Go to the Northern Rivers region and you’ll meet a lot of pretty chill folk. Sure, life and work can get complex anywhere in the world, and I’m sure there’s at least one person in the area who’s stressed out about something. But northern NSW seems to be suspended in a big bubble of slow, thoughtful living.
So the Stone & Wood crew have brought out NRB – Northern Rivers Beer – and they’re dubbing the style a "Northern Rivers Lager". In line with S&W’s ever-sharpening environmental focus, more than 70 percent of the malt in NRB is Certified Sustainable (from Voyager Craft Malt), and all the hops are Certified Sustainable (from Ryefield Hops).
But, while a whole heap of slow and thoughtful work has gone into producing these ingredients (and a lot of love, too – you can see the malt and hops lovingly fondled in this video) and this beer, the result is something that you don’t have to work at. Not at all.
The aroma? It smells like I'm at the pub. The bartender’s pouring me a cold freshie, with foam cascading over the rim of the glass and emitting floral aromas aplenty, and I’m hoping to get a booth seat near the pool table so I can grab the next game.
The taste? Tastes like a lager you drink by the pint. Possibly a schooner, if you’re down to your last handful of coinage from your jeans pocket. This is not the kind of beer you drink by the pot.*
In the spirit of a beer dedicated to a region, NRB will only be stocked in venues and retail outlets within the Northern Rivers region: from Tweed River down to Yamba. But if you live elsewhere and want to get into it, you can buy it from S&W’s online store and they’ll shoot it to wherever you are.
No hard work necessary.
Mick Wüst
*Though the 330ml cans come dangerously close to pot-sized. The only reason I’m not throwing a hissy fit is because that’s the volume that makes this 4 percent ABV beer into exactly one standard drink, and I’m a big fan of easy beer maths.
Published April 17, 2024 2024-04-17 00:00:00
