All hail the King in the North

The battle was as fierce as any in the Game of Thrones, and this time the ravens won. Melbourne celebrated the best of craft beers, with dozens of delicious  brews competing to be crowned No. 1.

By ANNA HARCOURT

AS Good Beer Week drew to a close in Melbourne, a king was crowned. The crown was handed to 3 Ravens’ American Pale Ale, voted  the King in the North in Melbourne’s own Game of Beers. The Game of Thrones-style competition was one of hundreds of events held over the nine days of Good Beer Week in May.

The fantasy-themed beer battle saw eight beers fight it out for the crown at the Robert Burns Hotel in Collingwood.

Nearly 60 participants voted across four Game of Thrones-themed categories: Khaleesi Kolsch, The Pale of the Vale, Witbier of Winterfell and the IPA of Elyria.

Competition was fierce but, with a whopping 70 per cent of the vote, Thornbury microbrewery 3 Ravens took the prize for its American Pale Ale.

Robert Burns Hotel beverage manager Andrew Harvey said the 3 Ravens brew was a worthy king.

“It’s got everything a good pale should: good citrusy, hoppy notes

balanced by a good solid malt body,” Mr Harvey said.

“It’s just a great flavoured beer and perfectly balanced.”

Mr Harvey said microbreweries were becoming an important part of the Melbourne beer scene.

“You find breweries popping up in backstreets and neighbourhoods,” he said. “A lot of beers we used to drink used to come from interstate, big industrial properties that produced beer  for the masses.

“Now, in Melbourne you find these small places that are pumping out small batch beers and you can drink them in pubs less than a kilometre away.”

Mr Harvey said a growing interest in local and specialty beers was changing the Melbourne beer game.

“People have started to wake up and realise what is available,” he said. “Older generations might have been happy to stick with one or two particular types of beer. They stay loyal to beers that they drank for years.

“Now younger generations come through and see the different types of beers that are available, and they have a real want and a desire to try them.”

Mr Harvey said people were sick of drinking bad beer, and events such as Good Beer Week let them discover a whole new world of cold ones.

“Events like this really give people a bit of impetus to go out and drink better beer,” he said.

Beer of Thrones voter JC Hinsley said he is a big supporter of Melbourne’s local brewing industry.

“There’s a lot of different smaller micro-breweries and craft beer coming up,” he said. “It’s really good to see the different flavours that come out. I’m much more of a fan of the small craft beer industry.”

Mr Hinsley agrees that Melburnians are becoming more selective when it comes to picking their pints.

“More and more people are getting in touch with the fact that there’s more than just what’s mainstream beer,” he said.

“There’s a lot more fun, a lot more flavour, and different styles of beer to try than what may typically be on tap.”

And what about Robb Stark, the true King in the North?

Well, Andrew Harvey reckons Robb’s favourite brew would be a heavy IPA.

“I think the Colonial IPA would be a good thing for Robb Stark,” he said. “That’d be a winner for him.”