Brewers from overseas obviously enjoy San Diego beer. Just last week, Sebastian Sauer from Germany’s Freigeist Bierkultur visited Coronado’s brewpub to collaborate on a hoppy hefeweizen with brewer Ryan Brooks.
This week, Australian brewers Steve Brockman and Steph Cope will release the beer they created with Monkey Paw’s Cosimo Sorrentino and Chris West. The idea for Anzac, the “Aussie Pale Ale,” was born after the TwoBrewersAbroad.com bloggers/brewers met Monkey Paw’s owner Scot Blair at Societe Brewing Company’s tasting room.
Anzac, which debuts this Friday, has several Australian attributes: an Australian yeast strain from White Labs, Lyle’s golden syrup, hand-toasted coconut, and a malt bill with golden oats typically used in war-time staple, the Anzac biscuit (cookie) staple.
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that is equivalent to our Memorial Day in the U.S. Anzac Day is honored on April 25, but there were no big celebrations in San Diego. “We felt that we and our fellow expatriates deserve to celebrate our own fallen soldiers,” said Cope, “and what better way than a beer.”