BREWERY // New Zealander Duncan Gibson & Australian Sam Hambour are winemakers and good friends who were both making wine in Central Otago when they got into brewing beer in their backyards. After many vintages behind them working in the great wine regions of the world, they decided to focus on creating great beers. They began by contract brewing in Melbourne in 2014 before buying Sawmill's old brewhouse the following year. They found their home in a beautiful old building in the youthful Melbourne suburb of Footscray and opened their doors in mid 2016. Despite their name, they're not only into hops. Their barrel aged Imperial Stouts are a wonder to behold and their Site Fermentation Project sees them fully embrace mixed fermentation and blending small batch beers with very limited releases. Their hard seltzers, 'Rays, are named after their suburb and said to be the best around.
BEER // Lager is a style that doesn't get a lot of love from us craft beer enthusiasts. But, as anyone who has visited the Lager Meccas of Bavaria and the Czech Republic know, a well made lager is a truly beautiful thing. The name comes from the German word 'lagern' meaning 'to store' and lagered beers are brewed at a cooler temperature to other styles using bottom fermenting yeast rather than the more common top fermenting varieties. Japanese lager brewers had the excellent idea of incorporating rice in their grain bill to make for a very light, refreshing and dry beer which happens to make a lovely base for hop flavours. Yama is a beautifully crisp beer with really solid bitterness and heaps of flavour and aroma from the Citra hops as well as Yuzu. This Japanese citrus gives a zesty, pithy bite to the beer in perfect compliment to the hops. It's a smooth but full flavoured effervescent lager which pairs beautifully with food and is rather more-ish. We'd have sent you a half dozen if there was room in the box.
BREWERIES // Hop Nation
BEER // Yama
STYLE // Yuzu Rice Lager
ORIGIN // Melbourne
ABV // 4%
TEMPERATURE // Cold- around 7C
FOOD MATCH // Roast Salmon with Lemon. Fancy Macaroni Cheese. Coconut, Lime & Ginger Vegetable Curry. Berry Pavlova
VESSEL // Lager or Pilsner Glass