We’ve covered a lot of unconventional brewing operations over the past decade or so, but a brewing company that doesn’t operate within our earthly dimension would definitely make the top five.
To our primitive Earthling senses, the four beings who control the Forgotten Worlds Brewing Co may appear to be like any other terrestrial humanoid – they may even pass for brewers, artists and bar owners – but do not be deceived. These omniscient entities exist purely to distill all manner of experiences into something discreet, tangible and ultimately delicious: beer. This is their zythology mythology.
With each new beer pulled directly from an interdimensional vortex (or, for the purposes of the labelling provisions of the Food Standards Code, The Australian Brewery in Rouse Hill), Forgotten Worlds hope to be more than just a purveyor of beer. With each new release set to be a full-blown piece of concept art, the aim is to get punters invested in the story of the beers and their associated artwork. And if people are just drawn to a good beer with a cool label, that works too.
Although Forgotten Worlds theoretically exists everywhere and nowhere, in a much more real sense, they’re mostly headquartered out of Newtown’s 1989 Arcade Bar. It follows then that the first release is sci-fi arcade-themed.
The Cathode Ray tells the story of Vic in her fight against the Azacca, a parasitic species of aliens that consist of a mass of brain tissue, which in this instance have fused themselves to arcade machines. If it were me, I’d be jamming my wriggling appendages into a gun or some kind of cool motorbike or something, but I guess just because you’re a brain alien, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re that smart. Oh, and it’s also a very fine hazy pale ale.
Cathode Ray will soon be joined by releases that tap into different pop culture themes to marry the style of beer with the concept: a Forgotten Worlds cinematic universe, if you will. So, with their first beer available in tins and on tap around Sydney, we lay prostrate at the feet of these mysterious deities and humbly whisper the question: "Who brews…?"
FORGOTTEN WORLDS BREW CO
Who are you?
We are four intergalactic beings.
Where do you brew?
We brew aboard the brewery mothership currently marooned within The Vortex.
Why do you brew?
We preserve the memories of the “Forgotten Worlds”. Many of their stories have been lost in time. We capture each story in a different beer and sent it through The Vortex to Earth where it is enjoyed by mankind.
Was there a beer or a moment that set you on the path to becoming a brewer?
The four of us have brewed for all eternity but it wasn’t until we discovered the Forgotten Worlds that we started brewing for mankind.
What’s the inspiration behind the brewery name?
We honour the memory of all the Forgotten Worlds by naming our brewery after our purpose: to keep the worlds alive.
What beer in your lineup best represents you and why?
Our first beer, The Cathode Ray Hazy Pale Ale, best represents our quest to tell stories. Through this beer we tell the tale of Vic and her plight against the Azacca (mutant alien arcade machines) as she frees her people from slavery by unleashing the awesome power of The Cathode Ray.
The beer is a combination of some of our favourite hops: Citra, Azacca and Vic Secret, which create the ultimate hop hit.
If anyone drops in on brew day, what are they most likely to hear blasting from the speakers?
There is no sound in space.
What beers are in your fridge right now?
Reckless Brewing Double Plum Sour, Ocean Reach Brewing Hazy DIPA and Bracket Brewing Fresh Static DIPA.
Which local beers have blown your mind in recent weeks?
Bacchus Peanut Brittle Gose – amazing.
Where can people find your beers?
Currently pouring on tap at 1989 Arcade Bar and Mixtape Brewing. You can order directly from us via our earthbound website.
Where do you hope your brewery will be ten years from now?
We hope that one day the brewery mothership will escape The Vortex and land on Planet Earth.
For more entries in our long-running Who Brews...? series, head here.
Judd Owen is a two-time game show winner, homebrewing tragic and the only person to have successfully mentioned the Oriental Rat Flea in an article about craft beer. You can find him on Instagram and Twitter.
The beer(s) or moment(s) that turned you on to good beer:
A million pints of Erdinger Weissbier at the Brisbane German Club followed years later by a fundamentally life-changing Pacific Ale. Not long after this moment I started homebrewing and spending all available disposable income at The Scratch and Tippler's Tap.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
- Wildflower Gold - I think this beer more than any other perfectly encapsulates what beer can be and is excellent for reintroducing people who gave up on beer when the only thing available were industrial lagers. It's unique and more importantly, there's an excellent story behind it. They may not love the beer but they'll remember it.
- KAIJU! Krush - An-easy drinking tropical pale ale in a wonderfully designed can, that can be purchased almost anywhere. It definitely helps to give people something they can reasonably be able to purchase for themselves without much drama.
- Big Shed Golden Stout Time - I don't I've ever been as impressed with a dessert beer as much as I was the first time I tried this. So many Australians have a deep-rooted nostalgia for a Golden Gaytime and this beer is an almost perfect recreation of that. Everyone I've ever given this to has been blown away. For the first 150ml at least.
The last beer I enjoyed:
I had a tinny of Grifter Big Sur IPA while cooking up a big old Sunday night curry. West Coast IPAs are still the best kind of IPA and it's not particularly close. I will die on this hill.
Three things that represent me:
- I haven't listened to new music since I left high school so the 2003 Frenzal Rhomb album Sans Souci probably sums me up musically.
- I make sure to attend at least one day of test cricket every year.
- Recently, I saw a photo of a cockatoo holding a piece of pizza on twitter so I had it tattooed onto my person.
