GALLOWS BREWING TRAPDOORS
Taking a class in how to sew I proved to myself you can teach an old dog new tricks. A little education was all that was needed. Perhaps it's been a while since you talked with a mate. Maybe you never have. Either way, it's never too late to learn. Crack one of the 'educational aids' from this box with a friend and give it a go.
Origin – Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
ABV – 6.6%
Size – 375mL can
Style – West Coast IPA
After the Federation, 114 people went to the gallows in Australia. Before they died, most had the chance to utter their final words. Unlike the United States, there was no last meal. Nor were they many confessions. It seemed we were a nation of larrikins right up to our final breath. Eleven minutes before his hanging - a death he sorely knew was coming - bricklayer and thief John Trevor Kelly spoke his last. 'I have something to say, but not at this time,' Then he was hanged and said no more! Ronald Ryan, the last person to be executed in Australia a little over half a century ago for a prison break gone wrong, stood on the trap door and smilingly chided his warders to 'Get a move on. I haven't much time.'
While the lads behind Gallows Brewing Co don't endorse our grim history of capital punishment, they are happy to give the nod to gallows humour. 'We met in a Brisbane share house over 15 years ago. We quickly bonded over our appreciation for beer and a sense of humour that made light of topics unspoken,' shares owner Tom Pritzler. As a former social researcher, he knew the power of provoking discomfort in banter to elicit serious thought. So, upon founding Gallows along with Kurt Ramsay and head brewer Glen McCann, the mates took on the mission to do just that, ‘one hell of a drop’ at a time.
Notwithstanding, they'd love to do it face-to-face with the community within the walls of the Gallows brewery; at the moment, at least, each of these contract-brewed cans will have to do the work for them. Cans such as their first commercial beer, a decadent choc coffee stout, that Glen had been homebrewing for over a decade. And though dank, rich and heavy styles are their personal preference, epitomising what it means to be a neighbourhood brewery - conveniently, Gallows also refers to a local Coffs surf break – the range includes something that caters for everyone. The stout sits beside an easy drinking pale and this full-flavoured, solid ABV West Coast IPA. Loaded with hops, it packs a piney punch offset with a malt backbone and a drying and crisp finish.
If you are preparing a few words to share from the edge of the void or wrestling with notions of guilt and innocence over a coldie with a mate, this Trapdoors is for you!
