Black Brewing Company
On Tuesday the 17th of April I visited The Black Brewing Company in Wilyabrup near Margaret River, Western Australia. This brewing operation took over the premises from The Duckstein Brewery in November 2015. It was started by two partners, Stuart and Scott. However, Scott later left the business and now it is run mainly by Stuart.
The venue is rather upmarket with a great restaurant and large deck area overlooking a dam. At the bar they have eight taps, seven for their beers and one for cider. They also produce and sell their own wines and spirits ( only gin at present).
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Lager, 4.8% abv, this is a rice lager, using 15% rice in the malt bill and rated as gluten reduced. It has a golden colour and a malty aroma. The flavour is very much like Sapporo or other Japanese lagers, it has a nice, light malt taste and a clean, crisp finish.
2. Fresh Ale, 4.5% abv, this has a pale straw colour and a gentle fruity aroma. It has a taste of sweet maltiness and a gentle fruitiness before a mild bitter finish. Very easy drinking.
3. Honest Ale, 4.5% abv, this was a collaboration brew with Taj Burrows, Jay Davies and Dino Adrian, it has a golden straw colour and a tropical fruit aroma. The flavour is light, fresh and fruity with a lasting, mild bitter finish. The finish is aided by the special ingredient of Yallingup sea water, so every drink has a real piece of the region in it.
4. XPA, 6.0% abv, this has a dark golden colour and a resinous floral aroma. It has a well balanced flavour of fruit and resinous pine on a generous, lingering hop bitterness.
5. Bao Bao Milk Stout, 4.5% abv, this has a dark brown colour and a nice roasted coffee malt aroma. It has a sweet, strong malty flavour with tastes of espresso and, as it warms dark chocolate.
6. Little Brother, 3.5% abv, this is a mid strength Vienna Lager with a light golden colour and a fruity aroma. It has a very well balanced flavour of sweet malt and then a fruity bitterness on the finish.
7. Saison, 4.8% abv, this has a hazy straw colour and a spicy pepper aroma. It is light, smooth and easy drinking with a good spicy, malty yeast flavour.
8. Framboise, 4.9% abv, this specialty beer has a light pink colour and a raspberry aroma. It has a nice raspberry flavour on a slightly sour, tart finish. Refreshingly good.
9. Cascara Saison, 5.5% abv, this is a collaboration brew with Five Senses Coffee, it has a slightly hazy golden colour and a malty yeast aroma. Lovely sweet malty yeast flavour with a great smooth mouth feel. Delicious. This is available in bottles only.
I enjoyed the beers being produced by The Black Brewing Company, they were all delicious. They regularly add to the range with seasonal brews and specialty beers. This brewery will be undergoing a venue rebranding in June/July of this year. The venue name may be changed as well as the labels on their bottled and canned beers, however, the brand name will probably stay the same. They are definitely worth keeping an eye out for.
I would like to thank Evan and Bree for their time and hospitality when I visited.
The Bushshack Brewery
On Monday the 16th of April I visited The Bush Shack Brewery in Yallingup, Western Australia. This brewery was the second to open up in this region way back in about 1999. The present owners took over the lease in 2002, at that time the brewery was known as Wicked Ales, but an American beer with a similar name threatened trouble over their brand so in 2005 it became The Bush Shack Brewery, ( ironically the American beer no longer exists but they still hold the rights to the name – go figure).
The present owners came from a hospitality background with very limited brewing experience at that time. They initially were brewing from extracts but have been a full grain mash brewery for quite a few years now. It is a small, family run business producing less than 30000 litres annually. They specialise in small batch, hand crafted, malt driven beers. They make batches of 620 litres at a time. Their beers are all unfiltered and their packaged beer is bottle conditioned. In the beginning they had a range of five beers but have expanded that to now have six amber beers and five darker beers as well as a few seasonal and specialty brews.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Milky Wh-Ale, 3.5% abv, this has a light amber colour and a sweet malt aroma. It has a nice sweet malty flavour with tastes of caramel and vanilla.
2. Strawberry Blonde, 6.7% abv, this is a Pale Ale made with fresh strawberries and honey, it has a hazy straw colour and a subtle fruity aroma. It is smooth and sweet with gentle fruity strawberry hints.
3. Chilli Beer, 4.5% abv, this has a Pilsner base, it has a light straw colour and a malt aroma. The flavour is of sweet maltiness before a medium hot chilli finish and aftertaste.
4. Amateur Hour, 5.9% abv, this is so named because it was a collaboration with a younger family member who had won Australian Amateur Brewer of the year, this was his first brew using a full size brewhouse. It is a German Weissbier style with a golden colour and a malty wheat aroma. It has a great sweet, full, malty wheat flavour and is delicious.
5. Dark Roast Wheat Beer, 4.2% abv, this has a dark amber colour and a caramel and toffee aroma. It is smooth with a malty flavour that has tastes of toffee and caramel. Nice!
6. Yallingup Old, 5.5% abv, this has a dark amber colour and a subtle sweet malt aroma. It has a sweet caramel malt flavour with a well balanced gentle bitterness.
7. Chocolate Beer, 5.0% abv, this has a black colour with a dark brown head and a great dark chocolate aroma. It has a smooth mouth feel and a wonderful strong dark chocolate flavour that lingers beautifully on the palate. Fantastic!
8. Old St Nick, 8.5% abv, this is a Double Scottish Ale with a black colour and a fruity aroma. It has a lovely strong malt flavour with tastes of Christmas cake fruitiness and a subtle coffee hint. Very, very nice!
The beers being produced by The Bush Shack Brewery are all very enjoyable and a little different from the average craft brewery. They have a fantastic, family friendly venue with a children’s playground and a very relaxed beer garden under the trees.
This is a brewery that is definitely worth visiting, however, they will be relocating later in the year as the lease is running out. So get down to Yallingup soon or keep an eye out for their new location later on, they should not be missed, especially the Chocolate Beer, it is probably the best of that variety that I have tried. Their beers are only available from the brewery or by mail order.
I would like to thank Coralie for her time and hospitality when I visited.
Colonial Brewing Company
On Saturday the 14th of April I visited The Colonial Brewing Company in Margaret River, Western Australia. This was the third craft brewery to open in this region way back in 2004. They have an aim of making beers to suit the craft beer drinkers as well as producing some very approachable beers that are easily consumed by mainstream beer drinkers.
This brewery started here but have expanded to now have another venue in Melbourne. At the Margaret River brewery they produce about 700000 litres per year at present, but there are plans for an upgrade to add more fermentation tanks to increase their capacity. They also run their own canning line.
