Brewers infuse specialty beers with many ingredients other than hops. The list, potentially as long as the number of edible plants, includes cherries, fig, banana, chilli, chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, truffle and cardamon.
The latest across the tasting bench, infused with peach and tea, comes under David Burns and Elly Meltzer’s Kwencher label, brewed to their recipe at Southern Bay Brewery, Geelong.
Burns and Meltzer got the idea while travelling in Morocco, drinking peach tea and local beer.
They make two beers – a pale ale, broadly in the malty, hoppy American style and the peach and tea infused lager.
The beers are available at beerstore.com.au, though it should be in Canberra outlets before long. Burns and Meltzer will release draught versions of the beers during spring.
Kwencher Pale Ale 24X330ml $81.99
Kwencher Pale Ale, brewed in Geelong, begins and ends with hops – although, rich, smooth smalt flavours feature on the way through. Fruity, citrusy hops aromas lead to the rich palate. Then the hops kick in again, giving resiny flavours and a firm, intensely bitter finish.
Kwencher Clingstone Peach Lager 16X330ml $59.99
Brewers infuse beer with many things, in this instance with Darjeeling tea and peach. Sweet, peach aromas suggest a sweet drink to follow. On the brisk, lean palate, peach flavours rise above the maltiness, but the palate remains dry and fresh, with a pleasantly tart grip – derived from tea tannins, the brewer’s notes suggest.
Copyright Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 4 September in the Canberra Times