With all that colour came a little too much burnt caramel for my liking – probably just means it’s not a summer beer. To counteract the caramel they’ve packed in a strong hops bitterness that does it’s best to balance the sweetness, but somehow gets in the way as the glass gets empty.

I last wrote about this beer back in April 2007, and I wasn’t terribly impressed then. I can only say they’ve been working on it, because I found this encounter a lot more enjoyable.

Mountain Goat Beer Pty Ltd
Corner North & Clark Streets
Richmond Victoria 3121
goatbeer.com.au

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.

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!

Poured into the glass it had a beautiful dark amber colour, slightly cloudy with an even white head. I was already feeling good about this. Getting closer now, a pleasant, clean aroma and on the tongue there was a powerful citrus bitterness – mmmm!

More careful inspection failed to reveal much in the way of floral tones, but there’s a good hard hit of liquorice malt to balance it out. I have always associated American styles with too much sugar and not enough character, so this is either out of character or out of the box. Well worth a try.

They say:

Pale golden appearance, Floral piney aromatics, Five hop flavours, Five species malt blend

The bare facts:

The Three Ravens Brewing Company
1 Theobold Street, Thornbury, Victoria 3071
www.3ravens.com.au

I have to say (as I slurp the last of the stubby), that it fails to deliver – at least on my lofty expectations. We have a clean, well balanced Pale Ale. The characteristics are there, but slightly lacking punch. There is the bitterness of citrus peel, but without the fragrance. There is hops, without the bouquet.

A really good beer has a signature – something you recognise like an old friend when you take that first mouthful. Crackenback doesn’t have that.

They say:

Crackenback Pale Ale, our flagship beer, is an award winning pale ale that embodies the classic style of Australian Pale Ale (sic). Brewed with two-row malted barley and lightly kilned specialty malt, giving it a golden to amber colour, the bright perky maltiness is perfectly balanced by a delectable aroma and bitterness from three types of hops. (etc…)

What?!? There was malt in there? hmm, must have been spread a bit thin!

Snowy Mountains Brewery
303/10-12 Clarke St. Crows Nest, NSW 2065
www.snowymountainsbrewery.com.au

They say:

Barons Lemon Myrtle Witbier is the real Australian version of Belgian-style white beer. Flavoured by native Australian Lemon Myrtle, this beer is a perfect balance of zesty lemon rind and ripe citrus fruit flavours. Being bottle-conditioned, this cloudy ale is lively on the palate yet surprisingly smooth.

I will agree that there were traces of the ‘ripe citrus flavour’ they are talking about, but nowhere near enough. White beer conjures up visions of a bland drink, I’m afraid this is a pretty accurate in this case. Certainly, the Belgian style as we know it from the commercial imports is not big on flavour and character, so maybe this is well in character… there were no vices in the flavour. What I wasn’t so impressed with was the gas – this was a fizzy drink! So much so, that it got in the way of the taste – you just couldn’t take a mouthful and savour it without it threatening to explode in your mouth.

OK, so he tried to warn me, so I can’t be too harsh. It’s not bad – just for me, it isn’t that good either. The one thing he got wrong was telling me that they were from Western Australia – this puzzled me a little, because I thought the sandgropers would turn out a ballsier brew. Only when I was writing this post, did I realise they are from Sydney… explains a lot.

Barons Brewing
Level One, 1 Moncur Street, Woollahra, NSW, 2025
http://www.baronsbrewing.com/

The Beast is an IPA with such a powerful range of flavours that you would think it ran a risk of turning into a bit of a mess, but it stays true to style and shines through with all the things you look for in a satisfying drink – there’s a ripping hops aroma, the burnt caramel flavours, the citrus aftertaste, and a hefty alcohol content!

Jamieson Brewery
Eildon Road, Jamieson, VIC
www.jamiesonbrewery.com.au

The beer is good too. I was recommended it by a guy at Swords in Vic Market after mentioning that my favourite drop was Little Creatures Pale Ale. Well, he knew his stuff, because this is a nice drop – similar to Little Creatures, but with a bit more body in the hops. There’s citrus flavours, but they’re not as flowery. Perhaps not as immediately accessible, but well worth getting acquainted with.

They say:

Temple Brewing Company is dedicated to brewing distinctive handcrafted beers from the finest ingredients. Temple Pale Ale is full flavoured with a clean bitterness and a rich malt character balanced by a unique blend of spicy floral citrus hops.

Temple Brewing Company
Level 8, 124 Exhibition Street
Melbourne, Victoria 3000 Australia
www.templebrewing.com.au

They say:

Our Pale Ale is formulated in the American style. With well balanced malt flavour and hop bitterness. It is an easy drinking ale with the fresh, crisp citrus flavours and aromas of the hop varieties featuring.

I’d pretty much have to agree with this, though I don’t know what the ‘American style’ is supposed to mean. This looked like a lager – lovely rich amber colour with a fine, creamy, wheat coloured head. The initial flavour was of burnt caramel, followed closely by that citrus hit and an aftertaste of fragrant hops.

If I had a criticism, it would be that the balance was a bit on the safe side… maybe that’s the American bit. It was just a little too sweet and uncomplicated to be a drink you’d look forward to again and again. On the other hand, it was a fine drink – thoroughly enjoyed it and would rate it as one of my favourites – close to the top. I’d say any visitor to Mount Beauty would be well advised to take home a few souvenirs. Not sure if it’s available down here in the city, but it’s apparently well liked up in the Kiewa Valley. Lucky them!

Sweetwater Brewing Company
http://www.sweetwaterbrewing.com.au/
13 Wallace Street, Mount Beauty

They say: The colour of burnished copper, strong with a caramely sweetness. A malt driven beer [...] blend of English Malts, some of which are dark roasted to impart the toffee and sweet flavours of this ale.

…And for once, I agree totally with their spiel. It’s a rich handsome colour in the glass and the immediate sensations of caramel and toffee are right there up front. Way too sweet for me, but there may be people who want this in a beer. The sort of drink that works well with cold weather, open fires and hearty food… I guess that’s what they want up in Scotland!

The bare facts:

Red Hill Brewery
88 Shoreham Road, Red Hill South, Victoria 3071
www.redhillbrewery.com.au