Archive for December, 2009

Beechworth Pale Ale : Bridge Road Brewery

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Beechworth Pale AleIn Dan’s the other day getting the Christmas drinks organised when I thought I’d grab something different to try. Being the Pale Ale fan I am, it wasn’t a case of which type as much as which brand. As it happened, I just grabbed the first PA I came to. All I saw was ‘Bridge Road’, so I thought it must have been based in Richmond.

Poured into the glass, this beer came up with a firm, dense, creamy head atop a beautiful cloudy golden liquid… very promising. Lovely spicy smell – the citrus tones were there, but I kept searching, because there’s something else in the aroma that’s really appetising. It reminded me a bit of nutmeg – like when you grate fresh nutmeg on a milkshake – I dunno, but it was exotic and complex, and I really liked it.

The first taste – and the second, and the third! – were great mouthfuls of hopsy citrus flavour – like you’d peeled half a grapefruit into the glass. Excellent! Not much else to say really, this is an instant favourite – right up there with Little Creatures Pale Ale.

The bare facts:
Bridge Road Brewers
Old Coach House Brewers Lane,
Ford Street Beechworth,
Victoria 3747
Phone/Fax: 03 5728 2703
bridgeroadbrewers.com.au
@nakedned

An crazy little postscript to this story. When my daughter walked in last night after returning from Germany, she recognised the beer as coming from a brewery with a connection to her Austrian boyfriend! Small world eh?

Oh, my goodness, this is just getting too wierd. I just went back through my entries and found that I’d already had this one a couple of years back! I liked it then too, but I reckon they’ve improved it even more.

Matilda Bay Fat Yak Pale Ale

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Fat Yak Pale AleNothing better on a nice warm day, than to ride home from work and crack open a cold ale. I had two in the frig that I’d never tried before, so I was anticipating a tasty treat while I cooked dinner.

Pretty feeble head, white and insubstantial – you’d have to pour it carelessly to get anything to really sit for more than a moment. A bit of a shame, because it would have contrasted beautifully with the rich clear amber colour in the glass. Lovely smell at first – a release of sweet herbs hits your nose as you raise the glass. Then there’s the taste…

…ahh – where is the taste? Ok, it’s not that bad, but it’s not what I expect from a pale ale. There’s a hint of citrus, but it’s pretty well lost in a haze of other minor flavours. What you end up with is a good consumer beer. Not that this is a bad thing, it’s just not what I was expecting. A little puzzled, I went to the Matilda Bay website to see what they said about their beer.

They characterise Fat Yak as “easy drinking craft beer in the traditional North American pale ale style”. Well, that explains a lot, I find American brews tend to lack flavour – or at least lack the conviction to let a flavour really blow out. Trouble is, they end up being safe rather than memorable.

The bare facts:
MATILDA BAY GARAGE
Unit 2/132-142 Bangholme Rd
Dandenong South, Victoria 3175
www.matildabay.com.au

By the way guys – flash based websites are soooo 2005!