Each year, in Melbourne and in venues across the state we see the largest festival of beer in the country; Good Beer Week.
GBW sees over 270 beer related events all culminating in a three day beer tasting event from some of the best brewers in the country, The Great Australiasian Beer Spectapular or GABS.
GABS is truly an amazing event alone, held in the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, punters can sample new and rare release beers as well as some old favourites form over one hundred and ten breweries. (It was last week by the way. Sorry but put it on your calendar for next year!)
Another festival that is making waves in the country is a growing weekend of beer in rural Victoria with Bendigo on the Hop. This is a great day out wandering around Bendigo venues and getting to sample beer and talk to the people who are responsible for it. BOTH started three years ago and has grown to a stage where it sells out within a few days of tickets being released. This year on the 20th August, BOTH16 will feature 28 breweries each featuring a special beer for the festival.
To have such a festival is indicative of the beer uprising that’s happening now in Australia. Mainstream beer (the big boys, Lion Nathan and CUB) are in volume decline, drinkers are not just walking away from the mass produced lagers that have been the “norm” for forever and a day, they are running, and straight into the arms of the smaller independent brewer with their wonderful hand crafted beers.
Along with this uprising of new brewers comes the wave of beer styles that are sometimes so easy drinking you have to remind yourself that its beer and contains alcohol to the ones that challenge our every sense, and are so high in alcohol they could run a tractor for a whole week!
Thankfully most of the beers that are being produced are somewhere in the middle of this spectrum.
Here are a couple that are possibly on the outer edges of the inner part of the spectrum. (Umm if that makes sense!)
Anyway, Enjoy
Dainton Brewery (Kialla, Victoria)
Bastard Brother
Belgium Rye IPA
8% abv
$24.99 per 6 x 330ml bottle.
This bastard pours a golden amber colour, with a large cream head. It has a big fruit aroma, of dried apricots and peaches along with rye bread and spices. This really wowed me even at this stage of the tasting! It has a big rye malt backbone but shots across the mouth with a lovely hop bitterness which lingers long enough between mouthfuls.
This is a cracking beer which I wish was a little lower in alcohol, because I wanted to have another, but at 2.1 standard drinks and it was a school night, I had to pull up stumps at just the one.
Food Match: Pepper steak.
Young Henrys (Newtown, NSW)
Real Ale
English Style Bitter
4% abv
$21.99 per 6 x 375ml can.
The Real Ale, pours a reddish brown with a tight bubbled white head. It has a biscuity malt aroma with a slight hint of pine needles. It has a nice moderate mouthfeel with signs malt and citrus finishing with the right amount of bitterness to cleanse the palate and want you coming back for more.
This is clearly the easy to drink offering from YH, being true to style and is certainly sessionable. I would love to try this one from the tap, but it will certainly grace my fridge again.
Food Match: Classic Meat pie with tomato chutney or an sharp cheddar cheese.
myshoutbeerreviews 