Inner North Brewing don't just pride themselves as a place for locals to enjoy a beer but the also as an operation that likes to work closely with Brunswick businesses. When Life Gives You Lemongrass… is such a collaboration, first brewed for Sydney Road’s Good Days, a Vietnamese restaurant dedicated to dishing out some of the finest pho you’re likely to find anywhere. Although the rice ale was originally designed for that restaurant, the beer has proven popular enough that if you walk into the Brunswick taproom, or head into a bottleshop stocking their beers, you’ll likely find it at hand.
Some 20 percent of the beer’s grain bill is rice and, while ginger is included along with a mix of Pride and Ringwood and Galaxy hops, it’s the lemongrass that carries the most flavour. It adds a distinct and quite enthralling perfumed citrus note that isn’t a thousand miles from Turkish delight territory; when you take that in alongside the beer's dry finish and the refreshing edge of ginger, you end up with a beer that's perfect for a summer’s afternoon. Or, failing that, spicy food.
Will Ziebell
