A popular Sunshine Coast brewery has been working on a berry special craft beer that uses enough fruit to fill Caloundra’s 25-metre ocean pool.
Brouhaha Brewery is increasing production of its bestselling Strawbarb, a kettle sour craft beer that contains 32 tonnes of local strawberries and 5.2 tonnes of rhubarb, to meet with demand.
It comes as the brewery recently opened its second venue in Baringa to bring their beer closer to the sea.
This year the brewery plans to create 380,000 litres of the unique draught at a larger Sunshine Coast site, which is an increase of 500 per cent.
The eclectic beverage, which has secured its spot as Brouhaha’s top-seller, also uses lashings of yoghurt from local supplier Maleny Dairies, creating a distinct and sour flavour that has earnt itself a reputation for quenching craft enthusiasts and non-beer drinkers alike.
Director of Brouhaha Matt Jancauskas said the Strawbarb buyers were unique to the rest of the brewer’s core range with a higher per cent of women and a broader age range.
“It’s anti-tradition when it comes to beer – both in how we make it and the resulting flavour profile – which is where I think the appeal comes from and why it’s enjoyed by such a vast range of our consumers,” Mr Jancauskas said.
“It’s sweet on the nose, dry and wildly refreshing and has a sour finish to it. We are often told by our patrons who aren’t usually beer drinkers that the Strawbarb was their introduction into the world of craft.”
“It’s indicative of the Queensland heat in that it’s a real thirst quencher and also pairs well with rich chocolatey desserts by acting as a cleanser and cuts through the creaminess of cheeses … the truth is, it goes with just about anything!”
Inspired by honey mead, the Strawbarb is brewed with the same four ingredients as a typical brewed beer including barley and wheat, though it differs when the yoghurt is added to create live lactobacillus.
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This ‘good’ bacteria consumes the sugar and produces lactic acid that sours the beer. Once the desired sourness is achieved, the fruit is added during secondary fermentation, with these sugars again consumed by the yeast, leaving a dry taste.
“For brewery flagships, the hardest part is in contracting the hops year in and out, and the competition involved in the supply and demand,” Mr Jancauskas (pictured below) said.
“With the Strawbarb, we have to contract enough strawberries and rhubarb from farmers around Maleny, Caloundra and the Coast – which is a unique challenge.
“The response to the Strawbarb has certainly been immense and really helped us to scale up and instill the confidence to undertake our second venue which includes a double-storey taproom and a custom-designed brew house.”
The new seaside venue will produce a staggering 1.25 million litres of beer per year, with large custom kettles installed to sour the Strawbarb and depalatisers that pack 80 cans per minute.
Brouhaha is located at 1 Edison Crescent, Baringa and 6/39 Coral Street, Maleny. Visit brouhahabrewery.com.au.
