BREWERY // Small Gods is a brewing project based in Auckland dedicated to collaborative, historical and experimental brewing. Named in honour of the yeasts who make beer possible and the inimitable Terry Pratchett, the Small Gods team (Luke & Matt) are the people behind Beer Jerk. They aim to keep history alive by bringing ancient beer styles and fascinating legends to light with a modern twist. Their unique approach to brewing highlights the rare, weird and wonderful styles that are often left by the wayside and embraces new and experimental techniques and culinary inspired ingredients. Small Gods brew all around New Zealand collaborating with friends at fantastic breweries to produce the experimental and not-commercially-viable styles they're interested in. They released a dozen beers in the past 6 months and are looking forward to a busy 2022.
BEER // Small Gods began as a collaborative brewing project, creating interesting beers with friends but Santa Santa Santa is their first solo brew. Created as part of a Santa Trilogy of big beers encompassing festive flavours, this stout is inspired by chocolate coconut snowballs. They started with a big base including 8 different malts with a 5 hour boil to give it a viscous mouthfeel. A hefty amount of milk sugar was added for additional creamy sweetness along with plenty of carefully selected Dutch cocoa. The Small Gods team made a massive coconut tincture by steeping premium Caribbean white rum on sacks of coconut for an extended period. A generous helping of pure vanilla was also added to the fermenter to add to the soft, sweet, round profile of this completely decadent dessert of a beer that is designed to be savoured and shared.
BREWERY // Small Gods
BEER // Santa Santa Santa
STYLE // Pastry Stout
ORIGIN // Auckland
ABV // 8.8%
TEMPERATURE // Cellar. Around 10C
FOOD MATCH // Jerk Chicken. Festival Cornbread Fritters. Raspberry Lamington
VESSEL // A coconut, ideally