By PAUL MILLAR
Beer drinkers will be able to indulge in a taste of the past at the Great Australian Beer Festival with a local brewer producing an ale from a recipe that dates back to 1928.
Gail Thomas, whose father Bill was the chief brewer at the historic Volum brewery in Geelong for 37 years, held on to his hand-written recipes and decided it was time to revive at least one of the brews.
“When you have that sort of history in your hands you should put it out there,’’ Ms Thomas said.
She contacted Luke Scott at Otway Brewing and he saw it as a real challenge to work off the old notes with their old imperial measures.
The chief brewer said he had to tweak the formula a little before he was satisfied with the taste, while at the same time retaining as much of the original ingredients and brewing technique as possible.
The result is the Volum Hop Beer, a mid-strength brew that was around at the time that a singer with the unlikely name of Engelbert Humperdink was top of the charts with “Please Release Me”.
The song could well be the catch-cry for the revived beer, which will be officially released at the beer festival at the Geelong Racecourse on February 1.
Up to 1000 numbered bottles will go on sale at the festival, making them possible collector’s pieces.
Elizabeth (Volum) Leahy, whose great uncles established the Volum Brewery in the mid 1850s, after arriving from Scotland, pulled the first Volum Hop Beer at a tasting in Geelong this week.
Although she is more of a wine drinker she was well pleased with the new version of the old brew.
Captain James Volum, a Scottish ship owner and master mariner, established the Volum Brewing Company at Corio Street in 1857 and it produced ales for Geelong, the western district and the Wimmera for almost 100 years.
