Story: Gage Roads Brewing Co.
Airdate: Ep 7, 9 June 2019
Presenter: Stuart Laws

What if we told you that the beer mecca was right here…in Palmyra! Stuart heads to Fremantle to chat to the guys at Gage Roads Brewing Co., who are quickly becoming WA’s favourite brewers.

• Times are changing and big brand, big name beers are no longer at the top of the list for Aussie buyers! Craft beer has arrived on the Perth scene and is here to stay.
• Just 20 minutes south of the CBD is Perth’s leading craft brewery: Gage Roads Brewing Co.
• Gage Roads Brewing Co. has been brewing beer, locally, for 15 years!
• Did you know their brewery was once a margarine factory that they converted in 2004?
• They brew 6 main beers in their Gage Roads Brewing Co. range all containing 4 key ingredients: purified water, yeast, barley malt and, of course, hops.
• It all starts with a base malt which they use in all their beers. The malt is where they get their main extract source to ferment and turn into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
• If you’re a lager lover, you would just need to brew the base malt to make a nice crisp and tasty lager.
• For top quality craft beer, Gage Roads Brewing Co. also adds malts that have been stewed and kilned at higher temperatures, giving it even more flavour. Such as their crystal malt used for pale ales, which gives beautiful caramel, toffee and biscuit flavours.
• When it comes to the darker ales and stouts, they add their roasted style malts. It’s a very similar process to roasting coffee beans, actually! You roast the malt at extremely high temperatures, and it gives a beautiful dark roasted flavour.
• In craft brewing, aroma is key! Where do you get your aroma, you ask? Hops! The hops add the distinctive bitterness and aroma that makes craft beer so special.
• Gage Roads brewers use dry hopping, where they add the hops late in the process to maximise the essential oils of the hops infusing into the beer. It’s the main reason why you get those amazing tropical fruit tones to craft beer.
• Single Fin, their Summer ale, and Little Dove, their New World Pale Ale, are their main beers in the range. Single Fin is perfect for those warm summer afternoons and Little Dove is tops for those cooler winter days.
• Where they got their name? Gage Roads Brewing Co. truly is local, its named after the strip of ocean that separates Rottnest and Fremantle.
• They don’t just brew ales either, they also make Hello Sunshine Cider, which they teamed with Fringe World Festival to create.
• Gage Roads Brewing Co. truly is locally born and bred, bringing the best of WA to our tastebuds. Why not head down to Optus Stadium and try their brews for yourself!

www.gageroads.com.au