Beer #173 - W/C 18 June 2018
BREWERY // With views of Mt Tamahunga and a short hop from Omaha Beach, Sawmill Brewery's new home is an enviable location. Luckily for us, the brewery is also encompasses the beautifully designed 'Smoko Room' serving an inspired menu of local and seasonal produce alongside 14 different beers on tap. Sawmill started in 2004 and was thought by Kirsty McKay and Mike Sutherland in Spring 2010. They hadn't intended to buy a brewery - Mike was interested in learning about brewing so got in touch with founder Peter Freckleton to ask if he could spend a day with him in the brewery. Peter mentioned he was selling up and the rest is history. Environmental awareness is core to operations at Sawmill and they collected almost a million litres of water from their roof last year. They are constantly releasing small batch beers which are inspired by the seasons, local produce and historic beer styles.
BEER // After winning a trophy at last year's Brewers Guild Awards, Sawmill decided to brew their Baltic Porter again in time for this Winter. Baltic porters sit somewhere between a brown English porter and the Russian imperial stouts of the late 18th Century. It is the traditional style of the countries that border the Baltic Sea. Sawmill brew this big porter with a complex combination of dark and caramel speciality malts as well as traditional brown malt and it's fermented with the Sawmill house lager yeast strain to make for a clean, crisp profile. It has a medium body and a huge assortment of aroma and flavours - look out for dark berries, cacao, espresso, plums, tobacco, toffee and bread. It's robust, smooth and more drinkable than you might expect an 8% beer to be.
Check out the video below to take a peek at the brewery and the people behind your beer.
BREWERY // Sawmill
BEER // Baltic Porter
ORIGIN // Matakana
ABV // 8%
TEMPERATURE // Cellar Temp - around 13C
FOOD MATCH // Venison Stew. Strong Cheddar on Toast. Dark Chocolate Truffles. Stilton, Figs & Crackers.
GLASS // Snifter