It was Australia's best jam donut, but could it make a decent beer? And even if it could, who would be willing to brew it?
The answers, it turns out, were: "Absolutely" and "the neighbours down the road at Modus will have a crack".
"I think the success of craft beer in Australia really comes from decades of larger brewing," Modus' Roland Thiemann said on Friday as they Newcastle brewer launches its new 'jam donut sour' in collaboration with fellow Newy establishment DoughHeads.
The Scots have whisky, the Brits have gin, and tropics have rum, but Australians - while never a slouch for a spirits and wine - have arguably made beer the people's drink for decades.
But after years of four lagers on tap at the corner pub, and little other options, the taste for something different has spurred a renaissance of small brewing outfits across the country and a generation of hops mashers willing (or mad) enough to push the envelope.
"That was all there was; lagers," Mr Thiemann said, "And people were on the hunt for something new. Then suddenly craft beer popped up and here we are today mixing donuts with beer."
The process went through a few iterations, but the final result is deceptively simple: take a big vat where the beer is mashed, pour in an astonishing number of the best donuts in the country (leftovers, for the record), then infuse a touch of DoughHeads wickedly sweet raspberry jam, and the result is a devilishly light, doughy and bright summer sour reminiscent of a Red Lemonade for grownups.
The gradual emergence of odd-couple pairings in craft brewing hasn't been exclusive to the Merewether outfit either. The non-alcoholic label Heaps Normal has recently linked up with local coffee roaster Floozy to create a "breakfast beer" espresso stout, to say nothing of experimental flavour pairings going on at the likes of Method, Good Folk and Shout, to name a few. Modus even went so far as tasking AI to create the "perfect" IPA a few months back, with unexpected results, proving there is a market appetite across the city from consumers willing to go out on a limb.
The jam donut experiment started back in May, when Anna Farthing - the owner of DougHeads - took her wares to Sydney and returned with a pair of awards from the Australian Baking Association confirming Newcastle has the best donuts around. The idea to turn them into beer came from Modus, who were on the hunt for a new limited edition, and with a little tweaking the donuts were ultimately walked from the bakery down to the brewery and poured into the mash.
"We're always on the hunter for something new, something crazy," Mr Thiemann said, "That's the core of craft beer; consumers are always looking for that next thing."
Then, with a laugh: "We come up with a lot of crazy ideas. I won't tell you about the ones that don't work - there's plenty of those as well - but this one is really delicious."
For Ms Farthing, the collaboration was testament to a changing consumer culture that has seen buyers seeking out a more intentional and local experience when they go out.
"We have been doing this for 10 years," she said, "I think all that people ever want is to feel valued.
"When COVID hit, my chef said to me 'what are we going to do?' and I said 'whatever it takes'. I got to a point where I put a post on social media and said, as a single mum of four who is running this donut shop, if you would like us to be here, then we need you to come and support us.
"I had people from all over Australia calling to buy gift cars, and donuts to take up to the hospital. It was the most incredible outpouring of support that I have ever seen.
"I think that is what Newcastle is really good at. I think if you can channel that (local ethos) then you're going to be ok. And if you can make something like a jam donut beer that's going to surprise people, then all the more fun."
