Beer Advice with a twist! Reviews & News

St Peter’s Suffolk Gold

Friday, June 11th, 2010

St Peter’s Suffolk Gold is a full bodied bitter ale that is brewed at the St Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk, England.

The St Peter’s Brewery was opened in 1996 after the brand acquired a derelict agricultural site.  It produces 15,000 barrels per annum which equates to 83,000 pints per week!  The brewery also serves as a visitor attraction and offers brewery tours for £4.50(pounds) per adult.  St Peter’s brewery produces a range of beers including Ales, Fruit Beers, Gluten-Free Beers, Porters and Stouts.

Suffolk Gold has no noticeable head when poured, nor does it leave any lacing on the glass.   It’s appearance is a murky deep orange colour.  There is a pleasant floral aroma to this beer which is most likely attributed to the Suffolk-grown First Gold hops used during brewing.   At first the taste is fruity and sweet but it is quickly followed by a lingering bitter aftertaste which is actually quite refreshing.  This is definitely a bitter beer with a strong hops taste, so bear that in mind if you are planning on trying it.

This beer was kindly purchased for me by my brother on his trip to Melbourne earlier in the year along with Gulden Draak from Acland Cellars in St Kilda.  They have an online store known as The Beer Store if you’re interested in trying this brew for yourself.  I enjoyed drinking this bitter ale and was surprised to find it as refreshing as I did.  With that said though I’m not particularly a huge fan of bitter beers, at least not at this point in my life, after all tastebuds do change over time.

Rating (out of five):

| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | No Comments »

Young’s Special London Ale

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

I thought it was time to again review a brew from overseas and this time around it comes from the English country town of Bedford.

Here’s a brief history of the now well-known Wells & Young’s Brewing Company.  It all began back in 1875 by a Mr Charles Wells who bought a brewery and 32 pubs for a mere £16,700(pounds).  What a bargain!  The company was originally named Charles Wells and since its conception the company has expanded immensely.  In 2006 Charles Wells & Young and Co merged their brewing and brands to become the Wells & Young’s Brewing Company.

Young’s Special London Ale is a bottle conditioned beer.  This means it is an unpasteurised living beer that is allowed to mature in the bottle.  The idea behind this type of maturation is to create a beer that has a fuller, more complex and fresher taste and that is something this beer certainly has.

It has an earthy, herbal taste, that’s smooth and sweet towards the end.  There is also a strong hops taste, which would make perfect sense considering there’s three types of hops added to it.  The taste grows on you and at first it didn’t really appeal to me, but, it left me wanting more once my glass was empty.  This brew pours a cloudy apricot colour with a nice creamy head.  It also leaves a good amount of lacing on the glass.  There is a pleasant floral aroma to it along with some sweetness and a distinct smell of hops.

I’d like to thank Purple Palate Maroochydore for giving me this beer to review.   It pays to visit your local independent bottle store.  I enjoyed drinking this beer but it’s certainly not a session beer.  The labelling actually suggests it goes well with cured hams or smoked salmon.  Young’s Special London Ale is on the expensive side to buy, at $8 a bottle.  So make sure you have read this review closely and decide for your self.

Rating (out of five):

| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | No Comments »

Gulden Draak

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

There are many reasons why we all love family and one of those reasons are unexpected gifts.  My brother recently travelled to Melbourne Australia and brought me back some boutique beers to try, this is one of them.

Gulden Draak is named after the golden statue at the top of the belfry (bell tower) in Ghent.  It’s a dark ale which is brewed & bottled by the Van Steenberge Brewery in Meetjesland Belgium.  The Van Steenberge brewery is the only operating brewery in Meetjesland and its history dates back to 1874.   Since its humble beginnings, the company has flourished and in 2009 a new brew was added to their repertoire – it is named Augustijn Donker.  Unfortunately, I am yet to try this beer but rest assured I will.

My first taste of Gulden Draak summed up in one word was WOW, I mean that in both a positive & negative way.  It has a taste unlike anything I’ve tried before, it starts off quite flat but then hits you with a massive sweetness.   There’s a strong fruity taste along with a taste of burnt brown sugar.  Some people believe that this beer is hard to smell because of strong alcohol content (10.5%) I disagree completely.  It has a sweet, caramel-like aroma that is pleasant to the senses. As mentioned earlier this is a dark ale and guess so is it’s appearance.  It pours with a small tan head that quickly dissipates and when held to a light the liquid appears red in colour. My concern with this beer is that due to its overwhelming taste and alcohol content, it’s not one that most people would be able to make a night of however, that said, a few with a cooked meal wouldn’t hurt, you’d sleep well if nothing else.

