Australian Brewery at Rouse Hill has released an artisanal collaboration with dessert doyens Messina to produce the never-seen-before Gelato Ale.
The Australian Brewery was built and nurtured by the Colosimo family, until md-2018 when the Hotel and brewery operation was purchased by Redcape.
Gelato Messina was established in 2002, with a mission “to make people happy” and success in sugary succulence that has found 19 stores into three states, and a menu of cakes and what is widely touted as ‘the best gelato in Australia’.
In the late noughties a ban on milk products from Argentina, due to a spate of foot and mouth disease, meant Messina could no longer import genuine ‘dulce de leche’ anymore, which was the base for one of its most popular ice cream flavours. In 2016 the flavour was reluctantly removed from stores.
Dulce de leche is Spanish for “candy [made] of milk”, made by slowly heating sweetened milk. The mix undergoes a ‘Maillard’ reaction, changing colour as moisture is evaporated from the milk, producing a final appearance and flavour similar to caramel.
Under pressure to restore the beloved ice cream, Messina boffins went about learning how to make the stuff themselves, travelling to Argentina, learning from experts, and installing an authentic ‘Palia’ to create it at their Roseberry headquarters. Last year it returned to Messina fridges, to widespread acclaim.
Enjoying a gold medal strike rate for every domestic and international award entered in the past two years, Australian Brewery approached Messina about an inspired collaboration.
After some trial and error and tweaks to the beer recipe, the companies have perfected the flavour profile of the Gelato Ale, using a special batch of Messina’s in-house dulce de leche.
Despite the seemingly contrasting flavours and textures, the fruity tones of the Ale complement the caramel-like flavours of the dulce de leche, producing a tasty but not hoppy traditional ale beginning, resolving into a creamy mild sweetness that is surprisingly reminiscent of real ice cream.
Craft beers have long embodied the complexity that warrants their pairing with the right meals – stout and chocolate cake were made to go together, and a crisp IPA is the natural mate for spicy foods – but Australian Brewery has combined both steps into each sip of Gelato Ale.
The beer is a limited edition, and available on tap at select pubs across Sydney.
“We love working in collaboration with other brands, and we couldn’t have been happier with Messina, who helped bring our idea to life,” says Daniel Shaw, Australian Brewery head brewer.
“Using the dulce de leche to create a flavour profile that pushes the limits of what a beer can taste like has been really exciting for our team!”
Finding itself Sydney’s sweetheart of the twenty-teens, Messina head chef and co-owner Donato Toce says it was a fascinating foray for them also.
“We’re really happy with how it tastes – it’s not too sweet but the dulce de leche still comes through in the flavour.
“To see our dulce de leche turned into a beer has been a really interesting process.”
