Stone & Wood Brewing Co have a unique local beer bubbling away in a tank for the upcoming Byron Bay Surf Festival.
The festival organisers along with freesurfer and environmental activist Dave Rastovich and Glen Casey from Patagonia Byron Bay dropped in to the Stone & Wood brewery yesterday to collaborate on the Pilot Batch brew with the brewing team.
The festival chose Stone & Wood as a partner because of their high social, economic and environmental standards. ‘We could have aligned ourselves with big brands with big dollar signs, making life so much easier running a festival, but we have decided to partner with brands that are all about community initiatives as part of profits. For us this means it might take longer for us to be a commercial success, but it is worth it as we will be a community success, which means much more to us when we look back on what we have created,’ festival director Max Tischler said.
The crew wanted the beer to reflect the festival’s surf culture vibe, choosing native coastal ingredients. ‘It’s not just based on any lime-and-salt combo,’ Max said.
‘It’s a thirst-quenching Belgium Blonde brewed using local finger limes and Pacific Ocean sea salt,’ according to Stone & Wood brewer Louis Costa.
The beer will be released at the festival’s Saturday Slide on 25 February at the Beach Hotel and will be on tap at Stone & Wood’s tasting room over that weekend.
It’s okay to drop in on a brewer: surfer/activist and Patagonia ambassador Dave Rastovich, Byron Bay Surf Festival founder and director James McMillan, Patagonia Byron Bay’s Glen Casey, surfer Chrystal Fitzgerald, Stone & Wood brewer Louis Costa, BBSF director Max Tischler.
Braydon O’Brien and Louis Costa
