The Sydney Craft Beer Week is chock-full of events. I was lucky enough to attend a four-course degustation at the brand-spanking new Lotus Restaurant at the Galeries. We were greeted by Josh Scott, the founder of Moa Brewing, who handed us a pale ale on arrival. The Session Pale Ale was well-balanced, with tropical fruit notes.
Josh welcomed us to the event by introducing himself and his company, New Zealand-born and bred, founded in 2003. He hosted the night with pride — and a lot of laughter.
The evening revolved around tasting good food along with craft beer matching. The dishes were handpicked to pair with the range of beers served to us. Josh entertained us the whole night about each beer’s background story, and the chef/waiters at Lotus informed us about each of the dishes accompanied by the brews.
I found the food-and-beer integration very effective. They used the apple cider rice wine vinegar on the oysters to match with Moa’s apple cider. The South Pacific IPA (which was my favourite) was matched with the roast duck pancakes and tasted phenomenal.
Dessert is also worth mentioning: it was incorporated with the White IPA, compressed in honeydew melon and encased in a lime glaze and brown butter soil. It was a craft beer enthusiast’s dream.
‘Moa is a winemaker’s spin on a beer’, Josh explained. My plus one was enthralled by the limited-edition sour they brought out for us. The Sour Blanc is very similar to your normal sauvignon blanc. I would highly recommend this to wine lovers looking to taste more beers.
We noticed we were seated next to some proud Kiwis, out there supporting their fellow countryman. They agreed with me by the end of the night that there should be more Moa beers — and New Zealand beers — here in Sydney and in Australia.
– Kevin
Kevin Rodrigueza is a 21-year-old craft beer enthusiast and lover of greasy burgers. Follow his adventures at @kevinr___.
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 Lotus Restaurant at Level 1, The Galeries 500 George Street, Sydney NSW.