The venue is very family friendly with a large beer garden with a children’s playground and toys/sports equipment for the kids to have fun with while their parents enjoy a good brew. They also have a great restaurant that makes the kind of food that goes well with beer. The brewery has a wonderful relaxed atmosphere that suits the region well.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Draught, 4.8% abv, this Kolsch style beer has a light straw colour and a lemon citrus and herb aroma. It has a gentle fruitiness on a light, crisp, clean, dry finish. Very approachable.
2. Small Ale, 3.5% abv, this has a golden colour and a tangerine citrus aroma. It has a great citrus flavour on a sweet malt palate. Very sessionable, designed to be big on flavour at a responsible alcohol level.
3. Pale Ale, 4.4% abv, this has a golden straw colour and a tropical fruit aroma. It has a flavour of sweet passionfruit and tropical fruit on a mild bitter crisp finish.
4. IPA Australia, 6.5% abv, this has a golden colour and a tropical fruit aroma. The flavour is of tropical fruit blended with resinous pine, before a good, lingering hop bitterness. A nice hop driven IPA.
5. Bertie Cider, 4.8% abv, this has a clear appearance and a green apple aroma. It has a sweet apple taste with a dry, crisp finish.
6. South West Sour, 4.6% abv, this has a hazy golden colour and a fruity citrus and tropical fruit aroma. It has a nice citrus taste with a gentle sour lime finish. Crisp, clean and refreshing.
7. Project Beer, Crosby, Stills and Mash, 7.5% abv, this is named for Crosby hop suppliers who provide the Idaho 7 hop variety used, Stills for the ‘bathtub’ gin that is used in it and Mash for the brewing component. It is a gin infused double IPA with a hazy golden colour and an unusual floral gin aroma. It has a strong fruity, hoppy IPA flavour with a gin like taste on the finish.
The brewery produces seasonal and project brews to regularly add to their core range of beers. In cooler months they will have their Porter available that suits the cold climate of the region, the tag line for this beer is “drink yourself a jacket”. They will be canning this one this year for the first time.
I really enjoyed the beer and atmosphere of Colonial Brewing Company and would like to thank Neil and Margaret for their time and hospitality when I visited. Give them a try if you get the chance.
The Beer Farm
On Friday the 13th of April I visited The Beer Farm in Metricup, near Margaret River, Western Australia. This brewery was started two years ago on a dairy farm, using the old dairy buildings as the brewery and bar area. The brewery consists of a two vessel brewhouse and fermentation tanks to allow a maximum capacity of about a million litres a year at present. However, two new fermentation tanks have just been added and there are plans for more. They also have their own canning line.
Along with their core range of beers this brewery likes to make specialty brews using native ingredients. In the past they have made a Strawberry Gum Stout, a Saltbush Barley Wine and a Sandalwood and Quondong Beer. Their latest release is a Native Australian IPA, or a NAIPA, using sunrise limes and blood limes. While I was there they were in the process of putting down a collaboration brew with Rocky Ridge Brewery that will be a Sour Milk Stout that uses rhubarb in the brew.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Calm Your Farm, 3.6% abv, this is a mid strength beer with a hazy golden colour and a malt aroma. It has an initial taste of malt before a mild bitterness on a crisp dry finish.
2. West Coast Lager, 4.6% abv, this has a golden colour and a sweet malt aroma. It has a light, sweet malt taste. An easy drinking lager.
3. Brown Ale, 4.4% abv, this has an amber brown colour and a sweet caramel aroma. It has flavours of toffee and caramel on a mild bitter finish.
4. Western Cider, 4.8% abv, this has a cloudy appearance and a strong green apple aroma. It has an initial flavour of sweet apples on a dry finish. The apples for this unfiltered brew come from Manjimup.
5. India Pale Ale, 5.6% abv, this has a golden colour and a strong, sweet, fruity aroma. It has a nice fruity taste on a generous, lingering hop bitter finish.
6. Pineapple Sour, 4.2% abv, this has a cloudy appearance and a pineapple fruit aroma. It has an initial sweet fruity taste and then a gentle pineapple sour zing finish. Refreshing.
7. India Pale Lager, 5.2% abv, this has a clear straw colour and is the breweries flagship beer, the aroma is of stone fruit. It has an unusual, sweet fruity taste that moves into a good bitterness on a crisp finish.
8. Australian Bitter, 4.2% abv, this has a hazy golden colour and a fruity aroma. It has a sweet malt taste on a mild bitter finish.
9. Native Australian India Pale Ale or NAIPA, 6.5% abv, this is an Australian take on a NEIPA using native limes and local hops. The colour is a hazy orange and it has a spicy citrus lime aroma. It has a lime zing taste with a gentle bitterness on a slightly tart finish. Unusual but very enjoyable.
The core range of beers from The Beer Farm are all very easy drinking and very well made. Their specialty beers using native ingredients are interesting and a little more suited to the craft beer drinkers looking for something different. The venue is great with a large bar area and beer garden. They have food available to help soak up the beer. They also host interesting events including their annual Rodeo Weekend which happens at the end of April this year.
I would like to thank Miles, a brewer, who took time out from the collaboration brew to talk with me.
Blackwood Valley Brewing Company
On Thursday the 12th of April I visited The Blackwood Valley Brewing Company in Bridgetown, Western Australia. This microbrewery is part of The Cidery, a venue that has a restaurant and produces ciders, beers and wines all on the one site. They have ten beers and eight ciders on tap as well as having some special brews in bottles and their own red, white and sparkling wine.
This brewery was one of the pioneers of the craft beer industry in this area, opening eighteen years ago. All of the owners/partners are still involved with the running of the business. The brewer/cider maker is Mark Hollett, he has been with the brewery for the past fifteen years. His main focus in the beer brewing is UK style ales and he does these exceptionally well. The range of beer produced is extensive and seasonal changes are made to suit the climate changes of the region from season to season.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Summer Ale, 3.9% abv, this has a light straw colour and a citrus aroma. It is a crisp, easy drinking beer with a mild fruitiness. This is a great sessionable summer beer.
2. Alpha Tango, 4.6% abv, this is a New World Pale Ale with a golden colour and a subtle sweet fruit aroma. It has fruity flavour with a mild bitterness on a crisp finish. Very nice.
3. All Australian Pale Ale, 5.2% abv, this has a light straw colour and a passionfruit and citrus aroma. It has a sweet tropical fruit flavour with a gentle bitter finish.
4. Harvest Ale, 7.0% abv, this is an American style Pale Ale that is made with locally sourced hops. It has a dark amber colour and a caramel malt aroma with a complex biscuit malt and fruity flavour before a mild but lingering bitter finish.
