There’s nothing we like better than a good South Aussie collaboration. Two icons of the state teaming up to bring us something great. But this matchup may catch you off guard and I’ll bet my bottom dollar it’s one you would never have guessed.
Mitani chicken salt has been a kitchen staple since the 70s making its way into meals around the country and now, it’s making its way into your beer.
That’s right, Big Shed Brewing saw an opportunity and ran with it and as a result has blessed us with Mitani Chicken Salt Gose.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with Gose, it’s a traditional German Style wild ferment beer that is made with a souring yeast rather than a bacteria with the first Gose being brewed over 1000 years ago. The style died out for a while but has started to make a comeback.
But why is the Mitani Chicken Salt Beer a Gose you ask? Gose’s were traditionally flavoured with coriander and salt and it was this characteristic that caused the style to spring into the minds of the Big Shed Brewers.
“One of our brewers is a big fan of chicken salt,” laughs Big Shed brewery operation manager Ben Johnson.
“He’s always going on about how it’s an iconic flavour that everyone loves so we thought let’s see how we can whack this into a beer.”
Salt isn’t traditionally an ingredient used in beer so the Big Shed crew had their work cut out for them to make their chicken salt dreams a reality.
“We started the best way we knew how and just threw straight-up chicken salt into our beer and went from there,” Ben explained.
“From there we realised there was just too much salt in chicken salt for a gose so we contacted Mitani to get their input on how to get the chicken without the salt.
“We thought it would be harder than it was. Beers in the past, like our Thai Green Chicken Curry beer were a bit more tricky. It’s really just a matter of adding the ingredients in the right order and playing around with that.
Big Shed isn’t a stranger to a funky flavoured beer with the team creating new and inventive flavours each year for the Gabs Craft Beer Festival which sees brewers from across Australia and New Zealand compete for the most outrageous flavour combination.
The Mitani Chicken Salt Gose is available from today but if you want to get your tastebuds around this combo you’d better be quick but it’s a one-brew only release.
“There’s not many releases I can confidently say will be a one brew only but we definitely won’t be doing this one again,” says Ben.
“We know this one is going to be pretty controversial but that’s what it’s all about. It’s all just a bit of fun!”
So, what does it taste like you may wonder? The Big Shed elite describes it as a complex flavour that results in a refreshing tartness that is balanced by salt that is present but not overbearing and say it pairs perfectly with hot chips at the footy. Which makes sense considering there is literal potato chips in the brew.
“Chicken salt and potato chips are the ultimate combo so we decided to chuck some in there!” says Ben.
“McCain’s kindly donated some of its good to put into the beer which serves as the starch element that’s needed.
So, there you have it. The newest kid on the beer block is an out-there combination of all of your favourite flavours that you need to try at least once if for nothing more than to brag and say you did.
The Mitani Chicken Salt Gose is available to purchase from select stockists or straight from the tap at the Big Shed Brewery at 154 Old Port Rd, Royal Park 5014.
For more information check out the website or follow along on Facebook and Instagram.
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