The Yeastie Boys and Tasmania's Seven Sheds may have released 100 per cent peated malt beers but this may take the prize for the beer with the most diverse range of smoked elements in the history of beer. A join project between 3 Ravens, Mash Brewing (who rescued 3 Ravens when it looked like they could be lost last year) and Boneyard Brewing (the spin-off from Josie Bones that brews at 3 Ravens) it's got smoked malts, smoked hops and smoked tea (thanks to a dry tea-bagging process).
Inspired by Mash and 3 Ravens respective smoked beers (Deville and Dark), Josie Bones' hop-smoking technique, a love of peated malt and some hops beloved of the brewers, it was brewed specially for Josie Bones' Good Beer Week events and, while only a tiny amount was brewed (and a tinier amount bottled) there is still a little around. Crematorium features two types of beechwood-smoked malt as well as peat smoked malt and a hint of dark Munich malt, Glacier and Styrian Goldings hops, and was fermented to 8 per cent ABV with a blend of German Ale and Kolsch yeasts. The beer was dry hopped with fresh Victorian Galaxy hops, hand-picked by Hop Products Australia and couriered wet to Josie Bones, where they were carefully hot and cold smoked by owner Chris Badenoch over hops and malleewood. The final twist was an addition of Russian Caravan tea, a Chinese black tea smoked over pine wood and pine cones.
According to Brendan from Boneyard: "The result is a golden, hoppy, smokey and mildly tannic strong ale which we hope will excite even the most fatigued of palates."
Label artwork by Brendan Ninness
Published May 22, 2013 2013-05-22 00:00:00
