Good Beer Week: 2 Brothers Brewery creates tobacco-steepd beer for GABS festival

WHEN it comes to beer, craft brews are smoking hot — literally — at a Melbourne brewery that wanted to capture the spirit of a Cuban cigar and cognac in beer form.

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WHEN it comes to beer, craft brews are smoking hot.

And when it comes to 2 Brothers Brewery, they really mean it.

The crafty crew at the Moorabbin brewery have created a special beer steeped in Cuban tobacco to celebrate their 1000th brew.

“We wanted to mark the occasion and a nice Cuban cigar and balloon of cognac felt right, but executed in a beery context,” co-brewer Andrew Ong said.

The stout-based beer, called the “Smoking Jacket”, takes beer steeped in tobacco and blends it with a tea-infused portion and another aged in French oak. A splash of cognac completes this unique beer that captures the essence of a parlour room.

It’s just one of the creative brews that have been created for GABS — the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular.

Co-founder Steve Jeffares said more than 150 beers had been brewed especially for the festival, a signature event of Good Beer Week, which starts on Friday.

“The brewers have pulled out all stops. They recognise that GABS is the perfect platform to be creative and to release something new to an audience that’s very receptive,” he said.

That creativity might take the form of a beer brewed with sea urchin, or coffee beans first aged in a whisky barrel, or including one of the world’s hottest chillies.

“I don’t think there’s a dud beer on the line-up this year,” Mr Jeffares said.

Good Beer Week runs from May 12-21 with more than 250 events across Victoria, including GABS from May 19-21 at the Royal Exhibition Building.