Hey Revellers! It's that time of the year again when the excitement is brewing, and we can't wait to share our latest creation with you at the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular (GABS) Festival. Our brewing team at Revel, have been hard at work crafting a truly extraordinary beer for GABS Festival 2023 - The Black Forest Monster Pastry Sour Ale. In this blog, we want to take you on a journey through the magic of GABS Festival and immerse you in the tantaliSing flavoUrs of our special creation.
GABS Festival: A Mecca for Beer Lovers
When it comes to celebrating the craft beer culture, nothing quite compares to the GABS Festival. It's a spectacular event that brings together beer enthusiasts, brewers, and foodies from all corners of Australia. At GABS, creativity flows as freely as the beer itself, and brewers get to showcase their wildest and most innovative creations. Each brewery creates a special “GABS Beer” which is only available at the festivals and is a chance for brewers to push the boundaries with unique beers that they may otherwise not normally create.
The Black Forest Monster Pastry Sour Ale: A Divine Indulgence
Prepare your taste buds for something truly extraordinary! Our team has gone above and beyond to create a beer that pays homage to the classic Black Forest cake - a dessert beloved by many. Introducing The Black Forest Monster Pastry Sour Ale - the star of our lineup at GABS Festival 2023. With each sip, we invite you to embark on a journey of indulgence and delight.
The Black Forest Monster Pastry Sour Ale is a luscious and divine pastry sour that captures the essence of its cake inspiration. Dark chocolate, coffee, and black cherry notes intertwine harmoniously, creating a symphony of flavours that dance on your palate. The creamy and smooth body embraces the rich complexity, while the well-balanced acidity adds a subtle tanginess that keeps you wanting more. It's an experience that transports you to a realm of pure bliss - a slice of cake in liquid form.
Image: Courtesy of the Sunday Mail
Head Brewer Matthew Cuthbert:
“I’ve always loved the GABS Festival. As a Victorian, it was always an annual tradition to go to GABS at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, both as a punter and a brewer. The festival gives brewers a chance to make something wild and whacky that they may not otherwise brew.
This is our 5th year at Revel brewing a beer for GABS. Two things we're probably best known for at Revel are our sours and our dark beers. The idea this year was to combine both styles and base the beer on a Black Forest Cake. Often, our sours are based on something like a cocktail, ice block, or biscuit. The Black Forest Cake is a dessert, making the beer a Pastry Sour Ale. It's something I didn't realise was even a style until we made this beer!
In terms of brewing the beer, we brewed it like any other dark beer and kettle-soured it overnight, just like our other sours. We added a healthy dose of lactose in the second boil, and then fermented it out and added the sour cherry towards the end of the primary fermentation for the cherry punch. The beer will be poured on nitro at GABS to further enhance the "creaminess" of the beer and give the impression of eating or drinking a piece of cake. It was a fun beer to brew, and I hope the punters enjoy drinking it!”
Join us at GABS Festival 2023 in Brisbane and try our GABS beer amongst countless other remarkable brews that push the boundaries of taste and imagination!