# Bridge Road Pale Ale - Remarkably Bad



## mickhames (9/9/09)

Hi. I purchased a bottle of this for a test taste on the weekend from Dan Murphys in Rochedale, Brisbane. I like to try any pale ale that I havent had before .... as we all do I would guess. I was quite surprised as to how bad the taste was as I had rather high hopes for it. I dont know if something happened to the load during transit or if it was infected, it was incredibly bitter. I see that people have had varying experiences with Bridge Road beers and wondered if this is a widespread problem. I would like to give them another chance. Thanks for any comments.


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## brettprevans (9/9/09)

Ive had the bridge road pale (and quite a few others of theirs). and they were great. i recon you got a bad bottle.

edit: 

although im not sure what would leed to extra bitterness as you described. suppose it could an infection of some sort and your perceiving it as bitterness. Its certainly not a bitter beer


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## jayse (9/9/09)

I don't know how bridge road go about bottling but this is the weak link in many small microbreweries, what with airs and even infections. I personally think your better of not bottling at all for mass distribution with cheap bottling equipment because in the end your beer is just ruined by the time people get hold of it. This may not be the case with bridge road but I know it is with other brewers that should sell their bottling lines for scrap metal h34r: 

I bet the pale ale was great going into the bottle but i don't think they stand up to this sort of distribution and sitting on warm dan murphy shelves. I have had there pale ale from dan murphy and it was fine though.


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## chappo1970 (9/9/09)

mickhames said:


> Hi. I purchased a bottle of this for a test taste on the weekend from Dan Murphys in Rochedale, Brisbane. I like to try any pale ale that I havent had before .... as we all do I would guess. I was quite surprised as to how bad the taste was as I had rather high hopes for it. I dont know if something happened to the load during transit or if it was infected, it was incredibly bitter. I see that people have had varying experiences with Bridge Road beers and wondered if this is a widespread problem. I would like to give them another chance. Thanks for any comments.



Mick

Sully and I bought the same from DM's at Southport the entire batch was wayyyy out of date (and I do mean wayyy like 9 months). Check the date on the bottle. SWMBO took them back and got replacements. I think that their 16 yr old staff don't know or care for beer so the stock doesn't get rotated or put into the bargain bin.


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## bconnery (9/9/09)

I've also had a lot of issues with Bridge Road bottles. Some of them have been out and out undrinkable. 
It's a pity because a lot of their beers are very very good. 
I'd check the dates for sure but you may have unfortunately had a bad batch...


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## mickhames (9/9/09)

Thanks alot for the replies. I cant for the life of me find the date on the bottle.


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## chappo1970 (9/9/09)

mickhames said:


> Thanks alot for the replies. I cant for the life of me find the date on the bottle.




IIRC it was around the neck of the stubbie near the collar lable...


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## Cortez The Killer (9/9/09)

I had a very ordinary bottle of this a couple of months ago - even the plastic on the underside of the lid had gone funny

Other beers of theirs have been great though

Cheers


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## Beermatt (9/9/09)

I have always had positive experiences with Bridge Roads, but some brewers do seem to have issues in bottling. I recently had an issue with the lovely Murray's Pale Ale, a beautiful drop however, I lost half of my 4pack to what seemed to be over carbonation. I contacted Murray's to check if this had been an issue and they prompty replied assuring that it wasn't and sent me 16 of the lovely beasties to keep me happy. And yeh I really was happy!! So I think you'll find that most Micro Brewers take great pride in their product and will do their darndest to maintain their high quality. Consider contacting Bridge Roads, sure you might not get a freebie but at least you'll help them with their quality control which benefits us all in the long run.

Cheers, :icon_cheers: 

P.S. I love Murrays :icon_drool2:


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## jayse (9/9/09)

Beermatt said:


> snipped>
> .. I recently had an issue with the lovely Murray's Pale Ale, a beautiful drop however, I lost half of my 4pack to what seemed to be over carbonation. I contacted Murray's to check if this had been an issue and they prompty replied assuring that it wasn't and sent me 16 of the lovely beasties to keep me happy. And yeh I really was happy!!




I have had the same with murrays nirvana pale ale from dan murphys with overcarbonation, the beer was great but if you gave it to someone they would not beable to pour it. Not a good look, I did think to call them, reading that now thinking I should have :chug:
That was almost a year ago and I would have thought they would have it under control by now.


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## Beermatt (10/9/09)

Funny you should mention Dan Murphy's jayse that's where I purchased mine from, so maybe a storage / transport issue from them!! :angry:


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## Gulpa (10/9/09)

I tried the Beechworth Pale Ale last night for the first time (also from dans). It was quite bitter but not inappropriate for the style. I was actually glad they didnt wimp out with bitterness like some seem to. It was an OK beer but probably wouldnt buy it again.

