Adding Weird Shit To Beer Since Before The Floods

We often take a long hard look at ourselves and ask WHY? Why did we add Salt, Lime and Tequila to a lager? Why did we throw a small cars worth of fruit into the sour mash? Why, oh why, did we spend hours hand toasting iron bark, then drop it into a perfectly delicious double WC IPA? Well the latter was for Gabs Fest that’s why! But the real question is - WHY NOT?

Experimenting with techniques and ideas to create, enhance and celebrate texture and flavour is 100% what craft is all about.

Back in 1895 a Scottish Brewer named James Mclay added oats to his Stout, making the world’s first recorded Oat Malt Stout. While it was something wild back in 1895, now you need to hold brewers back from using oats in their … well … everything!

We have added some pretty weird stuff to beer over the years. Our medal winning Lagerita has Orange Liquor and Agave (tequila), lime and salt added to our Japanese Lager. It’s built a moreish salinity and texture that is dry, a little bit umami and very dang refreshing. YO HO - our last Gabs beer, had rum added to a Porter that Jack sparrow would have been proud of.