HEROES AND VILLAINS BREWING DARK HEARTS
It’s the aim that counts. Rather than aiming to simply quench the thirst, let’s use this weapon with the intentional aim not to end but rather to save a life.
Origin – Osborne Park, Western Australia
ABV – 4.6%
Size – 375mL can
Style – Brown Ale
Spider-Man in handcuffs: It was a bizarre sight – my childhood hero seemingly turned villain. Despite this sounding like a scene out of a Marvel movie, it was something I witnessed first-hand a few years ago in LA. While it was not immediately apparent to me what led to this web-slinging crusader's detainment on Hollywood Boulevard, I read later that these costumed impersonators portraying the likes of Superman, Thor and Captain America were frequently turning violent when tourists refused to pay them after they had posed for pictures. In one incident, police officers arrested Mr Incredible for allegedly headbutting a tour guide who complained about his treatment of Japanese tourists!
Although he’s known to don the odd Spider-Man costume, as close as Shannon Mizen, the Super behind Hero and Villians, has come to getting violent was the announcement of the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. The month prior, the founder and head brewer had signed a lease for new premises, ordered tens of thousands of dollars worth of brewing equipment and resigned from his job in a full-time commitment to growing his brewery. Falling in love with craft beer following a stint homebrewing to save enough to pay the mortgage, Shannon had spent decades dreaming about that moment. Waiting for restrictions to ease, Shannon refined the Heroes and Villains offerings he had first released two years prior when brewing as a side hustle in a small space secured in the Swan Valley.
As good luck would have it, when the doors reopened, he was able to turn his Covid kryptonite into gold, launching a polished range of core beers – aptly named the Heroes – and a sublime selection of one-offs – the Villains. The first of those Villians was this brown ale. However, the warmth of customer feedback was so strong that this dark-hearted one-off transcended to the good side, to this year become a cooler month's hero. Clean and medium-bodied, it's a hoppy American Brown ale where chocolate malt leads on the tongue, with toasty characters and Simcoe's fresh, resinous pine lurking in the background.
I could have enjoyed one in LA to while sitting back and watching the circus that was heroes becoming villains on the boulevard of broken noses!
