Category Archives: Beer review

Beer review — James Squire Sundown Lager & Young’s Special London Ale

10 December 2008Beer reviewChris Shanahan

James Squire Sundown Lager 345ml $3.20
This one-off, limited-production brew combines pale and carapils malts and a mix of Galaxy, Summer Saaz and East Kent Goldings hops. A lovely, rich maltiness underpins the flavour. But a modest 4.4 per cent alcohol and delicious, herbal, grassy hops counter the maltiness, giving it a refreshing, brisk lightness.

Young’s Special London Ale 500ml $7.60
Young’s bottle-conditioned London ale features strong, sweet malt flavours and intense, spicy, assertively bitter hops – boosted by a potent, warming 6.4 per cent alcohol. It’s a burly but balanced combination designed for cool weather and hearty food. Should be served at around 10 degrees Celsius to allow full expression of the complex flavours.

Beer review — Hoegaarden and Weienstephaner

3 December 2008Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Hoegaarden Witbier 330ml $4.29
With so many Oz versions around it’s reassuring occasionally to taste the Belgian original, from one of the worlds’ biggest brewers. In a word it’s still the benchmark – its sumptuous head, high-toned, clove-like, fruity aroma and rich but brisk, clovey palate put it ahead of the pack.

Weihenstephaner Pilsner 500ml $5.99
This is a classic German Pilsen style from the ancient (founded 1040) Weihenstaphan brewery. It has a pale lemon colour with a fine, white head; zesty, harmonious aroma; and beautifully refreshing palate – in its unique, herbal, zesty, delicately bitter style. One bottle won’t be enough.

Beer review — Otway Estate Prickly Moses

26 November 2008Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Otway Estate Prickly Moses Wheat Beer, Pilsner, Summer Ale 330ml $4.20
Today’s beers all come from Victoria’s Otway Ranges. The wheat beer is zesty, lemony, fresh and light but without any of the complexity of the Belgian originals (***); Pilsner starts and finishes with hops but there’s little depth to it (***); and the Summer Ale offers straightforward, fresh, tropical notes (**).

Otway Estate Prickly Moses Red Ale, Stout 330ml $4.20
A little more alcohol and malt lifts the flavour of these styles. The Red Ale, in the Celtic style is all about smooth, sweet malt with very little hops influence (***); and the stout is reminiscent of strong, fresh-ground coffee in both the aroma and flavour – an opulent brew with lingering, bitter, roasted-grain finish (****).

Beer review — Brakspear & O’Hanlon

19 November 2008Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Brakspear English Pale Ale 500ml $7.80
This lovely, mid-amber coloured ale appeals for the delicious interplay of hops, malt and fruitiness. It’s a rich, but subtle, balanced style – modest in alcohol at 4.2 per cent, yet complex and though hoppy and bitter, not overwhelmingly so. It’s brewed in England using English malted barley and Fuggles and Golding hops.

O’Hanlon’s Royal Oak Traditional Bitter 500ml $9.80
Royal Oak, a robust, pungent, bottle-conditioned brew from Devon, contrasts strongly with the subtle, aromatic Brakspear Pale Ale above. It’s deeper in colour and more aggressive in aroma and flavour. There’s an appealing malt richness and alcoholic warmth. And the hops focus is more on lingering bitterness than on aroma and flavour.

Beer review — Williams Bros Grozet & Green King

13 November 2008Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Williams Bros Grozet Premium Beer 500ml $9.90
There’s an echo of sauvignon blanc in this pale-coloured, tangy Scotch beer, as the brew contains gooseberries and a twist of bogmyrtle. But the fruit influence is subtle – meaning that what you taste is principally a high quality, traditional malt beer with refreshing fruit notes rather than hops bitterness.

Green King Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale 500ml $9.00
Think of butterscotch pudding, coffee beans, toffee, golden syrup, malted grain – all things rich, roasted and sweet rolled into one strong, idiosyncratic, six-per-cent alcohol beer that’s been aged in oak for two year. It’s powerful but well proportioned – an ale to sip with food and served too cold

Beer review — Little Brewing Company & Young’s

5 November 2008Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Little Brewing Company Wicked Elf Witbier 330ml $4.20
Elf Witbier, from Port Macquarie’s Little Brewing Company, emulates the Belgian wheat beer style with its additions of Curacao and coriander. The colour’s drab and unappetising but the aroma captures some of the fruity and clove-like notes of the style. The palate, however, falls flat – not much there to my taste.

Young’s Special London Ale 500ml $7.60
This is a strong (6.4% alcohol), bottle-conditioned English-brewed ale. It has an attractive deep gold-amber colour, abundant head and a complex malty/hoppy aroma. The palate’s richly malty with assertive hops flavour, lingering bitterness and strong alcoholic lift. It’s an interesting sipping beer for cold evenings – not one for dowsing a thirst.

Beer review — Coopers Vintage Ale 2008

29 October 2008Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Coopers Vintage Ale 2008 375ml $4.50
Is this the best Coopers vintage ale yet? Try it for flawless, pure luxury. The warmth and fruitiness of the aroma set the scene for an opulent, silk-smooth palate that’s boosted by alcohol and cut with delicious bitter, lingering hops. Like earlier versions it’ll age, but it’s just lovely now.

Beer review — Mildura Brewery

15 October 2008Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Mildura Brewery Mallee Bull Heavy 330ml $3.95
Strong as a Mallee bull, certainly, but alas, not as fit. Too much sitting around on retail shelves fattens a beer up, taking the fresh, aggressive edge off the hops. That caveat aside, this is a robust, smooth, strong ale with appealing toffee-like malt flavour. Oh, for a fresh bottle.

Mildura Brewery Storm Cloudy Ale 330ml $3.95
Like the Mallee Bull above, Storm suffers a little from age. The malt, fruit and hops flavour are complex and enjoyable. But how much more enjoyable it’d be if the Amarillo hops could be in full, citrusy, pungent flight. Almost but not quite. See www.mildurabrewery.com.au

Beer review — Red Angus

8 October 2008Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Red Angus Pilsner 345ml $4.50
Griffith-based winemaker, De Bortoli, launched Red Angus Pilsener last December. It’s a fresh and lively European-style lager built for pleasurable, easy drinking rather than making a big statement. It leads with aromatic hops that add complexity, and then a lingering, refreshing bitterness to its generous, malty palate.

New Norcia Abbey Ale 330ml $6.95
This was originally brewed by Chuck Hahn and cellared under the Benedictine monastery at New Norcia, Western Australia. It’s in the strong (7 per cent alcohol) mould of Belgian Abbey Ales. It’s fruity and hoppy in smell and taste with a little burst of alcohol and then a distinctly hoppy, bitter finish.

Beer review — Bright Brewery & Matilda Bay

1 October 2008Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Bright Brewery Raspberry Lambic 330ml glass $7.50
You’ll have to drive to the brewery in Bright, Victoria, for this one, but it’s worth it. David Cocks brewed it in the Belgian ‘lambic’ style using local wheat, raspberries and hops. The colour’s limpid ruby and the aroma and flavour are pure raspberry, with lambic’s brisk, pleasantly tart edge.

Matilda Bay Sebastian Reserve 750ml $18.99
This is the latest in Matilda Bay’s occasional series of strong, dark wheat beers. It’s bottle conditioned and built to age. But in the manner of wheat beers it’s not heavy, despite the rich, chocolaty flavours. There’s a crispness and liveliness that makes it terrific to enjoy now, perhaps with robust food.