Shelter’s cool weather limited releases for 2023 continue here with a subtle smoky theme seen in the past in their Campfire Stout; however, a vegetable will more likely steal this year’s moment in the low autumnal sun. There’s some science at play with this smouldering relationship too, suggesting that adults who have grown up around open fires as children are hardwired to the smoky characters of BBQ, certain whiskies and, in the Shelter brewers' case, stouts.
Here, all of those youthful, wood-fired winters in WA's South West are subtly echoed as smoked intrigue, with the aforementioned vegetable adding contrasting layers of earthiness and beet sweetness across chocolate malt tones. But this almost wasn’t the case, according to head brewer Jason Credaro.
“I ordered 50 kilos of beetroot to put in the brew," he says. "And when it arrived the kitchen team got hold of it and prepped it for meals in the restaurant. They complained to the head chef for ordering so much beetroot, and I had to find 50 kilos of beets at short notice!”
That he did, and now you can sample a portion of his haul in each can of 'Root Stout.
Guy Southern
Published April 29, 2023 2023-04-29 00:00:00
