Beer Thread

mandrake04

All this talk on the other thread about beer, I thought I would start a thread.

I don't drink any crap like VB, Carlton or New.

Coopers Pale
Boag's
Little Creatures Pale ale (usually bottlo)
Hahn Super Dry
Pure Blonde (if I'm stuck)

also like a few different craft beers any recommendations?

Zambia

Im just a VB drinking bogan or anything else thats cold or wet.

Cooperspale

Besides my namesake,
Fat Yak
Cascade Pale
BlueTongue
Little Creatures
Ranga Red Ale

Holgate brewhouse in Woodend, VIC has some tasty brews as does Hargreaves Hill in Yarra Glen. You need to go out there for them though, so find a driver.

Carlton has to be one of the worst types of ditchwater ever poured, full of preservatives..... Stonking headache stuff.

jackbhoy

White Rabbit Pale and Dark Ale are both nice as is James Squire Golden Ale and Fat Yak all avaialble in most Coles/Woolies too.

Most of the craft beers I have tried are Victorian but I know some have made it to Sydney too, the ones I can remember off top of my head:
- Kooinda Black IPA, gorgeous if you like dark beer but not too heavy.
- Kooinda Valhalla Golden Ale: really crisp, lovely on hot day.
- Three Ravens Pale Ale
- Mornington Penisula Wietbier (like Hoegaarden, bit lighter)
- Cavalier Brewing Pale Ale
- Mountain Goat.

jester77

James Squire Golden Ale
Little Creatures Pale Ale

jackbhoy

Cooperspale wrote: »

Holgate brewhouse in Woodend, VIC has some tasty brews as does Hargreaves Hill in Yarra Glen. You need to go out there for them though, so find a driver.

The Woodlands Hotel in Coburg has Holgate, I tried their Choclate Porter and Pilsner. Not huge fan of the porter but Pilsner was nice.

mandrake04

Cooperspale wrote: »

Carlton has to be one of the worst types of ditchwater ever poured, full of preservatives..... Stonking headache stuff.

All the house beers do that, but Calton has to be the worst.

Tooheys Extra Dry is too gassy

I see Little Creatures is getting a good rap, you can get it in Pint bottles as well.

I forgotten to add Blue Tongue to my list, its not a bad drop.

mandrake04

jackbhoy wrote: »

The Woodlands Hotel in Coburg has Holgate, I tried their Choclate Porter and Pilsner. Not huge fan of the porter but Pilsner was nice.

I had Chocolate Porter at a micro Brewery in Broome once, they also had Chilli-Beer. Some things you shouldn't F**K with and beer is one of them.

Cooperspale

jackbhoy wrote: »

The Woodlands Hotel in Coburg has Holgate, I tried their Choclate Porter and Pilsner. Not huge fan of the porter but Pilsner was nice.

Thanks for the tip. Looks a bit posh $$ compared to other pubs around there, Coburg getting gentrified it seems.

jackbhoy

Cooperspale wrote: »

jackbhoy wrote: »

The Woodlands Hotel in Coburg has Holgate, I tried their Choclate Porter and Pilsner. Not huge fan of the porter but Pilsner was nice.

Thanks for the tip. Looks a bit posh $$ compared to other pubs around there, Coburg getting gentrified it seems.

Yeah, it has a bit fancier decor than neighbours but it has a laid back/friendly feel and not a pretenious place at all. I'm more a spit and sawdust type pub myself but i really like this place.

Bottles are expensive but quality is very good with most of them. Draft prices compare well to other places, their house lager and Mornington Wietbier are $7/8 a pint, which is cheaper than a lot of Brunswick/Coburg places charge for Carlton etc.

It's great place to try out diferent craft beers and the barmen are good at recommending what's good/new. The head barman is really sound guy and has put me onto some great beers, he is also brutally honest and tells us if he doesn't rate a beer either.

6ix

I'm only here a short while but I've tried most of the mainstream beers on draft and I'd normally drink Coopers Pale.

Little Creatures Pale Ale is really nice - definitely my favourite so far. You don't see it that often in bars though. I was found it on tap last night which was a nice surprise.

It's a pity it's so expensive even in bottle shops - 24 bottles cost $69 in Liquorland :eek:

Xavi6

Any of the pale ales pretty much for me with Coopers the standout.

