NOOSA HEADS BREWING JAPANESE STYLE
My flute teacher used to say before I played, ‘take a deep breath, so you can be in it’. That is not bad advice as you lean in to talk with a mate over this beer about more than just what happened at band camp!
Origin – Noosaville, Queensland
ABV – 4.5%
Size – 330mL bottle
Style – Lager
'How high's the water, momma?' sang Johnny Cash. According to the most recent UN climate change report, 80 centimetres and rising. The rising sea level would leave houses and hotels in one of Queensland's most Instagrammable locations with permanent aquariums. Flanked by beaches, with a river running through the middle, even a tiny increase threatens to change the face of Noosa forever. Fortunately, the report also outlines that the rise won't happen overnight, nor in anybody's current lifetime. The prediction is that Noosa locals and visitors have another 200 to 2000 years to ride the barrels and breaks of the enviable swell, cruise down the river at a lazy pace, and soak in all the boutique shopping, gourmet cuisine and pumping nightlife that Hastings Street has to offer.
It also leaves plenty more time for Noosa Heads Brewing founders, Craig and Lance Masterton, to nail down the perfect lager. 'We're close, but there's a fraction to go', shares Lance. Such is their determination to get this intricate style of beer just right. Moving from homebrewing to opening the Noosaville brewery and taproom took almost a decade. During that time, the brothers learnt so much about lagers that it seemed natural that they should specialise in them.
A result of more than 100 pilot brews and a million tweaks, the core range comprises four lagers - including this Japanese style - which picked up a fistful of medals at their first Australian International Beer Awards. Labelled as such due to using around 30% rice in the recipe to create a drying effect, this is a lager that is clear in the glass, fluffy in the head, sweet on the nose, and lean in the mouth. With a crisp finish on the palate, it's more refreshing than a dip in a freshly melted ice cap!
For those unfamiliar with the Cash classic, how high's the water? It just keeps getting higher, as does the quality of each Noosa Heads lager!
