BATCH BREWING CO. TASMAN TANGO
Grab a pair of these crafts and invite over a friend to goof off. Then take a half time break from your lounge room version of the world game to start on a convo that could well change the world for your mate.
Origin – Marrickville, New South Wales
ABV- 4.2%
Size- 375mL Can
Style- Pacific Ale
As the days turn into weeks, you soon realise it's a long time to be shut off from the world. Man cannot live by masked flirtations with baristas and Zoom trivia nights alone. But could Covid lockdowns prove a catalyst to finally lure that special someone out of the friend zone? Within minutes of our State’s Chief Health Officer sharing the rule that intimate partners could visit each other, my housemate was on the phone. 'You're allowed to come over,' the lonely lad shared slyly, tapping the public health order. 'But rules are rules.' Later that night, the two… well… did the Covid Tango!
Long before Covid, two mates also keen to tango in the face of loneliness were Chris Sidwa and Andrew Fineran. Looking to bring the community together over a beer, using the drink local concept, the pair founded Batch Brewing Co. in 2013. Unlike some others, it wasn't about distribution across the city or the country. Instead, the focus was on their own neighbourhood. They summed it up in the ethos painted on the brewery wall and stamped 'We Brew For You' on their labels. And while batch by batch, many of the offerings found their way well beyond the local LGA, half a decade on, it would be hard to measure just how many people in Sydney's Inner West have found their way to better human and beer relationships by virtue of the lad's pints, cans and growlers.
It's not only those positively impacted that are hard to count; Batch is prolific when it comes to one-off batches. At last tally, there were 193 different ones. However, a select few of them are so popular with the locals that they make it onto a constant rotation, as is the case for this Tasman Tango, first brewed in 2018. A take on the style made a household name by Stone & Wood, it's an ale that essentially brings together the best of both countries on either side of the Pacific to dance the dance of love. Off a base of soft & sweet local malt, the delicate bitterness of floral Kiwi Rakau hops tangos with the dominant citrus & mango aroma of the Aussie Vic Secret delivering a bright and refreshing ale.
Finishing crisp and dry, the only lingering bitterness you're left with is the knowledge that these days you need to shag someone just to see a friend.
