UNI isn't a new release from Sailors Grave, but it's one we've somehow omitted to tackle on past appearances and which is likely to be a little different with each release due to the nature of its making. What's more, it feels like it's about as Sailors Grave a beer as one could conceptualise. Not only is it a gose but it features wild harvested Mallacoota sea urchins from a local diver (which brings to mind brewery co-founder Gab's family history as abalone farmers) as well as lemon myrtle from Aboriginal cultural centre Nura Gunyu.
Now, I'm going to put my hand up here: I'm no expert on the flavour and aroma characteristics of sea urchins, although a quick google suggests they're oyster like and possess an umami-esque salty sweetness. However, I can confirm the lemon myrtle leaps from the glass like a fairy floss-dusted sprite before settling in like a cloud over proceedings as a crisply crystalline, sweet-salt gose slips through underneath. Maybe the urchins add to that texture and gentle salinity, maybe not. But it feels like it would be great quaffed with an oyster. Or, I guess, a sea urchin...
James Smith
Published December 22, 2022 2022-12-22 00:00:00
