SUBURBAN BREW 3/92

Dory taught us an important lesson in the face of adversity. Yet never giving up can be easier said than done. Grab this beer to share with a mate over a chat about how you can help him to ‘just keep swimming’.

Origin – Adelaide, South Australia.
ABV – 6.8%
Size – 375mL can
Style – Black Indian Pale Ale

As the longest-running drama series in Australian television history, it would become one of our biggest exports, sold to 50 countries around the world. It turned actors like Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue into superstars.

Yet as Ramsay Street in suburban Melbourne celebrated its 35th-anniversary last month with a week of episodes featuring various neighbours falling in love and others being reconciled, it seems the opposite is happening in neighbourhoods across suburban Australia. As borders close and communities are once again locked down, neighbourhoods are being torn apart as residents call the police on each other for alleged breaches of Coronavirus health orders.

While things weren’t quite as bad as the COVID-19 fuelled animosity we see now, when Tony Dichiera moved back to Adelaide following a stint in London, and landed back into the suburb he'd grown up in, things felt a little cold. Despite being surrounded by the familiar, Tony felt like a stranger. So, after thinking about ways to get out and about and meet the local residents, he knocked up some home brew and went door to door, sharing a beer and a yarn with his neighbours. The response to both his kindness and the quality of his craft was overwhelmingly positive, so much so he established The Suburban Brew with the apt slogan ‘Love thy neighbour, love their beer.’

However, the warm welcome of his homebrew was simply the tipping point of a foundation steeped in beer. After growing up in a pub, Tony spent time in south London working as a chartered accountant in a small real ale brewery, not only crunching the numbers, but also getting the opportunity to work side by side with the brewery. Yet while Tony recently revealed that Suburban Brew is getting a commercial home of its own in the Suburbs, it is still where it all started, in his home brew kit, that each commercial release begins, as was the case for this Black IPA.

With each label taking on a similar suburban appearance, complete with street number plastered on the front, this 3/92 is known as the Merger – where two become one. It is a beer that does the same; to the eyes, it's dark and foreboding, but the nose and mouth say it’s citrusy, floral, grassy and exuberant. Balanced by some roasted malt flavours, it finishes wonderfully crisp and bitter. It's the perfect drop for extending the hand of friendship to any neighbour.

Even nemeses Lou Carpenter and Harold Bishop could have sorted out their differences over one of these!

SUBURBAN BREW