Look what the flames reveal!

Billabong Brewing & @liquorbaronsbullcreek Liquor collaborate on a limited-release beer to thank firefighters and pay tribute to the brewery’s resilience – “BLAZED” is born.

Here’s the story so far…

Saturday 12th May, 2018: Fire tore through the front half of Billabong Brewing in Myaree. Local firefighters manage to contain the blaze to the office area of the building, but damage was estimated at $800,000 and a 20-year-old, family-owned business had to close temporarily.

Thankfully, the brewhouse was spared from the flames, and it wasn’t long before stainless steel was being polished back into functional shape. The eternally-optimistic Billabong team responded to adversity in typically resilient and irreverent fashion; brewing what they dubbed a “Burnt NEIPA” (aka a Black New England India Pale Ale). Around the same time, the guys at Bull Creek Liquor were envisaging a collaboration beer with the Billabong guys, some of whom they counted as regular customers. The idea of producing something ‘dark’ and ‘smoky’ quickly evolved into a dark beer with an addition of hemp (with inspirational thanks to Giniversity), and a subsequent meeting at the brewery led to a tweaked reimagining of that aforementioned “Burnt NEIPA”. And so “BLAZED” was born.

The final beer is a defiant rising from the ashes, brewed to acknowledge the work of local firefighters and taste bloody awesome. A complex malt bill contributes coffee and dark chocolate characters – and colour – to the brew, while an outrageous quantity of whirlpool hops and dry-hop additions deliver plenty of tropical, juicy NEIPA goodness. Five kilograms of hemp seeds contribute nutty, earthy notes to what is a deliciously drinkable meeting-of-minds and generous spirit.

Part proceeds of the beer’s sales will go to the Burns Unit at the Perth Children’s Hospital. The beer will be launched at Billabong Brewing on Friday 27th July from 5pm, with Bull Creek Liquor – aka Liquor Barons Bull Creek – offering tastings the next day from 4 – 6pm. Kegs will be pouring at selected venues the following week.

Here’s to “BLAZED” – Cheers!