On Saturday the 23rd of December I visited the Artisan Brewing Company in Denmark, Western Australia. They just celebrated their third birthday of brewing in November. However, Brian, the owner and brewer gained his Diploma of Brewing Science in the US over ten years ago. He was then involved in the importation of kegs for the home brew community from 2006. He is still involved with the importing of draught beer equipment for home brewers and specialty yeasts for the craft beer industry. He also was the president of the WA Brewers Association for five years.
He brought all this experience when he eventually started his own brewery and made the decision to specialise in Belgian style beers. He launched the brewery with a Farmhouse Red Beer at 8.2% abv, one hell of a way to introduce yourself to the local craft beer community. It was very well received and the brewery has moved from strength to strength. They have been doubling their growth every year so far and last year produced 18000 litres of beer with the prediction of making over 30000 litres in the coming year.
They do their brewing on the old equipment that was updated at the Boston Brewing Company and have five fermentation tanks at a capacity of 50 hectolitres. They are even doing some barrel ageing and blending. In the future Brian intends to brew with different sugars and spices to achieve the flavours he desires. It is all about experimenting and having fun while producing high quality beers.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Saison, 6.2% abv, this has a hazy golden colour and a yeasty aroma. It has a nice gentle spiciness on a very true Saison flavour.
2. Rocking Red Rye Saison, 4.7% abv, this has an amber colour and fruity aroma. It has a lovely spicy, fruity yeast flavour. Very nice.
3. Strong Golden Ale, 6.5% abv, this has a golden colour and a malt aroma. It has a wonderful sweet buttery malt and fruit flavour on a dry finish.
4. Citra Elixir, 6.2% abv, this is a dry hopped IPA with a golden orange colour and a citrus and mango aroma. It has a sweet citrus fruit flavour and a gentle bitterness on a dry finish.
5. Awesome Blonde, 5.8% abv, this has a golden straw colour and a malt aroma. It has a great sweet buttery malt flavour. It is smooth and delicious.
6. Festbiere, 5.6% abv, this has an amber colour and a spicy malt aroma. It has a nice malty taste with a gentle spiciness on a crisp dry finish.
7. Oatmeal Porter, 4.8% abv, this has a black colour and a roasted malt aroma. It has a lovely smooth mouth feel and a complex malt flavour with hints of coffee and dark chocolate on a gentle bitter finish.
8. The Moz IPA, 6.4% abv, this has a golden colour and a tropical fruit aroma. It has a wonderful sweet juicy tropical fruit flavour on a nice mild bitter finish. Delicious!
All of the beers that Artisan Brewing are producing are fantastic. They are definitely worth looking for. They are available at many venues but definitely at The Denmark Tavern as well as at Petition Beer Corner in Perth and at Clancy’s .
I would like to thank Brian for his time when I visited and also Phil at the Denmark Tavern for his hospitality.
