Beer #163 - Sparks / Reverence

Beer #163 - W/C 9 April 2018

BREWERY // Adam Sparks has always loved music and he has always been driven to create. He used to DJ and loved the community of record stores - people coming together with a shared love, discussing new releases, trends, techniques and favourite acts. Now that record stores don't exist, he finds the same community in beer which is the part of brewing he loves most. Adam was working as a sound engineer mixing for TV and films when his stout won a Gold medal at the Home Brew Championships which was the catalyst to him throwing himself into Sparks Brewing. That was just a couple of years ago and he has seen many more awards since for his classic beer that are inspired by history, art, music and science. Sparks is a proudly Papakura company with Adam testing beers on his 50L electric brewery before upscaling recipes and overseeing brews at other breweries. 2018 is a year of collaboration with lots of exciting releases in the pipeline.

 

BEER // The Belgian Blonde is a relatively modern style which was created to win drinkers back over from the lagers and pilsners that began to dominate beer in the 20th century. They changed the malt bill to include majority pilsner malts but kept the distinctly Belgian yeast strains to have the best of both worlds resulting in  a smooth, easy drinking and well rounded beer with that distinct Belgian flavour. There is a candy sweetness and excellent mouthfeel from the malts. This beer is all about the yeast though with spicy notes of pepper and cloves. Drinking this beer is the perfect time to read about esters and phenols which are flavours and aromas that only exist in certain styles. It's a perfect beer to nurse while different flavours become more apparent as it warms.

Sparks. Reverence from Beer Jerk on Vimeo.

BREWERY // Sparks

BEER // Reverence

STYLE // Belgian Blonde

ORIGIN // Papakura

ABV // 6.4%

TEMPERATURE // Cool - 8-10C

FOOD MATCH // Fries & Mayo. Smoked Pork. Turbot in Cream Sauce. Apple Strudel

GLASS // Tulip

 

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