Feat. local rosella fruit and a balanced smooth bitterness.
Our Pilot Batch beers are experimental brews created by our team of brewers, with occasional help from collaborators within our community, all at our Pilot Brewery in Byron Bay. These small-batch brews are special, limited and once gone, may never return…
Josh Waters, one of our resident brewers at the Byron Bay Brewery has just released this extremely tasty Red IPA (6% alc/vol) in our Byron Tasting Room. We caught up with Joshy to find out what went into this beer and his thoughts about this style of beer.
Why did you brew this beer?
I brewed this beer as the focus of my recipe development this year is to work with local native ingredients. I have the opportunity to design a beer of my choice every 3 months and I’m trying to use the opportunity to keep it local.
What do you like about red IPA’s?
I love Red IPA’s for strong malt presence being well balanced with the huge amount of hops.
I wanted to make sure it was a bright red IPA, as a lot of red IPA’s are more brown than red. I wanted the beer to end up as close to the fruits natural colour as possible.
How does rosella add to this beer?
The Rosella was used for its colour and to add a unique fruitiness without being overpowering. I used Rosella flakes in the whirlpool and fermenter, as well as 3kg of fruit harvested from my backyard, which I made a syrup from and added post ferment.
I get to brew a lot of different beer styles and idea’s as part of my role and anything out of the ordinary is really fun. It is great to try out some crazy idea’s as well as more traditional styles.
What upcoming pilot batch beer are you excited about?
I’m really looking forward to drinking the strawberries and cream Berliner we are brewing soon.
