Back when Australia was in the midst of its Scandinavian Invasion earlier in the year, one that left us with, among other things, the Gypsy & The Goat, Gnaume, Geeks and Freaks and Our Dark Secret, a collaboration took place between Bridge Road Brewers and Ní¸gne í at Ben Kraus' Beechworth brewery. It was one that wasn’t lacking in ambition, as Ben and Kjetil Jikiun (above) concocted a plan that involved brews on opposite sides of the world, barrel-ageing and much ocean travel.
As such, the resultant beer – or should we say “beers” – are yet to see the light of day. However, that moment is getting closer. And you’re invited to become a part of the process by concocting a name for the beer and in return potentially winning a trip to Norway.*
As Ben says: “We need your help!
“Kjetil brewed a special beer with us when he visited Australia in May. Together we came up with roughly 4,000 litres of a Belgian Strongish Quadruple. That was the easy part!
“Kjetil then came up with the idea of pumping it into local red wine barrels, packing the barrels into a container and shipping them unrefrigerated to Norway. So we fulfilled his wishes, and said barrels have now landed full and intact (minus two, don’t ask…) at the port in Kristiansand, Norway. This beer, brewed in Beechworth, will be bottled and kegged in Norway, and although we do hope some of those bottles make it here, we are not too concerned, because whilst the beer made here was on the water, the good team at Ní¸gne í brewed another beer using the same recipe developed here in May. At the same time they also purchased a container of Scottish whisky casks. Now that beer has been pumped into those casks and is currently on the way to Australia in an unrefrigerated container, to be packaged by us in Beechworth.
“So it sounds like we have covered all the bases. But not quite. It seems that all our creative juices have been excreted in creating this beer, and we are somewhat stuck when it comes to naming this beverage of the high seas.
“And that’s where you come in. Please unload your creative mind here and help us come up with a name worthy of this barrel-dwelling, oil-burning, quadruple collaboration of the ocean.”
So there you have it. Your chance to name one of the craziest beers ever made. Feel free to add your suggestions to the bottom of this story or email them straight to Ben at Bridge Road (or both).
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*At the risk of being dragged in front of some sort of body that keeps an eye on irresponsible advertising, we have no idea what prize lies in wait for the person who comes up with the winning name. When we asked Ben if there would be a prize – some of the beer, for example – he said he’d “do something for the person who provides the inspiration”.
He also added: “Trip to Norway?” so we thought we’d run with that and see what transpires. At the very least, it sets the bar bloody high so the aforementioned winner will be in a good bargaining position when it comes to agreeing on a prize…
“But you said it was for a trip to Norway?”
“Just wait til I get my hands on that bastard Crafty…”
