Food, Drink & Dining Out Favourite Beer II

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I absolutely bloody love living about half an hour from Beechworth. A mate worked at the brewery and i've been lucky enough to spend a bit of time with Ben Kraus who owns it. I'm pretty passionate about the whole craft beer scene so it's fun to pick his brain a little and talk about industry trends etc.

I'm certainly an easier-going drinker than a lot of you in here. I really enjoy Balter's XPA. Also, as much as I can appreciate people who would rather not refer to it as a craft beer, i'll defend Furphy to the death. It's my go-to session beer. The interesting thing i've noticed with it is that sometimes (depending on where you go), it can taste like regular beer with no real notable flavour. But then other times it tastes so ridiculously good and flavourful I feel as if I need to ask the bartender if they poured the correct beer.

My wedding was a fun affair drinks wise. I had to cater for not only myself and my mates, but the older crew who wouldn't be keen drinking crafts all day.
Offered Stone and Wood as arrival/ceremony drinks. Only bought 2 slabs because of the cost and of course they were gone super quickly, but not before all the old fellas asked if there was any more of it. It was a real hit which i'm happy about. We then offered Corona while we were off taking photos, and the rest of the night included Heineken 3 as the mid-strength, Furphy, Squire One Fifty Lashes, Beechworth Pale. Everything was on a table in aluminium tubs and was a 'help yourself'. Everyone was blind by 9:00 and had an excellent time so we were stoked. Had a decent amount of Beechworths left which I drink through Xmas but the majority of everything else was gone on the night.
 
Blackhawk42 said:
I'm certainly an easier-going drinker than a lot of you in here. I really enjoy Balter's XPA. Also, as much as I can appreciate people who would rather not refer to it as a craft beer, i'll defend Furphy to the death. It's my go-to session beer. The interesting thing i've noticed with it is that sometimes (depending on where you go), it can taste like regular beer with no real notable flavour. But then other times it tastes so ridiculously good and flavourful I feel as if I need to ask the bartender if they poured the correct beer.
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Coopers Pale Ale is (in)famous for this too. Sometimes it so heavy. The colour, carbonation, the cloudiness can change from pint to pint. I actually rate that inconsistency.
 

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Jaxes said:
had a couple of 'HeyZeus" mexican lagers by Melvin over the weekend, geez they go down well in the warm weather. i know a lot in here find the mexican lagers a bit boring - especially coronas - but i love them in the warm weather
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Is this craft watery lager, basically?

Short of it being cheap, what the hell is the point?!

Corona is rubbish. Just smart marketing. Ultimately it's a bad beer but it's also so expensive – you rarely see it for less than 60 bucks a carton.

But the other day I got some Pacificos for cheap (about a dollar each) and they were perfectly fine for a hot day. I've had the odd Dos Equis after a long shift on a hot dark night and they too were pretty decent. Not a huge amount different to a Singha in the heat.
 
The first craft lager I remember was Pistonhead from Sweden. Had that Fitzroy-calf tat skull design on it. It was about eight bucks for a six pack for ages and it slowly just crept off the shelves and I haven't seen it since. I'd drink that if I didn't have any money.
 
^^^^^
Wasnt a huge fan of the Belching Beaver PB Stout
Los Lobos IPA good
Black Brewing Bao Bao milk Stout a banger
Founders CBS is over-rated, its only like, the third best bourbon stout. ******* still an amazing beer



Recently I've had

Stillwater Arrtisanal
Action Bronson 7000, Sour with Muscat grapes, Nice and refreshing
Wavvy Imperial IPA- nice, Price point was brutal for what it was, Understand completely with it coming from the USA, but there are better double IPA's around

Huyghew Brewery
Deliriums Tremens-Belgian Beers are the s**t.

Green Beacon
Pog Milkshake IPA- Cant tell if it's an abomination, Absolute beutiful mouth feel, However just Lactose and Fruit.

Otherside
Strong ale-Ehhhh
DDH Anthem- Ehhh

Rocky Ridge
Ryes Against-One of the best beers i've had in 6 months, Nice and spicey, Sharp, Hoppy, Dry, Just a ******* beutiful IPA

Eviltwin Brewing
Imperial Biscotti Chili Hazelnut Break-Nah couldnt do it, the Chili just ruined it for me, Great smelling beer, Just couldnt handle this one

Bevy Brewing co (The Camfield across from Optus Stadiums own beer)
The Lager and the Prize pale are hot garbage, Absolute hot garbage.