Pure Blonde has an awesome after taste and I quite like Bluetongue. There's a fairly obscure one called Haagen that I often get on special which goes very alright. It's Aussie brewed in a German fashion, worth a look.

mandrake04

Coopers won the best Family run business in the world just before Xmas, Their Pale ale is my No.1 choice No-Artificial preservatives and the Yeast strain is originally cultivated for over 100 years. A lot of people are put off by the sediment in the bottom of the bottle but this is the secondary fermentation stage that gives it the taste.

markymark21

I'm all over that Mountain Goat steam ale.. lovely stuff

Guys if your ever in the Balaclava/ St Kilda area you should check out the local tap house. Great little bar which has a really good selection of beers on tap and bottle.

You'd wanna check out the Imperial Stout, 14% abv... its awesome :eek:

g5fd6ow0hseima

markymark21 wrote: »

Guys if your ever in the Balaclava/ St Kilda area you should check out the local tap house. Great little bar which has a really good selection of beers on tap and bottle.

You'd wanna check out the Imperial Stout, 14% abv... its awesome :eek:

Cheers, i must check that place out.

Anyway, on aussie ales.. Im a massive ale fan, but when you're not getting much work, it's a pain to part with 20-22$ for a six pack of squires / little creatures / bostons etc. Anytime i could afford to treat myself I found the following to be great ales.

Balmain (which I only found in Sydney) nice strong ale, very like an english ale, fuller's pride in particular.

Boston's Mill - again only found in Sydney, very similar to Balmain, nice rich ale.

Squires - their IPA isnt worth shouting about, a poor man's Galway Hooker in my opinion, but their stout is lovely, as is their 150 lashes pale ale.

Coopers is ridiculously overrated, I cant understand the hype, the pale ale is like a bad cross between a pale ale and a wheat-beer, but the sparkling ale is slightly better, but still average.

White Rabbit - is actually a dark ale, lovely rich flavour, well worth getting if you love darker pints, as I do.

Fat Yak is quite nice, but not as nice as Squires.

Stone & Wood - I only had their pacific ale, which is delicious, it has a lovely minty flavour, like coriander or something similar. This might not sound appealing for ale drinkers, but it's great stuff.

.....plus Im told by an Aussie that 10 or fifteen years ago it was truly exceptional for a pub to stock anything outside of VB, Carlton, Tooheys, so I guess the situation with beers in Oz is much the same as back home, where the likes of Galway Hooker, O'Haras and a few others are starting to get tapped up in pubs all over Ireland. May the beer revolution continue.

woolymammoth

does anyone else think little creatures is highly over-rated? Tried it once at the brewery and wasn't impressed at all!

as for pub tap regulars, Pale, Hahn Super Dry, or teds, usually keeps me happy for the night. Fat Yak is good too. Carlton if I'm stuck with no other options!

Mellor

mandrake04 wrote: »

I don't drink any crap like VB, Carlton or New.

Coopers Pale
Boag's
Little Creatures Pale ale (usually bottlo)
Hahn Super Dry
Pure Blonde (if I'm stuck)

I'll drink SuperDry if im stuck. find Carlton Dry to be a far nicer beer.

i agree that Carlton (as in draught) is muck. But Carlton dry is a whole different beer,

Doc

woolymammoth wrote: »

does anyone else think little creatures is highly over-rated? Tried it once at the brewery and wasn't impressed at all!

NO.

Having said that it might take a bit of getting used to as it is a much sweeter tasting ale then most.

jimthemental

Guinness when I can get it otherwise Boags

sudzs

Can anyone tell me which of the cheaper beers are the most naturally brewed, as in no nasty chemicals to give me a headache!!

I've been experimenting and so far Hans Super Dry seems to be ok - and i've tested it to the limit!!!

...but would like an alternative.

By the way I love Little Creatures too! Just a bit pricey for everyday quaffing!!

Xavi6

Super Dry and Teds have to be amongst the worst beers over here.

mandrake04

woolymammoth wrote: »

does anyone else think little creatures is highly over-rated? Tried it once at the brewery and wasn't impressed at all!

No

But I have tried Fat Yak, not impressed.

Super Dry does not give me a headache, but still prefer Coopers or Boags.

digiman

Mellor wrote: »

I'll drink SuperDry if im stuck. find Carlton Dry to be a far nicer beer.

i agree that Carlton (as in draught) is muck. But Carlton dry is a whole different beer,

+1 on Carlton Dry, found it nice enough, usually a Heineken drinker.

