Beer lovers worried about calories can rejoice as Bargara Brewing just launched Saison Silver which has lower carbs than any other beer in its range.
Bargara Brewing Company head brewer Andrew Clark said the new addition, Saison Silver, was well received at its launch at Bundaberg’s Pop-Up Polo and is now available at the Brewhouse.
Andrew said Saison Silver had only 2.9 per cent alcohol and was made with less hops, giving it a subtle flavour — perfect for people who aren’t normally keen beer drinkers, or for those who would like to “relax of an afternoon and have a few more beers than usual”.
He said the yeast imparted a lot of flavour into the beer as it was made with almost no hops, giving it a delicate taste.
“The hops are just used to balance the smoothness, it’s really hard to explain, it’s really smooth and easy on the taste,” Andrew said.
“This style of beer, Saison, isn’t supposed to be hoppy, its about the flavour of the French Saison yeast.
“It’s a little bit spicy, florally and peppery, but not in your face kind – more like one of the types of beers that you can sit there and knock a few back.
“The flavours are malt and yeast – the yeast is a strain that has been used in Belgium for hundreds of years.”
Unusual beer that people will love
“It’s one of those unusual beers that people may not have tried, but then again it’s one of those beers that people should try!” Andrew said.
“It is refreshing, crisp, easy to drink and satisfying.
“It’s a good beer for people who are not in to craft beers to come and try and start with – it’s nice, subtle and easy to drink without being in your face.”
Andrew said the French Saison yeast was bought into Bundaberg in a small amount and was uniquely cultured at Bargara Brewing Company founder Jack Milbank’s other business Biofilm, and this made it possible to keep the exclusive beer permanent.
“They have special labs and they culture the yeast up to a large volume, we bought the yeast and Biofilm cultured it up to that volume and now we will be keeping it as a permeant beer,” he said.
“Craft breweries use liquid yeast cultures and what they do is culture the yeast and basically start with a small sample and grow it until you have enough for you to use.
“We also use Munich Malt which is kiln delivered even longer so it’s a little bit darker and that’s why the beer is a golden colour compared to some of other beers that we just use with a plain malt.”
Andrew said the idea of the Saison Silver beer came about as he and Jack wanted a beverage for the recent Pop-Up Polo event that would allow people to keep drinking, but not have the risk of becoming too intoxicated.
“We did quite a few test brews over a couple of months, in very small test batches, until we were happy with it,” he said.
“It was bottled the day before Pop-Up Polo, as we timed it so that it was going into the bottle just before – so it was fresh!”
Andrew said the Saison Silver was also perfect for people who enjoyed a craft beer and after it proved popular at Pop-Up Polo it was here to stay.
“You can drink this all day and still be sensible at the end of the day,” he said.
“The whole idea is that it’s light in alcohol, not overpowering in flavour, it is low carb – about 30 per cent lower than normal beer – so you can really enjoy it all day.”
The new addition of Saison Silver to Bargara Brewing Company now increases their range to 13 beers and ciders, with 12 of these available on tap.
Saison Silver is currently only available bottled at Bargara Brewing Company. Andrew said a keg would also be going to Riverfeast for the German Oktoberfest and once production increased it would be on tap and be available at other suppliers.
