(QUALITY) Aussie Beers

[mechcon]

Help Alex/Kevin expand their horizons with beers, by suggesting as many different (decent) aussie beers! I'll start with the following;

Coopers Sparkling Ale (http://coopers.com.au/beer.php?id=127&pid=1)
Coopers Vintage Ale (http://coopers.com.au/beer.php?id=134&pid=4)
Coopers Pale Ale (http://coopers.com.au/beer.php?id=128&pid=1)

Okay I got nothing else otherwise :P how about the rest of ya?

[rabidbadger]

Help Alex/Kevin expand their horizons with beers, by suggesting as many different (decent) aussie beers! I'll start with the following;

Coopers Sparkling Ale (http://coopers.com.au/beer.php?id=127&pid=1)
Coopers Vintage Ale (http://coopers.com.au/beer.php?id=134&pid=4)
Coopers Pale Ale (http://coopers.com.au/beer.php?id=128&pid=1)

Okay I got nothing else otherwise :P how about the rest of ya?

You in Australia? Token and Heyseuss might have some suggestions. I left Australia too young to drink.

[the-fly]

I think Crownies go down well as far as good beer goes... Crown Lager (http://www.fosters.com.au/enjoy/beer/crown_lager.htm)

Cheap but decent beer:
Carlton Draught (http://www.carltondraught.com.au/)
Victoria Bitter (http://www.fosters.com.au/enjoy/beer/victoria_bitter.htm) - A LOT of people don't like VB, but it is so cheap :P

Melbourne beers ftw.

[mechcon]

Crownies for sure. wait.. VB? you want to recommend someone from overseas VB? are you nuts!? :P

Yes rabidbadger, Adelaide to be exact (in case you couldn't tell by my preference of beers) :P

[frankiethewaffle]

Hey, thanks for this thread. I like to try beers from many places. Oddly Disney World is the easiest place to do that. But I will look for these around NY. I have tried all kinds of beers from England, Germany, a lot of them European places. I want some new stuff. I have tried many Chinese and Japanese beers too. Any suggestions from them there countries would be nice.

[rabidbadger]

I am sooo lucky to have a store named "beers of the world" here in rochester. wow. it's like a sams club/costco of international beers. wow. it's amazing. and they got a whole section for homebrew. ingredients, books, pots/pans, racks etc..
every thing you needl

[retz]

James Squire and Matilda Bay make great beers. Love JS Golden Ale, and Beez Neez is good in moderation.

Crownies, VB and Carlton Draught I can't stand at all. Hate them. But people have different tastes...

[jezzman]

Can't go past Coopers, anything CUB or Tooheys is horrible in my opinion

[drwar]

How about some beer that has a bit of character?

You can't really go wrong with anything from the people over at Naughty Creatures. But my personal favorite would have to be the Bright Ale, delicious on tap.

http://www.littlecreatures.com.au/

In fact, you should all go buy a sixer next time you're at a discerning bottle shop.

[onyx1607]

Hello Mechon - fellow Aussie here.

Funny your first mention is Coopers. Earlier in the week I picked up a case of Sparkling Ale - as I remember being introduced to Coopers by a good friend at a bar some years back. IIRC they brew in the bottle, so there's remnants of yeast and hops and whatnot remaining at the bottom of each bottle, and I was told to lie the bottle flat on a counter and roll it around for a bit before opening it to mix the stuff in with the drink.

One that has not had a mention yet is Cascade. I think they make a pretty decent 'light' beer - comparable to Heiny's and Becks, but for us Aussies it's cheaper.... I dunno if ppl from the States would claim the same, as those Euro beers are far more popular I'm sure.

[mechcon]

Ah yes, Cascade is a nice drop too :)

[spanca]

I can't believe anyone would recommend Crownies. They're so ridiculously overrated; essentially a beer for people who think they're drinking something good because it has gold on the label and 'crown' in the name.

James Boags Premium is pretty good for a 'plain' lager (and outselling Crowns these days for Australian-made premiums, thank god).
James Squires amber or golden ales are both great, although the golden ale needs to be poured into a glass to get air to it if you can't get it on tap (which is hard). I know that sounds pretentious saying that, but it really does improve it.
Coopers pale and sparkling are both great.

Cascade, VB, Carlton Draught are all fine for every day drinking beers here, but there's no way I'd recommend them to foreigners as being something 'special' worth trying.

[pinkus]

I'd agree with a couple of the suggestions, Squire and Matilda Bay are both bloody good beers for the most part.

VB and Crownies on the other hand, not so crash hot. Don't really want everyone overseas thinking that Australia's just full of piss drinking bogans...not that they don't already.

[tokenuser]

VB and Crownies on the other hand, not so crash hot. Don't really want everyone overseas thinking that Australia's just full of piss drinking bogans...not that they don't already.As an Aussie living in the US, you hjave to remember that even the worst of Aussie megabrewery beers is better than a Coors, Miller, or Bud.

The commercial US microbrews (such as Samuel Adams) will give Matilda Bay, Coopers, and Cascade a run for their money though.

[mktatham]

I been to Australia twice now, planning on more trips in the future. Anyway does anyone know where I can get VB or XXXX stateside. When I was in Brisbane last I stopped at the XXXX brewery (awesome tour by the way) and they said they don't export, is this true? Any help in finding these amazing beers will be greatly appreciated.

