What do you get when you make a pale ale featuring ingredients representing most of the planet? A "global" pale ale pretty much unlike any other you'll come across.
That was the brief when we decided to give Pint of Origin its own beer: design a recipe that touched down in every one of the festival's regions. It led us to a recipe list including Moutere hops from New Zealand alongside a couple of US varieties, dark crystal malt from the UK, biscuit rye from Canada, Aussie wheat, Weyermann base malt from Germany, yuzu juice from Japan, and a kviek yeast strain from Scandinavia. All of which have come together in Frequent Frother – named by competition winner Tim Brady from Sydney – and hitting taps at all 20 Pint of Origin 2023 venues ahead of the festival's start on May 12.
The unlikely combo has come together in a hazy pale ale that's a few degrees darker than most – a burnt orange – and has a more pronounced malt character too. The yuzu opens proceedings with a distinctive and lively citrus top note, but it's arguably the biscuity, slightly spicy rye malt flavours that make Frequent Frother stand apart from the pack. The kveik yeast adds a subtle, drying farmhouse twist, while the citrus returns late on, working with the specialty malts in a manner reminiscent of a dense, citrus jus-soaked slice.
There's a chance you'll find something like it among the 930-odd beers pouring at #PoO23 venues between May 12 and 21; equally, there's a chance it'll be one of the quirkiest pale ales to pass your lips this year.
James Smith
Big thanks to Bintani and NZ Hops for supplying malt and hops for the beer, to Konvoy for supplying the kegs, and to Westside Ale Works for designing and brewing the beer. Cheers!
Published May 6, 2023 2023-05-06 00:00:00