5. Irish Red Ale, 5.2% abv, this beer was originally made for St Patrick’s Day but was so popular it became part of the core range. It has a dark amber colour and a subtle malt aroma. The flavour is of caramel and toffee on a clean, crisp finish. It was awarded a Silver Medal at the International Beer Awards in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
6. Stout Porter, 5.5% abv, this has a black colour with a dark brown head and a coffee malt aroma. It has a rich, full flavour with tastes of roasted coffee and dark chocolate on a sweet, smooth, creamy finish. Wow! It has been awarded a trophy for International Champion Stout in 2009 at the International Beer Awards, won five gold medals and was named WA Best Beer in 2007 at the Perth Royal Beer Show Awards.
These next four beers were poured from the hand pump.
7. Special Bitter, 5.2% abv, this has a golden colour and a fruity aroma. It has a well balanced flavour of sweet malt with a moderate bitterness on the finish. It has been awarded gold medals at the Perth Royal Beer Show 2010 + 2017, as well as bronze medals at the Australian International Beer Awards 2013 + 2017.
8. Nut Brown, 4.2% abv, this has a dark brown colour and a strong nutty, caramel aroma. Fantastic nut flavours dominate this beer, it is sweet, nutty and delicious. Very, very drinkable.
9. Autumn Ale, 6.2% abv, this has a dark amber brown colour and caramel and toffee aromas. It has a lovely sweet malt flavour with an earthy, slightly smoky background taste. These wonderful flavours last on the palate.
10. Old Ale, 6.0% abv, this is an aged ale that is cellared for up to 24 months, it has a black colour and a sweet, spicy aroma. It has a complex malt flavour that is sweet with strong hints of smoky peat and nuts. Rich, delicious and very easy drinking.
The next two beers are specialty ales.
11. Blackwood Chestnut Ale, 5.5% abv, this has a dark brown colour and a sweet nutty, caramel aroma. It has a roasted chestnut flavour in a smooth brown ale and is incredibly drinkable. Yum! It was awarded a gold medal at the 2017 International Beer Awards.
12. Blackwood Truffle Ale, 6.0% abv, this has a dark brown colour and an earthy, chocolate and sweet toffee aroma. It has a wonderfully complex flavour that is earthy, spicy and fruity. Very unique and amazing. It was awarded a silver medal at the 2017 International Beer Awards.
All of the beers were fantastic and very true to their styles. I really enjoyed them all and strongly recommend visiting The Blackwood Valley Brewing Company if you are in the Bridgetown area.
I would like to thank Mark for his time and hospitality when I visited.
Northbridge Brewing Company
On Wednesday the 10th of January I visited The Northbridge Brewing Company in the Northbridge area of Perth, Western Australia. This brewery came into being after the City of Perth asked the community for expressions of interest and suggestions for use of the area next to the Northbridge Piazza. It took several years for Beerland Brewing to go from a concept to actually being an operating brewery and bar in the heart of the entertainment district of the city. The brewery finally opened in August of 2014 and has never looked back.
The brewery is very family friendly and the Piazza Bar opens out onto the grassed area. Movies are also shown here on the large outdoor screen. The brewery itself is split over three levels; the downstairs Piazza Bar and Beer Garden, the upstairs Tank Bar and the rooftop Skydeck Bar. The brewery has a restaurant that has a fantastic menu of food that goes well with beer.
The brewing is carried out in a twelve hectolitre brewhouse with the brewery having a total capacity of about 150000 litres per year if they were to really push the brews through. They have a core range that has grown from four to five styles of beer and also produce an ever changing selection of seasonal brews.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Beerland Wheat, 5.0% abv, this has a golden straw colour and a banana and bubblegum aroma. It has a wonderful sweet wheat flavour with a mild spiciness.
2. Beerland Lager, 5.0% abv, this has a golden colour and sweet malt aroma. It has a nice malt taste on a crisp, clean finish.
3. Beerland Pale Ale, 5.2% abv, this Australian style Pale Ale has a golden colour and a tropical fruit and floral aroma. It has a well balanced flavour of sweet malt and fruit and then a gentle bitter finish.
4. Beerland Kolsch, 5.0% abv, this has a golden colour and a sweet malt aroma. It has a great malt flavour with hints of spice and sweet fruit. True to the style.
5. Beerland IPA, 6.0% abv, this American style India Pale Ale has a hazy golden colour and a strong aroma of citrus, tropical fruit and pine. It has a very nice juicy, citrus fruit flavour with a mild resinous bitterness on the finish. Lovely.
6. Beerland Yorkshire Gold, 4.8% abv, this ESB style beer is a seasonal and has an amber colour with a caramel malt aroma. It has a wonderful malt palate of caramel and toffee on a dry finish. Very true to the style and delicious.
The beers being produced by head brewer Ken Arrowsmith and brewer Andrew Dean are all very good and very easy drinking. They have some great seasonal brews coming out soon including a Gose style and an NEIPA.
The venue is fantastic and available for functions and also hosts live music. They run Brewer for the Day events, Brewery tours, Brewmaster Tastings and Talks and a Beer Club. The Northbridge Brewing Co. is definitely a place worth visiting if you are in Perth.
I would like to thank Danielle, Nadia and Andrew for their time and hospitality when I visited.
Artisan Brewing Company
On Saturday the 23rd of December I visited the Artisan Brewing Company in Denmark, Western Australia. They just celebrated their third birthday of brewing in November. However, Brian, the owner and brewer gained his Diploma of Brewing Science in the US over ten years ago. He was then involved in the importation of kegs for the home brew community from 2006. He is still involved with the importing of draught beer equipment for home brewers and specialty yeasts for the craft beer industry. He also was the president of the WA Brewers Association for five years.
He brought all this experience when he eventually started his own brewery and made the decision to specialise in Belgian style beers. He launched the brewery with a Farmhouse Red Beer at 8.2% abv, one hell of a way to introduce yourself to the local craft beer community. It was very well received and the brewery has moved from strength to strength. They have been doubling their growth every year so far and last year produced 18000 litres of beer with the prediction of making over 30000 litres in the coming year.
They do their brewing on the old equipment that was updated at the Boston Brewing Company and have five fermentation tanks at a capacity of 50 hectolitres. They are even doing some barrel ageing and blending. In the future Brian intends to brew with different sugars and spices to achieve the flavours he desires. It is all about experimenting and having fun while producing high quality beers.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Saison, 6.2% abv, this has a hazy golden colour and a yeasty aroma. It has a nice gentle spiciness on a very true Saison flavour.
