ARCHER BREWING PALE
Rebuilding an old pub from rubble is a big job. So is creating trust in which a mate feels he can talk to you about the feelings inside his head. But beer by beer, you can do it. Whether your mate is already a pile of rubble or still standing tall, share this beer and a conversation that can, and will save a life.
Origin – Newmarket, Queensland
ABV – 4.3%
Size – 375mL can
Style – Pale Ale
Who in their right mind would watch Air Crash Investigation? Quite a few people, it seems. Ninety-eight episodes of the harrowing TV series have been screened in 144 countries. That's almost half a billion viewers who regularly enjoy being scared out of their wits! The statistics, however, are on our side, with only one fatality per 7.03 million flight hours. With a foreclosure rate of 2.1%, there's more chance you'll turn up to your local craft brewery to find the doors permanently locked.
Despite a turbulent few years, Stuart and Lucy Martin, the founders of Archer Brewing, have no plans to be counted on the wrong side of either of these statistics. It was back in 2017 when Archer first took off. Taking inspiration from Stuart's experience as a commercial pilot - the idea popped into Stu’s head during a flight from Melbourne to Sydney - their beer-making outfit takes its name from Archer planes, the first type of aircraft he ever controlled. Initially nestled in a space beneath The International Hotel in Spring Hill, the husband-and-wife team fittingly relocated to an old WWII hangar early this year. The bar is even made from the last-ever Ansett Boeing 727 wing to keep the aviation theme going.
But, as well as the focus on flying, it's the range of easy-drinker beers that use only Australian ingredients that have had punters reaching for the likes of this pale ale. Overseen by head brewer Chris Fletcher (ex-2 Brothers Brewing), along with mild citrus and tropical fruit, it’s a pale with a light malt profile and gentle bitterness that is so balanced that, as it says on the label, 'you won't feel any turbulence’. Drink it knowing that if your plane does crash, there's a 95% chance you'll survive. Really.
When Airbus so spectacularly belly-flopped short of the runway in San Francisco a few years back, all 305 passengers survived. Of the two critically injured, one escaped the twisted wreck only to be hit by a rescue truck!
