Fearless beer – Working Title Brew Co. gets ready to unveil its debut range
Ever since the craft-beer movement started showing what was possible beyond the big-name brewing framework, the industry has witnessed an outsized explosion of experimentation. With the spectrum of beer varieties as diverse as it has ever been, many brewers are revelling in the opportunity to get imaginative with its ingredient combinations. Working Title Brew Co. is a new entrant to the scene, a gypsy brewing operation that has big dreams and bigger ideas. Next month the two-man operation will unveil its debut range of brews, made and released in conjunction with some of Brisbane’s best bars. Here’s what froth fiends can expect …
For Mark Howes and Luke Shield, Working Title Brew Co. presents a chance for the duo to indulge their more eccentric creative whims. As chief fermentologist and head of arts and crafts, respectively, the tandem is looking to create a brand from scratch with experimentation as its founding tenet – no rulebooks, no rhyme and no reason. The duo had been talking about collaborating for years, but it was only until the the dark days of COVID-19 arrived that Mark (former CEO of Newstead Brewing Co. and cellular biologist) and Luke (a graphic designer whose work has adorned Newstead Brewing Co. tins and Netherworld’s posters and pins) decided to mint a new working partnership. Working Title’s operational scheme involves a free-wheeling alchemical processes and a beery kind of storytelling (think short and punchy tales of ingredient collisions and hoppy happenings), with brews concocted during a flurry of activity among the gleaming apparatus at Newstead Brewing’s Doggett Street brewpub. The result of Luke and Mark’s mad-scientist tinkering will be revealed in early April, with a cracking debut range of four beers – brewed in collaboration with four noteworthy Brisbane bars – showcasing Mark and Luke’s far-out ferments.
From April 8–14, Working Title Brew Co. will host a string of launch events for its beers. The party will start on the 8th at Saccharomyces Beer Cafe, with the release of the decadent Spilt Milk milk-chocolate stout, a rich and silky smooth brew made from roasted and toasted wheat and oat malts, lactose, house-roasted organic cacao and fresh vanilla pods. Up next is the launch of the Foggy Road hazy IPA, which is being introduced at Caxton Street institution Brewski on Friday April 9. This balanced brew (comprised of Citra, Sabro, Strata, Nectaron and Mosaic hops) features a tropical aroma and citrus hit – a sublime sip for fans of punchy pints. On Saturday April Netherworld will roll out the red carpet for the launch of Devil’s Double – a bold American double red boasting a mix of caramel, toffee and chocolate malts for a robust flavour bomb. Finally, The Woods in Mitchelton will show off its Working Title collab, the Peach Thief – a peach, pear and ginger sour that leads with ginger spice on the nose and a zingy and juicy summer fruit twang on the tongue. Each beer will officially hit the market on Monday April 12, with a limited run of 45 cartons and 15 kegs of each brew being distributed to like-minded bottle shops and bars. From here, Luke and Mark are keen to keep the good times rolling, with monthly releases on the cards (including a shiraz XPA and a salted-caramel pretzel stout already in the works), and a long-term goal of fostering a community of experimental beer lovers with a Working Title brewpub. Until then, keep and eye on Working Title Brew Co.’s socials and website for news.
Images: Supplied
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