Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Edge Brewing Project
There seems to be a newer ending influx of newly established breweries dabbling in the creation of craft beers with never not “interesting”, but not always delectable results that hit the spot.
Needless to say that I am getting all the more excited if I randomly come across one that thrills me with its emissions.
It was a late Saturday afternoon when I felt that after a 12km run and a subsequent gym session, I had earned myself a boilermaker. As I was looking for a suitable counterpoint to a peaty whiskey, I consulted my local speciality beer shop about new arrivals and one of the brews that caught my eye was Edge Brewing Project’s collaboration with the Hawaiian Kona brewery. The fruity melange of Australian malt and mangos mixed with hops from the new world proved to be a great choice and triggered me to dig deeper into Edge Brewing Project’s catalogue.
With a focus on locally sourced ingredients, Adam Betts started to instigate collaborations like the aforementioned based on his wide network from his time at a beer importer and distributor – an endeavour that eventually culminated in the founding of Edge Brewing Project.
It did not too long for the world to notice the quality of his emissions, which resulted in accolades galore and high-calibre collaborations like e.g. with Noma, the restaurant voted best in the world multiple times, which gave birth to a specific Restaurant series.
Edge Brewing Project focuses mainly on small batch lagers, imperial stouts and sours, with the occasional IPA thrown in for good measure.
Keeping his operations lean by renting equipment from existing breweries, Adam and his team experiment and only upscale their batches once they have met their standards.
?Apart from the sours, which are an acquired taste at times, my favourites of the Edge Brewing Project is the ?collaboration with Starward Distiller: Using their oak whisky barrels, with this Whisky Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, Edge Brewing Project carefully calibrated a mix of coffee and milkshake aromas to arrive at a creamy deliciousness that is informed by nuances derived from what the barrels have to contribute, i.e. tannins and oaky highlights.
Another one is what people outside the terrain of terra australis might know from Nick Cave’s musical homage to the man: Stagger Lee, an Imperial Stout.
This one takes things to the next level and is one to spend some time with as its roasted character that extends into a lengthy and pleasantly bitter finish is something to be savoured.
All of Edge Brewing Projects releases are limited in nature to its operations and if you are remotely into quality beers and experiencing new flavour nuances that have been created with skill and not just for the sake of creating novelty brews, I’d recommend to sign up to their mailing list so you do not miss out.
