By NOEL MURPHY
THE GREAT Aussie colloquialism, the furphy, has been resurrected at Geelong by Lion brewer Little Creatures.
The World War 1 furphy, a howler of a story whipped up around Furphy water carts, has been fast-forwarded a century – and re-invented as a beer.
Perhaps in keeping with its heritage, the furphy is based on an old-style German ale, Kolsch.
J. Furphy & Sons have played their part too, supplying the Little Creatures beer tanks used to brew the beer.
What’s it like? Well, each to their own is standard practice with the raft of craft and boutique beers about these days but with a name like Furphy’s Refreshing Ale it’s a fair bit this is mean to be a crowd-pleaser.
Think clean, crisp, delicately balanced beer with subtle fruity flavours and aromas. It’s a deep gold colour and slightly hazy with a subdued maltiness and hop flavour.
“Well before we opened the brewery just over a year ago, we had been thinking about brewing a beer for Geelong,” said Matt Windsor, Lion Beer, Spirits & Wine regional director for Victoria.
“We wanted to create something that the people of Geelong could proudly call their own – their own beer that comes fresh from their local brewery.”
Not surprisingly, the Furphy clan are pretty chuffed to have their name on the ale.
“We’re feeling very special to have our family name honoured in this way. It’s not often you drink a beer with your name on it,” said company CEO Adam Furphy, a great, great grandson of the founder.
“The team has done a fantastic job to create Furphy Refreshing Ale and we are very much in line with the beer’s philosophy – proudly Victorian and supportive of local communities.”
Furphy Refreshing Ale is initially available exclusively on-tap in Geelong, with a pack release due in the coming months.
