Beer for Fresh July 3

When Crown Ambassador Reserve Lager went on sale last Monday, Fosters head brewer John Cozens was keenly interested in who would buy the 750ml gift-boxed bottles at $55 a time.

“I’d like to think the 5000 bottles will go to people who know about fine beer, or Crown Lager fans intrigued by this vintage Crown,” he said. “I suspect many will be bought as gifts.”

He explains the rich, complex, fruity characters which make Ambassador a remarkable lager capable of evolving further in the bottle for up to 10 years as “a matter of good ingredients and good brewing practice”.

“We kept it simple,” Mr Cozens said. The yeast and the hops were the same as those used in the “Crownie”, but crystal barley malt was added for a glowing orange-tint. A lot more grain went into the mash than for the ordinary “premium” lager to reach 9.2 alcohol level. It fermented for longer, and was unfiltered before racking, allowing secondary fermentation.

Mr Cozens has been in brewing since 1967 when a student summer job at his local brewery, which had traditional Yorkshire slate open square fermenters, became permanent. Later he worked for Fosters in England and came to Australia in 2004. As development brewing manager at Fosters’ Abbotsford brewery, Melbourne, he leads a team working on a small, hands-on, single-batch set-up.

He concedes that most brewers prefer making ales - “there’s often so much more you can put into an ale than into lager”. But he also believes the lines have become blurred. “It’s no longer just top-fermented or bottom fermented, but lots of in-betweens. Defining ale or lager becomes almost irrelevant in brewing good new beers.”

That might explain why Crown Ambassador has ale characters despite being a lager. Or perhaps it’s just because the alcohol level is hefty enough to bring out flavours that are beefier than normal lagers.

“I’d like to do another Ambassador vintage brew next year, probably a bigger release,” Mr Cozens said. “It might not be exactly the same because of variances in the hops and barley – but that’s part of the appeal of craft brewing.”

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Perth Royal Beer Show

Gage Roads and Nail Brewing triumphed in the Perth Royal Beer Show, with top awards also for Feral, Billabong and Last Drop. This year’s competition, the second, attracted entries from 59 breweries, 20 of them from WA.

Three trophies went to Gage Roads for its hop-packed packaged and draught India Pale Ale and Pils. Unfiltered, oatmeal Nail Stout was acclaimed Best WA Beer of the Show for Nail Brewing’s John Stallwood, with trophies in both draught and bottled stout categories.

Last Drop Wheat earned the best draught wheat beer trophy for the Armadale craft brewery and Feral Pilsener - brewed and on tap at Baskerville - was awarded the microbrewing.com.au trophy for top lager.

Billabong Brewing of Myaree was rewarded for years of research and development with two Coeliac Society of WA trophies for best bottled and draught gluten-free beer, Australia’s(SUBS:OK) Pale Ale. WA beers won two-thirds of the gold medals: Nail Stout, Gage Roads IPA, Little Creatures Pale Ale, Blackwood Wheat Stout and wheat ales from Jarrah Jack’s, Tanglehead and Last Drop breweries.

The best commercial beer title went to NSW’s Redoak Rauch smoked beer, which also won the trophy for best packaged lager.

There were entries from 32 home brewers and a wheat beer won best amateur beer award for Ian Walker of Kelmscott.

The judges confirmed the tip made in this column about the new Gage Roads special brews: the B team’s Saison won a silver medal while the A team’s Trippel managed only bronze.

A panel of 11 judges and five associates tasted and marked 273 beers over three days before trade members and exhibitors attended the Royal Perth Beer Show awards presentation at Claremont Showgrounds.

“There is a great deal of interest in the wide variety of beer styles now available to the Australian public and this is reflected in the competition entries,” chief judge Hugh Dunn said.

The event was sponsored by Cryer Malt, which supplies specialist malts to most craft brewers in Australia and New Zealand, and was organised by the Royal Agricultural Society as the first of 40 competitions in the annual Perth Royal Show.

Master brewer Chuck Hahn will host an Ale and Tales beer dinner at Perth’s Novotel Langley hotel on Friday July 11. For $80 a head, you get two seafood entrees, main beef course and chocolate desserts accompanied by nine beers, predominently James Squire brands including the remarkable IPA and Porter and a preview of the highly individual Pepperberry Winter Ale. Book on 9425 1777.

Mash staged a “degustation” dinner on June 27 at the Henley Brook brew-restaurant. The 13 courses – including three each of marron, Angus beef and pork – were matched to nine beers, including four new styles: Redlight low-alcohol Irish ale; Mash Winter Stout (5 per cent); Bunbury Blonde US-style ale; and Strong English Ale (about 8 per cent). For dessert – beer gelati made with Black dark lager and Honey Pils.

Cowaramup Brewing’s second annual beer dinner was held on Saturday June 28. Five courses, from shucked oysters to cheese, were complemented by the brewery’s craft range: pilsner, India pale ale, special pale and stout, with comments and tasting hints by brewer Jeremy Good and master brewer Hugh Dunn.