Beer Labels the bold and the beautiful.

When it comes to the label of a beer i often wonder how long it took someone to think up the name? Was is after a few beers? Was it a marketing ploy? Was it just to take the piss?Is it hard to take the beer serious when you cant get past the label? Well if your like me and you buy to try anyway there doing something right.

Take this Australian Ale for example.

Piss beer so it amuses you for one 6 pack or maybe even a carton if your easily amused. But for me there is more to a beer then the packaging its package in.

Mountain Goat 4.5%

I like the concept behind this microbrewery that places emphasis on the importance of being Eco friendly( They have a rain catchment in which they then use in the brewing process in 18months 200000 litres of water has been reused.) Worth a look "http://goatbeer.com.au/our-story/green-goat The label is unique and eye catching the beer itself has a real deep ale taste with a sweet floral finish. It is a has a balanced complexity of live bite followed with a refreshing smoothness

Feral brewing

Feral BrewingFeral White 4.6%

Despite the label catching my glance this beer served up more then i expected. As its description implied its a whitish cloudy color. It is brewed with orange peel and coriander (thats cilantro for you Americans) A great beer offering a whole other dimension when it comes to texture, body and flavor.
Burleigh brewing Co

The Hef.

In true Australian fashion we have slanged the famous Hefeweizen

Its an unfiltered wheat beer brewed on the famous Australian coastline of the Gold-coast. It brags to carry a delightful fuity character of bananas and cloves which i was unable to detect. It did offer up a nice creamy body but i would prefer a bit more bite.

Im a fan of there marketing emphasizing on the surrounding surfing culture great idea and when i think of it am surprised no one has thought of this before. I will be sure to swing around to the brewing company when Im on competing at the Roxy Pro this February.

Brazil

I have spent my fair share of time in this South American country. Its seems over the past few years the sport of surfing has come to the fore front of this continent with a huge amount of enthusiasm and demand for the elite to come and showcase there skills. I have discovered the serenity of the jungle and the bustling chaos of Rio. As any tourist in a foreign speaking country i was immediately drawn to the comical readily available Skol. It took me a few more visits before i was able to take a good look around at what other beers the Brazilians had on offer not that i was complaining about the Skol its the Corona of South America ideal for the humid lingering hazy days spent on tropica

l Brazilian beaches.

Skol like any Aussie the name grabbed me straight off the bat. Over the years i have managed to Skol my fair share of these. As i mentioned the Corona of South America.

Antatartica Pilsner. Carries a much fuller flavor it is a little bitter going down yet somehow smooth, its a light colored beer with mild sweet aroma.Is one of the major players in Brazil and duels for the number one spot in beer sales within Brazil.

Brahma is a pale larger, yellowish in color with a light malty flavor and again slightly bitter yet manages to be refreshing( Most beers in Brazil can be refreshing if shared on the beach after a long day of surfing)

Most places serve beers out of the bottle or can, I prefer if i have the option to have one on tap. If your out and about and not on the marvelous beach-front with options such as below remember to say chopp thats beer on tap!

Overall Im yet to really be 100% impressed with the Ales supplied in Brazil. I know variety is out there but its hard to come by. So just embrace the culture, the people watching, the diversity there are reasons to go to Brazil but Im just not so sure Beer is one of them.

Boutique beers Part #1

Australian Boutique beers

Its great to have access to independent micro breweries. There has become a noticeable increase in the popularity of the so called preservative free no sugar added beer companies. Of course im a fan of any product that can offers a more health conscious alternative especially when we are dealing with alcohol. Yet ive been made aware from a variety of organic winemakers that just because they are entitled to use organic labeling it does not guarantee you will wake up without a hangover if of course you over indulge on the recommended alcohol intake.

But back to the beer preservative free, sugar free, gluten free, organic, at the end of the day I dont care what labels they use as long as they can produce a quality tasting ale and more times than not these microbreweries get my vote for a great tasting beer.

Gippsland Gold 4.9%

An Australian style pale ale with a full rounded flavor. A very smooth ale with with an intriguing balance of fresh and more developed flavors. Brewed using Tasmanian and New Zealand Hops on a winner here. Well worth the purchase.

Pale Ale Crackenback 4.9%

This beer is award winning and the owners seem extremely passionate about brewing. Although on first inspection i was skeptical due to the lightness in colur i was greeted with a divine fragrant aroma that followed through with a complex flavor of maltiness and orange, a very fresh crisp Pale ale that manages to keep its body while allowing a little more lightness in texture.

