HOP AND CLOVER BITTER
Nothing says love like a mixtape! Unfortunately, those days are long gone. Perhaps the next best way to show you care is sharing one or two of these ‘liquid I love you’s’ with a mate instead?
Origin – Sydney, New South Wales
ABV- 4.5%
Size- 330mL
Style- Bitter Ale
"Dad, a guy's selling a pair of jousting sticks. How much does he want for them? $450. For Jousting sticks? Tell 'em he's dreaming". That was one of the memorable lines from Darryl Kerrigan in the 1997 comedy classic The Castle. Darryl and son Steve were in love with buying items advertised for sale in the Trading Post, acquiring an overhead projector for $150 and even a pulpit for $800.
Though not using the Trading Post, the story of another two happy-go-lucky (now) Aussie battlers who loved a good bargain, is that of Davey Henderson and his good mate Matt Filkins. Starting out as an able seaman with both the British and Australian Navy, Dave's foray in brewing began while working on patrol boats in Darwin. With not much to do during the wet season, the Irishman took up homebrewing from extract as a way to pass the time. He then upped the ante following a move to Sydney where he met mate Matt, with the two of them getting stuck into all-grain brewing. But it's what came next that surprised even the lad's better halves. After trawling the online listings of Gumtree one afternoon, the boys spotted something that caught their eye. After mumbling something to their wives, they headed off to buy the new brewing kit. The surprise came when the pair returned home with a trailer containing a full-blown brewery complete with five square metre shed! Despite the sizeable bargain, it was the luck of the Irish that really set their dreams of starting their own beer brand in motion. It began with a call from one of the marketing team at Gumtree asking what the name of their brewery was, as they were wanting to share it as a good news story. It ended with the lads sharing their 'newly' formed Hop and Clover Brewing Co. with the nation through coverage in the Daily Mail and Channel 7's Sunrise. Dave then had to turn on the charm when his mum rang to yell at him, for first hearing about her son's new brewing venture when reading the Belfast Telegraph!
And it's that ol Irish charm that's mixed into every offering from Hop and Clover that sets them apart as brews perfect for the sharing of folklore and legends. Rather than the current trend of highly hopped, high percentage ales that you can't put enough I's in front of, each of Dave's batches, including this Bitter Ale are easy drinking and approachable.
Crisp and clean on both the nose and in the mouth, this sessional has just a little hop, and though it's not so evident on the palate, just a touch of clover….the three-leafed version!