Young Henrys – Young in age but Years in the Making

Young Henrys is one of the newest micro-breweries in town, opening its doors just a few months ago. The brain child of Richard Adamson ( former head brewer at Barons Brewing Co, Woollahra ) and Oscar McMahon ( brewer, collaborator, investor and good mate ), Young Henrys is responsible for some of the best and most innovative brews that we have seen for some time.

These brews currently include; Newtown Brown ( this was the winning beer in a home brew comp held by Young Henrys ), a smooth caramely, hoppy Brown Ale; Cloudy Cider, a tart yet sweet apple cider with low sulphides;  Blackheart, a weisse beer tasting of cloves and when left to warm slightly – bananas, cloves and a hint of citrus;  Real Ale, a laid back session ale with low alcohol and restrained bitterness;  and a Hop Ale, more an English style IPA with an emphasis on the malt and hop aroma, with a calculated bitterness in the 80 IBU range but tasting more in the 50 – 60 IBU range.

Young Henrys is also engaged in a couple of collaborative efforts, the first of which – Black Enmore, a black beer made with wattle seeds and bush tomatoes, was designed with Peter Fenton from the band Crow and is all about King St Newtown at night and its indigenous inhabitants. So popular it sold out in weeks.

The second collaboration – Fresh Six, an ale made with Rye malt and Agave juice is still in the fermenter, but tastes of fruit punch and banana bread with a little bit of rye for good measure and a nice warmth from the 6.66% alc at the end.  Fresh 6 is also the name of Front End Loader’s new album and both will be released of the 14^th of July with Front End Loader playing at the Annandale Hotel.

Future brews should see a Natural Lager ( in the fermenter now ) and the possibility of a big ( Imperial ) Stout at about 8% based on the core ingredients of the Black Enmore.

As for the brewery, it’s all very fresh and clean with new tanks and fermenters from DME Brewing Services in Canada and a 20ft container / cool room covered in murals from a second hand auction site. Brewing in 1300L batches has required a bit of automation, with the grain fed straight from the mill at the front door down some pipes and into the mash tun down the back, where it’s stirred in by mechanical beaters. Sure beats carrying it and stirring it by hand– although I forgot to ask just how they get the used grain back out again, I do know that it goes to a farmer for feed stock. Future plans for the brewery will see the installation of 2 more fermenting tanks and the continual development of the tasting / function area.

At the moment the beers are available in either 2L growlers for $30 ( bottle plus beer ) and $18 refills ( return the bottle for a swap and go ) or in 50L kegs for parties and such. You will need to check their facebook page for which local pubs have the beers currently on tap. In the near future long necks will be available which should make it easier and cheaper to try all the beers at home.

Drop in and see them some time for a tasting or a chat about beer.