BURNLEY BREWING COFFEE BROWN
In a real-life Ron Burgundy moment an American news anchor, told his weatherman to 'keep f**king that chicken' live on air! Four-letter words may not be my preference, but when it comes to being an anchor for a mate, sharing with them that they look great when you are worried about how they're going mentally is as helpful as uttering to them to keep f**king chickens!
Origin – Richmond, Victoria
ABV – 5.5 %
Size – 440mL can
Style – Brown Ale
He should be more famous, but he isn't. We should have studied his life at school, but we didn't. I came across him when drink a beer and reading a book about its history - my reading goes better if the subject matter matches what is in my hand! The author explained how the need to brew lager - an obscure brew that German immigrants introduced Americans in the 1840s - in the warmer months resulted in the invention of the refrigeration system. He gave credit to Carl von Linde – a German whose artificial beer cooling technology revolutionised the industry, allowing breweries to produce beer all year round. Feeling guilty I'd never heard of him, I went hunting for information. It turns out Linde also invented liquid carbon dioxide for the Guinness brewery in Dublin.
Another German that should be more famous in beer circles is Michael Stanzel. Before taking over Burnley wife Chloe Hoiberg, Michael returned to his parents’ homeland to become the first Australian to study traditional German brewing and malting methods. It’s a skill that he applies daily to combine Melbourne funk with traditional German brewing know-how. Indeed, he’s just as comfortable brewing a Reinheitsgebot compliant lager as he is this Nitro Coffee Brown.
First released in late 2018 to mark Burnley’s first birthday, the Coffee Brown has been a distinctly ‘Melbourne’ seasonal offering ever since. Using fresh cold brewed Ethiopian and Brazilian beans, there hints of roasted coffee notes layered on top of more robust fruitier berry and currant notes that sit up against the brown ale’s rich body. Perfectly suited to such treatment the brown ale’s richness combines with the fine bubbles from the nitro to create one creamy and rather luscious beer.
The Germans also brough us the Gummy Bear. Perhaps Michael can work them into one of his inventive ales sometime soon?