Central State
Hot Yoga-Now this is a ******* super dry Wheat IPA, Beutiful Malt, Supurb hop profile (Citra is my jam, Not sure what else they use
Turn the page-This is how you use Lactose in an IPA, Beutiful mouth feel and again, some brilliant overall flavour.


Central State beers are the absolute ****. I know they are pricey, hitting 10 bucks a can, However well worth it. I havent been impressed overall by a brewery since Daintons/Rocky Ridge
 
Upgrayedd interesting you mention Otherside. I've had a few of the Anthem IPAs and I reckon they're good value – almost a bit of spice to them and they're not bad value at $19 for a four pack of 6.2% alcohol beers. Not too overwhelming as many IPAs are now. Surprised to see they're a Freo brewery – do you know where they're actually producing?

Also, what's with the Thieves brewery starting up at Sealands in South Freo?
 
Otherside Red ale is great. It's odd that so many breweries in WA can absolutely nail a red ale

Otherside/cheeky Monkey, The Nail Red ale is the best Red ale ive tried

Running with Thieves is currently a contract brew.Theyve been waiting about 6 months for some of the leases to run out to eventually build a brewery in fremantle.The guy who created it was formally one of the co-founders of Black Brewing co

Black Brewing co was Basically founded by two guys, Now not sure what's happened, But one of them has left, A couple of the guys who worked for Black Brewing also left, and Suddenly Running with Thieves popped up,

Not sure if he got bought out or what, But Having a Brewery in South freo isnt cheap. It requires * you money. So i think he may of been paid out millions to leave Black Brewing.

Also Black Brewing also recently changed all their artwork ect. And funnily enough the original guy who did the artwork ect. for Black Brewing is a former employee who went over to Running with Thieves

Beers are ok. I love what Black Brewing are doing ATM. The Bao Bao milk stout is ****, Their pale ale is great. They have probably the best Site in Australia for a brewery as well with the old Duckstein Brewery, Which that place is ******* amazing, Absolutely ******* gorgeous amazing, They could spit in your food but you wouldnt care.
 
so the Deep Creek Steam Funk Gose go down really well in the warm weather. not super strong just a nice light feeling beer with a little tartness. i want to try a few more of the gose style before the weather starts to turn.

of the others the Bao Bao milk stout was my favorite by a mile. liked all the others pretty equally even though they differed pretty wildly. good batch of picks tbh. still got a few to get through
 
Upgrayedd said:
Otherside Red ale is great. It's odd that so many breweries in WA can absolutely nail a red ale

Otherside/cheeky Monkey, The Nail Red ale is the best Red ale ive tried

Running with Thieves is currently a contract brew.Theyve been waiting about 6 months for some of the leases to run out to eventually build a brewery in fremantle.The guy who created it was formally one of the co-founders of Black Brewing co

Black Brewing co was Basically founded by two guys, Now not sure what's happened, But one of them has left, A couple of the guys who worked for Black Brewing also left, and Suddenly Running with Thieves popped up,

Not sure if he got bought out or what, But Having a Brewery in South freo isnt cheap. It requires **** you money. So i think he may of been paid out millions to leave Black Brewing.

Also Black Brewing also recently changed all their artwork ect. And funnily enough the original guy who did the artwork ect. for Black Brewing is a former employee who went over to Running with Thieves

Beers are ok. I love what Black Brewing are doing ATM. The Bao Bao milk stout is ****, Their pale ale is great. They have probably the best Site in Australia for a brewery as well with the old Duckstein Brewery, Which that place is ******* amazing, Absolutely ******* gorgeous amazing, They could spit in your food but you wouldnt care.
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Running With Thieves are doing a heap of marketing – sending cartons to instagram 'celebrities' and also on tap in a heap of places as a beer of the month. Interesting.
 

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Just finished a Fixation IPA. I've had their Citrus Squish IPA before and really enjoyed it. This one still has that notable orange/citrus flavour and is absolutely delicious. Been a huge week so one of these at 6.4% has me in a nice little mood this evening.
 
Jaxes said:
tried a Deep Creek Steam Funk Gose last night. not sure if i'm into the style or not. only had one before which i really liked but wasnt as into this one. wasnt bad though, just different. i have 3 more to go through & decide
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Deep creek are great. All the varieties I've had were spot on.
 
