BRICK LANE BREWING CO. SUPERNOVA
Two red telephones, one in the White House, the other in the Kremlin, allowed Kennedy and Khrushchev to talk each other down from the brink of nuclear war! Perhaps now during such critical times, the best way to divert a crisis is to pick up the phone and check in on a mate over this ‘virtual’ cold craft.
Origin – Dandenong. Victoria
ABV- 6.8%
Size- 355mL can
Style- Indian Pale Ale
Supernovas, the extremely bright, super-powerful star explosions, are caused when a star that is at least five times the mass of our sun goes out with a fantastic bang - a ‘last hurrah’ of sorts of a dying firey cosmic ball. Astronomers believe that they are so rare that only about two or three of them occur each century in galaxies like our own Milky Way. While Jon Seltin could have never possibly envisaged it when brewing his Supernova in early January this year, the release in March of Brick Lane's latest offering, at a time in our own history so rare that none of us will likely experience anything like it again, is a remarkable reflection on our times.
Fortunately for them – at a time that will inevitably, and heartbreakingly, be the last hurrah for some in the craft beer universe – when the former corporate lawyer Paul Bowker and ex Fosters marketing guru Andrew Scrimgeour look in the mirror, they will see more than just their own reflection. With twenty-five other mates, all with their own successful careers as part shareholders, the support networks at a time like this for all within Brick Lane Brewing Co, are strong as, well, bricks! Founded in 2017, the group of friends with a vision and the commitment to a shared experience built around a love of independent beer, managed to entice Seltin, formerly of Hawkers Beer, to join them as the head brewer and a minor shareholder.
With Seltin at the helm, they started out contract brewing – getting a cracking pale and lager into the market – before scraping together the funds to set up a rather large 5000 square metre production facility, along with a canning line and taproom in Dandenong South on the fringe of Melbourne. Engineered from the ground up, the brewery has plenty of toys to play with, not the least of them the state-of-the-art CO2 extractor used to significant effect in this bright and tropical Supernova. Used to pluck the essential oils from the dry Citra hop, the oils can be added to the brew, delivering here a powerful aromatic punch on the nose and in the mouth, without the lingering bitterness often follows. It's a beer that shines with sweet and tropical lychee, mango, tangerine and papaya notes, along with a surprising earthiness that sets it apart from most typical IPAs.
Perhaps this Supernova is the shining light we all need in this moment of darkness?
