Ah what a lovely batch of coconut! GABS report from Burleigh..

With the GABS coming up on Feb 12, here's a report from the front line about the brewing of the exciting Burleigh Brewing Fanny Gertrude's Anzac Bickie Beer in Queensland (thanks to Peta).

There's a bit of an amazing story behind this coconut (which actually looks remarkably like a crumbled Anzac bickie!). The concept was the easy part.
Then we had to track down appropriate ingredients. Coconut, for one. We learned that white coconut (other than the fresh stuff) maintains its white colour through the use of sulphites (preservatives). We didn't want any of THAT in our beer!

So the world-wide search for preservative-free coconut was launched.

Above: Brewer Brennan with his nose in a glass of air dried, fresh coconut flesh, before it was turned into Fanny Gertrude's Anzac Bickie Beer!

Many phone calls and frustrations later ... we found it next door. In Burleigh Heads. Five minutes drive from the Brewery. The company, at its family coconut farm in Fiji, picks coconuts in the early hours of the morning and chips and air dries them within hours of harvest - so more taste with minimal processing and a naturally preserved product that maintains a stable and long lasting shelf life. No chemicals are used in the growing or processing of the coconuts. Hmmmmm. Perfect match for our beer!

The farm is located on a pristine northern island of the Fiji group. No electricity or fossil fuels are used to run the processing plant. Coconut shells and husks provide the bio-fuel to run the plant! The farm only employs local Fijiian workers - and operates through a joint venture with the Burleigh-based family members to market the products produced.

Now... you can taste Fanny Gertrude's Anzac Bickie Beer in both venues at the GABS on Feb 12.