02 July 2010
Matilda Bay and Toby's Estate collaborate on new brew for winter
This winter, in collaboration with esteemed gourmet coffee brand Toby’s Estate, Matilda Bay will launch their limited edition seasonal release Longshot, a spiced, full-flavoured dark ale with notes of coffee and malt balancing to finish with a subtle hop bitterness.
Born over a beer between Matilda Bay head brewer Scott Vincent and gourmet coffee roaster Toby Smith after comparing stories about roasting malt and coffee beans, Scott and Toby sat down with a selection of Toby’s best coffee beans to determine which would be most suited to Matilda Bay’s new coffee infused beer.
Vincent said of the new release, “Our seasonal releases give us an opportunity to explore new flavours and up the ante when it comes to challenging our devout Matilda Bay drinkers. It’s also a chance to experiment and stretch the boundaries on what can make a great beer.
“In 2006 we released Crema which used coffee beans we roasted ourselves at the Garage but this time we wanted to work with the best in the coffee roasting business - Toby’s Estate - to help us produce an ale that would really pack a punch.”
Smith said of the partnership with Matilda Bay, “I’d always heard coffee and beer made a great combination but I never imagined that one day I’d actually get the chance to team up with one of Australia’s best boutique breweries to create a beer using my own coffee beans. I always thought it was too much of a Longshot…” Boom tish.
Scott and Toby conducted the ‘cupping’ method to decide which coffee beans would ultimately be used. This process involves pouring water over beans placed in a cup and allowing a crust to form over the top. Upon breaking the crust, the boys smelt the aromas of each of the beans to decide which would become an ingredient in Longshot. A highly aromatic Ethiopian blend called Yirgacheffe was deemed the best choice.
Beer drinkers will also enjoy a number of different roasted malts in Longshot. These give the beer wonderful flavours of toffee and chocolate that perfectly complement the coffee notes. Longshot also uses an ale yeast fermented at moderate temperatures which gives it a lift in the ester profile – the fruity character that’s found in some ales.
With a coarse grind of the coffee beans and a cold extraction, the coffee was then added to the fermentation process and was carefully managed to keep the beer balanced.
Longshot is a challenging beer for the discerning beer drinker and is an ideal beer for food matching particularly with chocolate dishes and beef. Try Longshot with chargrilled Scotch fillet on a rosti stack with thyme mushrooms and sautéed spinach or 70% Belgian cocoa chocolate (the bitterness balances wonderfully with the coffee notes in the beer) in a decadent dark chocolate and pear tart.
Longshot will be available only from Dan Murphy’s from 1 July 2010 and will be a limited release while stocks last and with only 5,000 cases of Longshot being produced, beer lovers will need to get in quick to sample Matilda Bay’s newest brew.
Matilda Bay is one of Australia’s leading craft breweries producing some of Australia’s favourite unique specialty beers including the full-flavoured and award-winning Alpha Pale Ale, to the increasingly popular Fat Yak, the quirky Beez Neez and the salute to Oktoberfest lagers, Big Helga. Traditionally Matilda Bay also launches a limited edition seasonal release for summer and winter. Previous seasonal beers have included Crema, Barking Duck and Barking Flamingo.
For media contact information, please view the press release:
