STOMPING GROUND THE HAZY SQUID
Our dogs will be there in the most challenging times of life. To ensure the same could be said of us, grab this craft, start up a conversation, and be a man's best friend.
Origin – Collingwood, Victoria
ABV- 7.7%
Size- 355mL can
Style- Indian Pale Ale
Named after a pub, which itself was named after the ale loving Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, it’s not surprising that history records one of Melbourne’s oldest suburbs as once having the highest density of breweries ever in Australia. Collingwood has 40 drinking holes housed within a neighbourhood which occupies the space of 250 football fields! Yet despite even Australia's most exported beer brand, Fosters, being brewed within the inner-city suburb, the community built on sharing a pot was undone by amalgamations, closures, and buyouts.
While this little slice of history is not often discussed, it was undoubtedly in the minds of Steve Jeffares, Guy Greenstone and Justin Joiner, who combined forces with a vision to return the local to its old stomping ground. Along with Head Brewer Ashur Hal, the group in 2016 transformed a dilapidated sawtooth roofed industrial warehouse on Gipps Street into a brewery. Complete with a beer hall and bar, the lads brought brewing home after a 150 year-long hiatus.
Don't be mistaken in thinking the guys are focused only on getting rich when you set your eyes on the 24 taps and their 20 hectolitre brewhouse. The venues 'come one, come all' nature means you're just as likely to see a family of five having lunch, as you are a few mates sharing a beer and chat. A focus on supporting both the local Collingwood community and those further afield is also built into Stomping Ground's DNA - a fine example is their partnership with Movember. Since 2017 the brewers have raised $240,000 for health issues impacting men.
In 2020 they added a competition to their fundraising efforts, asking drinkers to show off their Mo' for the chance to brew their own beer with a mate in time for Movember’s annual celebration of mateship, MayEight. The winner was Michael (aka The Hazy Squid). Along with mate Matt, the lads were let loose on the tanks for the day, brewing, not surprisingly, a hazy IPA. Pouring with the same bright yellow as the eponymous creature on the can, it is filled with notes of ripe mango, mandarin and a little coconut. While there’s a slight bitterness and a bit of pine, mostly this Squid is as honest and heartwarming as two mates crafting a convo at the Stomping Ground bar!
