Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Its that time of year again in Sydney when it gets cold, and our drinking preferences change from super chilled light easy drinking lagers to something a bit more refined with plenty of body. Something to sip on slowly and ponder the flavours on a cold winters night.
The Bright Staircase porter is the perfect match to the genre, emptying the bottle into a glass you are greeted by a brew, black as the ace of spades accompanied with a white creamy tightly packed headed which slowly dies down after a few minutes. This beer’s aroma predominantly features toasted coffee with hints of cocoa. On the palate it come across slightly sweet with on at the start, followed by blast of flavour comes through mid way featuring sweet oatmeal and coffee flavours with the odd hint of chocolate leaving an after-taste which is predominated by toffee and caramel notes
To drink i found this beer to be somewhat similar in flavour to a Coopers Stout although a fair bit smoother.
**Best enjoyed around 8 – 9 Degrees Celsius to let the full range of flavours shine though.
Verdict: An excellent dark beer, great to sip on a cold rainy winters night. Order yourself a case online from the brewery you won’t regret it!
Rating: 8.3 / 10
Link: Bright Brewery
Tags: ale, dark ale, porter, VIC, Victoria
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Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
Ever since i got this beer, i have been busting to taste it, unfortunately though it had to wait a couple of weeks. Still as they say good things come to those who wait and this beer didn’t disappoint.
Once in a glass this brew presented itself as lightly carbonated, bright gold in colour, with a loosely packed head which quickly died down to a scant covering over the liquid.
The aroma exhibits citrus notes and really gives away the presence of cascade hops. The taste of this beer is extra clean, slightly sweet with citrus, floral notes and an almost non-existent aftertaste.
Verdict: This beer was made for a hot summers day, ultra smooth you could drink these all day with out growing tired of the taste.
Rating: 7.2 / 10
Link: Vale Ale
Tags: ale, mclaren vale, pale, SA, south australian
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Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
I have brewed many a wheat beer and a couple of meads in the past using Beechworth Honey, but up until now was ignorant of the town having a microbrewery. I was privileged enough to get my hands on a bottle of their Australian Ale to try the other day. Brewed in the spirit of ales consumed commonly in Australian bars pre 1940, it is quite a novel beer, which is something we don’t seem to see nearly enough off.
Pale, cloudy and straw in colour with a medium tightly packed head which quickly subsides after pouring. The aroma is discreet with soft floral / citrus notes, the taste of this beer is pretty good with a nice balance of bitterness and malt with notes of honey and pepper.
Verdict: If you like coopers try this you’ll no doubt love it! Personally its enjoyable but nothing i would go too far out of my way to get, it’s the sort of beer that a six pack would go nicely with watching Friday night footy at home on the telly.
Score: 6.6 / 10
Link: Bridge Road Brewery
Tags: ale, bridge road brewers, pale, VIC
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
I have been keen to try something from Gage Roads for quite awhile. I seem to see signs advertising the brewery itself around quite a bit, but never run across the beer itself. So i was very happy two bottles of the London’s Best English styled bitter arrive in this months micro brew club delivery.
Upon pouring, this brew displayed a brief off white head which quickly disappeared, the beer itself is a deep cooper colour with very little carbonation. The aroma consists mainly of toffee aroma’s with a faint hint of citrus.
Toffee / caramel flavours dominate the taste of this brew with a medium bitterness and buttery character. Aftertaste consists of a slightly sweet flavor accompanied by a mild caramel flavour.
Verdict: This beer has a nicely balanced malt profile, and definitely seems to grow on you. I tried one bottle was hesitant starting out, but by the end could kill for another. It’s not too heavy so i think this beer wouldn’t wear its welcome out too quick.
Rating: 7.3 / 10
Link: Gage Roads Brewing Company
Tags: ale, bitter, english, gage roads, review, W.A
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Monday, May 11th, 2009
I have been lucky enough to have enjoyed this beer many times on tap at the Lord Nelson hotel in The Rocks area of the CBD. But until yesterday had never seen it for sale in the bottle, all of this changed when i wandered into the Australian Wine Center at Circular Quay for a look and saw it nestled up the top of the beer fridge. Seeing it in bottle form was too much to handle! I decided i had to drop what i was doing and give it a proper tasting as all the times i have tried it previously my judgement has been a little bit skewed by previous beers enjoyed.
Pouring the dark brown coloured beer into a tasting glass showed a lively head which quickly subsided, leaving the liquid with a thin covering of light brown foam. The aroma was rather gentle, consisting of toasted grain containing nutty hints.
Upon tasting the drinker his hit in the front of the tongue with a sharp blast of bitterness that then seems to smooth out mid palate with flavors of coffee and caramel. Which then fades to leave a slight bitter aftertaste accompanied by a gentle sweetness.
Verdict: A very easy drinking beer with plenty of flavour. Maybe not for everyone, but one or two of these adds a welcome interlude to an afternoon session.
Rating: 7.1/10
Link: The Lord Nelson Brewery
Tags: ale, lord nelson, NSW, review, tasting, the rocks
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Thursday, May 7th, 2009
I must admit i was a bit of a skeptic when i came across this Scottish inspired ale from South Australia. The recommended temperature for enjoying this drop is a warm 15 degrees Celsius. Which is enough to make most native Australians cringe and act with suspicion. We were brought up in the heat with lagers, which tend to be chilled on the theory “the colder the better”.
So this beer already had me on the defensive, opening the bottle and seeing the contents in a glass did nothing to boost my lack of confidence either. I was looking at a tawny slightly cloudy coloured beer with a sparse loosely packed head.
Another oddity with this beer is that it was brewed using a touch of Scottish peat, which gave the beer a very distinctive aroma on pouring very similar to scotch whiskey, something which i have never experienced in a beer before.
All these factors had me dubious about the situation, but the saying never judge a book by its cover rang very true upon my first sip. The front of the tongue is hit by a mild pleasant bitterness, which as the liquid passes further over the palate rolls into a very sweet smooth caramel / toffee flavor, not at all unlike butterscotch.
Upon swallowing the majority of the sweetness fades, leaving the palate with a pleasant residual sweetness which is in no way overpowering, making the drinker crave an encore.
Verdict: This is not a beer to drink on a hot summers day. But on a taste level is excellent! A ballsy brew packed full of flavor that leaves the drinker feeling very satisfied. If you find a bottle buy it you won’t be disappointed in the end
Rating: 7.8 / 10
Link: Brew Boys
Tags: ale, Beer, dark, review, SA, scottish, traditional
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