![Three Mills' Kit Carpenter and Capital Brewing's Wade Hurley are collaborating on some products. Picture by Keegan Carroll Three Mills' Kit Carpenter and Capital Brewing's Wade Hurley are collaborating on some products. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/5e4e3fe2-f7c9-4575-8fd1-6b21fa86b7c3.jpg/r0_256_5000_3078_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Apparently the ancient Egyptians used to greet each other with a phrase that translated as "bread and beer".
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Now Canberrans can too, after the latest collaboration between two local favourites, Three Mills Bakery and Capital Brewing Co.
Back in December 2022, the two businesses came up with the Toast Kvass beer which went on tap at Capital's taproom in the Dairy Road precinct.
A kvass is a lightly sour beer commonly made from rye bread, similar to a gose with a low ABV.
![The Three Mills Collective Summer Edition box. Picture supplied The Three Mills Collective Summer Edition box. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/968a9e8f-f5ad-4888-8955-9f574704f8ff.png/r0_0_613_407_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A few years earlier, Kit Carpenter, the culinary director of Three Mills Bakery, was looking for ways to close the loop on waste in the bakery and came up with the idea of a kvass but, at that time, had no connection with Capital.
"Then on a whim, I went there looking for some hops for a hot, salt pretzel we were making and connected with [Capital's head brewer Wade Hurley] and we went from there."
The first time around the result was all beer.
Three Mills took 20kg kilograms of rye sourdough and some of their culture to the brewery where it was broken down and used to make a wort, which is basically beer nectar.
"We extracted some of this liquid gold, it turns out it's great to cook with, and the rest was left to ferment and mature," says Carpenter. It became the Toast Kvass.
![Three Mills' Kit Carpenter and Capital Brewing's Wade Hurley at the brewery. Picture supplied Three Mills' Kit Carpenter and Capital Brewing's Wade Hurley at the brewery. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/2966e215-5ccf-4c34-b5ca-d39a9dd396f5.jpg/r0_13_1500_860_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
This time around, there is bread to be shared as well. As well as danishes and flatbreads.
"After we drank a bit and shared a bunch, our culinary team set to work to create some truly remarkable products," he says.
"There's a poached peach danish which heroes perfectly ripe peaches, poached in the kvass 'beer nectar', alongside strawberry gum and lemon myrtle, to create a uniquely Australian botanical danish.
"The bialy is a delicious flat bread topped with eschalots caramelised with kvass beer, black garlic, finger lime and seaweed, which also features the kvass."
These products will feature in the Three Mills Collective Summer Edition box. Other options in the Summer Edition box include a wagon wheel tart, a cacio e pepe scroll and a corn bread loaf.
![Three Mills' Kit Carpenter and Capital Brewing's Wade Hurley outside the Fyshwick bakery. Picture by Keegan Carroll Three Mills' Kit Carpenter and Capital Brewing's Wade Hurley outside the Fyshwick bakery. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/fc77142a-efb7-4329-b3a3-bd890bae7aaf.jpg/r0_33_5000_2855_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The collective is a special subscription deal, which in 2023 will be quarterly. It features one-off products you can't buy at the bakery.
Each box contains one freshly baked small batch sourdough; one bakery item, fresh or bake at home depending on the season; a pack of exclusive sweet bake-at-home pastries; a pack of exclusive savoury bake-at-home pastries; and a baker's surprise pick.
Vegetarian options are also available.
The cost of the box is $85 and delivery is free. Those people who are already subscribers will be receiving their box on January 24 but there will also be boxes available to the public.
Orders are open now, with delivery on February 17. Order via threemillsbakery.com.au
It's also expected that the Toast Kvass will go back on tap at Capital Brewing in March.
Carpenter said he was keen to see what other products they could work on with the brewery.
"I am very personally invested with the ideas of true collaborations wherever I can find them," he said.
"Anyone who's interested in working in that sort of way, I'm always interested in working with them.
"It's really nice to build a community of artisans and crafts people in Canberra and share all of the things that we're doing to help build up this community and potentially, you know, bring people to Canberra for the things that we make."
Some temple art from ancient Egypt depicts beer being made by crumbling bread into water and letting it ferment via yeast from the bread.
Other research suggests cooked and uncooked malt was mixed with water, producing a refined liquid free of husk.
We reckon it sounds a lot easier to pick up a Three Mills Collective box and visit Capital on your way home.
Naturally, the "beer and bread" greeting still applies.
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