In 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.
Definitely beer weather today: 35° and a north wind. Almost any cold beer would have tasted good today. Though I am a little biased against anything with an American flag on it, I wasn’t tempted by alternatives, and my resolve was rewarded.
Sweetwater Pale ale – a gift from a friend who’d just returned from a Kiewa Valley getaway over easter.
Superb! I think I like this even better than their Pale Ale. There is still a hint of citrus, but it quickly transforms in the mouth to a satisfying blend of malt and hops with a fine bubble that doesn’t get in the way. The colour is a brilliant gold and clear as Russian amber – looks great in the glass, but the head did vanish rather quickly. Still, I’ll certainly forgive it that – and I’ll certainly buy this one again!
This is a special beer. It comes at a special price and I’ve never seen it in my local bottle shops. My ever-loving-buddy brought it back for me specially after a short sojourn to Hobart which included a visit to the picturesque Cascade Brewery. Aint I the lucky one?
Very nice. Right up there with the best I’ve tasted. I’m delighted to see a pattern developing – I’ve already learned that the rich, cloudy ales are the ones I like the best, so this journey is already yielding results!
They say: not much actually, just the name and address of the brewery and the usual statutory stuff. They do say one thing of interest that is worthy of mention; tucked away very small on the neck label “To best enjoy this beer, drink it from a glass”. Great advice!