Legendary cricketer, Shane Warne, has embarked on an exclusive collaboration in the development of a new Pale Ale with the Moa Brewing Company (“Moa”), New Zealand’s leading craft beer brewery.
This new partnership marks Warne’s first foray into the craft beer market, and is the result of a dedicated and intensive hands on period of exploration and development with Moa.
Sporting a bold and striking label, the name – 99 Not Out SKW Pale Ale (“99 Not Out”) – is a play on the infamous innings of Warne when Australia played New Zealand back in Perth in 2001.
Caught out on 99 by Mark Richardson at deep mid-wicket while going for a slog sweep off the bowling of Daniel Vettori, the result robbed Warne of achieving his maiden Test century. Unfortunately for Warne, the umpire had not picked up Vettori’s ‘no ball’ for over stepping in an era before the advent of high performance cameras and the umpire decision review system. Unaware of the injustice at the time of the dismissal, Warne still carries the scars of coming so close only to be denied in the cruellest of circumstances in the form of an unwanted record – most Test runs without a Test century.
“The story makes the Warne legend even stronger, and when the collaborative opportunity was first discussed 99 Not Out was a naming opportunity too good to refuse, especially given the great on-field rivalry between Australia and New Zealand”, said Josh Scott, the Founder of Moa.
99 Not Out is a sessionable ‘new world’ style Pale Ale of 5% alcohol. Hopped with New Zealand Kohatu and Cascade hops, it displays spicy / earthy hop notes, a strong malt backbone, and a nicely balanced bitterness.
“We’re really proud of the end product. Fundamentally, it’s a great craft beer, bottle fermented and conditioned in the Moa style, and to Shane’s credit he wasn’t shy about his opinion on the style and what he wanted. He worked closely with our Master Brewer David Nicholls to create a quality beer that was crisp, dry and elegantly savoury. The objective was to create the perfect beer for summer and we believe we’ve created something special”, added Scott.
“To create your own beer and to be able to make it up exactly how you like it is pretty exciting. It’s really important that you have something that you believe in. I believe in this. This is fantastic, and I’m hoping everyone else will like it too”, said Warne.
99 Not Out will be available in a classic 330ml bottle (boxed sets of four available) around Australia in leading off- premise (retail) outlets Dan Murphy’s from mid/late December, followed by BWS in January 2014. In addition, select on-premise venues (bars, clubs and pubs) such as Archer Hotel in North Adelaide, Stones Corner Hotel in Queensland and Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel in Sydney will start pouring 99 Not Out from today.
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