EMU Bitter
Swan Brewery

 

I'm thinking something got lost in translation from the Bitters brewed in England.
This is an Aussie lager, and I've had better ones. It would surprise me if I've rated a dozen lagers this low.
EMU Looks like a lager just below my average. It Smells like a brew further below as I detect minor mixed malt and no hops. Same goes for Taste, but the sameness is even stronger. Totally thin in my mouth. This would be good if it was the only beer port in a sun storm. Old school Aussie and I prefer their new school. Bought in a wine store in Perth. Wine merchants can improve their beer selection more if they want to get with the market that is wine's competition.

Swan is part of Lion which is part of Kirin. I suppose conceptually it was a good decision by macro Kirin to buy traditional Aussie brands and pile them into Lion. But this has only improved the distribution of average beers at best. Reflected in Lion, Kirin emphasizes community and safe drinking. But this is the low bar of macros nowadays. Next, maybe Kirin should start buying Aussie crafters and use its powerful distribution network.

Australian lager...'nuff said. very light, not very bitter. Pale golden with thick, fluffy head, very grainy. Slick, smooth and creamy, flat, abrupt finish.

 

 

 

there is something there, but it's hard to pin down. some malt, I guess and a hint of bitter. super thin and generic. if this is high hoppy to the brewers, my god, a real hoppy beer would send them into orbit. Of course it's just marketing ju ju. I imagine their Brewmaster is paid more for how much profit he can squeeze out of x quantity of ingredients than how tasty he can make a beer. But maybe I'm wrong. Takers?

 

 

 

 

I seriously dont know why im reviewing this beer but i really feel i gotta get it off my chest i met a mate at a local on the way home and this was their only beer available on tap as they had ran out of other better macro swill(if there is such a thing) apart from midstrength and as i wasnt buying i wasnt gonna ruin the vibe with the boys,it pours a lifeless golden fizzy colour with a very grainy smell about it,it has a thin mouthfeel with a macro watery swill taste of feint grains and liquid hops HORRIBLE,this is one of those beers that i would personally never ever buy and would only drink if is was my only source of drink/water and i was lost in the desert after 2 weeks and if ur new to Australia would avoid at all costs.

Appearance - 4.0
Poured two fingers of fluffy, bubbly white head that steadily reduced to a thin layer. The colour is a very clear gold that looks to be moderately carbonated.

Smell - 1.5
A bitter, beery smell predominates. I can also detect a metallic smell along with the grains and hops. The only positives here are that it isn't strong, and there is no skunk.

Taste - 2.0
Quite refreshing, but unfortunately that's about where the positives end. Almost no malt presence whatsoever, moderate hoppy bitterness (more bitter than VB), metallic flavour, a bit dry in the finish and very little aftertaste (actually, this is a good thing, as I wouldn't want to taste this for too long).

Mouthfeel - 2.5
A little less carbonated than most macros, feels moderately weighted in the mouth. Carbonation can be slightly stinging in the finish.

Drinkability - 2.5
This went down pretty easily at first, but the more I had, the harder it was to drink. Sessionable for some with untrained tastebuds.

OVERALL - 2.4
Better than VB, and that really isn't saying much. This is a relatively cheap macro, but for very little more there are much better beers to be found. If this were the best beer available at a bar, I would most likely opt for something that isn't beer. That said, it is marginally better than the worst local lagers and some Euro lagers.

Pleasing gold colour, heavily filtered. Clean nose with a faint whiff of sulphur. Very faint Pride of Ringwood style flavour upfront, good fundamental balance contributed to well by the surprisingly full mouthfeel. Negligible bitterness and a very pleasant faintly husky malt aftertaste.

Emu Bitter
This is the first time I’ve tried Emu Bitter. I found it at Brunswick Hotel in Brunswick, a suburb of Melbourne. Evidently Emu is a West Australian brew. Emu Bitter pours quite macro-looking.
Appearance - Transparent straw colour, with a thin head.
Smell – I can’t smell anything. There’s nothing abhorrent about the smell, there just is none
Taste – sharp, crisp clean taste. It’s not bad. In fact, it almost doesn’t have a discrenable taste apart from a slightly sweet start and the mildest hop tart you’d ever expect. This tastes like a macrobrew without the bad tastes of a macrobrew. I don’t expect that sentence to make a lot of sense.
Mouthfeel – thin and overly carbonated.I would estimate that seltzer water wouldn’t have much a different mouthfeel.
Appearance: 2.5
Smell: 2.0
Taste: 3.0
Mouthfeel: 3.0
Drinkability: 3.5

theres only one nice thing that can be said about this beer, and its the old 'its better than VB' chestnut. and quite frankly, thats nothing to be too proud of. some of the comments on this beer prove why west aussies are called sandgropers. theyve got their heads in the freakin sand if they think this is a quality beverage.

yes, its a very enticing looking beer. deep golden color, some excitable jets shooting around and a fair to muddling head. but while i like an attractive beer as much as anyone, im not there for the view. this beer has been compared to a blazing west aussie sunset, and after the first look the quality disappears over the horizon faster than one of said sunsets. no smell to speak of, its devoid of malt and the hops is like sandpaper down back. *yawn*

heres a message to all beer drinkers of western australia. LITTLE CREATURES PALE ALE!!!! it may be twice the price, but its 4 times the quality. get with the program people!!!

Slightly drinkable and better than most aussie lagers, pretty much zero flavour, and hints of chemical in the finish, below average.