The Lip - A Land of Plenty
Long-time beer drinker Ross Lewis casts his eye over the kegs from here and abroad.
Catch up with other beers on The Sip Archive
It is a toast to Australian agriculture. And there are plenty of brewers who can drink to that.
Three of the country’s best beer makers have put together their skills to develop a special drop for the Australian International Beer Awards next month and it promises to be a celebration of the nation’s primary producers.
As part of the huge beer week celebrations in Melbourne from May 18 the winners of major prizes at last year’s AIBA awards have been asked by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria to develop a collaborative brew.
So a Land of Plenty was born earlier this week in the Perth suburb of Bassendean.
CUB, the large brewery champion last year, Feral Brewing, which won the medium beer maker award, and Two Brothers Brewery (the small operation winner) have devised a lager to showcase the feats of those on the land that help them manufacture their respective beverages.
Overseeing the operation this week were Brendan Varis (Feral), Andrew Ong (Two Brothers) and Jaideep Chandrasekharan (CUB).
“We wanted to make a beer that paid respect to Australian agricultural because after all we are a product of the agricultural industry,” Varis said.
“There is that very strong link that I think some people forget when they are drinking a beer.
“It is great to have this opportunity.”
Chandrasekharan, who, along with Ong, flew to Perth this week to help with the brewing, said consumers would be surprised at the amount of barley that is exported overseas and Land of Plenty would hopefully raise that awareness during the AIBA festivities.
He added that the beer would feature hops from Tasmania and barley sourced from WA. So the name, Land of Plenty, is an apt description of the drink.
“It will be a lager full of body with aroma hops,” Chandrasekharan said.
Ong admitted it had taken some time for the trio to nail down what type of beer to make but lager had such a strong affinity with Australia.
“I looked at my email trail the other day and I think we started working on this project in October,” Ong said.
“We are expecting it to be ready in about four to five weeks and we’re looking at a beer around 6 per cent with full flavour.”
