Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Slow Lane Brewing / Murray’s Brewing
Ah, there must be something in the water in Australia as every time I naively feel like I must have had the fortune to taste the cream of the crop of local craft distillers, I realize that I have hard unearthed the tip of the iceberg.
Case in point: Slow Lane and Murray’s Brewing.
Let’s start with one that is channelling its brewing alchemy not too far away, i.e. Sydney’s Slow Lane Brewing.
Lean in scale in terms of operations, Slow Lane’s focus is firmly set on carefully and expertly crafted beers across a diverse range of styles and flavours, with more than a couple of pages taken out of the European book of brewing to then infuse them with their own idiosyncratic DNA.
With the name being a telling one, i.e. Slow Lane making their beers based on a time- and labour intensive slow-fermentation and natural carbonation process, their emissions result in a deliberately amplified yeast character, which at times is further enhanced via further maturation in oak barrels to marry old and new world approaches and the adage of lactobacillus bacteria.
Sounds ominous? Not at all, but delicious and with an outcome resulting in interestingly complex, slowly evolving flavour profiles as the brewers’ have honed their craft in the US before developing a weak spot for Belgian Trappist beers and sours.
Having spent stints in Belgium, it should not be further wondrous that my favourite of the range is Slow Lane’s exceptional Threefold expression: Being a tripel and thereby the strongest of the Trappist monastery style beers, Slow Lane rests its expression on the foundation of a pilsner malt base before making it undergo an open fermentation along with a second fermenting process.
The result clocks in at 8.4% ABV and the honeyed malt flavours that sits against a backdrop of warming bitter maltiness, guides one down a path of sweeter notes, before the twist that comes with the nice, slightly dry finish.
Given what I have been able to taste from the rest of the range, a visit to Slow Lane Brewing’s bar, which is apparently influenced by Scandinavian design, has become mandatory.
Let’s venture a tad further out in New South Wales to arrive at a highlight my beer related discoveries in 2021: Welcome Murray’s Brewing to the fold.
With an accolade ridden fifteen year old history, the parallels between slow Lane and Murray’s lie in both having found their inspiration to try their hand in brewing via a trip to the US.
Based on the North Coast of New South Wales, their operations started after acquiring the Pub With No Beer (of Slim Dusty fame) with the establishment of a microbrewery, which grew over time to the extent that it demanded a relocation to a place that allowed Murray’s to grow exponentially to the scale it is known for these days.
Independent in nature and in full control of their production, I have yet to come across one of their quirky yet consistently and full-flavoured expressions of theirs that does not captivate me.
Specifically Murray’s IPA and NEIPA range has won me over.
Being a hophead, the Thunderbolt IPA is an example par excellence for turning the dial to eleven in terms of aromas and flavours. Think hopped out juiced fruit salad.
Based on a melange of Equinox, Mosaic and Columbus hops, the citrussy highlight sit on a backbone of malty bitterness. A borderline ideal IPA, which paired wonderfully as a component of a boilermaker with a dram of Octomore 6.3.
Not less delicious are Murray’s mango- and pineapple-y Nectabomb and especially the fruit punchy Riding the Ghost Train expression, which not only pours to a thick shade of orangey yellow that is a sight to behold but hides its 8% ABV behind a veil of sweet deliciousness.
Murray's Grand Cru is their idiosyncratic take on creating a hybrid of the Belgian Trippel and Golden Strong Ale styles. While I am usually not exactly the biggest fan of derivations of the Belgian Trappist school of beermaking, I quite like Murray’s interpretation in that it takes the DNA and gives it a twist by adding Pacifica hops, which make a dominant appearance on the palate yet are counterbalanced by a finish that leaves on lusting for more with its malty bitterness.
Add a funky cheeseboard to the mix and give the adjective “moreish” another dimension.
If you are remotely into hoppy craft beers, you would want to make an effort to sample Murray’s Brewing’s range.
