THE BOYS BREWING SUNSET DAZE
When we take time to support a mate’s emotional state, it triggers a similar behaviour directed toward those around them, which in turn triggers those folks to do the same. By sharing this craft, you will help the first domino to fall in the removal of mental health stigma.
Origin Bayswater, Victoria
ABV – 4.8%
Size – 375mL can
Style – Hazy Pale Ale
When the going gets tough, the tough get brewing! Within weeks of Australia's patient zero arriving from Wuhan on January 19, 2020, everything stalled. Our number one source of international visitors was suddenly suspended – and it was just the beginning. Within weeks, international and state borders were closed, and the country went into lockdown. Airlines grounded planes. Cruises were cancelled. Schools, cinemas, pubs and clubs were among the closures. Restaurants and cafes could only serve takeaways. News of dying patients and stacked coffins overseas, and an indelible image of long queues outside Centrelink offices showed the shocking seriousness of the pandemic.
Friends Tim French and Scott Wyatt were employed in Melbourne's once-thriving hospitality industry. But after the pandemic hit, the good mates found themselves driving into work, having a coffee and looking out the window at a changed world. "Most days no-one was in the street," says Tim. Like so many, the lads soon found themselves out of a job. "It was brutal," Scott recalls. Disillusioned by their exit from the workforce and with an abundance of free time, the fellow craft beer lovers become obsessed with all thing's beer and brewing. Yet impetus to reinvent themselves and their careers during the pandemic came after Melbourne's second wave shattered the hospitality sector. "We were ready to go," Tim says. "Return parties were planned, the kegs were tapped, it was all happening, then 'bang'. Everyone ... just felt horrible."
Two years of planning and over two hundred lockdown beers later, The Boys Brewing was launched in December 2021. Brewed with the help of Killer Sprocket, the first beer out of the door is a nod to the times the lads spent together dreaming of better days ahead. Light 'n' breezy with gentle tropical characters dominating, the Sunset Daze flows with ripe pineapple, citrus and a touch of passionfruit. Carried by a light body that emanates a hazy, golden hue, though smooth in style, it's built around a firm, hop-derived flavours and bolstered by a touch of bitterness.
Confucius once said, our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Forget about what's behind us, let's raise a glass of this Sunset to the strength that lies within us.
