Crown Ambassador Reserve Lager 2010 is poised for release next Monday. The annual limited release is distinguished, as usual, by putting green Galaxy hops in the boil within 24 hours of their being stripped from the vine in early March. Pride of Ringwood hops are also in the brew as before. But if you expect this vintage to be a repeat of the previous two, think again. It’s different.

For the first time, the beer is a blend of old and new. Some of the 2009 Reserve brew was carefully added to this year’s batch after ageing in french oak barrels for a year, a technique rarely used in Australian brewing.

“Like some of the world’s best wines, we wanted to capture the heart and soul of a previous vintage,” master brewer John Cozens said “We had saved a portion of the previous vintage in white wine barrels and the blending took  place two weeks before the new vintage was bottled.” He intends repeating the process with oak-aged 2010 Ambassador saved for added “richness and depth” in the 2011 edition.

Another first is the matching of appropriate glassware to the beer. Mr Cozens and Georg Riedel, CEO of glassmakers Riedel, led a panel of beer and wine experts through tastings of the 2009 and 2008 Ambassador Reserve vintages to test 14 different shaped glasses, finally choosing the Riedel Vinum Extreme shiraz glass to partner the up-market lager.

With help from ECU Joondalup brewing lecturer Hugh Dunn, and in contact by phone with Mr Cozens, I sampled the new vintage nine weeks after it was bottled. Bear in mind that it’s still very “green” and will evolve in the 750ml wax-sealed bottles for up to 10 years. Behind the port-like initial aroma was a disconcerting whiff of sulphur. Mr Cozens quickly explained: “The day we picked the Galaxy hops was a complete contrast to the blue skies and dry conditions of the previous year’s picking. It rained, there was lots of water in the rivers, the ground was soaked and so the hop cones were just packed full of moisture and resin.

“This naturally affected the beer - it’s certainly different,” he said.

“The smell has grown less over the weeks and should have disappeared by the time people drink it – September at the earliest, though Christmas would be better and best in five years.”

Certainly, the offensive element dissipated as the beer settled in the glass and chewy, sumptuous flavours emerged.

Crown Ambassador Reserve will be available at more than 30 WA outlets including restaurants such as Burswood Casino, hotels and taverns as well as liquor stores in the metropolitan area, from Yanchep in the north to Waikiki in the south and Greenmount to the east. Country stockists include Albion Hotel, Boulder;  Busselton Liquor; and Cellarbrations, Esperance.

Only 7000 boxed, numbered, 750ml bottles will be sold, priced at $90 each. Go to  www.crownbeverages.com.au

Crown Ambassador Reserve Riedel glasses are for sale exclusively online from August 2 for $110 a pair, plus delivery charges, via www.crownbeverages.com.au/riedel

THE BEER

CROWN AMBASSADOR RESERVE LAGER 2010 (10.2 PER CENT)

This vintage presents beautifully in a goblet, though the off-white foam’s retention falls away swiftly. Possibly this is because of the high alcohol, detectable in the aroma alongside doughy, biscuity and subdued vegie notes, as well as in the warming finish. Make no mistake, this deep-amber beer is huge, complex, and packed with dried-fruit and bakery flavours. Vanilla oak hints lift the strong, full-bodied, rather clingy palate. The “young” beer characters, already impressive, are underpinned by yeasty, spirity promise for interesting development over months or years.

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From Fresh 29^th July