The Malt Shovel Brewery is an Australian brewery owned by Lion and located in Camperdown, New South Wales. It is best known for the James Squire range of beers. The beer is named after the convict turned Australia's first brewer James Squire, who also went on to grow Australia's first hops and is said to have created Australia's first commercial brewery.
History
In 1988, master brewer Chuck Hahn established the Hahn Brewery in a former horse stables and later furniture factory, in Camperdown, an inner-city suburb of Sydney. In 1993, the boutique beer-making operation received financial support from Lion. In late 1998, the brewery was relaunched as the Australian craft-brewing arm of Lion, and was renamed the Malt Shovel Brewery, after the James Squire's original brewery tavern. The Malt Shovel Brewery produces boutique beers in small batches and in honour of Australia’s first brewer, the brewery named their range of pale ales, ales and porters 'James Squire'. In 2003, the business produced four million litres of beer and in 2010 it had increased to 4.74 million litres. In 2008, the brewery acquired the adjoining building, which allowed the company to expand both its production and storage facilities. The company has also established a number of brewpubs, with the Crafty Squire Brewhouse on Russell Street, Melbourne, the Squire's Maiden on Honeysuckle Drive, Newcastle, the Squire's Fortune on The Esplanade, Perth, the Generous Squire on Murray Street, Perth, the Curious Squire on O’Connell Street, North Adelaide, and the Charming Squire on Grey Street, Brisbane. In 2017 new brewhouses were opened in Sydney and in Hobart.
Public Access
The brewery is not generally publicly accessible however the brewery opens its doors to the public each year during Sydney Craft Beer Week in October.
Beers
James Squire Regular Beers
The Malt Shovel Brewery produces a number of main brews under the James Squire brand, each with a moniker related to the James Squire story:
Nine Tales Original Amber Ale is a handcrafted English-style Brown Ale, consisting of a blend of Pale and Crystal malts, three distinct hops, and a 140-year-old top fermenting ale yeast. Alcohol content: 5.0%
Four Wives Pilsener is brewed using Pale and Munich malts, Saaz hops and lager yeast. Alcohol content: 5.0%
Stowaway India Pale Ale has robust malty flavours and earthy floral aromas from dry hopping with English Fuggles hops. Alcohol content: 5.6%
Jack of Spades Porter is a dark beer consisting of five different malts combined with roasted barley and wheat. Porter has a longer maturation than the other James Squire brews. Alcohol content: 5.0%
Chancer Golden Ale is an English-style Summer Ale, created with toasted grains of wheat and barley, combined with new season Amarillo hops. Alcohol content: 4.5%
Every 3 months the brewery creates limited edition beers under the James Squire brand which are available in its James Squire brewhouses and via selected liquor retailers. These beers are produced in much smaller quantities than the regular brews. Some examples have been:
James Squire The Hop Father. IBU: 35. ABV: 5.0. Style: Hoppy Pale Ale. Hops: Simcoe & Columbus
In addition to beers brewed under the James Squire brand, the brewers at Malt Shovel Brewery also release limited edition beers under their own brand. Recent releases has been:
Interceptor Black IPA Released April 2017: IBU: 50. ABV: 6.1%. Style: Black IPA. Hops: Victoria Secret, Centennial, Cascade, Mosaic. Malts: Pale, Vienna, Crystal, Melanoidin, Midnight Wheat
La La Lager Released Dec 2016: IBU: 42. ABV: 6.5%. Style: Lager. Hops: Tettnang, Magnum, Northern Brewer, Centennial, Citra. Malts: Pale, Malted Wheat, Carapils, Caraaroma
Hoppy Hefe Released Oct 2016: IBU: 35. ABV: 7%. A bold lager with a zesty hit of citrus and a powerful spicy finish. Style: American Wheat Ale. Hops: Citra, Motueka. Malts: Pale, Munich, Wheat.
Previous brews:
Australian White Beer is brewed using fresh wheat, extremely pale malt and Willamette hops. ABV: 5.0%
Noir Stout an imperial-style stout, brewed with pale chocolate, dark crystal barley malts, roasted black wheat malt, Australian Super Pride hops, New Zealand Super Alpha hops and powdered liquorice root. ABV: 7%
Hoppe Hefe brewed using a blend of Citra and Motueka hops along with wheat barley. ABV: 7.0%
Wee Highlander a rich, full-bodied Scotch Ale brewed using peated malt. ABV: 6.7%
Garden De Paradisi launched mid-February 2014. ABV: 6.2%
Ginger Chops Ale a ginger beer made from an authentic balanced beer with spicy ginger and Australian honey. ABV: 4.2%
