How and where to begin,
I'm unsure really. The easiest place to start I imagine would be at
the beginning. This is not an essay as such but a summarised story of
the events that took place on my recent visit to Australia. I think a
good way to do this and to keep it concise would be to have it in a
roughly chronological order simply mentioning the beers I have had
and the places I had them.
The first beers I had
when I arrived, almost the moment I sat down after walking through
the apartment door was a beer from New Zealand Brewery 'Moa'. A
session Pale. The next was another session ale from 'Gage Roads'
another on of the up and coming breweries that was around when I was
last in Australia. They appeared to have grown massively in the time
that I've been gone. It still strikes me as being odd that Kiwi beers
are so readily available in the UK but Australian ones are not. There
is only a short flight between the two countries and I would imagine
roughly the same shipping channels. Why then are Australian beers not
as common in England?
Another good brewery
that didn't seem to exist last time I was in Australia was 'Feral
Brewing Company'. They produce a Smoked Porter that is good enough to
rival the likes of our home grown 'Beavertown' or the American giant
'Stone'. Feral have a selection of fabulous beers to excite the taste
buds of any person and suit any palate. I only got to try a few of
their beers but the ones I had were basically faultless, so with that
in mind I imagine the others in the range to be equally as good and
some of the special limited brews to be unreal.
Then came 'The RoyalAlbert'. It happened to be on the same block as the apartment I was
staying in Surry Hills and with a combination of having brilliant
beers and a chatty and knowledgeable bar man, became my regular. It
was pricey but you get what you pay for with that place. I arrived
the week after a tap takeover from one of the best breweries I tried
beers from, 'The Black Dog Brewery'. They had Saisons, Pales, IPAs,
and a particularly fine and extra strong Double IPA. Then in the same
session I had to try my first experience of an Australian hand pull,
'Hargreaves Hill', ESB. Hand pulled beers are commonplace in the UK
and are occasionally seen in American, in Australia they are so new,
so so new. Newer than a moment old baby. They are getting quite
common in Australia now and can be seen in many craft beer pubs and
even some regular looking pubs from bigger pub companies. It was a
very good attempt at recreating a very traditional British style
bitter with many similarities. I hadn't come to Australia to try
their version of an English beer. I wanted something Australian. I
finished that session with a Berliner Weisse from the same brewery
and named 'Small Beer' which I haven't got a clue about. It was
expressive of that style and a perfect representation of a sour beer.
4 pines had their Stout on. An Irish style dry Stout with lots of
burnt toast and rich maltiness.
I had to go back to my
favourite bottle shop in the whole of Sydney. When I stayed with my
brother all those years ago, I used to go there regularly and buy
whatever they had that took my fancy. It was amazing to see how many
craft beers they had from all over Australia and even the world. I
couldn't peel my eyes off a Saison from 'The Brooklyn Brewery' from
America. I didn't get it but will one day give it a go. I got two
beers from a brewery named '2 Brothers'. An appropriate name for a
couple of beers for two brothers. The beers themselves had brilliant
names, ''James 'Belgian' Brown' and a Porter that I can't remember
the name of. Great beers, great brewery and like I keep saying, the
best or my favourite bottle shop in Sydney.
Then came a little pub
crawl going back over my old haunts. The East Sydney Hotel, a place I
will forever mention always with a selection of decent beer, had a
selection of decent beers. That was where I was introduced to 'Modus
Operandi' another amazing brewery and one of the best in Sydney. All
of their beers have impressed, every single one. I want more, I want
them in England now! I had my first introduction of both hand pulled
and tap beer or the same variety. 'Young Henry's' 'Real Ale'. A kind
of best bitter style beer with a rich and complex malt body and
strong hop notes. Everything you want in a craft style best bitter.
Young Henry's are one of the more popular and hip breweries of the
moment in Sydney. They make great beer and have a cool bar at the
brewery. They have nailed the scene and have lest what looks like it
will be a permanent mark.
Of course I went back
to my old place of work, 'The Hollywood Hotel' or Hotel Hollywood.
There were always a couple of crafty beers on with one permanent one
being the classic, 'Coopers Pale'. A beer that is always one to go
back to and enjoy again and again and again. It was good to see it
was still there and that Marc, the manager had introduced another
craft beer. 'Moon Boy' from Murray's. A brewery from the wine
country. They make good beers and have such a broad spectrum, they
are worth checking out for sure.
I took a trip to
Newtown with the intention of visiting the Young Henry's brewery. I
tried many decent beers that day, from 'The Cricketers Pale' a Pale
expressing all the qualities of a great Aussie Pale. Fruit, citrus,
hops in abundance and a clean crisp finish. The are owned by 'Asahi'
but even with that fact, they still produce great beers. Maybe there
is hope for the likes of 'Goose Island' in Chicago, USA or 'Stone',
California, who may or may not have been bought out.
It was that day where I
got to try some truly memorable beers. A Milk Stout from 'Batch
Brewing Co' and a beer so out of the ordinary and tasty and verging
on spirituous, a Porter that had been aged in barrels that previously
contained spiced rum. 'Holey Porter' from 'Shenanigans Brewing'.
I got to try some good
beers and one not so good raspberry Stout at Young Henry's. I mean,
the fruity Stout might be popular for some, I just am not partial to
that style. Their other beers were really good and even the 'Natural
Lager' is a light and incredibly refreshing beer that is perfect
after or for a long session. Another of note is their 'Hop Ale'.
One of my favourite
beers of the whole trip was a Belgian Pale that had some resemblance
to a traditional Farmhouse Ale, 'Florette' by 'La Sirene'.
Unquestionably one of the best breweries in Australia and producing
some of the best beers I tried there.
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