Beer and Brewer Magazine

The sun's finally stopped kidding and come out to play for real. Fill the Esky with beer, then add ice. But which beers?

Montieth's Radler (5%)

FRUIT tingle nose with a lemonade flavour reminiscent of shandy (shudder!) from the Kiwi beer barons. Lime cordial notes preside but this one is pleasantly drinkable without being over-sweet.

Verdict: A cross-over beer that surprises.

Beez Neez (4.7%)

A GREAT step into beer for non-beer drinkers. A slight residual sweetness comes through from the malted wheat and honey and great springtime aromas of honeycomb. This uniquely styled beer is widely available in premium bottlos and even widely found on tap at good venues, making it a good stand-out from the run-of-the-mill generica of Australian lagers.

Verdict: Beats a bee sting in a clover patch any day.

Cascade Blonde (4.8%)

THE best zesty brew outta Cascade in ages, this one hits high and hoppy on the nose with lip-smacking passionfruit and lime notes at the vanguard. Subtly sweet on the palate yet classically citric, this comely Blonde gently detonates in a shower of flavoursome fireworks voluptuously bodied enough to linger yet tantalising enough to have you wanting more, more, more.

Verdict: This blonde's a bomb on the back-palate.

3 Raven's Blond (5.2%)

A BIG soft-bodied blond with amber roots, this delicious drop from Bill Lawry-country on the Victorian city fringe is a stouter yet still simpatico sister to Hoegaarden Grand Cru, arriving hazy and honey-hued and packing a bounteous bouquet of sticky fruits like apricot, peaches and tangellos, all anchored by white pepper hints.

Verdict: A luscious lady rap-rap-rapping at the flavour gates.

Moo Brew Wheat (5.1%)

CLOUDY as a Rastafarian dawn, this Moo bellows its greatness on impact, kicking up a densely billowing powder of lustrous yellow yeast befitting its stylishly sawn-off pseudo-champers packaging. Fizzing with fruity, spicy flavours as disparate as banana and coriander, it's a short, glorious sprint from glass to gullet.

Verdict: Surely the apple of the Apple Isle's eye.

Feral White (4.6%)

THIS is a Belgian-style wheat beer, also known as witbier or white. The flagship, and most widely distributed of this Swan Valley, WA, craft brewery's range. Feral white displays all the characteristics of its style: citrus and spicy coriander notes, a clean, dry palate with a tart flavour infused from the use of a witbier yeast strain.

Verdict: Don't be afraid of its cloudy appearance; a beer even a Feral could enjoy.

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