2. Rocking Red Rye Saison, 4.7% abv, this has an amber colour and fruity aroma. It has a lovely spicy, fruity yeast flavour. Very nice.
3. Strong Golden Ale, 6.5% abv, this has a golden colour and a malt aroma. It has a wonderful sweet buttery malt and fruit flavour on a dry finish.
4. Citra Elixir, 6.2% abv, this is a dry hopped IPA with a golden orange colour and a citrus and mango aroma. It has a sweet citrus fruit flavour and a gentle bitterness on a dry finish.
5. Awesome Blonde, 5.8% abv, this has a golden straw colour and a malt aroma. It has a great sweet buttery malt flavour. It is smooth and delicious.
6. Festbiere, 5.6% abv, this has an amber colour and a spicy malt aroma. It has a nice malty taste with a gentle spiciness on a crisp dry finish.
7. Oatmeal Porter, 4.8% abv, this has a black colour and a roasted malt aroma. It has a lovely smooth mouth feel and a complex malt flavour with hints of coffee and dark chocolate on a gentle bitter finish.
8. The Moz IPA, 6.4% abv, this has a golden colour and a tropical fruit aroma. It has a wonderful sweet juicy tropical fruit flavour on a nice mild bitter finish. Delicious!
All of the beers that Artisan Brewing are producing are fantastic. They are definitely worth looking for. They are available at many venues but definitely at The Denmark Tavern as well as at Petition Beer Corner in Perth and at Clancy’s .
I would like to thank Brian for his time when I visited and also Phil at the Denmark Tavern for his hospitality.
Denmark Brew and Ales
On Friday the 22nd of December I visited Denmark Brew and Ales in Denmark, Western Australia. This brewery was started by Jason and Wendy Norton in 2009. Jason came from a home brewing background while living on a farm before he purchased the Southern End restaurant and function centre and decided he needed his own beers to sell. The beers are brewed offsite in Collie at Brew 42. They make predominantly Irish style beers and have a core range of five beers and a cider and ginger beer. All of the beers are naturally made and contain no preservatives.
The venue is beautiful with fantastic views down over Denmark and to the ocean beyond. It has a large restaurant area as well as the bar and also a function area that is popular for wedding receptions.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Ocean Beach Bitter, 5.8% abv, this has a golden straw colour and a subtle malt aroma. It has a mild malt taste and a gentle bitterness on a crisp finish.
2. Busted Arz, 4.8% abv, this is an Irish Red Ale with an amber colour and a caramel malt aroma. It has a sweet malty taste with a gentle fruity bitter finish.
3. Apple Cider, 4.6% abv, this has a golden colour and a sweet apple aroma. It has a nice sweet apple flavour and then a dry tart finish.
4. Brew 42, Power House Pale Ale, this has a golden colour and a subtle malt aroma. It has a sweet malty flavour with a nice fruitiness on a mild bitter finish.
5. Brew 42, Blue Moon Lager, this has a golden colour and a sweet malt aroma. It has a sweet malt taste on a crisp dry finish.
The Denmark Brew and Ales also make a Stout that is very popular, an IPA, a Lager and a Berry Cider. All of the beers that I sampled were very easy drinking and should be well accepted by the mainstream beer drinkers.
I would like to thank Wendy for her hospitality when I visited.
Boston Brewing Company
On Thursday the 21st of December I visited The Boston Brewing Company in Denmark, Western Australia. This brewery was started six years ago in Willoughby Park Winery. The name comes from the owner’s wife’s maiden name.
They underwent an upgrade and expansion two years ago that saw them increase the brewhouse size from 500 litre capacity to a three vessel 1800 litre system. They have three 18 hectolitre fermentation tanks and three 36 hectolitre tanks and numerous bright tanks. They are expanding their sale range by moving into the packaged beer market and recently added a canning line. At present they have their Rye Pale Ale, Brown Ale and Ginger Beer available in the cans, with two more varieties of beer to be added to the range in the new year. The brewery also is moving into barrel ageing some special beers, these include Stouts and sours.
The brewery also houses a large restaurant and has a children’s playground in the beer garden.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Hey Hay, 4.6% abv, this is a German Hefeweizen with a straw colour and a banana and yeast aroma. It has a great spicy banana, clove and wheat flavour on a dry finish.
2. Boss, 4.8% abv, this is a Lager with a golden straw colour and a subtle malt aroma. It has an easy drinking malt taste with a gentle bitterness on a crisp, clean finish.
3. Boondie, 5.0% abv, this is a Rye Pale Ale with a golden amber colour and a citrus and tropical fruit aroma. It has a well balanced flavour of sweet malt and tropical fruit before a nice bitterness on the finish.
4. Poison Point, 6.0% abv, this is an West Coast IPA with a golden colour and a tropical fruit and pine aroma. It has a lovely sweet fruitiness and then a resinous hop bitter finish.
5. Rame Head Red, 7.4% abv, this is a Red IPA that may undergo a name change in the near future. It has an amber colour and a malt and fruit aroma. The flavour is one of malt and tropical fruit tastes and then transitions into a nice, lingering mild bitterness on the finish.
6. Little Fella, 3.5% abv, this is a mid-strength beer with a golden colour and subtle citrus and malt aroma. It has a good citrus fruit taste and a gentle bitterness on a crisp finish.
7. The Right, 5.7% abv, this Nut Brown Ale has a brown colour and a sweet caramel malt aroma. It has a wonderful complex malt palate of nuts and caramel with hints of chocolate.
8. Afterglose 4.5% abv, this is a Raspberry Gose with a hazy pink colour and a raspberry aroma. It has a fruity raspberry taste with a good tart finish.
The Boston Brewing Company is producing some wonderful beers and has a fantastic family friendly venue. This is a brewery that is definitely worth visiting if you are in the Denmark area.
I would like to thank Tyson, the head brewer, for his time and hospitality when I visited.
Wilson Brewing Company
On Wednesday the 20th of December I visited The Wilson Brewing Company in Albany, Western Australia. This brewery was started by Matty Wilson nearly eighteen months ago.
He came from the mining industry, with a recent history of doing fly in fly out work before moving home to his home town of Albany and deciding it was time for a change. He had been a keen home brewer for many years so opening up a brewery seemed logical.
He built the brewery himself, including the brewing vessels and bottling line, on the site of a closed down plant nursery. The brew system has a 500 litre capacity and is in use seven days a week at present to produce 3500 litres a week. This amount is not keeping up with demand so the brewery is being expanded and a new purpose built Spark five vessel brew system and fermentation tanks will be installed early in the new year. This system will be capable of producing 3000 litres a day. A new canning line, capable of handling 25 cartons an hour, is also in the plans.
