Castlemaine XXXX Sparkling Ale
Castlemaine Perkins

As mentioned in the post that added this beer, it has a long history. My understanding is that it was the first beer brewed and sold in large quantities by the Castlemaine brewery in Brisbane (known now for brewing XXXX Bitter, XXXX Gold and others) in about the 1880's. Then, it was actually called XXX Sparkling Ale. Occasionally, they decide to brew another batch and I recently saw it on tap at the Port Office Hotel in Brisbane cbd, my local. When I asked for a pint the barman said, "They are pushing this stuff but I don't think it will do well, it tastes like ice cream". That just intrigued me, but sure enough - see the review. L. Looks like a lager beer. Deep, dark yellow/orange with 1 cm head that doesn't last long. S. Not much, definitely a sweet hint. T. Well, sort of like ice cream. Definitely sweet, some of the usual malty middle you expect and a dryish finish. No discernible hop tang. Maybe a bit of sweet aftertaste as well. Unusual, but apparently brewed to the old recipe. F. Smooth, a little heavier than I expected, not a lot of carbonation comes through. A touch syrupy. O. Not what the modern beer drinker would expect from something that looks like a conventional full strength lager. I didn't mind it at all and will try it again if I can. But a bit of a curio rather than an everyday beer.

I did a bit of a google search on this beer, and found out that the first time it was brewed was pre-1900, so its got a long history. I have never seen this beer before having it on tap at the Festival of Beers in Brisbane over the weekend. Its a shame that it tastes like it does though, lagery, adjuncty, cane sugary sort of stuff, fizzy finish, is this an ale?