200th birthday celebrations at Cascade Brewery to have taps flowing with limited edition brew

Cascade Brewery has celebrated many good times over the years — but its 200th birthday is a special occasion demanding a unique limited edition pale ale. Check out what’s been brewing >>

First Harvest Cascade beer, at Cascade tap with Polymnia Floris 23 junior bar manager and head brewer Brendan Flanagan. Picture: Caroline Tan

The taps for Cascade’s First Harvest wet hopped pale ale will be on flow as Tasmanians raise a glass to celebrate the brewery’s 200th birthday.

To mark the occasion, Australia’s oldest brewery has produced 400 kegs of the limited edition freshly harvest hops beer bursting with citrus and earthly flavours.

“What makes it so special is that we use freshly harvested hops from the Derwent Valley,” head brewer Brendan Flanagan said.

“We’ve increased the quantity of hops that we used this year and we’ve also added some extra hops at the dry hopping stage which will give a nice citrusy, grapefruit character to the beer as well, specifically in the aroma.

“Especially since we’re 200 years old this year, we wanted to make a beer that will stand out even more than previous versions.”

SUNTAS First Harvest Cascade beer, at Cascade tap with head brewer Brendan Flanagan. Picture: Caroline Tan

SUNTAS First Harvest Cascade beer, at Cascade tap with head brewer Brendan Flanagan. Picture: Caroline Tan

Mr Flanagan, who has been brewing for more than 20 years, said they used Hop Products Australia’s Enigma hop variety which is grown at their Bushy Park Estates farm.

“Once the hops are harvested, they’re brought pretty much immediately to the brewery and then we convert some of our brewing vessels into non standard vessels, which means that we can actually soak these hopcorns in the wort and that allows the fresh hot volatiles to infused into the wort, which is slightly different to a standard brewing process,” he said.

“It’s going to add another dimension to the overall beer flavour and the Enigma hops that we’ve chosen this year and a nice citrusy and earthy flavour to the beer.”

Mr Flanagan said they brewed an extra 220 kegs, with a total of 400 kegs to be served fresh on tap in pubs across Tasmania and in Victoria from Monday.

“First Harvest is a true celebration of Tasmanian beer and Tasmanian agriculture,” Hop Products Australia head of sales and marketing Owen Johnston said.

“At no other time of the year can you enjoy a beer that is perfectly seasoned with hops that were harvested mere hours before they arrived at the brewery.”