Ipswich’s beloved brewery in the heart of the historic 88 Limestone precinct, 4Hearts Brewing, has introduced a limited seasonal range by head brewer Ken Friend.
These ales are continuing to put the heritage city on Queensland’s craft beer map and a couple have already won awards.
“The flagship of them all is Perfect Clarity West Coast IPA,” says venue manager Josh Lampard.
“Ken made this with with desalinated water so it’s incredibly clear and incredibly easy to drink,” he said.
“There’s none of that big hop bite on the finish… you just get punched in the face with those tropical flavours then it finishes with a nice cirtrus zest which is why it’s so easy to drink.
“And the response we’ve received has just been phenomenal.”
There’s also a New World Pilsner in the new range which scored silver at the 2020 Royal Queensland Beer Awards.
“This has been on tap for a long time and people love it so much we just decided to can it as well,” Josh said.
Another award winner is the Bulldog ESB which scored bronze at the awards. It’s one that Ken did a while back and proved so popular he’s wanted to bring it back.
“The ESB is a hard to find style of beer, an English style, and you’ll get burnt caramel, a little bit of toffee out of it… it’s a pretty nice drop and it’s meant to be had just a little bit warmer so it’s perfect for winter.”
The new range includes a classic easy-drinking German-style Kolsch using one of Ken’s own original recipes which is said to be great on a hot day – luckily we still get plenty of those here in the Queensland winter.
The beers are available in cans and kegs from the brewery which has been operating in the heart of the heritage city now since 2015.
Josh said the brewery – and Pumpyard Bar and sibling restaurant next door, Dovetails, continued to go from strength to strength.
“It’s pretty exciting,” he said.
“We’re always looking for the next opportunity to grow and with the rapid success that we’re having we’re getting into more Brisbane venues every single day.”
Pumpyard, like many venues right now, is gradually transitioning back to more dine-in options while still offering takeaway means. A grand re-opening in the brewery laneway is in the pipeline for when things return to full capacity.
The 88 Limestone precinct is the perfect day-trip destination from Brisbane but you can also find the range in select bottle shops around the south-east, such as Waterloo Bay in Wynnum, the Stafford Tavern and the Crafty Fox cellars.