Initially the brewery only produced kegged beers for other venues but their own bar was opened in February this year and has been very well patronised since then. At present the brewery employs ten local people but this will probably grow when the brewery expands next year. They have plans to expand the bar area to include a function area and also hope to have a beer garden open by next summer.
The brewery is a family friendly venue and even have a toy box to entertain the kids while their parents enjoy a beer. They have a variety of food trucks that set up on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons to provide food. The brewery produces a core range of five beers with a regularly changing seasonal/special Beer added to the selection on a monthly basis. They have even made some barrel aged beers using local wine barrels and some from the local international award winning whiskey makers. The brewery is presently supplying beer to several local restaurants as well as having their bottled beer available around Albany. This will change when they expand as they have recently signed a contract to supply beer for distribution state wide through BWS and ALM liquor stores.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Lighthouse, Session Ale, 3.6% abv, this has a golden colour and a malt aroma. It has a sweet malty taste and a crisp finish. Very easy drinking and sessionable.
2. Figurehead, Albany Blonde Ale, 4.9% abv, this has a golden colour and a sweet malt aroma. It has a nice sweet malt flavour with a clean, crisp, dry finish.
3. Stiff Mast, Albany Bitter, 5.2% abv, this English style bitter has a light amber colour and a sweet caramel malt aroma. It has a malt flavour of caramel and a subtle hint of chocolate on a very gentle bitter finish. Nice!
4. Rough Seas, Pale Ale, 5.8% abv, this has a hazy golden colour and a tropical fruit aroma. It has a lovely sweet fruitiness and then a mild bitter finish. Very enjoyable!
5. Lost Sailor, Dark Ale, 5.3% abv, this has a dark brown colour and a roasted coffee malt aroma. It has a wonderful roasted malt flavour of coffee and chocolate. Delicious!
6. Sailors Secret, Ginger Beer, 5.5% abv, this is a malt based beer that ginger has been added to with a golden colour and a spicy ginger aroma. It has a sweet malt and ginger flavour and is very easy drinking and refreshing.
7. Naughty Orca, Black Blonde, 6.0% abv, this is made with Pilsner and roasted barley malts and local mandarins, it has a dark amber colour and a citrus aroma. The flavour is of a sweet maltiness and a gentle citrus taste.
8. Woonjah Booyee, Quandong Red Ale, this specialty beer was made with the assistance of local Noongar elder Joey Williams, who collected the fruit and designed the artwork for the label. The name is Aboriginal for Love On The Rocks and it has a dark orange colour and a fruity malt aroma. It has a sweet fruity taste with a nuttiness and a gentle tart finish.
The Wilson Brewing Company is producing some fantastic beers and has a wonderful venue for having a relaxing drink. They have great plans for the future and should become a force in the Western Australian craft beer market. They are definitely worth trying to find if you can’t get down to Albany to sample them at the brewery.
I would like to thank Matty and Rob for their time and hospitality when I visited. I will certainly be back next time I am in the area.
Albany Brewing Company
On Wednesday the 20th of December I visited the Albany Brewing Company in Albany, Western Australia. This brewery is housed in the White Star Hotel that has a history of being a brewpub stretching back to the early 1900’s. At that time the hotel was owned and run by The White Star Shipping Company that was later acquired by the Cunard Line of cruise ships.
Before the Albany Brewing Company took over the brewery, just over twelve months ago, it was the Tangle Head Brewery. They had been operating in Albany for quite a few years. The hotel has a couple of bars, a restaurant that focuses on local food, wine and beer, and also regularly has live music.
The brewery produces a core range of six beers, those being; Ginger Beer, Pale Ale, Lager, Porter, Wheat Beer and a Hop Back Ale. Both the Ginger Beer and the Hop Back Ale are gluten free.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Lager, 4.5% abv, this German Pilsner style beer has a golden straw colour and a subtle malt aroma. It has a sweet citrus and malt flavour and a gentle bitterness on a crisp dry finish.
2. Wheat, 5.0% abv, this German Hefeweizen has a straw colour and a banana and yeast aroma. It has a wonderful sweet fruity banana and wheat flavour. True to the style.
3. Pale Ale, 5.0% abv, this has a golden colour and a citrus aroma. It has a sweet malt taste and then a mild fruitiness on a gentle bitter finish.
4. Hop Back Ale, 5.2% abv, this gluten free Ale has a golden colour and a floral aroma. It has a mild fruitiness and bitterness on a crisp finish.
The beers produced by Albany Brewing Company are quite enjoyable and easy drinking. There is nothing confronting about any that I tried and they should all appeal to the mainstream beer drinkers.
Lucky Bay Brewery
On Friday the 15th of December I visited The Lucky Bay Brewery in Esperance, Western Australia. This brewery celebrated its second birthday yesterday. It was started and is run by Nigel Metz and Robyn Cail. They are both still maintaining full time employment in other jobs as well as running the brewery. They both work in agriculture in areas that are involved in improving grain quality. They have lived in Esperance since 2005 but both come from farming backgrounds. So doing something local and in their area of expertise was a logical decision.
A lot of work and research went into this brewery before they even poured a beer. In fact five years research was invested into the possibilities of brewing with raw barley.
Nigel’s job involved him in trying to get Esperance barley exported into Asia for beer making in place of the rice that was being used. This inspired him to see what he could do locally, using Western Australian barley, that is mostly exported. They undertook over thirty different brews before getting their recipes right. They now are the only brewery in Australia that uses 75% raw barley in their beer. The barley is grown in Scadden, 50 km north of Esperance, by the Egan family. Meaning that they produce the freshest beers available, coming straight from the local field to the brewery and through their mill into the beers. Their spent grain is then used as stock feed or as an ingredient in making sour dough by a local bakery.
The brewer, Adam Cope, also works full time as a school teacher. The brewery has its own canning machine to can fresh one litre cans but only one at a time. They also have growlers or kegs available if you are really thirsty. The beers are named after local landmarks or by local people.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Sandy Hook, Barley Pale Ale, 4.5% abv, 25 IBU, this is made with 75% raw barley and has a golden colour and a malt aroma. It has a nice sweet malt taste and then a light bitterness on a gentle, citrus, crisp finish.
2. Thistle Cove, Scottish Ale, 3.4% abv, 16 IBU, this has an amber colour and a slightly spicy, sweet malt aroma. It has a complex malt flavour with hints of caramel and toffee on a mild bitter finish. Very easy drinking for this style of beer.
