Gage Premium Lager 330ml 6-pack $16.99 The label’s changed from “Gage Roads” to “Gage”, but the beer seems the same – a rich, smooth, very fresh lager, seasoned with the distinctive aroma and flavour of Hallertau hops; and has a pleasant, lingering bitterness. Woolworths bought 25 per cent of Western Australian based Gage in 2009. … Continue reading Beer review — Gage and Bulmers
Innis and Gunn Original Oak Aged Beer 330ml $7.70 This oak-aged, bottle-conditioned beer comes from Edinburgh. It’s the colour of honey and the aroma is fruity, malty and toffee-like. The palate is brisk and the toffee-malt flavours are boosted by a solid 6.6 per cent alcohol. It’s definitely a winter warmer, thanks to the alcohol … Continue reading Beer review — Innis and Gunn and Matilda Bay Long Shot
88 Balls lager – it’s new, wet, alcoholic, fresh, imported from Belgium and cheap as chips at $33 to $35 a slab. Good on Barons brewing for bring it in. But I’m guessing there’ll be more publicity than money in the venture. How much can be left over after fees for the Belgian brewer, packaging, … Continue reading Belgian bargain set to shake beer market
In 1385 Tuscany’s Antinori family commenced winemaking, Giovanni di Bicci de Medici, founder of the famous dynasty, turned 25 and Columbus hadn’t been born, let alone set sail. And given the squabbles on the peninsula, the notion of a unified Italy might’ve been less imaginable to a fourteenth century Florentine than a fabulous new world … Continue reading Antinori comes to Canberra
Bream Creek Tasmania Riesling 2007 $22 Chardonnay 2007 $23 Pinot Noir 2008 $30 Visit a few Tasmanian wineries and you’ll soon hear the name Fred Peacock, owner of the beautiful Bream Creek Vineyard at Marion Bay, just to the east of Hobart, and one of the state’s most widely consulted vine experts. Fred grows his … Continue reading
Australian winemaking 2009 – it’s a tale of two industries: mature, vibrant, small and medium producers with their strong regional identities; and the headline-grabbing wreckage of the ‘brand Australia’ juggernaut. A recent Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) report, Wine industry must confront the reality of oversupply, detailed the horror behind the chilling headlines. The report … Continue reading Brilliant regional wines emerging from Oz wine wreck
It may seem unconnected to beer, but Australia’s gigantic wine surplus, currently running at around 100 million cases and growing by 20-40 million cases a year, led, indirectly, to what I believe may be the first cleanskin beer in the market. 1st Choice, the big-box liquor-retailing arm of Wesfarmer-owned Coles Liquor Group, recently introduced a … Continue reading Naked beer
As wine drinkers we’ve never had such choice as we do today – the offerings of more than 2,300 Australian and 500-odd New Zealand vignerons, as well as a widening range of imports. Paradoxically, as the number of wine brands expands, liquor retailing continues to consolidate as Coles and Woolworths carve up the trade – … Continue reading Google and gurgle your way to drinking pleasure
Maipenrai Canberra District Pinot Noir 2006 $23.33–$28 Maipenrai Canberra District Amungula Creek Pinot Noir 2004 $10–$12 Astronomer Brian Schmidt peers into the furthest corners of our expanding universe (see http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~brian/) but maintains a terrestrial base near Sutton. From his small vineyard, at 760 metres above sea level, Brian handcrafts the attractive, savoury, and complex Maipenrai … Continue reading Wine review — Maipenrai, Brown Magpie and Joseph Perrier
While shiraz and chardonnay slug it out for top spot (we produced 436 thousand and 445 thousand tonnes respectively in 2008), cabernet holds confidently to its less publicised third position at 254 thousand tonnes. Like shiraz, it works in a variety of regions, if not as easily, producing robust, pleasing flavours – albeit with a … Continue reading Aussie, French, US and Chilean cabernets reviewed