Archipelago Brewery, the craft beer arm of Asia Pacific Breweries, has unveiled its latest limited edition brew – a Bière Brut with Grapefruit.
Head brewer of Archipelago Brewery Robert Beck has interestingly opted to make a Bière Brut for their latest limited edition beer, a beer style that is still rather uncommon in these parts. The Bière Brut, also known as Bière de Champagne, is a beer style traditionally made in Belgium that combines the estery and fruity characteristics of Belgian ales with the body and bubbly texture of champagnes and other sparkling wines.
The making of some Belgian Bière Brut even ascribe to similar processes dictated by Méthode de Champenoise of making champagne, including bottle conditioning (where bubbles occur naturally from the liquid continuing to ferment in the bottle), the remuage process (collecting the yeast in the bottle necks by inverting the bottles), riddling (slightly turning the bottles over a period of weeks), and even dégorgement (where the yeast is frozen in the bottle neck and the frozen bung of yeast is forced out by pressure).
Archipelago brews four core beers – the Belgian Wit, Bohemian Lager, Summer Ale, and Irish Ale – as well as one limited edition seasonal beer, at any time.
It’s certainly one of the newest and more interesting styles of beer in the beer world today, and Beck has employed champagne yeast, which undergoes a lengthy maturation period to ensure thorough fermentation, for the Bière Brut with Grapefruit. The result is a beer with a slightly acidic dry finish akin to that of champagne, with the typical hop and malt aromas of beer.
The addition of pink grapefruit complements the use of South Pacific hops in Australian Galaxy hops and New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops, resulting in tropical fruity notes in both aroma and flavour, built around a fizzy body and mouthfeel that’s a cross between a champagne and an unfiltered lager.
The pink-hued Bière Brut with Grapefruit replaces the previous Archipelago limited-edition Vanilla Bock. It can be found at all Archipelago concept bars island-wide.
Archipelago Limited Edition Bière Brut with Grapefruit
Maker: Archipelago Brewery (Asia Pacific Breweries)
Style: Bière Brut
ABV: 4.8%
