highway hotel.
The third beer to pop up is a new ale from James Squire. The Constable is described as a Copper Ale. I’m not sure if there’s a pun intended there or not but the people at Lion seem pretty happy with it. Samples weren’t available by deadline but an insider has smuggled some info out to me via SMS with the descriptors: English, floral, citrus, earthy, and an AVB of only 3.4%. This could join Little Creatures Rogers and Birbeck’s The Captain as lower alcohol alternatives that still have a decent whack of flavour. Just in time for the office Christmas party where you really should keep your pants on this year.
In other news, a surprising move; Owen Johnston, well known head brewer for MooBrew has taken up a position with HPA (Hop Products Australia) as Sales and Marketing Manager. For such a high profile brewer to take up a non-brewing role was certainly unexpected but Owen seems excited about his new job. “My role is definitely part travelling sales goon, but more importantly I should be able to provide brewers with a conduit to the technical information they need to get the best the character from our hops. Whether that is analytical information or advice on application in the brewery, I will be able to help brewers.” He says. The hop industry seems to be the fastest changing facet of beer at the moment. Although different varieties of barley are slowly being developed, new varieties of hybrid hops are popping up like pimples on a greasy teenager. Owen adds, “In terms of new hop varieties coming from our extensive breeding program, I look forward to sticking my nose into ‘farm business’. It is definitely an area that generates a lot of interest from brewers as they search for the next point of difference for their beers.” We’re looking forward to hearing more from HPA and hopefully having the chance to brew with some of the latest new-age hybrid hops ourselves. Owen’s hoping he’ll still get a chance to pull on the steel-caps and knock out a batch of beer with brewing friends at some stage in the future.
