Australian Beer

Australian beer when we left the country for England in 1997 was dreadful stuff -- over carbonated mass produced lager that was served ice cold so you didn't notice it didn't taste of anything. People have been telling me ever since that the beer has improved, with a proliferation of micro or artisan breweries making styles other than lager. However, it wasn't until our trip last year that I finally got to drink something that made me think the Australian palate might be developing. I still didn't get anything outstanding, but at least I got something that was better.

At my sister's birthday drinks, held at Edgar's Inn I asked the barman what he would recommend. He suggested the draught James Squire 150 Lashes Pale Ale. It turned out to be an improvement on the XXXX of my youth, but that wouldn't be hard. It was disappointingly nothingy. No hoppiness, very little malt, and as usual, served utterly frigid (which turned out not to matter, as it warmed up quite quickly in the beer garden atmosphere and wasn't improved). It was completely innoccuous, drinkable, but not something you would make any effort to return to.

The bar at Edgar's. I'd never seen ice cooled taps like this before. Note too the jar for donations to the Movember appeal -- half the male population of Australia was going round looking like they were on an 80s retro kick.

Luckily I discussed my dilemma with some bloke at the party. He recommended I try something from the Little Creatures brewery if I saw it, and when we were in Manly having lunch at a restaurant that had it on their drinks list I leapt at the chance. We tried the Little Creatures Pale Ale and the White Rabbit Dark Ale (the two breweries seem to be connected).

In the old days, Simon, having access to the more sophisticated choices available in New South Wales, could quaff Tooheys Old -- a drink that I never encountered in parochial Queensland. Of all the muck produced by the big brewers in Australia this is the most drinkable, being an acceptable but not inspiring dark ale. We expected the White Rabbit offering to better it, and it did, but not by that much, and in fact, the Little Creatures Pale Ale completely outshone it. It helped both drinks that the restaurant went a bit easier on the chilling too.

Little Creatures Pale Ale (left) and White Rabbit Dark Ale (right) at the Manly Grill.

Normally you would expect a dark ale to be packed with flavour and completely overpower any pale ale. Not so in this case. The White Rabbit was nice enough, but lacking in oomph. The Little Creatures Pale Ale had much more going on and was a nice drop -- still not really outstanding, but quite good.

Here are some quotes from the Beer Advocate that echo my experiences and could have been written by me:

Tooheys Old

The character it has sets it above most Australian macros but still a very average beer.

Mediocre brew in the land of lousy brews.

White Rabbit Dark Ale

...decent flavor although it could have been a bit more nuanced.

An interesting beer, but not groundbreaking.

 James Squire 150 Lashes Pale Ale

It's inoffensive, but there is really nothing here to entice real beer lovers.

Not unpleasant, just too subtle and weak.

Little Creatures Pale Ale

Good and drinkable with lots of tasty hops notes.

Of the beers I've had from Australia, this ranks in the top 3, and it is widely available.

So thank you anonymous bloke from Kathy's party. None of these beers would compete in my affections for most British bitters or ales or any Belgian beer, but it is nice to know that the situation is improving.