Beer and Brewer Magazine

Searching for a new cold one? Knock the top of one of these beauties.

Little Creatures Bright Ale (4.5%)

The newest creature in this iconic Fremantle-based brewing company's range. Bright Ale is certainly not as big and bold as the Little Creatures Pale Ale. The Bright Ale is certainly perfectly geared for the warmer months with lots of subtle tropical and citrus notes and is well backed with a complex malt character with biscuity flavours. This is certainly a unique Australian ale and, as what we've come to expect from the Little Creatures brewers, always pushing the boundaries and not conforming to the standard basic lager beer styles predominate in the domestic Australian beer marketplace. A complex golden ale with good sessionability for the summer months.

Trumer Pils (4.9%)

This Austrian gem which originates from a privately run family owned brewery in Salzburg, demand grew for this German-style pilsner so much the family opened another brewery in Berkeley, California, USA. Rather than contract brewing or brewing under licience the Trumer brand was made solely by the Berkeley brewery using raw materials including water treatment to create a beer as similar to the Pilsner coming out of their original brewery in Salzburg. Trumer Pils has a deep clear golden colour with a nice fluffy white head. Tight small bubbles are similar to that of a fine champagne. It's crisp and refreshing, clean and nicely bittered with a medium bodied moorish mouth feel. A classic Pilsner style. Poured in an authentic Trumer Pils glass shaped like a high ball really accentuates the beer's aromas and flavours.

Emmerson's Pilsner (4.9%)

Memories of summer carnivals and evening drive-ins flood the mind when you get a nose-full of Emmerson's Pilsner. Brimming with popcorn, coconut and lemon, so tempting you can't keep your nose out of it. Like a good book, its one of those beers that you can't put down. Dry, bitter and full of flavour. Medium bodied with a very long afterflavour. Excellent quality and extremely appealing. Emmerson's pilsner is thirst quenching, but you can't stop at just one!

Mountain Goat Pale Ale (4.5%)

Mountain Goat is a small privately owned artisan brewery in the back streets of Richmond, Melbourne. Its Pale Ale is brown-gold in colour, and is slightly cloudy from yeast bottled with the beer. It pours with a dense creamy white foam. The nose is fresh, slightly (but not unpleasantly) sulphidic, perfumed, fruity and spiced. Hints of citrus suggest maybe a careful addition of Cascade varieties but a deft hand has kept this beer quite traditional in style and avoided going over the top in the new wave US style.

The palate is very fine and nicely balanced with a firm but not astringent hop finish; malty, fruity and quite creamy. "This beer's got tattoos" said one taster. This beer cries out for washed rind cheeses, charcuterie or a quiet pint in the corner of your favourite bar.

Budejovickj Budvar (5%)

Brewed in the southern Czech city of Ceske Budejovicke the State-owned brewery has long been in legal battles with a large American brewery over the use of the name Budweiser which is the German language translation of the name.

We prefer to concentrate on the beer.It has a deep golden colour and pours with a dense white foam. The taste reveals a pronounced malt impact that almost startles the taste buds and then takes it up another notch when the hop bitterness takes hold. The generous use of the local Czech Zatec hops delivers a high bitterness but one that is low in any harsh or resinous aftertaste. The full rich flavour transitions from early malt to firm bitterness cleanly, every taste providing continued enjoyment. Head brewer Josef Tolar is always remarkably humble about his beer. We wonder if he realises how far afield he exports joy to others.Try this classy lager with grilled honey soy chicken kebabs and fresh cracked pepper.Czechmate.

Limburg Czechmate (5%)

Immediately appealing with it's dense white foam this bright and breezy beer is a true example of the Bohemian-style Pilsner. Czech Saaz hops and barley malt entice you with biscuity malt and citrusy hop flavours. Rounded bitterness is in perfect balance with residual sweetness. Medium bodied, with a smooth mouthfeel. Refreshing and easy drinking, this will appeal to women having fun in the sun. Goes hand in hand with a summers afternoon.

Blanche de Chambly (5%)

This is a bottle-conditioned beer brewed in Canada which we have never tried before. It replicates the classical farmhouse French beers with a high carbonation and the yeast in suspension giving a cloudy appearance. It has a mild clove-like aroma and flavour and is a good example of this style and is certainly a very drinkable beer. Serious drinkers should not be put off by the cloudy appearance of this style as it predates the modern requirement to have a bright beer which was introduced when all beer glasses changed to clear glass rather than pewter and ceramic tankards.

Monteith's Summer Ale (honey spiced) (5%)

Monteith's Brewing Company New Zealand Spiced ales originated in Belgium. It is common to find these styles infused with anything from strawberries through to complex mixtures of spice and dried fruits/peel and honey. Skilled hands understand the juxtaposition of infusions; usually avoiding over infusion by hops when using alternatives such as honey and spice. Monteith's, owned by Dominion Breweries and Heineken, remains a small artisanal brewer brewing in Greymouth and Auckland New Zealand. Pale gold in colour with a dense creamy foam. The nose was a pleasant surprise; spicy, musk, ginger and old style soda pop. The palate was soft, creamy and slightly sweet but beautifully balanced with lime, grapefruit and ginger. A surprise package that won't put the die hard traditionalist off and maybe more importantly, likely to lure boring RTD drinkers away from their cans, to a beautifully crafted product.

Drink very chilled in a goblet style glass. Great aperitif.

Redback Wheat beer - Original (4.7%)

This beer style was introduced to the Australian beer drinkers by Phil Sexton in the mid-1980s and it is delightful that it is still relatively unchanged. The beer has all the classical European wheat beer clove-like characteristics which have been modified from the early brews to become a well-balanced beer that is very refreshing on a hot day when drunk cold. This is certainly a beer we enjoy at the start of a meal. It is a shame that the Matilda Bay Brewery in North Fremantle has recently closed but we are fortunate that the beer is still available and true to type.

Hoegaarden (4.9%)

When Peter Celis reopened the brewery in the old brewing village of Hoegarden in the early 1970s he created a beer that was immediately appreciated by beer drinkers around the world. The style is a traditional Belgium Witbier - or White beer - bottle conditioned and therefore faintly cloudy when poured, which utilises the specific yeast type which gives it the clove-like aroma and flavour characteristics. In addition, the beer has essence of oranges as well as some herbs - such as coriander - which add to the depth of aromas and flavours. The beer is particularly good with sea foods and some desserts and, although the original brewery has now been closed, Inbev have retained all the best of this beer. As a style it has been much copied around the world and an excellent WA beer of this type is Feral White.

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