Session Ale
Mismatch Brewing Company

Pours straw yellow. Hoppy fruity smell. Taste first of very little malt and then more hops towards the end. Fairly straight forward and refreshing.

On-draught @ Mismatch Adelaide.

C- / BELOW AVERAGE

Had on tap at London Pub in Adelaide. Looks bright yellow, almost white. Thin head. Smells fantastic- floral and fruity, heavy on the citrus. All of that hits your tongue on the front end. Slightly bitter aftertaste as expected from this style. Carbonation is a lot higher than I’ve had from other APAs, which adds a bite. Overall this is a wonderful session beer (I’m having two this afternoon). Wish it were available in Asia.

 

Received a lovely set of bottles from this brewery in Adelaide whom I hadn’t heard of previously, however they’re in good stead brewing out of Adelaide where those reputable rapscallions Pirate Life are based. Downside to this is that those are some very large leather boots, with a musket pistol tucked inside, to fill. However their rep Sam - who seems to know an awful lot about beer & cider (strange that!) - assured me that Mismatch are just as capable of raiding & pillaging the Spanish Main as their good mates at Pirate Life... arrrgh, consider me timbers shivered (and that’s it for the nautical puns I swear)!

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a nonic pint.

A: Hazed straw yellow body with a massive 4 centimetre pure white sea foam head on top... had to wait a bit for the head to die down... it wasn’t a hard pour but I did transport it home by motorcycle. Still looks good though. 7/10.

S: Passionfruit and lemon nose - exactly what you would expect from Galaxy and Citra hops respectively. Light biscuit malt sweetness and a herbal hop character linger in the background. Exceptionally clean aromas too. 8/10.

T: Fresh lemon upfront, leads into a hint of passionfruit, a dry cracker malt base, and finishes with a slight grassy/herbal hop bitterness. Flavour is about as muted as one would expect from a “Session Ale” (a term/concept I’m not a fan of). All the flavours are there, but much like Modus Operandi’s Session IPA it feels a bit watered down, though the flavours in this drop are marginally better suited to a light beer/hot summers day biz - very Radler-esque this Mismatch. 5/10.

M: Mid to light, a bit on the watery side, with a lively (but not OTT) carbonation. 6/10.

D: Another Session Ale where it feels that if they didn’t aim for a specific ABV (in this case a respectable 4%) it might have come across better - at least less muted/watery. TBH I’m already not a fan of everything I see with “Session Ale” written on it so Mismatch really had an uphill battle trying to swing me towards that mantle. Otherwise it’s a decent lemony fresh brew that refreshes - and on a hot summers day (where you have to drive in an hour) this is an easy decision: Drink half a can of Pirate Life IPA or something else taste-tacular instead, done! 6/10.

Food match: Chicken Caesar salad FTW.

 

Format: a half-pint amongst others at The Scratch in Milton, Brisbane.

Appearance: poured out a hazy light yellow with plenty of fine carbonation. A half-finger of white head lasted the distance. Looks pretty great, particularly for a 4% ABV.

Aroma: plenty of grapefruit hops with some herbal notes and some malts and yeast. Quite strong for a mid.

Taste: a very summery beer - more grapefruit and a touch of tropical fruits, with those herbal note coming through strongly also.

Aftertaste: a lasting bitterness on the finish, a bit dry which is nice.

Mouth feel: moderate in feel with a medium carbonation. Very easy drinking with some astringency throughout the session.

Overall: I wasn't expecting much from this beer since it is only 4% and is from a pretty new Australian craft brewery (2013), but they absolutely proved me wrong. Very full in flavour for such a low ABV beer, and it is truly a perfect session beer for a not only summer but any time of year. Couldn't find this for retail sale, but an imperial pint at The Scratch was $8 or $9, so not too bad at all.