** questions for the Aussies: is it true about the Darwin stubby being a massive bottle of beer? or was that story told to us tourists cause we would believe anything**

[tokenuser]

You will have a hard time finding XXXX or VB in the US.

I have seen VB once ... at a restaurant (steakhouse, no not Outback - even though they now do have more than just Fosters available as aussie beers ... Coopers and Tooheys draft).

Closest you will find is Fosters Special Bitter (green can, not the famliar blue Fosters Lager can) and you can find that most places a large selection of beer is found. Even my local Food Lion has it.

[xibalba]

I don't drink beer, but the is a wine I like that says it is an Australian wine, I really enjoy it.

[rabidbadger]

aussie wines have come into there own over the last decade. Some get great reviews.. Hmmm. maybe I'll get some wine instead of beer next weekend.
... but that said... Goddang, I am soooo lucky to have "beers of the world" in town.. basically a warehouse of beer from everywhere, and homebrew stuff, too.

[rabidbadger]

got a vid somewhere. should edit it and put it on youtube, or something...

[heyseuss]

I think Crownies go down well as far as good beer goes... Crown Lager (http://www.fosters.com.au/enjoy/beer/crown_lager.htm)

Cheap but decent beer:
Carlton Draught (http://www.carltondraught.com.au/)
Victoria Bitter (http://www.fosters.com.au/enjoy/beer/victoria_bitter.htm) - A LOT of people don't like VB, but it is so cheap :P


Those are my two favorite beers from Australia. I lived in Brisbane for 12 eyars. Also like the odd Carlton Cold, Hahn Premium, Hahn Ice.

[heyseuss]

I been to Australia twice now, planning on more trips in the future. Anyway does anyone know where I can get VB or XXXX stateside. When I was in Brisbane last I stopped at the XXXX brewery (awesome tour by the way) and they said they don't export, is this true? Any help in finding these amazing beers will be greatly appreciated.

** questions for the Aussies: is it true about the Darwin stubby being a massive bottle of beer? or was that story told to us tourists cause we would believe anything**

U.S. Customs has a lockdown on aussie beer. I lived in Bris for 12 years and never went on that tour.

[tokenuser]

aussie wines have come into there own over the last decade. Some get great reviews.. Hmmm. maybe I'll get some wine instead of beer next weekend.If you like Aussie wines I'd also suggest red wine from Argentina, Chile, and South Africa. Whites from New Zealand are good too - but their reds suck, thankfully they also make half decent beer.Those are my two favorite beers from Australia. I lived in Brisbane for 12 eyars. Also like the odd Carlton Cold, Hahn Premium, Hahn Ice.I normally drank VB, Hahn Ice / Carlton Cold (depending on who supplied the bar), or Redback (a great hef).

I miss the Redback the most, but still get a craving for a decent bitter - not a style that American breweries do particularly well.

[xibalba]

Not Australian but ya'll need to drive up to the Virginia/NC border and stop by a gas station and getcha a gallon of red wine it was like 6-8 bucks I believe. Is some good wine. :D

[heyseuss]

If you like Aussie wines I'd also suggest red wine from Argentina, Chile, and South Africa. Whites from New Zealand are good too - but their reds suck, thankfully they also make half decent beer.I normally drank VB, Hahn Ice / Carlton Cold (depending on who supplied the bar), or Redback (a great hef).

I miss the Redback the most, but still get a craving for a decent bitter - not a style that American breweries do particularly well.

Redback was very good. I can't recall about it's frequency at the bottle-o's, but in pubs it was rare.

Carlton Cold kept me happy on our camping surfing trip in Byron Bay. I still have 8mm home video of me and the gang pouring Carlton Cold on a bunch of steak and sausages on the outdoor beach bbq grill. First time I ever had shark contact on that surfing trip.

Good that you mentioned Chilean and South African wines, I went on a South African reds craze in the late 90's.

[p_frank]

Pinot Gris in New Zealand is pretty great. Take a look at Tasman Bay, they are awesome.

New Zealand is starting to get a couple of decent low-cost reds that put a lot of Australian and American production to shame. I did a red wine tour recently on Waiheke Island and it was pretty lackluster. Queenstown wine tours are amazing though, highly recommended. We've got some decent sparking going here at the moment too, with a Pinot Noir blend (sans the tannins).

Gibbston Valley Rose is also nice. Fuck the haters, pink wine is great.

----

As far as New Zealand beers, my favourite brewery recently shut down. Poor old Limburg :( It was simply too good for this country. Galbraith's, in Auckland, is a great microbrewery and is definitely worth a look. Dux de Lux in the South Island has an alcoholic ginger beer and also does an insane half and half beer cocktail that is quite nice.

Monteith's and Mac's are alright on a regular sort of day. Tuatara, a beer from Wellington, is better than both. Sadly it seems it only gets stocked down there.

The Monteith's and Mac's boutique/seasonal beers can be quite good though. Monteith's Summer Ale and the Mac's equivalent are both very nice. Steer clear of Radler though.

Emerson's does some amazing organic beers. Their pilsner is great. For those who like darker beers, Mike's Mild Ale is pretty decent.

----

To Australia. I think I said this earlier in the thread but Matilda Bay has some great boutique beers. Little Creatures is also great, as it's finally getting exported to NZ. Delerium Tremens is highly overrated and tastes like bad cock. St. Arnous is a good wheat beer (I personally didn't get into Redback). Hahn Premium is an alright everyday brew, fuck the haters.