Ekim is the brewing vehicle of Mike Jorgensen, who enjoys expressing his Danish heritage through the beer's names and assertive characters. The beers are brewed in conjunction with the Happy Goblin brewery on Sydney's upper north shore, and like the Goblins, have varying alcohol levels with, as such, hand-written labels.
My 6-pack of After Battles was bottled on the 1st April; I was drinking it 8 days later. But I reckon you can drink beers too soon, and although I love this beer, think it could do with a couple more weeks in the fridge to smooth out and balance the beer.
I took the opportunity to email Mike about my thoughts. Unlike his larger brewing contemporaries, Mike had the decency to reply promptly, with warmth and consideration.
He suggests drinking both his ales within 3 months of bottling, as they have no preservatives. However, he also agrees that a couple of weeks "cold conditioning" won't hurt, although not essential.
Further, he advises that a third beer (an American brown ale) is in the barrel, but only available at Paddy's Hop Festival (April 30, 2011), and through Warner's at the Bay new growler filling station.
I picked up my Ekim ales (and Happy Goblins) from Brookvale Cellars in Sydney's Northern Beaches. A trip to Lake Macquarie looks on the cards, with a couple of empty growler bottles.
I recommend Ekim beers, and encourage supporting the little guys.
Funnily enough one of these little babies has appeared in my fridge :)
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally enough brewed on the same date... you'd almost think it came from the same batch - Mr Jorgensen must have been busy on April Fools day!
Will follow your advice and let it age a couple of weeks.... maybe till Easter Monday :)