Page 28 - Food & Drink Magazine April 2019

BEVERAGES
✷ BEER VARIETY CRAFT’S NEW AGE
Craft beer remains extremely popular because it is “a decently priced alcoholic drink, attracting a new age of drinkers”, says Richard Burton, a local business owner in Jindabyne, and assistant brewer of Kosciuszko Pale Ale at Banjo Paterson Inn.
However, he says many brewers are also discovering that unlike older drinkers – who will remain loyal to one brand – younger taste buds can be more fickle.
“Many of the top brewers are worried because the younger generation of beer enthusiasts are constantly seeking out new tastes, so they can’t just hit the VB button any more,” says Burton.
“This new generation of drinkers are after real flavour in their brews. They are actually tasting the beer and savouring the flavour, rather than just drinking it,” he adds.
“We test our new products on customers, and this helps us to determine how popular a new beer might become. If it is popular, we know whether or not we should run it again, or move onto creating a new taste.”
similarly organic, word-of- mouth approach to the beer's original launch in bottles.
“It’s really a testament to the skill of our brewers that they are able to brew, bottle, can and keg the same brand at different breweries and get the flavour matches,” he says.
“But they can never quite duplicate the freshness factor that we get here at the Kosciuszko microbrewery, where we serve it straight from the source and it is totally unfiltered.”
KEEPING IT CRAFTY
Although production has now expanded far beyond the Snowy region with national distribution, the Kosciuszko Pale Ale will always remain true to its small, crafty beginnings, says Hahn.
“Our whole model was based on creating a strong brand locally and then expanding it organically, based on word of mouth.
“We still can do a double brew here every fortnight of about 1400 litres, and our customers just drink that right down. During the ski season, we are hard pressed to keep up with the huge demand.”
“ It is now a much simpler process for a craft brewer to put in a small canning line, or even rent a mobile canning line, which can be delivered to their site on the back of a trailer.”
The Kosciuszko brewhouse features a copper-clad mash lauter tun and brew kettle, on public display at the Banjo Paterson Inn.
“The beer at Banjos is served directly from the tank rather than the keg, which means no oxygen has been introduced into it,” says Hahn. “So it’s just like getting milk directly from the cow, with nothing in between.
“That freshness factor is exactly what we built this whole brand on, to reflect the spirit and freshness of the mountains here,” he adds.
Other special and limited release brews are also created at the microbrewery, exclusively for the local market.
This includes a limited release German-style wheat beer that uses lemon-drop hops.
“It has a little bit of a lemon flavour in there, which is beautiful,” says Hahn. “We’ve named it Twisted Mountain Wheat Ale, and we’ll only have 12 kegs available.
“We also brew a stronger Kosciuszko Bock beer for winter, which is named Midnight because of its dark colouring,” he adds.
“Experimentation is what we love to do, and everything is done by hand, including measuring and grinding
the grain, because that is craft brewing. ✷
28 | Food&Drink business | April 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au