By Andrew Starke
A global consumer trend towards craft beer is being mirrored in Australia with a Perth-based retailer claiming the local market is on the brink of a beer revolution.
Perth’s International Beer Shop has stocked premium and exclusive international and local beers since its inception in 2001 and now boasts a range of over 850, including ciders.
“The world is currently undergoing a craft beer revival,” said The International Beer Shop store manager, Cameron Stewart.
“Experimental US Craft Breweries have tipped the dominos, and they are falling throughout the Western World.”
The International Beer Shop seeks out the best beers and ciders from around the globe, from its modest base – a tiny suburban bottle store in West Leederville, northwest of Perth.
According to Stewart, some of the best examples of new world brewing come from Holland’s De Molen Brewery and Denmark’s Mikkeller.
“Cutting-edge modern breweries constantly expand their ranges, developing and reinterpreting various beer styles to provide beer lovers with their next beer experience,” he said.
“These guys are constantly refining their art. They are the magicians of the beer world.”
Staff pride themselves on being able to recommend a beer for almost any taste.
The store’s vast range includes beers from: the world’s oldest brewery; beers aged in whisky barrels; ultra hoppy and bitter US Imperial Pale Ales; traditional Belgian sour beers; German smoke beers; alcohol and gluten free beers; and even Scotland’s 41 percent ABV ‘uber-beer’ Sink the Bismarck.
They also stock a number of limited seasonal and one-off releases, which allow the most innovative brewers to show off their craft and creative zeal.
Over the next few months, The International Beer Shop is expecting new deliveries from Japan, Belgium, Germany, America, Norway and Denmark and hopes to offer consumers a choice of over a thousand beers by the end of the year.