7TH DAY BREWING TRUTH SERUM
Bob Hawke etched in history the 'Golden Microphone, and he hit the nail on the head – a beer in hand is the perfect instrument for conversation. So, grab this microphone, grab a mate and get talking.
Origin – Brookvale, New South Wales
ABV – 5.4%
Size – 375mL can
Style – Porter
'Out of the blue, God knocked up the whole bang lot. ... God said, 'Let's have some light', and bingo — light appeared.' So begins the Biblical account of creation retold in the Aussie Bible. Author Kel Richards describes the book as a story of the Bible being told by the kind of bloke who stands around a barbecue in Bondi with his friends. It was Curl Curl rather than Bondi and home brewing rather than a barbecue, but there with his friends, Mike Beresford-Jones began his own creation story, that of 7th Day Brewing. And while God rested on the seventh day, these days for Mike, there's little time to put the feet up.
It is a story that all started with the hunt for a good craft pilsner. Unable to find one, he took up homebrewing. Along with other dads he'd met through his kids', Mike honed his craft in his garage bar, looking out over the ocean. From there, it all snowballed. A successful crowdfunding campaign in 2015 led to the first commercial batch of Pilsner being contract-brewed in 2016 and a second in 2017. With proof of concept under their collective belt, they took the next step and opened a brewery in Brookvale. There, along with the foundational Pilsner, you'll find a broad range of styles and flavours. Most are designed with the area's tradie and surfie culture in mind, with a view to being approachable, sessionable and good for socialising. However, a few beers, including this bold cherry porter, aim for more prominent flavours.
Keeping aligned with the spiritual theme, an enticing red cherry - that looks much like an apple - sits front and centre of a can aptly named Truth Serum. Pouring a rich oak brown, there are divine roasted malt aromas with angelic notes of cherry. With the smooth mouthfeel, every sip is a luxurious cascade of sweet, rich and dark flavours that coat your palate in cherubic indulgence.
Psalm 23 in the Aussie Bible begins: 'God is the station (ranch) owner, and I am just one of the sheep. He musters me down to the lucerne flats, and feeds me there all week.' I'm prayerful when I'm there He'll water me with something as heavenly as this cheery porter!
