Besk Friends
BACK TO FUN STUFF#beskfriends #beskmates and the #beskthings ….
A gathering of like-minded and passionate humans who honour and love beautifully grown produce, handcrafted drinks, bringing together seasonal ingredients and good times.
Eagle Bay Brewing Co., Besk and Millbrook Winery are thrilled to announce, Besk Mates, a trio of beers which were launched with an epic all day party at Besk on Saturday 31st July.
Besk Mates is a celebration of people, produce, and longstanding friendships as Besk founder & co-owner Elliot Moore explains. “Both Guy and Jamie are long term customers, and are such lovely people and talented chefs”
“I’ve known Guy for a long time. He was an early adopter of good beers at Mane, and we met Jamie, who is now Millbrook’s Head Chef, the same way”
“We’ve been talking about doing something for years, and last year, at an event, we all said, let’s get some dates together, and I just kept following up after that”
“Besk Mates is about bringing good people together, and having the venue to host them. It’s super exciting for people from Perth to have the Millbrook experience in the city”
The design and creation of the beers reflect Millbrook’s seasonal availability, alongside the Besk Mates food pairing created for the event on 31st, as Millbrook Winery Executive Chef Guy Jeffreys explains. “We’ve had a relationship with Eagle Bay for ages. As soon as we could put beer on in the restaurant, we looked for who was like-minded and with a similar ethos to Millbrook, and now that’s the only beer we stock in the restaurant”
“When we got to do this this, I thought it’d be cool to a collaboration beer, but taking it that step further and doing a vegetable-based beer, or a beer based around the Millbrook garden. We don’t buy fruit or veg for the restaurant. All of our fruit and veg is grown at Millbrook, and I went in with a couple of things that we could spare, and then they said let’s do three beers!”
Besk founder / co-owner Elliot Moore continues. “Initially, I thought Eagle Bay were asking which one beer do you want to do, but they were saying wanted to do all them, which is a huge commitment. The Eagle Bay team really wanted to put time and effort into it”
Eagle Bay Head Brewer Keegan Steinbacher explains the intent further. “Elliot and Guy had been trying to do something for ages, and when it came together, we thought we might as well go hard. Why not put it all out there with three beers, all with food pairing in mind. It’s all about the ingredients. As a brewer, for this event and beers, I was thinking about fat and salt and acid, all of the things that chefs think about. What complements, what cleanses, and what contrasts”
Our Besk Friend’s collaboration beers reflect the season at Millbrook Winery’s garden, and it’s kitchen ethos, as Millbrook Winery Executive Chef Guy Jeffreys explains.
“All of the fruit and vegetables used in the restaurant are grown in the Millbrook garden.
“We’re informed, but it’s just country food done at a high level. All the work is done in the garden, and we just let the nature flavours shine, and that’s what you expect at Besk as well. One of the beers features pumpkins grown at Millbrook. The Hazy IPA uses grapefruit peel, and we saved all the flesh and made a jam from it with chilli, and we’re going to serve it on the day at Besk”
“I’m most excited about Gose with Eagle Bay ocean water and our Millbrook pickle juice. When we talking about we what we could share, this idea came up. In summer we growth a lot of picking cucumbers and then pickle them with home grown horseradish, garlic, chilli, dill and salt – it’s a proper lacto-fermented pickle. We’ve got three large crocks and there’s always something fermenting in there, and now some of that juice is in a beer!”
Keegan Steinbacher explains more about the three new Besk Mates collaboration beers.
“The Pumpkin Belgian ale was created in the Delirium Tremmens-style, a real palate cleanser, even though it’s the strongest beer of the three. Millbrook’s pumpkin is there, but it doesn’t need to be screaming. It’s designed to have classic Eagle Bay drinkability, and pair with the Millbrook food”
“Grapefruit Hazy IPA is first time I’ve used Talus. It’s a cool, expressive new hop, that showcases big citrus characters that pair well with the Millbrook grapefruit peel we added to the beer”
“It’s still got bitterness, but it’s not super pithy, there’s more of an over-ripe zest character, and the body is super juicy”
“I’m really impressed with the Gose. I brewed that one by feel, and I could really see where it was going for the event. It’s salty, savoury, citrusy and the Millbrook pickle juice adds depth. It’s salty Solo!”
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The Besk Mates collaboration beer trio will be available at the Besk Bar & bottle shop and Eagle Bay Brewing Co on tap and for takeaway, delivered to your doorstep via our web store and for enjoyment while dinning at Millbrook Winery.
Jodie Reynolds Studio label designs feature QR codes which link to the story of Besk Mates collaboration beers.
For more details about the beers
Pumpkin Belgian ale details
Booze: 7.2% ABV
Yeast: Abbaye yeast
Hops: Mistral Saaz
Other fun stuff: 40 kilograms pumpkins sourced from Millbrook’s garden were roasted at Eagle Bay before being added to the beer.
The lowdown: Belgian class with a gourd-eous twist! (*wink)
More: Stunning clarity holds yeast driven banana and Juicy Fruit bubblegum aromas, with soft, baked pumpkin underneath. Honeyed malt on the tongue welcomes subtle peach tones, through soft carbonation to a lengthy, dry finale.
Grapefruit IPA details
Booze: 6.5% ABV
Yeast: Verdant IPA yeast
Hops: Talus & Citra
Other fun stuff: 5 kilograms of Millbrook’s pink grapefruit zest was added to the beer.
The lowdown: Hazy, fruity, juicy, grapefruity!
More: Pouring a vibrant golden haze, grapefruit leads the nose into a juicy mouthfeel, with moderate bitterness, before shifting dry and refreshing.
Gose details
Booze: 4.4% ABV
Yeast: Verdant IPA yeast
Other fun stuff: 8 litres of Millbrook’s house pickle brine, 75 litres of Eagle Bay sea water, a sprinkle of sea salt flakes, and 2.5 kilograms of orange zest.
The lowdown: A crisp, tart, and refreshing ale featuring Eagle Bay salt water and Millbrook’s house pickle juice that our head brewer describes as ‘Salty Solo!”
More: Gose’s lightly opaque, sunny gold body is filled with lemony citrus, pleasant acidity and a light spritz, its clean dry length, spiked with a refreshing salty lick.
About Eagle Bay Brewing Co.
Founded in 2010, Eagle Bay Brewing Co. is a family owned and run microbrewery and winery located on our 70-year-old family farm in Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia. Our solar powered brewhouse uses 100% rainwater for our beers and we are constantly inspired by our beautiful part of the world.
About Millbrook Winery
Millbrook Winery is an acclaimed, multi-award-winning winery and restaurant, located in Jarrahdale, 50 minutes south of Perth. Peter and Lee Fogarty purchased the winery in 1996, and opened the present winery in 2001 on the Chestnut Farm site whose orchard dates back to 1865. Led by Executive Chef Guy Jeffreys, and Head Chef Jamie Hembrow, Millbrook kitchen focuses on local and seasonal ingredients, the majority of which are grown on site.
About Besk
Besk is bar, restaurant and bottle shop in West Leederville. It’s neighbourhood vibe showcases niche and bespoke libations, to the familiar and welcoming, with a local and seasonally driven
For more head to eaglebaybrewing.com.au
Film by Ryan Murphy
Enjoy