3. Skippy Rock, Kolsch, 5.5% abv, 26 IBU, this has a golden colour and a malt and subtle apple fruit aroma. It has a sweet malty taste and a slight apple and pear fruitiness with a spicy, crisp, dry finish.
4. Wharton Witbier, 4.6% abv, 20 IBU, this is made with 50% raw wheat and 50% raw barley and has a golden colour and a wheaty, yeast and banana aroma. It has a great wheat flavour with gentle citrus and spice notes. Refreshingly good.
5. The Homestead, Farmhouse Ale Saison, 6.0% abv, 25 IBU, this has a golden colour and a subtle citrus aroma. It has a nice yeasty flavour and a gentle spiciness on a dry finish. True to the style.
6. Cyclops, Indian Pale Ale, 6.0% abv, 45 IBU, this has an amber colour and a strong citrus and tropical fruit aroma. It is well balanced with a sweet malt and sweet tropical fruit flavour on a mild bitter finish. Very good and very easy drinking.
7. The Tanker, Dark Ale, 5.1% abv, 24 IBU, this has a dark amber colour and a roasted malt and smoked meat aroma. It has a wonderful complex malt flavour of caramel, coffee, chocolate, biscuit and smoked meat. Delicious!!
The Lucky Bay Brewery are producing some great beers, they have a great story, you can’t find anything fresher or friendlier to the environment as far as beer making goes in Australia. Truely wonderful, it is worth visiting Esperance just to try their beers.
I would like to thank Robyn for her hospitality when I visited.
Pirate Life
On Friday the 8th of December I visited Pirate Life Brewing in Hindmarsh, South Australia. This brewery was started three years ago by Jack and Michael Cameron and Red Proudfoot. Red had previously been at Cheeky Monkey in Western Australia. Their aim was to build a brewery that would become internationally recognised as quickly as possible. Red and Jack had always been brewing since the time they left high school. Pirate Life was their first combined attempt at doing what they really wanted to do.
They have rapidly reached the capacity of their Hindmarsh site and were in the process of considering expansion to another site in Port Adelaide when the recent takeover offer came out of nowhere. The takeover will not affect the way the brewery is run or the beers that they make. In fact the founders have been retained as directors and all the staff have continued in their usual roles. What it will mean is that they now have more money to play with. There has been $10 million put aside just for the development of the new Port Adelaide site. It has a floor space that is the size of a football oval and will include a bar area with thirty taps and a restaurant capable of seating three hundred people.
The present brewery consists of a three vessel 2500 litre brewhouse and twenty six fermentation tanks of 5000 litre and 10000 litre capacity. They brew twenty four hours a day from Monday to Friday. They have their own canning line capable of handling 100 cases of beer in forty minutes. 85% of their production goes into cans. They are also doing a bit of barrel ageing with some of these brews gaining some interesting additives in the way of figs or strawberries. The brewery also produces a lot of their own power requirements via an 80.8 kilowatt solar power system.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Nelson Pilsner, 4.5% abv, this has an eight week lagering period, it has a golden colour and a sweet malt aroma. It has a nice malty flavour and a clean, crisp finish.
2. IIPA, 8.8% abv, this has a golden colour and a fruity tropical aroma. It has a sweet juicy fruit taste and a nicely balanced flavour of malt on a good, lingering hop bitterness.
3. Mosaic IPA, 7.0% abv, this has a golden colour and a sweet citrus aroma. It has a great sweet citrus fruity flavour. Delicious!
4. IPA, 6.8% abv, this has a golden colour and a citrus fruit aroma. It has a well balanced flavour of sweet malt and then a fruity citrus taste on a nice mild bitter finish.
5. Stout, 7.2% abv, this has a black colour and a roasted coffee malt aroma. It has a wonderful sweet malt flavour of espresso. Very nice!
I enjoyed all of the Pirate Life Brewing beers that I tried. They are making some really delicious brews and when their new venue is constructed next year they will be able to produce a lot more of them.
I would like to thank Ed and Matt for their time and hospitality when I visited.
Big Shed Brewing
On Friday the 8th of December I visited The Big Shed Brewing Company in Royal Park, South Australia. This brewery was started by Jason and Craig about four years ago. They had originally been home brewing in Jason’s shed, which is where the name originated. They held the business name for three years before finally deciding to get serious about opening their own brewery. They started by brewing part time in the evenings and on weekends as they both still had other full time jobs. They then moved into the front factory unit that had been the owners overflow storage space. They ordered a brewery kit from China and were so excited when it finally arrived that they hugged the delivery driver.
The brewery consists of a 1000 litre brewhouse, four 2000 litre, two 2500 litre and two 1000 litre fermentation tanks. They would like to have more but are at the limit of their usable space where they are. They also have their own compact six head bottling line.
They have five beers and a cider in their core range and make a varying selection of seasonal brews and special collaboration beers. They have been doing an annual collaborative brew with Doctors Orders, in 2015 this was an Imperial Sweet Potato Stout Saison at 10.5% abv. It sounds interesting.
They sell their packaged beers Australia wide at selected bottle shops.
They recently held their fourth birthday party and combined this with a fund raising event for a local community day care centre. It was attended by 350 people and raised $4000 for the day care centre.
The venue is not huge but still has a fair amount of room inside. They have a kitchen that has a great burger and bar food menu.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Kols Chisel, 4.2% abv, this Australian style Pale Ale has a straw colour and a subtle malt aroma. It has a sweet malty taste with a slight fruitiness on a crisp finish.
2. F Yeah, 5.5% abv, this American style Pale Ale has a golden colour and a fruity citrus aroma. It has a well balanced sweet fruit and malt flavour and then a mild bitterness on the finish.
3. Californicator, 7.5% abv, this West Coast IPA has a golden colour and a sweet malty aroma. It has a great sweet fruity flavour and a generous hop bitter finish.
4. Big RIIPA, 10.2% abv, this Red Imperial IPA has a golden amber colour and a fruity malt aroma. It has a sweet, syrupy malt flavour and then a fruity bitterness on the finish.
5. Dr Shedlove 2017, 9.4% abv, this Imperial Stout was a collaboration brew with Doctors Orders, it is black with a dark head and a fruity roasted malt aroma. It has a wonderful sweet, rich fruit pudding and raisins flavour on a nice alcohol warming finish.
6. Cherry Popper, 8.5% abv, this apple and cherry cider has a pale pink colour and a slightly sour apple aroma. It has a sweet apple taste with a subtle hint of cherries.
7. Frankenbrown, 5.3% abv, this American Brown Ale has a black colour and a roasted malt aroma. It has a smooth, easy drinking malt palate with subtle hints of biscuit and coffee on a gentle hop bitter finish.