If you would like to try this unique beer and have not had any luck finding it, either head to Melbourne and visit the Acland Cellars at St Kilda.  Alternatively, jump on-line and check out their virtual shop The Beer Store to purchase it for yourself.  Be aware though, a 330ml bottle will cost you $10.99.  Regardless of the steep price this beer is definitely worth a try even if you can only afford the one.

Rating (out of five):

| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | No Comments »

Kilkenny Irish Ale

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

In case you weren’t aware, tomorrow the 17^th March is St. Patricks Day and what better time is there to review an Irish classic like Kilkenny.

Since being first brewed in 1710 at the St. Francis Abbey Brewery, Kilkenny has become an Irish icon and so has the Brewery itself.  The St. Francis Abbey Brewery is the oldest brewery in Ireland.    It’s situated in the heart of Kilkenny city and occupies 25 acres of land.  Unfortunately the original brew house of Kilkenny now lies in ruins but the beer lives on.

Kilkenny is still brewed in Ireland and is imported into Australia by the Diageo Company.  Unlike your average beer Kilkenny has a plastic nitrogenated widget which looks similar to that of a ping pong ball.  The widgets job is to not only rattle around inside the can but to create a smooth head of beer once  poured and let me say that it does a great job at doing so.  Kilkenny is an Irish Cream Ale with a reddish-brown appearance.  It pours to form a beautiful thick creamy head which is one of the best I’ve seen to date, probably due to the widget.  There is a sweet aroma to it with slight roasted smell.  The taste is smooth and creamy making it very drinkable.  It leaves your taste buds feeling indulged and wanting more.  Kilkenny comes in a four-pack of 440ml cans and should cost you less than $12 at your local bottleshop and please note that this beer is best served chilled, the can recommends for at least 3 hours prior to drinking.

If you haven’t already decided what you’re drinking on St. Patricks Day and want to stay in character with the Irish spirit then look no further, Kilkenny is the beer for you.

Rating (out of five):

| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | 1 Comment »

Redoak Organic Pale Ale

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

It’s about I did a new beer review and what better way to start off my 2009 reviews than with a local brew, such as the Redoak Organic Pale Ale.

Redoak specialise in premium boutique beers and are claimed to be ‘Australia’s most awarded brewery’. They are based in Sydney where they have their Boutique Beer Café located at 201 Clarence Street. There are over 20 individual brews to try at this café and let me tell you the next time I’m down that way, I’ll be making a stopover.

This beer is brewed using certified organic ingredients from the malt to the hops, so if you’re one to sit on the organic bandwagon, then you can feel confident drinking this unique brew.

Redoak Organic Pale Ale pours a consistent full head which looks near picture perfect in my opinion. It also has a significant amount of effervescence to it. The colour of this beer is a light gold shade with a cloudy haze due to the ingredients suspended in the beer. The dominating is sweet and fruity, with a light citrus secondary aroma. Last, but not least the taste – wow! The packaging on my 6-pack says ‘unique’ and that’s exactly what it is. One of my initial thoughts was that this beer tastes like Belle Vue Kriek, but that was soon altered by the bitter hops aftertaste. This beer is without a doubt very fruity not only in it’s aroma but in it’s taste. I found it relatively refreshing and kept me going back for more, I am on my third bottle now as I type.

For a premium boutique beer I believe this to be rather reasonably priced. I picked up a 6-pack from my local Dan Murphy’s for $15.90. Generally, I am quite pleased with most fruity brews and this is no exception, my only concern is, would I want more than a 6-pack? I’ll leave this with you to ponder over, but first you’ll have to give this unique pale ale a try.

Rating (out of five):

| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | 2 Comments »

The Brunette

Monday, March 31st, 2008

I have heard of beers having high alcohol contents but when you really want them they are generally not readily available and this is true for this particular beer. Brewed and bottled in Italy by the Amarcord Company and currently imported into Australia by the Combined Wine & Foods Company, The Brunette is a double brown ale that is dubbed by its creators as a unique handcrafted designer beer. It has a cloudy amber appearance traditional to most ales and has a sickly sweet almost fruity aroma. The taste is without a doubt unique and one that you should try yourself to really appreciate it but basically it’s a strong, sweet fruity taste that leaves your mouth tingling with an after taste of malt.