Cheers
Andrew.


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## Beer Magician (10/9/09)

I was once driving past the back of my local Dan Murphy's and was horrified to see pallets of wonderful beer sitting in the sun in the middle of summer. I went past a few hours later and it was still sitting in the sun, shame on them for treating God's nectar in this way.


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## jonbob (10/9/09)

I am starting to think these problem is not so much the brewer, as the handling of it once Dan Murphy's gets their uncaring paws on it. Thinking about it most (but not all) of the dud beers I have had came from them and not a smaller retailer who understands how to store real beer.


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## jayse (10/9/09)

jon said:


> I am starting to think these problem is not so much the brewer, as the handling of it once Dan Murphy's gets their uncaring paws on it. Thinking about it most (but not all) of the dud beers I have had came from them and not a smaller retailer who understands how to store real beer.



Yeap although some beers by design and perfect packaging survive such treatment better than others, i find the contract brewed aussie beers hold up fairly well and would have to put it down to the fact places like AIB and mildura have much better bottling lines then most. I don't even know if many micros have any equipment to measure airs but I am sure the big contract breweries would. Some micros I gather wouldn't even own a microscope or ever bother having bottles checked.

Same as little creatures, beers get to you in fine condition, if you want mass/wide distribution then in some cases it can mean spending more on a bottling line then a brewhouse. 

It would almost make sense for a small micros to contract out their mass wide distribution bottles, you would beable to brew 3-4 times as much in one go and you'd have much more piece(peace?) of mind knowing the bottling is the best you can possibly do.

These are my ignorant thoughts on the matter. :huh:


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## Ross (10/9/09)

While in the States we found that the smaller breweries had their most popular (& distributed) beers contract brewed, while keeping the smaller runs in house.
The perfect way as Jayse pointed out to keep the quality consistant on your out sales.
I've had several contaminated Bridge Road beers to the point where I don't buy them anymore, which is a shame, as I'm told them make some great beers.
The ones I had were definately infected, rather than damage through poor storage.

cheers Ross


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## big78sam (1/3/10)

I also had a bad experience last night with a Bridge Road Beechworth Pale Ale from Dan Murphy's. It was undrinkable and had a really off sour flavour. So I emailed the brewery this morning and explained. They emailed back within 15 minutes and offered to send me a "sample" of beers as a replacement. I'm not sure what a "sample" is but I only bought one stubby to try it so I'm happy even if it's only a couple of beers. 

On a side note, I tried a wicked elf pale ale last might and was really impressed.


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## eamonnfoley (1/3/10)

Generalised bold statement alert :excl: 

Eastern States craft beers are almost guaranteed to taste terrible when bought over here in WA. I just dont bother anymore. 

I prefer to drink beers as local as possible. Its the only way in our climate.


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## dgilks (1/3/10)

It's always interesting to hear others experiences. I have yet to have a bad bottle from Bridge Road and I actually think that along with Murray's they have some of the best bottled product in the country. I particularly liked their Beechworth Pale Ale when I tried it as it had a nice, strong bitterness which a lot of commercial APAs don't. Anyway, the bottles I've bought I have been either direct from the brewery or from Plonk in Canberra who have a reasonable turnover. I think the issue with your bottle may very well be the Dan Murphy's distribution chain taking a long time and storing the beer poorly.


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## bconnery (1/3/10)

dgilks said:


> It's always interesting to hear others experiences. I have yet to have a bad bottle from Bridge Road and I actually think that along with Murray's they have some of the best bottled product in the country. I particularly liked their Beechworth Pale Ale when I tried it as it had a nice, strong bitterness which a lot of commercial APAs don't. Anyway, the bottles I've bought I have been either direct from the brewery or from Plonk in Canberra who have a reasonable turnover. I think the issue with your bottle may very well be the Dan Murphy's distribution chain taking a long time and storing the beer poorly.



I think it is definitely something like this, or even a batch or timing issue. 
I had bottle after bad bottle at one point but I persevered with their Australian ale because a couple of people I knew raved about it. 
Glad I did as I've bought it several times since and I rate it as one of my favourite Australian beers.


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## mickhames (4/3/10)

I decided to email the brewery and had a reply 2 hours later ....

Hi Michael,
Thanks for letting me know.
We have had some infection issues in the past popping up well down the track a couple of months after stock has left the Brewery. We havent had any instances of this for some time, over the last 6-8months, we keep old stock here and check it from time to time to see how it develops over a year or so.
I can only assume the stock is quite old, however age does not create an infection it just gives it time to develop, it must first be present in the beer at bottling. Hence any sourness is our fault, bitterness is too but thats deliberate.
We encourage feedback and send replacements out to anyone who goes to the length of letting us know of any bad experiences they may have had.
If this has been the case for you I would like to send you some current stock to reinstall your faith in our brews.
Feel free to let your forum buddies know the same, we will be more than happy to send them some beer they can enjoy, rather than having to tip it down the sink.

