GABS Brewer: Patrick Alé from Red Island Brewing Company, Port Melbourne, Victoria

What beer are you making for GABS?
A Vanilla Robust Porter. Tasting notes are: A robust and rich Porter, full of vanilla, chocolate and coffee characters on the palate with moderate bitterness balanced with a trace of smokiness on the finish.

Does it have a name yet?
Quiet Deeds Vanilla Porter.

Where did the inspiration come from?
We wanted to create a hearty and rich winter beer with all the flavours that we love: vanilla, chocolate and coffee!

Do you think it’ll be a one-off or are you considering adding it to the range after GABS?
We are planning on launching this beer at the GABS and adding to our range as limited addition seasonal variant after GABS, we’re really excited as it’s our first limited addition beer and it will also be our biggest we are looking at taking it to market in a 500ml bottle.

What do you think of the concept of GABS?
It’s a great concept, allowing something new for punters to experience every year and it helps make unique and new Australian craft beers more accessible to the craft enthusiasts and new entrants, which is a good thing.

The Great Australasian Beer Spectapular (aka GABS) is on in Melbourne on May 23-25, 2014.