Beer #372 - W/C 4 April 2022
BREWERY // We love all our brewers equally and definitely don't have favourites. Urbanaut have a very special place in our heart though and Beer Jerk used to share a building with them when they launched in 2017. The original team are Bruce, Simon and Thomas who became friends during their days at Rangitikei College and they've been joined by a fantastically talented crew over the years. Brewer Bruce honed his craft working with legendary breweries Fullers and Meantime in London while Simon and Thomas ran a property development company so their combined skills came in handy when converting an old props hire warehouse into a sparkling Kingsland brewery & taproom at the end of the Auckland Beer Mile. Hot Tip: they recently got a tavern license meaning you can drink full sized beers while tucking into a juicy burger from Burgernaut.
BEER // The Scotch Ale style emerged in the early 19th Century around Edinburgh at a time when Pale Ales were becoming all the rage across the border. But the hop gardens of Southern England are a long way from Midlothian so local brewers decided to focus on malt rather than hops, creating a style somewhat reminiscent of a Barleywine with complex sweet layers. Traditionally Scotch Ales of different strengths were sold according to the cost of of a hogshead cask. So a light 3% ale would be known as a '60 shilling' and somebody looking for a stiffer drink would order a '90 shilling', also known as a 'wee heavy'. The style can work beautifully with adjunct flavours and Urbanaut have done a brilliant job at seamlessly infusing coffee into Triple Shot. It's brewed with lots of speciality malts and the caramel and nutty biscuit flavours create a beautiful balance to the fruity espresso character.
BREWERY // Urbanaut
BEER // Triple Shot
STYLE // Espresso Scotch Ale
ORIGIN // Auckland
ABV // 8.5%
TEMPERATURE // Cellar Temp 10-12C
FOOD MATCH // Roast Pheasant. Welsh Rarebit. Shortbread
VESSEL // Thistle Glass