Remember last year when we brewed a beer, we didn’t know what it was or what was in it, and we asked you to buy it anyway? Good times!

While we continue to live in the midst of this bushfire crisis, and our heroic emergency service-people remain on the front line of the fireground, we’d like to take a little break from the bushfire updates for a moment and bring you some fun, beer-related news.

Our inaugural Bright Mystery Beer competition (which ended on Jan 1) was an absolute smash hit and we were totally blown away by how excitedly the craft beer community got behind it – even if we were offering A YEAR’S SUPPLY OF BEER as a prize, the enthusiasm tickled us pink.

Our Head Brewer Reid Stratton brewed the beer in secret, kept the brew log under lock and key, and did not reveal the beer to anyone – even Bright Brewery staff – until this week!

And it turns out he’s even craftier than we thought. Ever heard of a ‘Stickebier’?

Yep, neither had we.

Turns out that it means ‘Secret Bier’ in an old Dusseldorf-ian (is that even a word?) German dialect.

Stickebier is a special type of German Altbier, a beer style closely associated with the town of Düsseldorf in western Germany. Altbier is defined by the use of a top fermenting ale strain, in contrast to the bottom fermenting lager strains used in much of the rest of the country.

“Sticke means ‘secret’ in the local Düsseldorf dialect so choosing this beer style as our Mystery Beer was a bit of brewer’s humour,” Reid said.

Typical altbiers are amber in colour with a good balance of malty flavours and crisp hop bitterness.

High quality German malts and noble hops are used to create this round flavour. Stickebier is a special, beefed up version of altbier brewed only a few times a year. Stickebier has all the attributes of a standard altbier, but at higher levels. More malty richness and more hoppy bitterness along with a higher ABV makes for a very full flavoured brew, but still features a great balance of flavours.

Our ingredients:

MALTS: Pale, Munich, Light Crystal, Biscuit, Roasted Malt
HOPS: Tettnang, Hersbrucker, Hallertauer Blanc
YEAST: Fermentis K-97

And put your hands together for our winning Beer Nerds and Beer Lovers – all of whom have won bulk Bright Brewery beer for putting their money where their mouths were and entering our comp.

While not one person guessed Stickebier correctly, a few people did get as close as guessing Altbier, which is an amazing effort!

BEER NERDS
1st: Anthony De Fanti (A YEAR’S SUPPLY OF BEER!)
2nd: Amanda Macmillan (A MASH CLUB MEMBERSHIP)
3rd: Con Clohesy (1 CASE OF BEER)

BEER LOVERS
1st: Max Ree-Goodings (A MASH CLUB MEMBERSHIP)
2nd: Zac Walsh (2 CASES OF BEER)
3rd: Matt Stanford (1 CASE OF BEER)