Pirate Life X Limeburners Launch Premium Collaboration Stout

It’s an age-old fact that whisky and beer couldn’t make a better match. Which is why one of Australia’s leading breweries, Pirate Life Brewing has teamed up with 2019 Icons of World Whisky, Australian Distiller of the Year – Limeburners, and its multi award winning Whisky, to breathe new life into that king of combinations.
Both pioneers within their industries, they’ve combined what they do best, beer and whisky, to create something exceptional – a Whisky Barrel Aged Stout.
Co-founder of Pirate Life, Michael (Mick) Cameron, said launching the Stout as the first beer within their Hindmarsh Collection was a great way to start the tradition of annual releases with Limeburners Whisky.
Both Pirate Life and Limeburners strongly believe every good beer and whisky tells a story, one that begins with malt and water. That’s where the similarities end and the stories head in different directions.
Where beer enjoys a cool, calm and short-lived journey, whisky’s path is one of patience and measure with the barrels aged for years at a time. Within this Stout, these two tales weave themselves back together.
This Aged Stout has been in development since mid-2016 when Cameron Syme, the founder of Great Southern Distilling Company and its flagship brand Limeburners Whisky, dropped past Pirate Life to say g’day and offer an impromptu tasting.
“I struck a chord with the crew there and really enjoyed Pirate Life Beers and the journey they’ve been on,” said Cam. “We selected our best used casks for this colab combining our best peated and fortified casks.”
Mick said the teams thought a stout would hold up the best considering the various age and conditions of the barrels. “We knew there would be the need to blend over time and the Stout was the best beer for this process,” he said. And the Stout is not where the story ends. As if a beer collaboration wasn’t enough, they’ve also decided to extend the journey to create a barrel of Pirate Life/Limeburners Whisky.
When crafting the Stout, Pirate Life made the decision to complement the complexity of Limeburners Whisky by producing a rich and full-bodied beverage, having soaked up as much of that liquid gold in the barrels as it could handle. Using a solera-like system, a portion of the beer was aged for 18 months in Limeburners American Oak barrels, some for 6 months and the remainder for 3 months.
Finally, the meticulous ageing process is complete, the casks have been blended to create a balanced flavour profile and this impressive beer is ready to be released into the world. Pour the Stout with relish and be greeted by the sublime, silky oak barrel scent of fine malt whisky, vanilla, peat smoke, pine needles and chocolate coated honeycomb.
Take a sip and the palate reveals the rich, decadent stout you’d expect, but with a surprising umami, sweet spice and gentle acidity. Like a great whisky, this beer transforms as it slowly warms in your glass. Those with the patience will discover that much like ageing whisky in a barrel, if cellared in a cool, dark place this Stout will continue to evolve and surprise.