Alby on the brew menu for new Perth Stadium

Meet Alby. The Gage Roads brew is the first of the new beer range to be available at Perth Stadium when it opens next year.

And depending on the venue’s eventual liquor licence, you might be seeing double at the beer kiosk well before you get a sip of the beverage.

Since Gage Roads won the beer contract for the 60,000-seat arena six weeks ago, there has been a level of curiosity as to what might be on the menu for hops and malt purveyors.

Setting a range has been complicated by the delay in Perth Stadium being granted a liquor licence. Only mid-strength beer was available to general spectators at Domain Stadium but the new venue managers were seeking the opportunity to provide 5% brews in all areas.

Gage Roads’ tender bid was based on supplying mid and full-strength beers.

However, the brewer has got on with job and released Alby, a Lager, in two incarnations, including a 3.5% version that is guaranteed to be part of Perth Stadium beer line-up.

There was a soft launch for Alby, which also has a pumped-up Draught twin at 4.2% which comes in the bottle with the red logo. But is still yet to be determined whether it has a spot at the “Craypot” because of its ABV. It is the Spring Racing Carnival so we’ll make a considerable wager it will be.

Alby the junior (gold labelling) is being pitched as a crisp Lager, which has been the standard fare for Australian sports venues for decades.

So why the name Alby? A look on the labels of the bottles, which are available only in WA, gives a clue. It mentions “The New Albion”.

Well the moniker is in reference to the The Albion Brewery, founded Perth in 1837. It was considered the Swan River Colony's first breweries. But it struggled and three years later it concentrated on distilling. But The Albion was created on the suggestion of Governor James Stirling, who had initially thought a brewery might stop a problem with over indulgence of spirits. He was wrong - for a while.

The new Alby is very much a beer with WA roots. It is made with 100% WA barley and comes out of the Gage Roads’ HQ in Palmyra. It plays on the stadium preference to showcase the best of WA in its services.

With the recent news that another local producer, Mrs Mac’s, won the pie supply contract to the stadium, it is time for a beer/food pairing exercise.