I’ve managed to pick up a few bottles of Cantillon this week and have multiple of one variety. Looking for a Nath, Vigneronne or Lamvinus. I have a spare Rose de Gambrinus, Gueuze, Kriek or Grand Cru Bruocsella to trade.
 
Wally Walpamur said:
I’ve managed to pick up a few bottles of Cantillon this week and have multiple of one variety. Looking for a Nath, Vigneronne or Lamvinus. I have a spare Rose de Gambrinus, Gueuze, Kriek or Grand Cru Bruocsella to trade.
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The Rose is ******* Beutiful.

Unfortunately i dont work for the Importer anymore and was super pressed for time so didnt manage to grab any bottles. Best bet is maybe hit up swanbourne cellars. I know the guys get a little bit and they refuse to put any notification up on PBS/Their FB as they just want it on the shelves.
 
Upgrayedd said:
The Rose is ******* Beutiful.

Unfortunately i dont work for the Importer anymore and was super pressed for time so didnt manage to grab any bottles. Best bet is maybe hit up swanbourne cellars. I know the guys get a little bit and they refuse to put any notification up on PBS/Their FB as they just want it on the shelves.
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I picked up the Kriek and Gueze from there! (It’s my go to store on the down low that have some beers that are sold out everywhere else but we’ll keep that between us 😉). The Rose is unbelievable and managed to get four bottles of this... I’ll let a couple of these sit for a few years, one I’ll open in a year and one I’ll open after Freo’s first win.

Picked up a couple of the Killer Kween and it’s delicous. The Biggie Juice is probably the best NEIPA I’ve had from WA, on par with the the Old Wives Ale.
 
Wally Walpamur said:
I picked up the Kriek and Gueze from there! (It’s my go to store on the down low that have some beers that are sold out everywhere else but we’ll keep that between us 😉). The Rose is unbelievable and managed to get four bottles of this... I’ll let a couple of these sit for a few years, one I’ll open in a year and one I’ll open after Freo’s first win.

Picked up a couple of the Killer Kween and it’s delicous. The Biggie Juice is probably the best NEIPA I’ve had from WA, on par with the the Old Wives Ale.
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Biggie juice is great.
 
Wally Walpamur said:
I picked up the Kriek and Gueze from there! (It’s my go to store on the down low that have some beers that are sold out everywhere else but we’ll keep that between us 😉). The Rose is unbelievable and managed to get four bottles of this... I’ll let a couple of these sit for a few years, one I’ll open in a year and one I’ll open after Freo’s first win.

Picked up a couple of the Killer Kween and it’s delicous. The Biggie Juice is probably the best NEIPA I’ve had from WA, on par with the the Old Wives Ale.
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Yep, Swanbourne is great, They are just brilliant for anything wine related, They dont do much social media posting about their beers, SO when they recieve ultra rare stuff they just keep it for their customers, rather then post it and have someone who would never shop there go in and wipe them out at the expense of their customers

Also one of the easiest stores to work with as a supplier/rep relationship

Grabbed a 4 pack, Im not the biggest NEIPA guy but i like the biggie juice, as its not some super fruity bitter monster like most new england and unfiltered ipa's are heading
 
Upgrayedd said:
Yep, Swanbourne is great, They are just brilliant for anything wine related, They dont do much social media posting about their beers, SO when they recieve ultra rare stuff they just keep it for their customers, rather then post it and have someone who would never shop there go in and wipe them out at the expense of their customers

Also one of the easiest stores to work with as a supplier/rep relationship

Grabbed a 4 pack, Im not the biggest NEIPA guy but i like the biggie juice, as its not some super fruity bitter monster like most new england and unfiltered ipa's are heading
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I enjoyed the Hop Nation Jedi Juice but I found The Dawn tasted like kerosene. I love a NEIPA where, although it might be a high ABV, you wouldn’t know it.
 
Jaxes said:
been off the beers 5 weeks & lost 5kg. going on holiday next week and i am ready to put it back on :)

anyone know of any Sri Lankan or Japanese beers i should be keeping an eye out for while i am there???
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That sounds like a sick trip.

I love going overseas for beers, almost as much for the different experiences as much as the actual drinks. I've found myself in some cool breweries in the US but there's something just as cool as seeing Coopers Stout in Stockholm as the 'Aussie' beer, or getting a can of Peroni red from a vending machine, stuff like that.

Just testing out provincial, common lagers of the country is fun too.
 
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