Next Friday, July 6 we are releasing Keen as Mustard at our cellar door and online store at 3pm.
Keen as Mustard is a five-grain barrel fermented ale aimed at showcasing some of the more primary fermentation characteristics of our house culture. It was brewed on March 14th, 2018 and made of entirely single origin NSW barley, emmer, rye, spelt and wheat. Emmer is an ancient wheat that we used ourselves for the first time in this beer. It lends a beautiful herbal spice element to aromatics of Keen as. The beer was hopped with NSW grown Hallertau and Fuggle hops from Bemboka, NSW. It underwent a primary fermentation in six French oak barriques for one month and before undergoing a three month tertiary fermentation and conditioning in bottle and keg before release. It was packaged on 18 April 2018 and allowed to mature for 3 months in bottle and keg before release. At packaging it was 5.0% ABV and 1.5 P (1.006 SG).
At release, the beer smells of lifted sweet citrus blossom & orange soda. The palate is quite textural and a little heavier than the airy aromatics with a full bitter orange core and an immediate finish with a hint of tartness.
Much like 'The International', Keen as Mustard is higher hopped, spent relatively less time in primary fermentation and has a higher carbonation levels than our acid beers.
Keen as Mustard is packaged in green 750ml bottles. We will tap kegs of it at the cellar door from Friday 1 June. A small number of bottles and kegs will find their way into distribution at our stockists.
This beer, like all our beers, is best enjoyed when decanted off a settled natural yeast sediment at cool cellar temperatures (8-10°C).
-topher
