We’d originally planned to run this Brew & A with the head brewer at Indian Ocean Brewing this week as a precursor to WA Beer Week starting. Then we got the results of this year’s Perth Royal Beer Show and had another reason to run it as the little known brewpub in Mindarie Marina was named Best WA Brewery.
Those of you who’ve never sampled beers from the brewery on the northern tip of Perth’s suburbs may have come across head brewer Dave Brough’s handiwork in the past as he was production manager at 3 Ravens in Melbourne until 2012. Prior to that, he’d brewed in various countries since leaving his homeland of England behind, although it would seem that this latest achievement is one he rates pretty darn high.
“It’s always nice to win awards,” he told us, “but this one is more gratifying on account of the hard bloody slog it took to get here: rebuilding the beers, brewery and client base at the same time.
“A lot of my 41st year went into this bugger! I also didn’t leave âcivilisation’ to come to the desert and make a mess of things… and this award goes some way to show I have made a success of it.
“It will mean a great deal to the brewery too. It’s had a chequered past and I don’t think the products of recent recollection were regarded as being of the highest quality. The award should put us firmly back on the WA beer map – although the phone hasn’t been ringing hot to tell the truth. The WA beer scene is a tough one… Any takers in the Eastern States?”
If anyone is interested in tasting his White Cap Wheat Beer (Gold), Indian Ocean Lager, Indi Pils and Saison (Silver) or Big Red (Bronze) then you can find the brewery here.
Either way, it seems his beers are as good as his answers to our Brew & A questions are short, so if you’ve got a spare 17 seconds, here’s what he had to say [pre trophy]…
Dave Brough, head brewer at Indian Ocean, WA
Favourite Australian beer (other than your own)?
Riverside Lager – Old Brewery
Epiphany beer – the one that set you on the road to becoming a brewer?
RCH Old Slug Porter [A brewery from his mother country – Crafty]
Desert island beer – the one to keep you going if you were stranded for the rest of your days?
Paulaner Salvator
Favourite beer and food match?
Scotch Ale & Atholl Brose
What are we likely to hear cranking from the stereo on brew days?
Zappa, M83…
Favourite place to enjoy a drink?
Andechs Beer Keller, Kloster Andechs, nr Munich
If you were a beer style, what would you be?
Helles [German lager – Crafty]
The best thing you’ve ever traded for beer?
Utterly inappropriate – taking the 5th on that one!
When I’m not making or drinking beer, you’ll find meâ¦
Running pedestrians over on a mountain bike.
Your hope for beer in Australia?
Galaxy bines are scrubbed!
Image at top copyright Offshoot Creative.
