Flying Horse does Warrnambool's history proud, says David Sutherland.
A HUNDRED years ago, Warrnambool had five local commercial breweries servicing its 6000 people. These days, with a population of more than 30,000 thirsty souls, it has just one — the Flying Horse Bar and Brewery. With a 600-litre system, the brewery isn't large but it nonetheless produces fantastic artisan brews, doing honour to the proud — if somewhat dusty — tradition of the area.
Last month, the Flying Horse added another feather to its cap, winning an honour at the prestigious Australian International Beer Awards. The brewery's flagship beer, Dirty Angel, took out Champion Porter for 2009, beating 39 other entrants from Australia and overseas. "We were stoked," says Flying Horse's Matthew Monk. "To be recognised among so many unbelievable breweries from all over the world was sensational, and we're just proud as punch."
Presented by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria in conjunction with the University of Ballarat, the awards are the second-largest international beer competition in the world. This year there were 1140 entries from 39 countries including Nigeria, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Cambodia, Bolivia, Puerto Rico — and Australia. Beers are judged on appearance, aroma, and taste in various categories from lagers to wheat beers, stouts and reduced-alcohol beers.
As for porters, they derive their name from the fact that they were the favourite tipple of 18th-century street and river porters at London's Covent Garden. According to the awards' chief judge, Peter Manders, the best porters are dark-coloured while still allowing a certain amount of light to penetrate; they should combine a pleasant (but not charred) note of roasted barley with a gentle bitterness from the hops. The finish should be clean and mildly sweet with no harsh aftertaste.
Flying Horse's Dirty Angel is a lip-smackingly perfect example of what a porter can be. Coloured a deep mahogany like the legendary Portuguese ship buried in the sand near the 'Bool, it has hints of toffee malt, floral notes from Golding's hops and a dry and mildly bitter finish. Alcohol content is, at 5.8 per cent, relatively high, although not as high as when the original porters cheerfully swigged it on the job.
The beer was created by Monk, his business partner Matthew Stewart and brewer Gerard Meares. Monk and Stewart toured breweries in New Zealand and attended a crash brewing course at the University of Ballarat before starting up the microbrewery in their slick new multipurpose venue on the eastern fringe of Warrnambool.
The team spent "several crazy days in the lab" testing and tasting as they came up with a recipe; and although brewer Meares has moved on, the Flying Horse crew intend to employ a new full-time brewer as they ramp up production of Dirty Angel for both the tap and bottleshop market. They will also continue to produce several other artisan brews including their India pale ale-style beer called Whale Ale, which also did well at the beer awards, winning a silver medal.
The beers are currently only available at the Flying Horse Bar and Brewery, although Monk suggests that the recent win might be a decent springboard to launch the beers — especially Dirty Angel — further afield.
The other Victorian brewery to win an award was perennial favourite and regular prize winner Mountain Goat, which won the 2009 Premier's Trophy for its Belgian-style wheat beer Rapunzel. The Strong Blonde beer is only available at the Mountain Goat brewery bar in Richmond.