We’re into that phase of our holiday where doing anything more than having a cold beer is hard work. With that said we thought we would outsource this weeks Friday Beer. And so, straight from the horses mouth this weeks write up comes from Greg Gilowey of Beer Country on their recent Darling x Beer Country Blood Moon Pale Ale collaboration. Queue Greg.
When you’re with good mates, drinking great beer, sitting fireside long after sunset, lots of big plans get made. Filming the Darling Brew episode of Beer Country on a Weskus beach was one of those times and Kevin Wood, owner of Darling Brew came up with a whopper – lets take the Landy and head deep into the Kalahari to brew an authentic Kalahari craft beer!
That was a few years back, but true to his word, earlier this year we found ourselves barefoot in the red sand, mashing in on the 50L brewhouse under the blazing African sun.
The beer needed to be inspired by the Kalahari, and the best way to do that was using a few local ingredients. Tsamma melons and prickly pears both grow wild out there. The Tsamma melon flesh is so bitter you’ll no longer be able to dream, but the toasted seeds give a nutty, earthy character that really compliments the malt. The prickly pear fruit is full of sweet citrus and tropical flavours that go hand in hand with the hops.
Now, brewing beer with kalahari water is not the best idea. Lesson learnt, and we didn’t make that same mistake again brewing the big batch in Darling. Inspired by the colour of the dunes and sunsets, Blood Moon pours crystal clear with a deep yellow-amber hue. The aromas are hop-forward with some of the sweet-citrus coming through from the prickly pear. The taste takes those flavours up a notch, before giving way to a solid malt backbone, with a little extra complexity from the Tsamma seeds. Its got a lot going on for a pale ale, but its all good and at 4,5% you can definitely have more than one around the braai… I know we did.
The Darling x Beer Country Blood Moon Pale Ale is a big beer inspired by big-sky country, brewed in this incredible place we love to call home. We can’t wait for the next adventure, cheers.