Two men whose passion for good beer raised Matilda Bay to prominence as a WA icon visited recently to show off their own brews. Brewer Brad Rogers and marketing whiz Jamie Cook introduced the national release of two Stone & Wood ales. From the reaction of the State’s brewing fraternity, going independent has given them new impetus and their microbrewery puts northern NSW on the craft beer map.

  Feral’s Brendan Varis called Stone & Wood Draught Ale among the best beers in Australia. And the way  a rare keg of seasonal Stone Beer went down at Clancy’s, Fremantle, his fellow brewers were similarly  impressed.

  Mr Rogers and Mr Cook teamed up with another ex-Matilda Bay man, Ross Jurisich, and a local pub owner, installed a 2500-litre custom-built Canadian brewhouse and opened Stone & Wood on the north  NSW coast in late 2008.

The day Mr Rogers moved his family from Melbourne to Byron Bay, he phoned excitedly to say it was a lifestyle choice and he was settled in for good.

   The first choice was to buck the normal new-start lager-brewing protocol by launching Draught Ale - not just an ale, but a cloudy ale. “It’s brewed to be served fresh”  Mr Rogers said. “Therefore, we don’t need to filter or pasteurise it.”

 The golden ale was brewed with a generous dash of wheat - including rolled wheat. “It’s all about texture,” Mr Rogers said. “The beer was designed specifically for this region, to be served fresh in the many great watering holes down the road.”

  Fortunately, Stone & Wood beer is now available for people much farther down the road after Mr Rogers made a flying visit and whisked away Colonial Brewery’s bottling line. Early this year the first Stone & Wood “export” – Pale Lager - sneaked into WA, but to minimal acclaim. The bottled ales are making up for that.

At the outset, Mr Cook said the choice of natural elements in the name Stone & Wood would make sense. With Stone Beer, it certainly does.

 Rounded stones – which Mr Rogers has carted around with his household chattels since using them in Fiji for cooking in covered pits – are heated on a wood fire at the brewery. Lowered into the beer wort, they raise its temperature. A side effect is that grain caramelise on the stones. When cool, the stones go into the fermenter, where yeast action on the sugary coating releases remarkable smoky, caramel characters.

 Stone & Wood bottled beers are available in WA at: The Fremantle Doctor; Cellarbrations Bentley; ​Cellarbrations @ Carlisle; ​Mane Liquor, Ascot; ​Greenmount Liquor; ​The International Beer Shop, West Leederville; ​Harbourne On Cambridge.

THE BEERS

STONE & WOOD DRAUGHT ALE (4.4  PER CENT)

For uncomplicated sheer enjoyment, try this summery golden ale any time of the year. Dry hopping with Galaxy flowers imparts tropical fruit and floral notes as hop oils caress nose and palate. Experts reckon it’s a pretty individual New World pale ale, perfectly mixing sweet flavours, fresh-fruit hoppiness, medium body and dry finish. It’s a joy.

STONE & WOOD STONE BEER (5.3 PER CENT)

The appearance hits the right specifications for winter ale: firm beige head atop burnished copper or polished rosewood fluid, depending on the light. It pours lively and smells like a timber yard. Flavours come in waves: toffee fresh from the cooling tray before it’s quite set; plums and figs; autumn-damp blackberries; fruit-and-nut confectionary. And it’s all on as long a palate as I can recall, wrapped up in a dry, crisp, fruity aftertaste.

STONE & WOOD PALE LAGER (4.7 PER CENT)

Pale by name, colour and impact. When it was first released Brad Rogers was adamant the flavours were delicate in a refined Munich Helles way. Perhaps some might agree.

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QUICK ONE

The Beer Tasters’ winter session will be held at the Flying Scotsman, Mt Lawley, next Thursday July 29. Eight porters and stouts from the International Beer Shop will be presented, matched with cheeses and chocolates. Only 20 people can be accommodated at the tasting, from 6.30pm, at $30 a head. Email Anthony Williams This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 From Fresh, The West Australian 22^nd July