8. Brewer’s Series Mad Dog’s Big Shed Bare Bones Stout, 5.3% abv, this is black with a thick head and a chocolate roasted malt aroma. It has a great sweet malt flavour of chocolate and espresso. Damn good Stout!
Big Shed Brewing Company are producing some fantastic beers. The venue is great and the food is delicious. All in all this is a brewery that is definitely worth visiting.
– [ ] I would like to thank Craig for his time and hospitality when I visited.
Rehn Bier
On Wednesday the 6th of December I visited Rehn Bier Brewery and Bar in Tanunda, South Australia.
This brewery has been in operation for about five years but has only been in the Tanunda site for four weeks.
Initially all of their beers went into bottles, but as of last year they started kegging some as well. They make batches of between 500 litres and 800 litres at a time depending on the variety. All of the beers are unfiltered and made without preservatives. They use all Australian ingredients where possible.
They have a good selection of beers in their range but unfortunately I was not able to sample any or purchase any to take away and try later, due to licensing laws. They are available in selected outlets throughout the Barossa Valley and Adelaide.
Sunlight Liquor
On Wednesday the 6th of December, while visiting Barossa Valley Brewing, I met Tom the brewer who also produces Sunlight Liquor. This is sparkling mead made to be quite sessionable.
Tom studied botany and micro biology at university which led him into the occupation of brewing. He believes that Australia’s huge diversity of flowering plants lends itself to great flavours of honey that can be used to produce a wonderful variety of meads. He wants to make meads that are appropriate to Australia, meaning that they are perfect for drinking on a hot summer day. They should be of a reasonably low alcohol content, lightly carbonated, with a dry finish and available in cans. The individual flavours can be sourced from getting honey from different blossoms.
He is fortunate enough to be able to play around with his mead brewing after work hours using Barossa Valley Brewing’s equipment.
The meads that I sampled were:
1. Sparkling Orange Blossom, 4.0% abv, this has a slight orange tint to its clear appearance and a citrus and honey aroma. It has a sweet honey and citrus taste on a crisp dry finish. This is made with Australian orange blossom honey and infused with organic black tea and a hint of bergamot. Refreshing and delicious.
2. Gums and Roses, 4.0% abv, this has a pink colour and a subtle floral aroma. It has an interesting sweet strawberry and guava initial taste on a crisp dry finish. This is made with seasonal gum honey with hibiscus for colour and strawberry gum for flavour. Very easy drinking.
I enjoyed the meads from Sunlight Liquor and would like to thank Tom for his time and for the samples. These are a very viable alternative for people who want something different from beer and they are gluten free as well.
Barossa Valley Brewing
On Wednesday the 6th of December I visited Barossa Valley Brewing in Tanunda, South Australia.
This brewery was started by Denham D’Silva in 2005. He gained his experience of craft beers while studying at university in America. After finishing his studies he used his qualifications to work in international banking, but craved a job he could be passionate about. This led to him starting the brewery with the aim of bringing good and different beers to the Australian drinkers. It may have been a disappointment to his wife at the time, as when they were engaged Denham was a cashed up banker and by the time they were married he was an impoverished brewer.
When they started their operation all of the beer produced was sold as packaged beer through a wine distributor. The site was chosen in the wine region because they were hoping to give people the opportunity to spoil their pallets with flavours, similar to what wine drinkers do. They moved to their present location six years ago, when the wine distributor was no longer taking their beers, to open a brewpub. The venue is fantastic, with room inside and out, a restaurant and views of the brewery and the vineyards of the area.
The head brewer, Tom, brings his knowledge and experience from working for Stone and Wood. The brewery consists of an eighteen hectolitre system with three 18 hectolitre fermentation tanks and one 36 hectolitre tank, ( another 36 hectolitre tank will be added soon). They also have their own canning line. The cans are filled without labels and then labelled by a local group of workers with disabilities.
The brewery also takes in contract brewing for other breweries, so that the brewers gain fresh ideas and experiences. They also have fun producing quarterly special brews. One of these was their Cherry Ripe Porter and one that is coming soon is a Barrel Aged Lemon Myrtle Sour.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Bee Sting, 5.0% abv, this will soon be relabeled as Golden Ale, it is golden in colour with a subtle citrus aroma. It has a sweet honey malt flavour and then a clean, crisp finish.
2. Chan Van Damme, 4.4% abv, this is an Asian inspired Belgian Wit, meaning it uses lemongrass and Szechuan pepper in the brew. It has a golden straw colour and a subtle lemongrass aroma. The flavour is of a slightly spicy citrus. Very nice!
3. Indian Summer, 3.5% abv, this has a golden colour and a floral aroma. It has a sweet malt initial taste and then a nice fruitiness on a gentle bitter finish. Very sessionable.
4. Hop Heaven Easy IPA, 4.8% abv, this beer has won three consecutive gold medals at the Australian International Beer Awards, it has a golden colour and a big tropical fruit and floral aroma. It has a sweet tropical fruit flavour and a gentle bitterness on a crisp dry finish.
5. Granis Major IIPA, 8.0% abv, this beer has also won a gold medal, it is golden in colour with a pine aroma. It has a sweet fruitiness, that is well balanced by the malts, on a mild bitterness. Dangerously drinkable.
6. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Bacon, 5.0% abv, this was originally called Barossa Smoke but the name was not catchy enough, it has an amber colour and a bbq smokehouse aroma. It has a wonderful, slightly sweet, smoked meat flavour with a nice peaty taste. At first this beer was made as a special, but demand has forced it into the core range.
7. Chocolate Coffee Stout, 7.0% abv, this won a gold medal at the 2017 Craft Beer Awards, it has a black colour and a strong roasted coffee aroma. It has a wonderful sweet malt palate of dark chocolate and espresso on a mild bitter finish.
8. Wallaby Apple Cider, 8.0% abv, this is straw coloured and made with hops that give it a lovely passionfruit aroma. It has a slightly sweet apple flavour on a crisp finish. Very nice indeed.
The beers being produced by Barossa Valley Brewing are all fantastic. The venue is great. It is somewhere I would strongly recommend visiting.
I would like to thank Denham and Cheryl for their time and hospitality when I visited.
Lady Burra Brewhouse
On Monday the 4th of December I visited The Lady Burra Brewhouse in the Adelaide CBD, South Australia. The brewery has been operating for two and a half years. It is the only microbrewery in the central Adelaide area.
The Brewhouse has a good size bar area with room inside and out and also houses a restaurant. The food menu is Portuguese influenced and has evening specials most days. The bar serves a good range of wines and spirits, as well as their beers, and tries to keep them as local as possible. They have an extensive cocktail menu with a couple that are brewing oriented either being brewed or using hops in the recipe.
