Alphington brewery La Sirene’s secret Great Australian Beer Spectapular entry

ALPHINGTON brewery La Sirene is getting ready to do something “a bit wacky and weird” in the lead up to the Great Australian Beer Spectapular.

La Sirene

TUCKED away next to the Darebin Creek in Alphington is La Sirene, a brewery preparing to take one of Melbourne’s most popular beer events by storm.

Co-owner Costa Nikias — who runs the brewery with his wife Eva — is busy preparing a one-off beer to feature at the Great Australian Beer Spectapular (GABS) next month.

Mr Nikias hinted that the one-off beer would “pay homage to a French flavour invention that has revolutionised the foodie world, in particular the pastry world”, but he wasn’t willing to give any more hints.

GABS, a beer, cider and food festival, invites brewers to produce unique ‘festival beers’ each year.

The small brewery won the people’s choice award for its praline stout created for the 2014 event.

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Mr Nikias learned an important lesson in 2014 — the ‘festival beers’ aren’t always one-offs.

“(The praline stout) took us by storm actually, we thought we’d be making it once, and now it’s our third biggest seller,” he said.

“The inspiration for it came because we wanted to bring the best of Belgium together. We thought the best of Belgium for us was beer and chocolate.”

Mr Nikias said GABS was a highlight for brewers, who were able to let their hair down and “do something completely different that doesn’t need a commercial focus”.

“It’s sort of permission for us to do something a bit wacky and weird that we normally wouldn’t do because we’d think it’s too risky from a commercial point of view,” he said.

Mr Nikias’s wine making background has had an obvious influence on the brewery.

Beer is bottled in champagne bottles — which are able to withstand similar pressure to a car tyre — and using grains imported from Belgium.

“I guess I make beer more like wine, it’s all about texture, about creating some interesting flavours,” he said.

“We make beers that are bold, and very interesting but highly drinkable.”

La Sirene will feature at GABS 2016.