Sydney’s Malt Shovel Brewery is set to release the latest beer under its Mad Brewers banner with the release of its Orchard Ale.

The new beer follows the previous releases under the same label including a Raspberry Wheat Beer and Pepperberry Winter Ale in 2008 and last year’s Ten 20 Commemorative Ale which celebrated brewer Chuck Hahn’s tenure at the brewery.

The Mad Brewers Orchard Ale is described as having a level if acidity through a natural sour mash and a “cleansing wine-like finish” courtesy of the Nelson Sauvin hops used. The brewery advises a Belgian-style saison yeast was used, giving the beer “fresh harvest flavours of a Belgian farmhouse ale” before a 20% blend of special apple juices was added at the end of fermentation along with a wine yeast. The special juice blend was made by James Kendell of Small Acres Cyder Company in Orange using Fuji, Granny Smith and Pink Lady apples in order to provide the desired degrees of tartness and apple blossom character.

The Orchard Ale is sold in cartons of 9 x 640ml bottles and weighs in at 5.0% abv. Recommended retail price is $54.99 per case and $7.99 per bottle. Only 3,400 cases are being bottled by the Lion Nathan-owned Malt Shovel Brewery.

Mad Brewers Orchard Ale will be available in bottles in selected good liquor stores nationally from 1 February for a limited time only.

Availability:

Mad Brewers Orchard Ale is available on tap from February 1st at all James Squire Brewhouses in Sydney and Melbourne, The Generous Squire and The Squire’s Bounty as well as the below locations:

ACT

Edgars Inn, Canberra
All Bar Nun, Canberra

NSW

The Local Taphouse, Darlinghurst (update)
Marlborough Hotel, Newtown
Carrington Hotel, Katoomba
Northern Star, Newcastle

QLD

Glen Hotel, Eight Mile Plains,
Norman Hotel, Buranda,
Grand Central, Brisbane,
Full Moon Hotel, Shorncliffe,
Belvedere Hotel, Woody Point,

SA

Holdfast Hotel, Glenelg
The Elephant, Adelaide
The Wheatsheaf, Thebarton
Earl of Leicester
The Ed

TAS

New Sydney Hotel, Hobart
Cock n Bull, Launceston

VIC

Mt View, Richmond
Rifle Brigade Hotel, Bendigo
The Local Taphouse
Steampacket, Williamstown
Cargo, Traralgon

WA

Norfolk Hotel, Fremantle
Grosvenor Hotel, Perth

*Information from a brewery media release. Australian Brews News will review this beer as soon as it is available.[adrotate group=”1″]