The brewing is taken care of by James Collis, who has previously been with Barossa Brewery, Little Creatures and White Rabbit. He uses a two vessel brew system with three fermentation tanks giving a total fermenting capacity of 3350 litres, ( this is to increase soon with the arrival of another tank). At present most of the beers are sold in the bar. They make a core selection of four beers and always have two more taps that have seasonal or special brews. They are also regularly brewing a rice lager for a local Japanese restaurant.
The name of the brewhouse comes from a local South Australian character that was born in Burra but ended up in Ballarat, some where along the way she became attached to an American brewer.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Pilsner, 4.7% abv, 25 IBU, this has a golden colour and a malt and subtle floral hop aroma. It has a nice sweet initial flavour of malt and a gentle bitterness on a crisp, clean finish. This won a Bronze Medal at the 2016 Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards.
2. Pale Ale, 5.2% abv, 40 IBU, this has a golden colour and a sweet tropical fruit aroma. It has a nice well balanced flavour of malt and fruitiness on a good bitter finish. This won a Bronze Medal at the 2017 Australian Craft Beer Awards.
3. Irish Red Ale, 4.9% abv, 18 IBU, this has an amber colour and a creamy head with a subtle biscuit malt aroma. It has a nice smooth mouth feel and a sweet biscuity, caramel and toffee malt flavour. This won a Silver Medal at the 2016 Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards.
4. IPA, 6.5% abv, 60 IBU, this has a golden colour and a citrus hop aroma. It has a juicy citrus and tropical fruit flavour on a good bitter finish. Easy drinking. This won a Bronze Medal at the 2016 Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards and a Silver Medal at the 2017 Australian Craft Beer Awards.
5. Berliner Weisse, 3.5% abv, this has a hazy straw appearance and a subtle apple fruit aroma. It has a gentle fruity flavour on a slightly tart sour finish. Refreshing.
6. Golden Ale, 4.0% abv, this has a golden colour and a subtle sweet fruity aroma. It has a sweet malt initial taste and then a slight fruitiness before a strong bitterness on the finish.
The beers at The Lady Burra Brewhouse were all enjoyable and the venue is great. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the Adelaide CBD.
I would like to thank Tom and James for their hospitality when I visited.
Ekhidna Winery
On Saturday the 2nd of December I visited The Ekhidna Brewery within the Ekhinda Winery in McLaren Vale, South Australia. This brewery was started by Matt, the owner and wine maker, to attempt to fill a hole in the market, by becoming the first venue in the area with food, wine and beer available.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Wheat, 5.2% abv, this has a golden straw colour and a very subtle wheat and yeast aroma. It has a mild sweet wheat flavour on a crisp finish.
2. IPA, 7.4% abv, this has a golden colour and no noticeable aroma. It has a initial malt taste and then a very slight fruitiness on a very gentle bitter finish. Rather bland for an IPA.
3. Dark Ale, 8.8% abv, this has a amber brown colour and a subtle malt aroma. It has a nice sweet malt flavour of caramel and toffee.
4. 50/50, 5.2% abv, this is half Wheat beer and half ginger beer with a straw colour and no noticeable aroma. It has a sweet ginger spice taste.
5. Ginger, 5.2% abv, this ginger beer has a hazy appearance and no noticeable aroma. It has a strong, sweet ginger spice flavour.
The Ekhidna Winery/ Brewery seems to do well with their wines and food. However, apart from the Dark Ale, the beers lack flavour and aroma. I don’t know if this is deliberate to try to appeal to mainstream beer drinkers or just the way they are produced, but they did not do it for me.
Smiling Samoyed Brewery
On Saturday the 2nd of December I visited The Smiling Samoyed Brewery in Myponga, South Australia. This brewery was started by the married couple of Kate and Simon.
They have a background in home brewing and had the dream to start their own brewery. They searched for two years before finding their venue, that was five years ago.
They then spent nine months purchasing and installing the brewing equipment. They have now been brewing for four and a half years.
The brewery consists of a 12 hectolitre two vessel brewhouse and several single and double size fermentation tanks. They also have their own bottling line, but this is due to replaced with a newer eight head line to help speed up their production. At present 50% of the beer goes into bottles and the other 50% into kegs.
The sales of their range is confined to South Australia at present, but the new bottling line may allow them to expand.
They produce a core selection of four beers, these being; Kolsch, IPA, 12 Paws Pale Ale and a Dark Ale. They also have a regularly changing range of seasonal and special beers.
The venue is fantastic with space inside and out, they have food available including wood fired pizza and they have live music on Sunday.
Although Kate and Simon are the only ones to work in the brewery they employ twenty people to help run the bar and restaurant.
The beers that I sampled were :
1. Kolsch, 4.5% abv, this won a Silver Medal at the 2017 Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards. It has a straw colour and a subtle malt aroma. It has a sweet malt taste and then a clean, crisp, dry finish. True to the style.
2. 12 Paws Pale Ale, 5.5% abv, this won a Bronze Medal at the 2017 Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards. It has a golden straw colour and a citrus and passionfruit aroma. It has a sweet fruity flavour with a good bitterness on the finish.
3. IPA, 6.8% abv, this won a Bronze Medal at the 2017 Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards and a Silver Medal at the 2017 Australian Craft Beer Awards. It has a golden colour and a sweet malt and fruit aroma. It has a well balanced flavour of malt and fruit on a mild bitter finish.
4. Dark Ale, 4.5% abv, this won a Bronze Medal at the 2017 Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards and a Silver Medal at the 2017 Australian Craft Beer Awards. It has a dark brown colour and a coffee malt aroma. It has a lovely chocolate and coffee malt flavour. Very nice!
5. Poppet, 7.6% abv, this is a Strong Brown Ale that was named after one of the original Smiling Samoyed dogs. It is an amber colour with a sweet fruity aroma. It has a wonderful, rich, complex flavour of toffee and fruitiness. Delicious!
6. Saison Farmhouse Ale, 6.0% abv, this has a straw colour and a subtle yeast aroma. It has a wheaty, yeast flavour with a gentle spiciness. Nice!
7. Aged Sparkling Ale, 6.0% abv, this is aged for six months on Mosaic hops, it has a golden colour and a floral and fruit aroma. It has a sweet fruity flavour and a mild hop bitterness on the finish.
The Smiling Samoyed Brewery is producing some fantastic beers and has a wonderful venue to enjoy them in. It is definitely a brewery worth visiting if you have the opportunity.
I would like to thank Kate and Maddy for their hospitality when I visited.
