Red Duck Amber Ale

Up from the pond waddles the next beer to the crease, another amber ale and this time from 'Red Duck' who are based in Victoria. This a richer amber ale than Endeavour's, with some strong toffee/caramel flavours supporting a malt driven base. I enjoy this style of amber ale as it gives a good contrast to the often fruity/citrus hop based pale ale.

The aftertaste is softer and not as bitter as the Endeavour also. It has less endurance, but it performs better for the duration. Quality over quantity. Sometimes a good quickie is all you need.

A solid inside, after dinner beer. Another Victorian microbrewery with some good product. I grabbed this from a small

shop/stand at the market, the next time I'm there I might fly south again for the winter.

7.75/10

Endeavour's 2010 Reserve Amber Ale

This particular brewery is going for a high class approach with it's winery style naming, and over-descriptive explanations of it's 'secret' brewing process.

For all we know it could be 2 blokes in a shed.

Nevertheless, it still achieved it's intention by getting me decidely excited to give it a try. I do like a good dark ale, and haven't had one for a little while. Given the blandness of the previous Lager, we can only go up from here.

Undoubtedly a chocolate/malt driven ale but just when you think you have it all figured out, there's a bitter twist that arrives and then lingers on the pallette afterwards. While a bit different and unexpected, it's not a bad move and is a pretty enjoyable beer.

The flavours are balanced, but a touch reserved compared to some other ambers. Solid beer, not a favourite, but a worthwhile endeavour... from Endeavour.

7/10

John Boston Premium Lager

Johnny B bashed out a fantastic Pale Ale at a Vietnemese Restaurant when I first sampled this Sydney brewery, so I was damn keen to delve into this 'Premium Lager'. I figured it was a failsafe.

But as the adage goes...prospect is often better than possession.

In what has come as a complete surprise, this is a soft, watery Pilsner like lager with barely a hint of hops or malt.
It's an unendearing clear pee-yellow colour without much of a head. There's just nothing here at all I'm excited about.
It's perhaps slightly better than most mainstream lagers, but it's staring up defeatedly at many other micro Lagers on the market.

A Run of the mill, average beer.

5/10

Monteith's Celtic Red Beer

Given some of the impressive 'red' beers I've had recently, I was expecting this to be amongst the contenders as Monteith's have some pretty good beers in their ranks, in particular the dark winter ale.

I can't imagine that your typical Irishmen would be too impressed with this number though. It claims to be smokey with a 'smooth chocolate maltiness' that will 'invigorate'. There is little smoke, and the 'chocolate' element is akin to an easter egg hunt... as you really have to dig and find it as opposed to it coming to you on it's own. I am as invigorated as I was during statistics lectures.

So all in all... it's a letdown. I had to sit here and concentrate to try and pick up on what the brewers claimed to be trying to achieve here. I'm somewhat of a novice with red beers, but this really seems to have missed the mark.

5/10

Hargrave's Hill Pale Ale

Following on from the summer style 4 Pines Kolsh, I turned the tables by sampling this ale which is more of a wintery affair.

Cloudy as the future of America's economy, Hargrave's Hill's version of a pale ale is something of an engima. It is unbalanced in it's attempt to be balanced. There is nothing outstanding about it's flavours, there's some malt, some hops, a sharp and bitter finish...but nothing is the dominant trait. So rather than be 'balanced' it feels more like you are missing out.

This is a strange beast, it's a decent beer, it's far from bad... but I just don't really want another one. It has nothing to hang it's hat on. It's a slightly above average beer if I am to cast a broad net.

6/10

4 Pines Kolsch

This is the first beer I've had from 4 Pines, who are a Manly based brewery. The name 'four pines' comes from a supposed place on the shoreline where four pinetrees were removed and a machine gun emplacement installed during World War 2.

I'm not sure if I've had a 'Kolsch' before or not, but after some quick research it seems to be a hop based pale lager that is prominent in Cologne. And after some quick swills, I'm starting to wish more lagers took this approach.

It really does taste like a pale lager, that has pinched some tricks from some lighter pale ales. It's very sharp and crisp, with a slight burst of hops. The aftertaste is barely bitter at all, making this a very sessionable lager. This really is what summer beers are all about. Clean and crisp with just enough flavour to keep you interested.

Because it is fairly 'light' in most areas, it's not going to reach dazzling heights but it is still a very impressive beer and I'm interested to try out some more beers from these blokes.

Those douches you come across that 'only drink imported beers' are really missing out. Australian beers are fucking awesome. We have a huge crop of solid breweries that are not only brewing Australian style beers, but perfecting foreign styles aswell.

8/10

Vale Dry

This is the second beer I've tried from McLaren Vale breweries, the first being a Pale Ale. From memory it didn't blow me away but was a solid beer. I wasn't expecting heaps from the lager, but just happened to be the one I reached for when I opened the fridge this evening.

The main word I'll use to describe this beer is balance. From the light hops to deeper malts to dry bitter finish, everything is subtle but very well balanced.

The labelling is basic, there's no marketing wank on the bottle, it just puts it's head down and does it's job without any fanfare. The one that flies under the radar. The quiet achiever.

It's one of the better lagers I've drunk, not adventerous enough to be elite but it's pretty good.

7/10