Thus Let Us Drink Beer

Public Brewing, King Road Brewing & YH’s Beer’a’dise

Public Brewing Co. has been on my to-try list of Australian craft distillers for the longest time, not just because of the fact that its head distiller Gab Porto previously channelled his alchemy at Akasha Brewing, but because word around the campfire has that its focus is firmly put on a sustainable, environmental footprint limiting community-first approach. 
 
With its portfolio centred around approachable pale, red and sessionable beers that are bound to appeal to a wide range of brew lovers, it is specifically the special releases and collaborations with other breweries that intrigued me. Case in point: Public Brewing’s Maku hemp range of beers. The Maku IPA is based on a melange of  Columbus and Amarillo hops, interweaved with hemp, which imbues the tried and tested grapefruity citrus foundation with idiosyncratically nutty, piney and biscuity highlights, rounded out by dry, earthy finish.

The nomenclature of Andy's DDH Oat Cream IPA could not be more spot-on in that it delivers via a velvety mouthfeel both in terms of lactose heavy, sweet malty aromas, as well as a medium bitterness and mild notes of coffee.

My favourite of the range, however, is Public Brewing’s collaboration with Akasha Brewing, i.e. the much fabled about Sour Blueberry IPA. 

Clocking in at 6.7%, this little number is the result of dry hopping a sour with resinous, woody and stone fruity Talus hops to then add an extra flavour infusion with a metric hundredweight of blueberries post-fermentation. A fantastic accompaniment to a dram of Ardbeg Corrywrecken and much less a novelty beer than the name would suggest. Au contraire, it is a veritable pity that it was incepted as a one-off project that has now sold out.

Now, being a lover of hoppy DIPAs, I for one am not the biggest fan a light beers, so when I like one it attests to the fact that a knockout brew has been created that still ticks all the boxes in the flavour department without leaving one lusting for much more, which is exactly where Public Brewing’s Feather Weight Craft Light Beer shines, striking a balance between a delicate bitterness and subtly fruity aromas, which dance on a canvas of Cascade and Amarillo hops.

King Road Brewing

Looking at its genesis and the constituents involved, King Road Brewing Co is an example par excellence for a family business. What started as a humble hobbyhorse in the realm of experimentation with cider making has become a veritable powerhouse on the firmament of the Western Australian craft brewery scene and there seems to be no end in sight as there are currently further expansions underway.

Starting out with a core ranged based on two seasonals, a classic Wheat, a Pacific-style Session Ale and one arm of their operation being dedicated to the production of freshly hand-pressed cider, their core expression of which is a crisp, clear and refreshingly strong aromatic one.

Intrigued by King Road’s approachable Pale Ale with its distinct bitterness courtesy of Amarillo and smooth tropical and floral nuances derived Citra hops, which shine against a backdrop of caramelly sweet maltiness, things piqued my interest when they started to experiment with the release of their creative limited editions and the launch of their first IPA expression: 

King’s Road IPA is a solid, multi-layered brew and I love how the waves of passion fruit and citrus blend in with strawberries at the green and acidic end of the spectrum, to then take a surprising yet welcome U-turn into wonderfully dank and resinous territory, which is borderline reminiscent of cannabis. 

My favourite of King Road Brewing’s recent emissions must be their fantastic Hazy IPA. 

Based on the hoppy triumvirate of tangerine-tinged Zamba hops, stone fruity and slightly bitter El Dorado pellets and smooth floral Citra hops, it should not be further wondrous that the result is a fulminant flavour bomb that meanders between well-calibrated juicy tropical nuances to then round out and culminate in a clean, dry and nicely bitter landing. Clocking in at 7.4%, this babyh packs a bit of a punch and alcoholic warmth as well. 

I can only hope that King Road Brewing will try their hand at the creation of a double IPA…

Young Henrys – Beer’a’dise

Let us wrap this instalment up with one of my favourite local community-based breweries, i.e. Young Henrys. 

After a myriad of interesting and boundary pushing initiatives over the last couple of years, thematically centred around YH’s quality brews, this time around they have channelled their alchemy to create a melange of music, art, skateboarding, surfing and Australian mateship through joining forces with skateboarding powerhouse Volcom in a bid to celebrate their thirtieth birthday in style. 

To honour the occasion, Young Henrys brewed a limited edition beer, informed by avalanches of tropical goodness. 

A pale ale in nature, the limited Beer’a’dise release is an example par excellence for a sessionable brew and a tour de force at it, with the nuances of citrussy highlights, mandarin, pineapple vigorously dancing against a refreshingly, medium dry backdrop.

Another quality release that I was lucky enough to get a taste of, as not unlike Young Henrys other limited emissions, it sold out immediately.

The collaboration between Young Henrys and Volcom also fostered the drop of specifically designed limited edition merch, fusing the iconic illustrations that have somewhat become a trademark of Young Henrys with Volcom’s quality garments to create gear that will have you primed and covered for the upcoming summer on terra australis.

I hope that we will be able to cover the upcoming extension of the YH x Volcom birthday celebrations in more detail, i.e. the Welcome to Beer’a’dise party, which will see a floating device meandering across Sydney Harbour in between the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House to host a skate showcase serenaded by bands like Hockey Dad and guest DJs, along with other surprise guests.