Asia Pacific Breweries’ craft beer brand, Archipelago Brewery, has shed its colonial image for a more contemporary look.
It will be unveiling a new limited-edition British India Pale Ale, with citrus aromas of orange and lychee, at the fifth Beerfest Asia, which runs from tomorrow to Sunday at the Marina Promenade.
The event, which will feature at least 400 types of beer, is organised by Sphere Exhibits, a subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings, and Beerfest, a subsidiary of music lifestyle company Timbre Group.
The full-bodied British India Pale Ale is fermented twice, first with English Pale Ale yeast and then with a pilsner yeast for a crisp finish.
For an Asian twist, one of the sugars used in the ale is gula melaka.
Singapore-based British brewmaster Robert Beck, 35, is the man behind this new brew, which joins other craft beer brands that make up almost 70 per cent of the beer offerings at the event.
With a degree in brewing and distilling from Heriot-Watt brewing university in Edinburgh, Beck’s career in the industry includes Mordue Brewery in Newcastle, England; Neaustadt Spring Brewery in Ontario, Canada; Little Creatures in Perth, Australia; as well as Dockyard Brewery Company in Bermuda, Ireland Island.
He says of craft beer trends: “The scene is picking up because people like to have something different to drink.
“Many people, both men and women, like lighter beers too, because you can enjoy four to five beers and can still walk home. The night doesn’t have to end at 9pm.”
He also notes the brewing interest in India and China, with the United States paving the way for creative beers with unusual ingredients.
He says: “The Americans are literally putting anything they want inside. It’s anything wacky such as bacon and maple, which is disgusting.”
The British India Pale Ale, produced in 130 20- litre kegs, will also be available at all Archipelago concept outlets such as Barossa at Esplanade and Holland Village, and Boulevard at Millenia Walk and Red Dot Traffic Building, from Friday onwards.
The other four Archipelago beers are Belgian Wit, Summer Ale, Bohemian Lager and Irish Ale.
Other previous limited-edition brews by the company include Archipresso, a coffee beer in collaboration with indie cafe Forty Hands.
Also making its debut at the Beerfest is Archipelago’s first beer growler – a ceramic glass bottle sealed with a twist cap that can hold 1.89 litres of beer.
A limited number ($35, $25 for refill), will be available at the event.
Asked about pairing beer with food, his advice is to follow what is recommended for wine.
“The general advice for wine is to have white meat go with white wines,” he says.
“Similarly for beers, the lighter ones (in colour and flavour) will go well with shellfish and fish. The darker beers pair well with the bolder flavours in meat.”
Beerfest 2013 is from June 13 to 16, 2013. Get tickets from Sistic.com.sg.
This article was first run in The Straits Times newspaper on June 12, 2013. For similar stories, go tosph.straitstimes.com/premium/singapore. You will not be able to access the Premium section of The Straits Times website unless you are already a subscriber.
