Tasmanian brewery Moo Brew has collaborated with Hop Products Australia (HPA) and Beaker Street Festival to create Future XPA, an experimental beer utilising climate-resistant grain and hops.
The hope is that the new beer will help to spark conversations about ways that the brewing industry can adapt to the changing environment.
Moo Brew’s Future XPA is exclusively available during the Beaker Street Festival, which runs from 6 to 13 August in Hobart. The annual festival celebrates the meeting point of art and science, and this year includes a Future Foods program which focuses on the way our changing climate impacts the food we grow and consume.
Dr Margo Adler, Director of the Beaker Street Festival, said that the Moo Brew Future XPA invites consumers to join in the conversation about food and climate change.
“You can’t think about the future of food and drink without thinking about climate change. As our world warms, everything is going to shift, from the crops we can grow, to agricultural pests and diseases, to the length of the growing season,” she said.
“For Beaker Street Festival, we wanted to make a Future Beer as a way to start that conversation that is more than just a bunch of academics speculating. It’s something you can taste and enjoy, but that also makes you think.
“The beer we ended up with is the result of a lot of forward-minded people, brewers and scientists and experts on hops, coming together and really considering what we might be brewing in 2050; not just what people will want to be drinking, but also what’s sustainable and able to be grown in a warming world.”
