Thus Let Us Drink Beer

Alice Springs Brewing Co.

If you harbour a remote interest in this series, you’d be aware that most of the Australian breweries we have covered are based on the East Coast of Australia, with urban centres like Sydney and Melbourne being particular hotbeds.

All the more enticed was my beer loving palate when I learned about a brewery channelling its alchemy in the hot desert climate of a town that is situated roughly in the very centre of the expansive continent that is terra australis.

Equidistant from Darwin and Adelaide at the gateway to the red centre and surrounded by awe-inspiring national parks, Alice Springs Brewing Co. has ambitiously overcome countless logistical hurdles ranging from the town’s water quality, restrictive freight and transport rates and particular local liquor licensing requirements, before incarnating in 2018 with its first frothy emissions. 

Needless to say, given the climate and context of its location, the focus of Alice Springs Brewing Co’s portfolio is firmly set on sessionable, lower ABV brews that lend themselves well to be drunk in the desert like circumstances. I was all the more excited to discover that recently, two limited IPA expressions have made an appearance in the line-up.

Adorned with idiosyncratic colourful branding that signifies a tongue-in-cheek nod to a scene from Crocodile Dundee courtesy of Jessie Jungalwalla of Craft Instinct and aptly named That’s Not A Knife, the twinset of India Pale Ales is based on a melange of Enigma, Vic Secret and Galaxy hops.

Light copper in appearance, the regular variant of the That’s Not A Knife IPA is an example par excellence for a well-calibrated brew with hop heavy, resinous highlights, which are counterpointed by spiky, herbal nuances dancing against a backdrop of a malty bitterness. 

While the basic version won me over instantenously, things were elevated to yet a new level with the IIPA variant: 
Clocking in at an ABV of 8.5%, this little amber hued number embodies everything that I love about IPAs in that the piney hoppiness is framed by tangy, citric notes, which serve to further pronounce the crescendo of malt biscuity and pineapple flavours accentuating crisp hints of white grape, tart redcurrant and sweet rockmelon.

Plain wonderful.

I can only hope that Alice Springs Brewing Co. considers to make the aforementioned IPA a permanent fixture of its portfolio and that it will become widely available.

Urban Alley

With its focus set on the sustainable production of its beers starting with the ability to treat water onsite and being an early adaptor of using six-pack holder rings made of recycled and compostable materials, Urban Alley Brewery’s operations are centred around a green focus.

Having been established five years ago in the District Docklands of Melbourne, backed by the founder duo’s long-standing history in the hospitality industry and having never heard anything other than good things about its crafty, frothy emissions that make up its accolade decorated core range, which has become known for being a veritable pathway to lure the masses from mainstream to craft beer, I have been aching to get my paws on Urban Alley Brewery’s much fabled about limited releases, specifically in the IPA department.

If you happen to remotely follow this series, it should not come as a surprise that I am partial to a well calibrated boilermaker. 

With a dram of Laphroaig Quarter Cask poured, my choice of the evening was Urban Alley’s El Dorado Sour IPA.

Clocking in at 6% ABV, this little yellow tinged number knows to convince on the intense flavour end, bringing forth bright tropical, citrussy fruit flavours and distinct aromas of tangerine, pear, watermelon, and stone fruitiness, which are artfully counterbalanced by great bittering qualities that are rounded out by piney nuances.

The unique species of Lachancea that is Philly Sour, i.e. a pure strain of active dried yeast, adds a welcome refreshing acidity level, which makes the Islay dram sing even more. 

A delicious, juicy and hoppy tour de force.

Next up was the more traditional Lightning Bolt Aussie IPA, which as the name suggests, is based on a melange of all-Australian hops. 
With Eclipse hops imparting fruit forward flavours of sweet mandarin, zesty citrus peel and fresh pine needles, a medium bitterness and resinous highlights courtesy of Vic Secret hops dance against a backdrop of mango, thyme, which make it an electrifyingly, dangerously sessionable go-to sipper.

With Urban Alley Brewery’s attention to details, which does not stop at the creation of their beers but extends to their subtle merch range, I cannot wait for them to channel their alchemy in the creation of a DIPA.