While many of today’s new age brewers turn their nose up at brewing lagers, we at Stone & Wood embraced it from the start. We think brewing a lager is a real test of a brewer’s technical ability, however the delicate balancing act that’s required is something that some shy away from.

An industry commentator once said that brewing a delicate malt driven lager is like wearing a tight white tshirt – there is no where to hide. If it’s not right, it shows. Balancing the rich malt with hops to get everything in tune takes quality ingredients, experience, skill and time.

Whilst the emerging beers of today seem more in your face and bolder than typical lagers, that doesn’t make them better, it just makes them different.

Like most well developed flavour based industries, the more sophisticated and developed tasters search out the products with refined and subtle flavours. Yes, it takes work and time to appreciate and understand massive hop character, but it is a more developed and learned palate that appreciates and understands the nuances of all beers across the style and flavour spectrum.

We are very proud of the lager we brew, and we will continue to embrace the challenge that brewing a lager brings. The inspiration that led to our lager was based in German tradition and will continue to shape the way we develop our approach.

A couple of months ago we decided to give our filter a rest and let the Lager we put in kegs go out unfiltered,  in the tradition of a kellerbier. Beer drawn straight from the cellar.

So now when you’re drinking our Lager off the tap, it will have that unfiltered yeast cloud and a little extra character due to the yeast remaining in suspension all the way to the glass.

We also couldn’t contain our curiosity about the kellerbier traditions and had to have a crack at dry hopping a tank of our lager that was destined for kegs. Putting a local spin on it, we dry hopped the tank with two new age Australian hops Ella and Galaxy.  We wanted to see what those fruity flavoursome hops would do when combined with the rich biscuity malt of the lager.

The result … well you will have to taste it for yourself, but we think it delivers all that it promised.

Seek out our Dry Hopped, Unfiltered Lager on tap at a good beer pub and bar near you – see below

 

Prost!

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Available at:

 Byron, Northern Rivers

Sydney and Central Coast

 Melbourne

Brisbane and Sunshine Coast