Category Archives: Beer review

Erina brewer excites with pale ale and dark red IPA

14 January 2015Beer, Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Our Sydney beer scout, Mr Malty, drew our attention to Six String Brewing Co, of Erina on the NSW central coast. “These blokes are good”, he said, “especially the Pale Ale and Dark Red IPA”.

We found cans at Plonk Fyshwick. Shell shocked at paying $99.90 and $123.90 respectively for a slab of each, we threw in a can each of Hefeweizen and Gold Ale and headed down the coast.

Hefeweizen, a wheat beer in the southern German style offers banana-like fruity aroma, lively, zesty flavours, low bitterness and characteristic lemony bite in the finish. It’s a fair rendition of the style (three-and-a-half star rating.

The mid-strength (3.5 per cent alcohol) Six Strings Golden Ale really steps up to the mark for this style, using rich malt and hops to fill the gap left by the low alcohol content (four-star rating).

Six String Brewing Co Pale Ale 375ml can $4.16
The brewer calls this “a hybrid between American and Australian pale ales”. That’s a fair description of an opulent, pale golden beer, with a beautiful, persistent head and intense, citrus-like hops aroma. The hops also give a strong, lingering bitterness to a very pleasing example of the style.

Six String Brewing Co Dark Red IPA 375ml can $5.16
Six String’s powerful IPA pours dark, almost black with a distinct red hue, topped by a luxurious white head. The head concentrates the hop oils and bitterness, so it takes a few sips of the smooth, malty liquid below to see the great harmony of this very malty, very bitter beer – a triumph of the brewer’s art.

13 January in goodfood.com.au and other Fairfax digital media
14 January in the Canberra Times

Beer review – Otway Brewing and Feral Brewing Co

10 December 2014Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Otway Brewing Prickly Moses Chainsaw Ale 330ml $4.45
We pushed past the murky, bilge-water colour to find a refreshing ale, with the light body and pleasantly tart acidity derived from brewing with malted wheat. Wheat ales often come with sweet, fruity notes. Instead, Chainsaw gives the pleasant herbal, spicy notes of hops – but without pronounced bitterness.

Feral Brewing Co Boris Russian Imperial Stout 330ml $7.25
As black as the local swans, this Swan Valley stout, at 9.1 per cent alcohol, storms onto the palate with its intense dark-chocolate and roasted coffee bean flavours. The alcohol lends a sweetness to the overall opulence of a stout meant to be enjoyed in small doses, perhaps with a plate of nuts or Christmas cake.

9 December 2014 in goodfood.com.au
10 December in the Canberra Times

Beer review – 4 Pines Brewing Company and Thathcher’s Cider

26 November 2014Beer reviewChris Shanahan

4 Pines Brewing Company Brookvale Union Ginger Beer 500ml $7
Ahh, yes – sugar, alcohol and a twist of ginger make a palate pleasing combination for many. And that’s exactly what 4 Pines offers in this blend of “water, cane sugar, alcohol, fresh ginger, citric acid, natural ginger flavours, preservative”. An alcoholic soft drink, it is; beer, it is not.

Thatcher’s Gold English Cider 500ml
Thatcher’s Gold won three trophies at this year’s Australian Cider Awards: best in show, best cider and best international cider or perry. It’s available in bottle and on tap (kegged by Coopers). The cider has a bright, pale-golden colour an aroma of very ripe apples and flavour to match, with delightfully brisk acidity and dry finish.

Beer review – 4 Pines Brewing Company and Hills Cider Company

12 November 2014Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

4 Pines Brewing Company Pale Ale 330ml 6-pack $20
“Pale ale” generally indicates a beer based either on the mild British style or the rich, malty–hoppy American style. However, 4 Pines goes its own way with its deep-amber coloured ale. Pungent, tropical-fruit-like hops aromas and flavours pair with a smooth, malty palate, lightened slightly by the use of wheat malt.

Hills Cider Company Apple and Ginger Cider 330 ml
Hills Cider Company describe this cider as a “hybrid”, made from “fresh Adelaide Hills apples with hand-selected Queensland ginger”. The combination delivers thrilling flavours of racy apple and piquant ginger, with a dry, refreshing finish. Owners Steve Dorman and Tobias Kline say they use no concentrate, sugar or water, just fresh ingredients.

11 November 2014 in goodfood.com.au
12 November 2014 in the Canberra Times

Beer review – Asahi and Red Duck

5 November 2014Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Asahi Super Dry 330ml 6-pack $20
In 1987 Asahi paved the way for what became known as “dry” beers. Thankfully, they’re wet, of course, as “dry” simply means beer with all the sugar converted to alcohol. Now brewed in China, Asahi offers the full, malty body of mainstream lager, with a dry, smooth palate and moderate hops bitterness.