It was only recently that I had the chance to sample this brew at an Italian restaurant called La Porchetta. It went very nicely with the oversized Chicken Parmigana that I ordered. The beer has an alcohol rating of 10% and comes in a 500ml bottle which contains approximately 4 standard drinks. It may sound pretty awesome but don’t get too excited because here are two reasons not to:

1. A bottle of this beer from La Porchetta will cost you $12 and
2. Since trying this beer I have been to both Dan Murphy’s and 1^st Choice and have been unable to find it at either store.

Trivial things aside this beer is not only unique in taste but also in its surroundings. As you can see in the image below it comes in what I can only describe as an old school rubber stopper top bottle, which can easily be reused at a later stage. On the bottle below where it says La Tabachéra the Australian version says The Brunette.

The Brunette makes good on its promise as a unique handcrafted designer beer but unfortunately due to its cost and unavailability at abundant liquor stores, most people may not have the chance to experience this exclusive Italian beer.

Rating (out of five):

Quick Facts : 10.0% alcohol – 500ml brown bottle – Rubber stopper top

| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | 1 Comment »

Sassy Red

Tuesday, November 13th, 2007

Sassy Red would have to be the first beer I’ve poured that looks more like a glass of coke than a glass of beer.

Sassy Red is an Aromatic Ale that is brewed in New Zealand by Mac’s Brewery.  It contains saaz hops, a unique and highly sort after variety.

I mentioned before the colour and appearance of this beer is nearly identical to coca-cola, it’s a dark amber colour and has a large amount of fizz when first poured which is unusual for a beer. Sassy Red has a very aromatic sweet fruity smell and the taste is nutty with a fruity aftertaste. This ale has a full taste and in my opinion does not really make for an easy drinking beer. This may be due to the fact the beer has five different types of malts in it.

There is no doubt this is a unique beer but unfortunately it’s too unique for my taste buds, maybe yours will think differently?

Rating (out of five):

| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | 3 Comments »

James Boag’s Wizard Smith’s Ale

Tuesday, October 9th, 2007

From the outset, James Boag’s has prided itself on being one of Australia’s premier brewers for over 150 years, and this particular product is no exception. James Boag’s Wizard Smith’s Ale is an impeccable brew and shouts nothing but pride to the brew masters at Tasmania’s finest Brewery.

A limited edition brew, Wizard Smith’s is a ‘traditional English ale’, encapsulating the method and history of ‘pale ale’ brewing. Using ‘full malt brew dry hopped with East Kent Goldings’, the brew encompasses all you would expect from a traditional English ale. Do not be fooled by this though, this amazing beverage is as Australian as a meat pie. The synchronization of the taste of English ale with that of having that distinct Australian, Boag’s taste is amazing.  As with many boutique beers, there is an interesting history. “In 1929 the Great Flood swamped much of Launceston without warning. Wizard Smith, J. Boag & Son’s drayman, at great risk to himself sought to save the brewery horses. Riding his pushbike until he could go no further, he plunged into the rising floodwaters and swam into the stables, successfully leading the horses to dry ground. For his bravery Wizard was rewarded with a job for life”.

The seamless marriages of flavour in the beer aren’t what you would expect; sweetness and bitterness walk hand in hand. Fruity and spicy aromas compliment each other with the greatest of ease. The flavour is an incredibly complex one, but the perfect balance of these flavours has completed this as a superb boutique beer, but this blend has the makings for an easy-enough-to-drink session beer as well. Its pleasant aftertaste lingers in your mouth, and the aromatics tease your nose long after the drink has been taken.

The most unfortunate thing about this beer is the fact that it is only a Limited Edition. Currently, I have only seen it at 1^st Choice or Dan Murphy’s Liquor barns, clocking in at around $16.99 per six pack, or just over $60 for a carton. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. This beer is worth finding.  Well done, James Boag’s.

Rating (out of five):

Quick Facts : 5.0% alcohol – 375ml amber bottle – Twist top

| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | 16 Comments »