Big Bumper Beers for 2012/New Year 2013

Beer Radar

By John Krüger

Big Bumper Beers for 2012/New Year 2013

(First published by Wine Business Magazine in 2012)

Holiday beers; forget the dodgy sporting sponsorships and marketing campaigns. By all means, if you need a safety net, buy your preferred uninspired slab of fizzy dishwater and stash a 6-pack in the back fridge. But I beg of you for the sake of the future of good beer, go to a decent bottle shop and buy a broad range of proper beers. I’d usually insert “in brown bottles to avoid light strike” in that last sentence, but during the holidays there’s pretty good turnover of stock, so fingers crossed.

I have to say, Dan Murphy’s might be a dirty word to the producers, but for a prolific beer buyer like myself, some of the big stores like Dan’s have a big range. For the rest, I frequent good wine stores. The better ones now have quite a few obscure beers and sometimes even a staff member who has tried a few of them.

Australian beers have a history of being insipid, pine-like flavoured bitter yellow fizzy water. I have a very hard time drinking the top 2 selling beers in Australia. It’s not being a hipster or a beer snob, I just really dislike their aroma and flavour. Thank goodness there’s new beers emerging that exhibit reliability, fresh flavours, quality aromas and they’re local.

Here’s a list of Aussie beers (and a cider) that I’ll be happy to purchase and drink over the holiday period in no particular order.

Feral White – A Belgian style spiced wheat beer. It’s soft, easy drinking, naturally cloudy and a great food beer. Subtle additions of orange peel and coriander to the boil add to the spicy yeast.

Sail & Anchor Cat’s Shank Kölsch – Aussies call it “Kolsh” but it’s a bit more like “Kelsh” in its original home of Cologne, Germany. This is a great Aussie version. My wife tried it at a food & wine event and thought it was that great, she came home plastered. It’s light, floral in a hoppy way and perfect for a hot day. It’s a tasty beer, wherever it’s brewed.

Stone & Wood Pacific Ale – It’s a bit like a light bodied American Pale Ale and so sessionable you’ll easily knock over a six-pack. Hoppy tropical fruit aromas leap out of the glass and it’s not too heavy or sweet. If only it was regularly on tap nearby.

McLaren Vale Beer Co IPA – It’s hoppy and malty and has some weight. Maybe not a session beer but drinking more than a few is still on the cards. The beer bigots thought it wasn’t hoppy enough, but it’s a damn fine beer.

Murray’s Angry Man Pale Ale – A very smooth drinker. Really nice full body with an almost creamy mouth feel. Fruity hops but not overly bitter or offensive. Definitely a session beer but there’s enough guts to be a nice single sipper as well.

Goodieson’s Wheat Ale – Like the German stuff but fresher. A quality weizen that ticks all the boxes; soft, aromatic and great with food. I’ll happily chip away at a six-pack of these without a problem. Available online direct from the brewer.

David Franz Cider – sits nicely in the middle of craft cider meets drinkability. 500ml bottles full of zingy and refreshing apple cider with guts. Try adding some ice because it’s a ball buster at over 7%abv. I wish I could drink more than one but I’m too scared to. So good, and available online from Dave himself.

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John Krüger

I'm a full time photographer with a passion for beer. Also a fan of home brewing, a committee member for the Royal Adelaide Beer & Cider Awards as well as a 6+ years beer judge.