Oz brewer to give hipsters the beer they really want

Melbourne, May 18 (ANI): Next month, one of Australia's biggest wineries will be releasing a brew based entirely on what 3000 drinkers downed in May.

Casella - best known for its Yellowtail range of wines - has for the last month been collecting information volunteered to it via a custom-built app called The Perfect Lager Project.

By simply taking a photo of what they're drinking, beer fans were telling Casella what they were drinking, and where and when they were drinking it.

It's been live all this month and the results are starting to come together.

Lager has dominated as the most popular beer - 73 per cent - with ales and pale ales next on 10 per cent and 9 per cent respectively

Casella's brew master Andy Mitchell has been assigned to juggle the statistics as they come and from it all, create the ultimate Aussie beer.

He said the app's already given up enough details about the level of bitterness, carbonation, aftertaste and fullness Australian drinkers - or at least those that own iPhones - for him to have a base beer to work on.

The plan is to have the finished product on the shelves next month, and Casella has equipped itself with a facility large enough to meet any demand.

Because despite being a master brewer, Mitchell isn't at all ashamed to admit he wants to create a beer with as much mass appeal as possible.

"The trick is to sell volume. There's not a huge margin in beer, so we need to sell volume, we need lots of people to drink it," he told News.com.au.

He said he's not at all scared that crowdsourcing a beer might return a recipe for something he wouldn't drink himself.

The type of Australians who like to take pictures of their beer prefer it "slightly fruity, slighty hoppy, crisp and refreshing, he said.

"I'm surprised at what has come back. Based on what is selling, which is pretty much bland beer, people are showing us that they want that hoppy flavour, something that's slightly bitter and reasonably gassy," he said.

"These are the things that we as brewers appreciate as a beer. I'd like it, certainly. And I wouldn't make a beer I wouldn't drink," he stated.

The first run will be in a bottle - brown, as is proper. (ANI)