Razorback Red Ale 4.8%

To be honest i was not a huge fan of this one at all after being so impressed by the Crackenback pale ale i was sure all there beer would be worth a try. I just felt the flavors of citrus and nuts didn't complement the balanced body. It could be due to the environment maybe down there in the snowy mountains after a long day on the mountain a red ale with its roasted flavor around a fire could set the palate off.

Red Oak Boutique beer is Sydney's most Awarded beer cafe. It offers a unique quality experience with a range of preservative additive free beers. Red oak is said to be the first in NSW to create organic Ales and the first in Australia to create an organic pale ale. The Red oak currently brews over 40 premium beers. I personally didn't get around to trying all 40 but the ones i did i would highly recommend for taste originality and true Australian complimentary cuisine.

Red oak Organic pale ale 4.5%

Certified organic hops and malt. A very unique refreshing flavoursome beer.

Framboise froment 5.2%

This is the signature beer at red oak. Fresh raspberries are hand picked by the Red oaks family the beer is then allowed to condition and mature. The unique flavor is characterized by fresh raspberries flavor intwined with banana and a hint of clove. What an idea what a beer.

Australian Ales Part 1

Australia.

It would be true to say Australians love there beer. There are stats Australia continually ranks within the top 5 drinking nations of the world.I rate the beer down under and no thats not my patriotic Ozzie coming out i generally think we produce some great Ales. Of course like any country we are dominated by a commercial line of beer which will be stocked at every bottle-shop and ordered at every pub but if you look a little harder and search a little wider then you will start to notice a revolution in microbreweries that are producing quality Ales. Im bound to keep uploading photos and editing certain blogs due to new destinations and oppurtunities to experiment with the Ales of Australia.If your not an Australian and your reading this NO fosters is not our beer of choice (well for the majority of us anyway!)

Lion Nations Range Of Australian Beer

Due to great marketing internationally most people from abroad would assume Fosters is what the majority of Australians order at the bar.

Cooper's.

Is the sole remaining family owned brewery which started back in 1862 by Thomas Cooper.

Im a fan of the coopers line. Below is my top 3.

Coopers Original Pale Ale 4.5%

Carries the trademark sediment which gives the beer its cloudy appearance. Very robust with fruity flavors a well rounded beer for any occasion.

Sparkling Ale 5.8%

Stronger in taste and alcohol content, darker in color and carrying the distinct sediment coopers in renown for. A very well balanced distinct taste of hops, malt and fruity flavors a must try beer while in Australia.

Extra Strong Vintage Ale 7.5%

A very strong ale. Apparently like a good wine this Ale can be stored for up to 18 months with the guarantee the beer will become more complex in flavor. I wasn't able to wait that long but was impressed with the beer regardless.

Hunter Valley

The hunter valley is primarily known for its wine there are 140 wineries in the region which produces some world class wines predominately Shirazs and Semillons. Like any good wine country the Hunter Valley is home to two Breweries which produce some very fine Ales. Blue tounge brewery is leading the charge when it comes to popularity amongst the corporate world slowly cracking into the Lion nation domination of Australian beers.On the other hand Potters Brewery is much smaller in scale yet in my opinion is producing some tasty American/ European style Largers and pale Ales with there own unique Australian taste.

Hunter Klosh 4.5%

Is the biggest seller. A crisp and refreshing German Golden Ale subtle fruit aromas a very delicate honey flavour with a soft hop bitterness to finish. Although its the biggest seller it didnt get my vote.

Hunter Wit Beer 4.6%

Taken from the lines of belign white beer it is unfiltered and has the added flavours of ground corriander, orange peel and lime zest. Id say this would have to be very low on my vote for a good beer but on the other hand it was my a favourite amongst my friends as the old saying goesones mans trash is another ones treasure.

Hunter larger 4.8%

A full bodied european style Larger. German hops are used giving this splendid larger a 5/5 vote for me has such harmonious toasted flavors with a firm hop bitterness.

Hunter Ginger 4.5%

Best way to sum this up is ginger beer thats alcoh

olic. Not my cup of tea. Marvelous how they managed to get such an intense ginger flavor thorough-out the whole beer.