Princess_N

I'll second (or third or fourth) Mountain goat, They do a cider called 2 step aswel and its lovely

jackbhoy

Cooperspale wrote: »

Holgate brewhouse in Woodend, VIC has some tasty brews as does Hargreaves Hill in Yarra Glen. You need to go out there for them though, so find a driver.

Good call on the Hargreaves Hill! Woolies in Brunswick stocking it now, grabbed a 6 pack of Pale, going down nicely

res ipsa

woolymammoth wrote: »

does anyone else think little creatures is highly over-rated? Tried it once at the brewery and wasn't impressed at all!

as for pub tap regulars, Pale, Hahn Super Dry, or teds, usually keeps me happy for the night. Fat Yak is good too. Carlton if I'm stuck with no other options!

Little Creatures rocks, australias best beer/ale by a clear mile, if it was a horse it would be called Black Cavier

sudzs

digiman wrote: »

+1 on Carlton Dry, found it nice enough, usually a Heineken drinker.

I think I'll go back to that.... I'm getting stomach aches from Hahn.

daftdave

http://www.sydneyhappyhour.com/

some good beer info and tip for sydney

old_aussie

Melbourne Bitter

seipeal1

Tasted Carlton Draught out last Saturday. Truly a despicable beer. Had Blue Tongue for the first time this weekend and it is a really nice drink. On the whole, most Aussie commercial beers are a little bit average, I think.

Cooperspale

Just read about this trail, if you're curious about beer and cider and have a free weekend around Melbourne:
https://www.littlecreatures.com.au/images/stories/creatures/creatures2/yarra_valley_cider_and_ale_trail.pdf

CiaranC

woolymammoth wrote: »

does anyone else think little creatures is highly over-rated? Tried it once at the brewery and wasn't impressed at all!

Eh, no.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/country/australia/14/

howwedoin

Lot of Carlton Draught disliking going on here, I think it's a lot nicer than most.

g5fd6ow0hseima

howwedoin wrote: »

Lot of Carlton Draught disliking going on here, I think it's a lot nicer than most.

worse than budweiser so it is

howwedoin

There is a most dangerous hangover off it alright but its not bad to get down!

markymark21

CiaranC wrote: »

Eh, no.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/country/australia/14/

I see Murrays Wild Thing Imperial Stout is #1. Was drinking that in the Tap-House last week. Freakin' awesome

Gregsor

I'm not out much but when i do i struggle to choose a draught lager in the locals.
Usually a Cartlon or a VB ordered but neither i am happy with after half drinking.
Mostly stick to imported lagers for home then Tiger/Heineken or the odd box of Coronas if the weather is wicked and Limes are on the cheap(hardly never) via Danny Murphy's.
Happy to get a $5 Guinness in one of my locals though,beer of the month in Landsdowne Rd Surfers Paradise,nice pint and for that price:cool:
I work in a tavern and use Carlton for the Beer battered fish and it makes a good batter if anyone is interested ,don't use the Midstrength stuff though.
I do like this breweries produce though http://mirboonorth.vic.au/brewery
,bit of a treat sometimes.

Feelgood

Has anyone tried Space Beer?.

An Irish styled beer (thats actually a stout) brewed in Manly and apparently the only beer that can be drunk in space.

I've yet to try it, though apparently its not bad at all.

http://vostokspacebeer.com/

Frisbee

Little Creatures Pale Ale is definitely the stand out for me.

Fat Yak, 150 Lashes and 68 Pale Ale's are all pretty good too. I used to drink the Coopers Pale Ale a lot at home but since I've come over I've found it's nowhere near as good as the other PA's. It is usually cheaper though so I'd drink it a bit still.

jackbhoy

Had Bridge Road Brewers Robust Porter last weekend, it's really good and definitely a nice one for winter.

mandrake04

I tried Bostons Mill pale, it pretty good.

markymark21

Anyone know of any Stouts which are a bit like the ones back home - ie a bit creamy? I've tried a good few porters/stouts over here and although I really like um they are all usually slightly carbonated or have a kinda flat texture (like the English style ales)

jackbhoy

Slightly off-topic I know but if anyone in Melbourne likes Scotch get yourself into Chez Regine on Russell St., unbelievably good selection and very reasonable prices. Good bottled craft beers for $6/7 as well. Been trying to get the work crew in there for weeks and they finally succumbed last night

Back ro beer now! Just having a Mac's Hop Rocker Pilsener and really enjoying it. It's a NZ beer and is on special in Woolies this week. I usually like darker beers but its very tasty, for a Pilsener...