Cheers and thanks
Ben

.... I received a mixed 6 pack today so hopefully I will be sampling some good beer shortly.


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## big78sam (4/3/10)

I got a mixed 6 pack delivered yesterday and the 2 I tried last night were fine. If they are willing to replace the beer if you have any issues I don't have any problems buying it...


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## joshuahardie (4/3/10)

I have found Ben most approachable on issues like this.

I had an issue with a saison that I bought off them, and without hesitation he posted out a replacement brew and threw in a bottle of their dunkel as well.

Great customer service.

Apart from that one hiccup, I have thought that Bridge Road Brewery produces some mighty fine drops, I hope that your experience has not put you off trying more of their beers.


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## .DJ. (4/3/10)

The beers I have had from Brige Rod have been brilliant..

pity they are more widely available..


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## Edgecliff Brewer (14/3/10)

I must have picked up a case of infected APA back in July. This was actually from the brewery. The sourness was barely noticeable at first but time has given it legs. I was initially not sure that it was infected but it became more and more obvious. However, Ben and his wife were very hospitable when we visited, and his beers were truly excellent, thus I am not upset. We got the outstanding porter, and some IPA and APA to take home. It's a pity that people in Qld do not seem to get the best quality product - probably to do with unrefrigerated trucks.


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## JaffaMan (22/5/10)

I love the beers from there, the Pale Ale on tap is my favourite.


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## shadowofdarkness (25/5/10)

I can second (& 3rd & 4th etc.) that Bridge Road Brews are fantastic! It's a shame that there have been problems, and I cannot help but think that the recurring theme of Dan Murphy's in most of them indicates a major problem. Turnover of stock seems to be a major issue. My advice would be to stop buying at Dan's and find a local, small, independent retailer who carries smaller stock loads, and therefore goes through a rotational cycle a little more often...


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## Thunderlips (18/6/10)

shadowofdarkness said:


> My advice would be to stop buying at Dan's and find a local, small, independent retailer who carries smaller stock loads, and therefore goes through a rotational cycle a little more often...


I see that you can also buy direct from their web site.
Didn't see how much delivery costs though.

Their APA came second in the microbrewing.com.au contest that was recently judged.


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## dgilks (18/6/10)

Thunderlips said:


> I see that you can also buy direct from their web site.
> Didn't see how much delivery costs though.
> 
> Their APA came second in the microbrewing.com.au contest that was recently judged.



When I last checked delivery was about $10 a case to NSW/VIC/ACT.


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## VP Brewing (18/6/10)

Bridge Rd would have to be one of the best small breweries in vic......their oktoberfest on the 9th and 10th of oct is amazing.


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## [email protected] (3/12/10)

Just trying this pale ale now.

Its great! Prob on or just over in terms of my limits on bitterness, but its alright because its got so many other interesting parts to it 
that i find hard to put words to. 
Nice fruity aroma and taste, with a little maltiness there to keep the balance.
Nice thick head which is retained to near bottom of the glass.
I think this is an exciting beer, every mouth full is a little adventure.

Its bitterness is quite bold, can anyone put a number to the IBUs on this beer?


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## BrenosBrews (3/12/10)

Beer4U said:


> Just trying this pale ale now.
> 
> Its great! Prob on or just over in terms of my limits on bitterness, but its alright because its got so many other interesting parts to it
> that i find hard to put words to.
> ...



They are constantly reworking it, a pot I had at Mrs Parmas a few months ago was the best I've had in a while. I'd guess somewhere around 35IBUs.


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## [email protected] (3/12/10)

BrenosBrews said:


> They are constantly reworking it, a pot I had at Mrs Parmas a few months ago was the best I've had in a while. I'd guess somewhere around 35IBUs.



Thanks champ


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## manticle (4/12/10)

mickhames said:


> I decided to email the brewery and had a reply 2 hours later ....
> 
> Hi Michael,
> Thanks for letting me know.
> ...




Really amazingly late in responding to this but this kind of thing is exactly what separates a brewery that deserves to succeed from one that doesn't.

Rather than trying to defend a bad beer or putting the onus back on the consumer, they have admitted having issues, suggested what they are doing to eliminate them and offering replacements. I'd like to know how you fared with the replacements Mick if you ever read this.

I've had bad beer, emailedthe relevant brewery to politely suggest that maybe the beer wasn't as it was intended on consumption and been politely informed that my palate wasn't developed enough to understand the intricacies of the brew.

Shit like that really doesn't make me want to give them the time of day.


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