Nowhereman beers to flow at Floreat Hotel

NOWHEREMAN GO TO FLOREAT Forget Lion buying Stone & Wood’s parent company Fermentum for a rumoured $650 million, the big news is Nowhereman Brewing Co. going into partnership with like-minded locals to buy the Floreat Hotel. The West Leederville brewery, started by Reece Wheadon, says after a short renovation period, the pub will reopen under a new name. While there won’t be a brewery installed at the venue, expect to see Nowhereman and other local beers on tap. In a post to its Instagram page on Saturday, the brewery assured patrons that its popular Harrogate Street brewpub will continue to operate as usual as it prepares to relaunch the Floreat. “We are delighted to be part of this Perth pub institution and can’t wait to open the doors and welcome you all.” NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED Before the warm weather arrives, Melbourne’s oldest independent brewery 3 Ravens offers a couple of crafty cans that are pure decadence and examples of where you can push beer if you are mad or bad enough. Firstly, there’s Odin’s Reserve, below right, a barrel-aged milkshake stout made in collaboration with Viking-themed restaurant Mjolner. Brewed in April last year and based on Mjolner’s signature cocktail Odin’s Brew, this 11 per cent black beauty features rye and oats for texture and muesli-like flavour, lactose for sweetness and roasted malts for coffee and chocolate notes, plus vanilla, tonka beans and Peruvian cacao nibs. Some of this brew was released last year, with the rest put into French and American oak whisky barrels for 12 months before being conditioned on more cacao and shredded coconut. The finished product is intoxicating, not too thick but definitely heavy. Odin’s Reserve is surprisingly smooth and offers caramel, burnt toast and syrup aromas and flavours. And the can art is next level. If that wasn’t enough, 3 Ravens has also unleashed its Barrel Aged Peated Imperial Oatmeal Stout(or BAPIOS), below left, possibly the biggest, boldest and blackest beer True Brew has tasted. More oil slick than stout and at 18 per cent, even the brewery describes this as a “big dumb beer”. Using heavily peated distilling malt, brewing sugars and an extended boil, BAPIOS was brewed in 2020 and aged for 12 months in heavily charred American oak rye whisky barrels. Aussie hop Topaz and fruity English yeast was also used to summon a sweet, syrupy, warm and spicy beer that’s definitely one to share when you don’t have any plans for later. TINNIES ARE KING Fermentum acquired Melbourne-based brewers Two Birds earlier this year, so the company started 10 years ago by Perth expats Danielle Allen and Jayne Lewis will soon be part of Lion’s global stable. Multinational moves and shakes aside, other big things are happening at Australia’s first female-founded brewery. This month, following research that found most of its drinkers prefer tinnies, Two Birds’ core range — Summer Ale, Pale Ale and Sunset Ale — will go into 375ml cans. “Fighting customer preference would only limit our sales potential and it was a decision we had to make,” Allen says. Meanwhile, its delicious Taco Beer will soon arrive in 330ml cans alongside The Gatherer, a watermelon, cucumber and mint beer adopted from sibling brand Stone & Wood and now brewed at its Spotswood nest.