Sydney Craft Beer Week: Beer Through the Ages with the Bucket Boys

During Sydney Craft Beer Week, it’s acceptable — nay, encouraged — to be drinking at at bar at 9pm on a Sunday night. How could you not want to be out when there are events like Bucket Boys‘ ‘Beer Through the Ages: A Beer History Experience’?

The back room of Marrickville’s Gasoline Pony was full with eager craft beer enthusiasts, along with a few history buffs who thought a night learning about the history of beer sounded like a great night out. I couldn’t agree more.

Throughout the evening, we were treated to five different beers from five pivotal moments in beer’s historical development. Bucket Boys’ co-founder Johnathan Hepner kept us entertained with facts, figures, stories, asides, and meanderings as he guided us through tasting large bottles of each brew.

Every beer we tried was brewed by the Bucket Boys themselves, oftentimes from recipes hundreds (and even thousands) of years old. We began 5,000 years ago with a sweet Mesopotamian date-based concoction, created from the first recorded recipe. Next: a type of beer brewed with gruit. Passing around glasses of dried yarrow, horehound, lavender, and juniper to smell, Hepner explained that ‘gruit’ is a method of brewing, not a style. It produced something that tastes similar to a hoppy red ale. I found it eminently drinkable.

Barrow Boys Sydney Craft Beer Week

The third beer on our history tour was divisive. Piwo Grodziskie (also known as Grätzer) is a Polish beer that was popular for from the 14th and 15th century until the early 20th century saw it almost wiped out. It’s starting to be revitalised by brewers in the U.S. and Poland — and Australia, of course. If people can get behind the 100% oak-smoked wheat, which smells like a sour and tastes like a Rauchbier (smoked beer), then Bucket Boys might have a new winner on tap.

‘Who are the people most important in beer?’ Hepner asked the crowd. The monks, of course. We couldn’t do a history of beer without trying a Trappist-style brew. Clocking in at 8.5%, Bucket Boys used special malts, yeast, and hops imported from Belgium to create a replica of one of the 12 remaining Benedictine breweries’ drinks. (And yes, Hepner can list all 12.)

We finished off with an India Pale Ale, along with a story about how its origins — how it was invented to preserve beer for British soldiers in India — are big load of bullhonkey. To hear the whole story, you’ll have to visit Bucket Boys’ new bottleshop/tasting room in Marrickville.

– Theresa
Co-founder of The Plus Ones, Theresa plans to have many more nights out exploring Marrickville’s craft beer scene.

Sydney Craft Beer Week runs from October 21st to October 30th 2016.
Read our guide to the Top 10 must-do events this week.

Visit Bucket Boys‘ new bottle shop and tasting room at 300 Illawarra Road, Marrickville NSW.

Disclosure: The Plus Ones were invited guests of Cardinal Spin.
Image credit: Cardinal Spin, The Plus Ones.