FROM humble beginnings (like most craft breweries), Cavalier Brewing is coming on in leaps and bounds as a front runner and leader in the Australian craft beer industry. Although every market is important to Cavalier Brewing, owner Heath Shirtcliffe sees Canberra as an important next step in Cavalier Brewing’s continued expansion into the craft beer market.

Cavalier Brewing’s staple brew would probably be their brown ale. With a generous mix of chocolate and crystal malts, together with quintessential American IPA hops (think citrus and pine notes), the beer has a delicious chocolatey, caramel and toffee backbone. A ranking in The Local Taphouse top 100 beers illustrates this (especially considering the heavy skewing towards Pale Ales and India Pale Ales that such a list generally produces.)

As well as being a leader in the Australian craft beer industry, the guys at Cavalier Brewing are also happy for other outstanding craft breweries to brew on their premises. Australian craft beer icons Kaiju, Edge Brewing, Exit Brewing and Boneyard and just some of the many brewers who use Cavalier Brewing’s premises to brew their own fantastic ranges of craft beer.

As Canberra’s number one craft beer beer locale, Plonk has had Cavalier’s products available for quite sometime (as well as being available sporadically on tap at the Transit Bar). However, the next step in Cavalier Brewing’s adventure into the Canberra market is a tap takeover, kicking off on Wednesday, July 23rd. The fortunate venue bestowed with the honour of having a bunch of Cavalier Brewing beers on tap is The Durham Castle Arms in Kingston.

Brews available for the tap takeover at the Durham Castle Arms include the 4.5% Cavalier Golden Courage, the iconic, roasted malt-driven 9% Imperial Stout and the signature Cavalier Brewing Brown Ale. As a special brew, the guys at Cavalier Brewing will also infuse the brown ale with coconut to create… heck I’m not sure what that will create!

The growth in craft beer is phenomenal; it being the only segment of the beer market that is actually growing. This event is seen as an important stepping stone not just for Cavalier Brewing but also for the Canberra craft beer market, but Heath definitely sees the benefit in venues taking on craft beer. Not only do venues who put on craft beer support local industries, but in his experience, “every venue who turns to craft (beer) is getting more popular.”

The tap takeover kicks off on Wednesday, July 23rd at The Durham Castle Arms and runs till the kegs run dry!

What’s impressing me?

• Brewcult; Try their beers, interesting and challenging. The Hop Zone rocks, the Pepper Steak Porter is bizarre and incredible and the Get Down American Brown makes you want to dance like James Brown!
• Warmer Beers; Don’t be afraid to drink a big dark and challenging beer at a warmer temperature. I generally think the “bigger” the beer, the warmer it needs to be. Order your beer at the bar and let it sit for a few minutes before taking your first sip, and notice the subtle changes as you drink more and more of it.
• Twitter; Want to know what’s happening in beer, get on twitter, everything you want to know and more is available on there

Please contact me if you have any beer information I could use for an upcoming story.

Adrian Moran has been pouring beers for over nine years. He is a bartender, bar manager and freelance beer writer who runs a weekly podcast devoted to craft beer.

Twitter: @ausbeerjourney
Website: www.ausbeerjourney.wordpress.com