Melbourne Bitter
Carlton & United Breweries, Ltd.

Melbourne BitterMelbourne Bitter
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Carlton & United Breweries, Ltd.
 
Australia
Style:
American Adjunct Lager
Ranked #257
ABV:
4.6%
Score:
63
Ranked #28,403
Avg:
2.45 | pDev: 36.33%
Reviews:
28
Ratings:
55
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 26, 2023
Added:
Jun 04, 2002
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  8
No description / notes.
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 2.25 by BrisLoganite from Australia

Dec 26, 2023
Photo of AzfromOz
Reviewed by AzfromOz from Australia

3.7/5  rDev +51%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Christmas Eve Eve beers in 2023.

L: Bright, golden yellow; large, fluffy white head; vast amounts of large, fast-moving bubbles.

S: Dusty malt, sharp yeasty smell.

T: Sweet, dusty, earthy, mildly bitter, just like Grandad drank. It's underrated on taste and actually quite sessionable.

M: Full body, quite sharp on the tongue.

O: This was my favourite beer when there was no such thing as craft beer. Then in my beer wanker years I wouldn't have touched this with a barge pole. Years of hard-earned beer wisdom means I can now appreciate this for what it is: a classic Australian lager that admirably stays in its lane, delivering a crisp drinking experience redolent of Aussie summer barbeques, corner pubs, post-mowing beers, and family gatherings.

Cheers!
#403
Dec 23, 2023
Photo of BillyNoonan
Reviewed by BillyNoonan from Ireland

2.97/5  rDev +21.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
Look, I find the reviews here overly harsh. It's a perfectly serviceable lager on tap or bottled and more than acceptable on a hot Australian day. I've always had a soft spot for the classic packaging and the crisp Aussie refreshment it offers. No more complex than you would expect, but there's a crisp feel and enough hoppiness to at least tickle the palate. I'm ok backing this one.
Oct 06, 2023
Photo of Nath91
Reviewed by Nath91 from Australia

2.36/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Melbourne Bitter is often seen as Victoria Bitters younger cousin, well, at least outside of Victoria that is. In recent years in seems to have been more prominent outside of Victoria, but holds a lesser reputation to the more well known VB. Something that is more widely regarding in regional Victoria, than Melbourne, but holds up as another standard Australian macro lager.

Look: Standard Australian lager. Dark golden lager hue. Clear, filtered. Thin soapy white head that disappears quicker than the sun in Melbourne. Think tiny bubbles floating to the top. Poured out of a 750ml longneck, looks almost flat.

Smell: Honestly not a lot going on. Very faint adjunct grain smell, hint of citrus hop, obviously Pride of Ringwood. There is a metallic ring I'm picking up. Honestly not a lot going on.

Taste: It's mild, and only slightly offensive. Very thin, carbonated. Classic bitter pride of Ringwood hop presence, but metallic flavour holds strong. Decent malt presence gives it a rounded sweetness. Slight graininess but honestly not a great deal going on. Dry-ish finish.

Feel: Thin, heavily carbonated. On a hot summers day, can see the refreshment value in this but not much else.

Overall: It's another mass produced Aussie macro lager. I've had in on tap in Victoria, and I honestly remember it drinking a whole lot better on tap than out of the bottle I'm reviewing it on. VB is probably marginally better than it, but to me it's not completely horrid. It's not great, and I'd probably prefer a European Supermarket beer over it, but it's nothing great. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it unless it's on special, or I'm in Victoria and there's nothing better on tap.

#️⃣0️⃣4️⃣
Aug 22, 2021
 
Rated: 2.7 by Daneve76 from Australia

May 26, 2021
 
Rated: 3 by StoutAtTheDevil from Alabama

May 18, 2018
 
Rated: 2.09 by SkylerShores from Australia

Feb 16, 2017
 
Rated: 2.05 by AaronNQ from Australia

May 16, 2016
 
Rated: 2.24 by 54V4G3 from Belgium

May 11, 2016
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

2.31/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25
Pours out clear golden with high fluffy head. Musty cardboard aroma, tastes like white school paste. At least a hint of bitterness at the finish, but a tough drink to get down.
Jan 20, 2016
Photo of Andrewharemza
Reviewed by Andrewharemza from Australia

3.03/5  rDev +23.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I find this beer to be very sessionable it's a lager that's good to smash down at a bbq on a hot day.i get a earthy bitter taste and finishes very crisp.
Jun 17, 2015
Photo of Mll777
Reviewed by Mll777 from Netherlands

1.23/5  rDev -49.8%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1
Too bad I can't give negative points. This is by far the worst thing I ever tasted in life... I had to vomit just by tasting it. I could not believe myself so got a bottle the next day, same reaction...
May 24, 2015
 
Rated: 2.77 by TheBeerSeal from Florida

Jan 23, 2015
Photo of Andrewziggy
Rated by Andrewziggy from Australia

2.58/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
A strong, earthly bitter taste from the pride of Ringwood hops gives the taste buds, or caliculus gustatererius if you will, a flavor sensation
Dec 18, 2014
Photo of Connorarnott
Reviewed by Connorarnott

5/5  rDev +104.1%
This is a drink for men. The sort of men that discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn. A strong, earthly bitter taste from the pride of Ringwood hops gives the taste buds, or caliculus gustatererius if you will, a flavor sensation usually reserved for kings among men or gods. The little red delights are commonplace in the fridges and eskys of all the great beer drinkers in this big, brown, wide, wonderful land of ours and will forever be so.
Nov 26, 2014
 
Rated: 2.25 by NorCalAussie from California

Oct 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by probert from New York

Sep 06, 2014
 
Rated: 2.28 by Stuckey_Stuckey from Australia

Sep 06, 2014
 
Rated: 2 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Jul 30, 2014
Melbourne Bitter from Carlton & United Breweries, Ltd.
Beer rating: 63 out of 100 with 55 ratings