Red Duck Loch Ness Scottish Ale 500ml $9.60
A beer for a cold highland night, Loch Ness hits the palate with rich, warming, malty flavours and the bracing effect of alcohol (6.7 per cent). Maturation in a whisky cask gives the beer even more punch. The brewer attrributes the pleasantly bitter finish in the low-malt ale to caramelisation of the malt.

Beer review – Wychwood and Yeastie Boys

29 October 2014Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Wychwood Brewery Pile Driver Classic English Ale 500ml $5.82
Wychwood’s easy-to-love, deep-amber-coloured ale suits cooler weather with its warm, malty, molasses-like aroma. The rich, smooth palate reflects the aroma. And spicy, herbal hops cut through the malt adding flavour and a long, persistent bitter finish. The malt–hops combination delivers plenty of flavour in a beer of a modest 4.3 per cent alcohol.

Yeastie Boys “Hud-a-wa” Strong Amber Ale 330ml 7.32
The Yeastie Boys’ shirt-frontiing amber ale cannot be ignored as it lands on the palate. A high 6.8 per cent alcohol and rich malt sweetness combine to give it a wine-like mouthfeel. Despite the inititial impression of alcoholic-malty sweetness, intense, bitter hops successfully balances a potentially confronting beer.

Beer and cider review – Konig Ludwig and Forbidden Fruit

22 October 2014Beer review, CiderChris Shanahan

Konig Ludwig Weissbier 330ml $4.15
If we can believe the label, King Ludwig travelled from Bavaria to an importer in Cincinnati, Ohio, before landing in Canberra as fresh as can be. This is a very good example of the Bavarian wheat style: cloudy, pale golden colour; abundant white head; sweet, fruity aroma and rich, creamy palate with a zesty, ultra-fresh finish.

Forbidden Fruit Original Cider 330ml $3.92
Forbidden Fruit, from Otway, Victoria, bills itself as a semi-sweet cider, made alongside Otway Estate’s beers and wines. On the palate, however, the cider seems closer to dry than sweet, with pleasant, fresh, clean, apple-like flavours (not always present in ciders). The sweetness simply fleshes out the palate.

Beer review – Edge Brewing Company

15 October 2014Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Edge Brewing Company Angry Pirate IPA 330ml $5.31
To tweak this strong IPA (6.8 per-cent alcohol), Melbourne’s Edge Brewing included rum-soaked oak chips in the conditioning tank. The medium gold–orange coloured ale holds its head forever and delivers feisty, malt and hops flavours with quite an astringent, dry finish that probably includes hops, oak and rum.

Stone and Wood’s new heartbreaker

15 October 2014Beer, Beer reviewChris Shanahan

In late September Byron Bay’s Stone and Wood brewery released its fourth ale under the Mash Collective label – dedicated to beers designed largely by non-brewing creative people.

The new Heart Breaker ale combines ideas from NSW mid-north-coast chef, Clayton Donovan, guitarist and songwriter, Darren Middleton, and brewing industry graphic designer (and home brewer), Damian Kelly.

Presumably Middleton and Kelly had some say in the malts and hops (ella, Sorachi ace, centennial and mosaic) in the brew.

Clayton Donovan’s more tangible input comes directly through a lifelong appreciation of Australian bush foods, acquired from an aunt and his grandmother and now applied through his cooking. The new brew contains lemon myrtle, bush peach and pepperberry.

In Canberra, Heart Breaker is available on tap at A Baker and in bottles at Hotel Hotel, Plonk and Urban Cellars.

Review: Stone and Wood The Mash Collective Heart Breaker 500ml $9
Wood and Stone’s fourth brew under the Mash Collective label is an amber ale, seasoned with four varities of hops and several native Australian plants and fruits. Heat Breaker unifies these diverse elements into an harmonious, full-bodied ale, cut through with tangy, spicy herbal notes and a bitter, dry finish.

Beer review – Sierra Nevada and Croucher

8 October 2014Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen 355ml $3.65
America’s Sierra Nevada brewery captures the Bavarian wheat beer style extremely well. The abundant white head, yeast haze and fruity-spicy aroma encourage a big mouthful. The palate delivers on the promise, with flavours reflecting the aroma and a smooth, full palate, cut with zesty, lemony freshness.

Croucher Brewing Company Pilsner 330ml $6.21
Thirty years after visiting Rotorua, certain aromatic memories linger on. Fortunately, Rotorua’s beer heads down an entirely more pleasant path, led by the wonderfully pungent, fruity notes of two New Zealand hops varieties – Motueka and Riwaka. The full, sweet, malty palate is classic pilsner, as is the assertive, lingering hops bitterness.