Hunter Pale Ale 5.2%

An American based pale ale several malts are used to help balance this complex beer. Its great to be able to finally taste an Australian beer that has the texture of some of the finest made in the USA. It has a very fruity tang mainly consisting of grapefruit and passion-fruit. A pleasure to taste.

So next time your in Wine country and feeling like you need to get a hop hit head out to Potters and be sure to order a tasting palate or take the guided brewing tour. Both are a real bargain and worth every cent.

Blue Tongue Brewery

Is also located in the Hunter Valley you cant actually miss it with its prime location based at the gateway of the magnificent Hunter Valley. Great Australian logo, rapidly growing company currently owned by the Coke empire, does a great job giving back to the community supporting the athletes of the central coast mariners A league soccer team.

The premium Blue Tongue larger.

An all round larger with a full taste very smooth made using Tasmania and German hops. As i mentioned before hand this company has taken awards not only for the beer but for the graphics in the presentation on the label.

Alcoholic Ginger beer.

Im hard to please when it comes to producing a beer made with ginger but Blue Tongue does a great job here allowing for a crisp tasting beer

with the subtle refreshing tasted of ginger a great beer if your in the mood for experimenting with the alternate flavors which can be used when brewing.

Shoal Haven NSW Australia.

NSW South Coast of Australia. Specific dynamics Shoal haven

Its been a while since Ive touched down on my beer blog this is far from the fact that Ive stopped tracking and trying Ales the globe over. A knee injury has been occupying a solid chunk of my time.

I headed south in search of blue water, green hills, and a few under ground wineries I found all of the above. What i didn't expect to find was a brewery hiding in a winery and what a pleasant surprise it was! The Mountain Ridge winery is set in a picturesque 75 acre working farm the family owned business which offers impeccable friendly service which seems to be the trend within this small town region. If this hasn't tempted you enough then more to the point the beer should.

The Broughton Pale Ale which I rated as a very smooth finished ale with a good amount of sweetness on the palate. The brew is all Natural no Preservatives and No added sugar and around the 4.8% Alcohol content. The beer is brewed via a keg and carbonated.

The Bolong Black Chocolate Porter.

A much stronger beer with a very pleasant subtle chocolate taste. For such a dark beer it tastes relatively light and easy to drink the flavour is a must for the darker beer lovers. Once again no preservatives are used with the added bonus of no sugar. A stronger Alcohol content of around 5%.

Its great to see a small brewery start on the south coast of NSW and with beers and good as these i can only wonder how long until they are being transported up and down the ozzie coast.

South African Ales.

I have been flying across the Indian ocean for years to the adventurous country of South Africa. Like most foreigners i was offered a beverage on my internal flight and as always was curious to check out the local flavour why not after a strenuous 20 hour flight. Im aware that South Africans are a very patriotic race of people and have many close friends who call Africa home so it is a touchy one for me to be brutally honest but friendships aside South African Beer is a huge disappointment.

Black Label is one of the major players in the South

African beer market its that beer that you see everywhere just because you see it everywhere doesn't mean its a good beer. Yeah its stronger then most when it comes to the alchole percentage and taste but once again that doesn't always mean its a good tasting beer.

Castle Lager claims to be thirst quenching full flavoured beer.I was surprised to learn it has won various awards even a gold medal at the Australian brewing awards back in 2000. In my opinion its a light dry tasting larger that would be hard pressed to quench my thirst at the end of the day.

Hansa is South Africans take on a boutique style beer it has Germanic heritage and when all else fails it does get my vote for the night. Its far more drinkable then the castle or black label but if this is a boutique beer then its no wonder cider is so popular.

Cider is huge in South Africa I know its not Beer but with the Beer options in Saffa land you might just want to explore the other Amber Ale.

Hunters dry gets my vote for an enjoyable cider clean crisp taste using pure ingredients. As for Savannah they should take a closer look at the apple tree.

South Africa is spectacular it offers some of the best experiences you can ever have. The surf is great the people are friendly the cultures are exciting the wildlife is jaw dropping the food A grade but the wine out classes the beer a million to one. I know I'm blogging about beer but in the defense to such bad reviews embrace the fact that a round will set you back less than a drink at your local so if your not a cider, wine, or spirit drinker then bottoms up to bang for your buck

I think this photo pretty much sums it up. Three born and bred South African shredders watching the sun go down after a solid day of surfing drinking Heinekens!!!!!