best aussie brewery

Also Riverside has really impressed me so far. And although they're not really "breweries" Dainton and BrewCult have brewed some damn tasty beers lately. When I can get them fresh, I consider Feral, Stone & Wood and Little Creatures favourites. I look forward to Richard Watkins new venture!

 

Interesting question in light of timing..... i.e. a couple of years have passed since we discussed this on here, and I suspect it was Murray's all the way back then... but times have changed.

Also interesting from my view 'what is the best brewery' vs 'what brewery do I buy the most of, thus most interesting Brewery'?

For best???? I can't go past Feral on tap, must admit. Take the freshness debate away from their bottling line and they do it for me. Riverside in bottles.
Most interesting??? That would be Moon Dog, hit and miss but I'll take it. And Hopdog, whilst more miss than hit these days go and redeem themselves with the staggeringly good Superbeast 1013.

And that leaves the silver medalists..... Bridge Road are good but why do I not buy more? I used to buy anything and everything from Red Duck but have stopped. Stone and Wood and LCPA still the go-tos.

And I look forward to Murray's new offerings in bottles once the new rig is up n running.

 

Feral then daylight second for me. Fresh Hop Hog is a truly wonderful thing. On draught - Karma Citra, Fantapants, Rye IPA, Watermelon Warhead, Raging Flem, Boris, Smoked Porter, Tusk are all very good to incredible.

Of course as I live in WA and visit the brewery regularly, mine is not a truly objective and fair assessment.

I certainly agree that Murrays has dropped off significantly. I'll try anything that Mountain Goat and Bridge Road put out, Bridge Road in particular. I love that we have the mad scientists at Moondog doing their thing. Very hit and miss but they've had a couple of bullseyes (Mr Mistofelees was a joy). S&W's Pacific Ale is great but beyond that, so so. Everything I've had from Mornington has been nice. Same for Riverside. Thorogoods apple beers are tremendous (especially the dark). La Sirene saison is a beauty.

1. Feral
2. Bridge Road
3. Mountain Goat

 

I ran out of bad jokes, silly puns and bizarre socio-political references. I needed time to work on new material.

On a serious note, I needed to sort out some personal issues etc. All good now.

Back to topic: I like this topic very much as it's a good way to share knowledge and hopefully encourge people to try/retry new breweries. Thats what we're all about after all. The Magellans of the beer world are we.

 

Wonder where this discussion leaves the breweries that don't bottle and distribute.......I am a fan of Elmar's in the Valley.

Mountain Goat's main problem in my eyes is that they seem too fond of crystal malt, and seem to think an IPA and even more surprisingly, that a rye IPA needs a good cloying sweet edge.

My favs in no particular order: Feral (on tap), Elmars, Bridge Roads, Last Drop, Monk, Little Creatures.

Impressed but not experienced enough to cast judgement: Mornington, Red Hill, Cheeky Monkey, Murrays.

 

Send a 5ltr Elmar's Party Keg over to Mr K and the rest of the Sydney bunch or Mr Brendanos and the Melb. bunch. I'm sure they will respond in kind. Couple it with one of the delicious lunch time rolls from the Elmar's shop in Mt Lawley and I'm sure they will be your best friends for life.

 

Riverside for being so damn tasty and hitting the ground running.
Bridge Road for being so eclectic and still being good at it.
Mornington for quality and consistency
Mash Brewery for huge improvements under the helm of Charlie (The Harvester was fantastic IMO).

Hard to stop on three, as I've being having so many quality Aussie brews ATM. Otway Black Panther, Dainton beers, Brewcult, Red Duck Gruitier, Boneyard Red Ale, even 4 Pines Kolsch has stepped up a notch.

 

Is Dainton in pack yet or just keg?

 

Pack

 

I've long wondered what this sameness was due to. I'd put it down to a combination of their penchant for sweet malts with a distinctive house yeast, but it makes sense if it's primarily due to the malt bill.

 

I'm allergic to chocolate. Cocoa specifically. I will still drink Holgate temptress and deal with the cold sweats and deliriousness later.

 

Joel have you had the Otway Tailpipe yet? really fkn good brown ale

 

I have a lot of time for Hargreaves Hill.

Their ESB was a gateway beer for me, although nowadays it doesn't get much love.

They haven't over-reached with their range, don't court headlines, and put out (IMO) close to the best limited/seasonals of any Aussie brewery, being Phoenix and RIS (although priced to match).

Haven't given Holgate a go for a long while. Used to enjoy their Vienna Lager and ESB, but haven't been impressed with their IPAs at all.

Red Duck is just all over the board. Even more so than Moon Dog.

 

Holgate's Millenium Falcon was ordinary and i felt really bad i gave a bottle to an English BA without trying it first. Lesson learned. Beezlebub's Jewels is insanely overpriced and a waste of money. Don't drink a lot of tap beer at the moment, so can't comment on the rest of the range.

Red Duck...well, i visited the brewery last year and won't again. Embarrassed to have taken family there. Would've bought more than a 6 pack had it felt like we weren't being a pain in the arse buying beer off them. Couldn't care less about their 20+ new releases in a calendar year or how many gruit variations they brew.

Like Hargreaves Hill ESB and Phoenix and RIS. Don't see them a lot in shops and as per previous comments, i don't drink a lot of tap beer at the moment.

 

Bridge Road, Feral and Riverside would be my top 3 at the moment. However, I think the Little Brewing Company in Port Macquarie are right up there and fly under the radar a bit. Their porter, dubbel, trippel and quad are all up their with the best Aussie examples of the styles mentioned and their pale ale is excellent. Also impressed with some of the brews coming from Moondog - hope they keep taking risks and pushing it.

 

Cant add much but very happy to see some new names popping into this list. Says to me we are heading in the right direction.

 

Yeah, thought it was alright- but not amazing.

 

Really? I preferred it over the bipa.

Just called into mash on the way home for a pint of The Harvester, beers here just keep on getting better.

 

Advice to Aussie breweries from a customer - forget the special releases before your core range is established

Good beers, just terrible service and ordinary food. And they can't blame the liquor license completely, one cash register (for beer and food) and no table service for food is poor.