# Anyone Remember Bulimba Bitter



## Shortstraw (11/9/09)

My old man has been bugging me to make something like bulimba bitter for a while now but they were bought out long before I was born so I have no idea what it was like and all I can get from him is that it had a stronger flavour than "today's beers". I was hoping someone here would be able to remember what it was like and point me in the right direction.


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## winkle (11/9/09)

Shortstraw said:


> My old man has been bugging me to make something like bulimba bitter for a while now but they were bought out long before I was born so I have no idea what it was like and all I can get from him is that it had a stronger flavour than "today's beers". I was hoping someone here would be able to remember what it was like and point me in the right direction.



There's a few mentions of it here link

As a lad I can remember my Grandfather and his dodgy ex-army mate downing piles of Bulimba Gold Top bottles, it would be interesting to try and find a old recipe, might even be good.


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## TidalPete (11/9/09)

Shortstraw said:


> My old man has been bugging me to make something like bulimba bitter for a while now but they were bought out long before I was born so I have no idea what it was like and all I can get from him is that it had a stronger flavour than "today's beers". I was hoping someone here would be able to remember what it was like and point me in the right direction.



Yes I do but I'm sure BribieG with all his detailed knowledge can give you more info?
When I was a young & dedicated XXXX man I used to visit my 3 maiden aunts at Dutton Park & every visit they faithfully brought out a bottle just to keep me happy (they were teetotalers).
Every once in a while I would crack a couple of Bulimba's just for the different taste but remember that in those days XXXX was king & only Southerners & the mentally deranged drank anything different. :blink: 
Yes, I remember Bulimba Bitter (and Bulimba Draught) alright. There was another from Bulimba but can't remember the name?

TP

Edit --- bugger you Winkle! I was first.


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## TidalPete (11/9/09)

TidalPete said:


> Yes I do but I'm sure BribieG with all his detailed knowledge can give you more info?
> When I was a young & dedicated XXXX man I used to visit my 3 maiden aunts at Dutton Park & every visit they faithfully brought out a bottle just to keep me happy (they were teetotalers).
> Every once in a while I would crack a couple of Bulimba's just for the different taste but remember that in those days XXXX was king & only Southerners & the mentally deranged drank anything different. :blink:
> Yes, I remember Bulimba Bitter (and Bulimba Draught) alright. There was another from Bulimba but can't remember the name?
> ...




Thanks Perry. :icon_cheers: 
Gold Top was the one I couldn't remember.

TP


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## Bribie G (12/9/09)

Shortstraw said:


> My old man has been bugging me to make something like bulimba bitter for a while now but they were bought out long before I was born so I have no idea what it was like and all I can get from him is that it had a stronger flavour than "today's beers". I was hoping someone here would be able to remember what it was like and point me in the right direction.



History: Queensland Breweries were bought out by Carlton in the late 1960s and the brewery at Fortitude Valley next to the Story Bridge continued to pump out Bulimba brand beers till the mid 70s, then over a few years Carlton gradually 'migrated' the brands, dropping Gold Top and Pilsener. I remember drinking the Pilsener in the early 1980s and actually won ten cartons in a pub raffle and took them on holiday to Carnarvon Gorge and ripped the exhaust out of the Falcon because it was so low to the ground :chug: :lol: 

Spot the label switch:






I distinctly remember the Carlton Draught / Gold Top - when I arrived in Queensland there were only 2 beers on tap, XXXX and Carlton. Compared to the XXXX the Carlton was paler and distinctly more bitter in an isohop way. It was nothing like modern Carlton Draught 'made from beer'. I've tried to make a couple of versions and although I got fairly close my problem has been finding a suitable yeast to give the clean flavour. I've tried Morgans Lager yeast that turns out a bit 'bready', 34/70 that ends up too Euro with too much sulphur background, Californian Steam beer yeast that turns out weird and Swiss Lager yeast that to me dries the beer out too much, as I remember Carlton to be slightly sweetish a bit like Fosters used to be. 

For starters you know what, I'd try US-05 but ferment cool at around 17 degrees, give a good long cold crash of about 2 weeks, fine well and use Polyclar.


4000 Pale Pilsener Malt

66 degrees 90 minutes

25g Superpride 90 minutes (not POR as you want the background bitterness not any hop aroma)

800g white sugar into the fermenter

US-05

The old Bulimba was a six o'clock swill beer and I reckon they just cranked it out as a simple working man's tipple with no pretence to be a fine lager or anything, after 20 or 30 glasses on a hot Brisbane Summer afternoon you didn't care what you were drinking :icon_drunk: Elderly lady friend says she and her workmates often had to step over rows of guys literally lying on the footpath at 6.30 in the CBD so they could get to their tram.


Edit: ok here's my challenge, I'll crank out a keg for the Xmas Case Swap, same principle as the previous paragraph: after a skinful of Tidal Pete's offering they won't care what they are drinking :lol:


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## winkle (12/9/09)

Take a few samples around to nursing homes (Bribie's got one or two).
"Come on Pops does this taste like Gold Top"
Mind, you'll probably get chucked out for being a pusher.


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## Shortstraw (13/9/09)

Thanks folks I'll have to give that one a go.


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## Bribie G (13/9/09)

Shortstraw, if you are not grain brewing yet, you can always try a kit version such as:

1 tin Coopers Canadian Light / Blonde
1 pack Brew Improver 2

30g superpride hops (you can get 90g packs from sponsors at top of page)

Boil the hops in 2 litres of water with 1/4 cup sugar for half an hour then strain into the fermenter

Discard the yeast that comes with the tin and get a packet of US-05 (also available from sponsor)

Ferment the brew fairly cool, give it a long cold crash in a fridge before bottling, and although it will not taste as good as a grain based version I'm sure your Dad will be impressed.

:icon_cheers:


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## Donrosa (14/12/09)

Shortstraw said:


> My old man has been bugging me to make something like bulimba bitter for a while now but they were bought out long before I was born so I have no idea what it was like and all I can get from him is that it had a stronger flavour than "today's beers". I was hoping someone here would be able to remember what it was like and point me in the right direction.


Donrosa here, just joined.
As a young lad of 10 (42 years ago), I tried my first beer, it was Bulimba Gold Top. For the last 10 years I have longed for that taste again. I recall, it was like an Angel pissing on my tongue. If you have any luck finding the recipe, mate I swear, I would kill for it. Beers today are not even close to that taste. I would like to die happy, knowing that an old friend and I got reaquainted.


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## Bribie G (14/12/09)

Donrosa said:


> Donrosa here, just joined.
> As a young lad of 10 (42 years ago), I tried my first beer, it was Bulimba Gold Top. For the last 10 years I have longed for that taste again. I recall, it was like an Angel pissing on my tongue. If you have any luck finding the recipe, mate I swear, I would kill for it. Beers today are not even close to that taste. I would like to die happy, knowing that an old friend and I got reaquainted.



Don. Bad news and good news.

Bad news: you will have to go all grain brewing for sure. There is really no way you can get the taste using a kit or malt extract, although you could make a beer that approximates the style.
Good news: if you can do grain brewing then the actual recipe was probably quite simple. It was a very very pale beer as I remember, with a hit of fairly bitter hop that was much more pronounced than the XXXX of the day. 

Looking at:

Toowoomba pale malt - you can get it today 
Superpride hops
30% white sugar

Probably end of story as it wasn't a sophisticated beer, more a six o clock swiller. The only problem is the yeast, which is a proprietory yeast from Fosters. I have tried various yeasts and next one I am trying is Danish Lager yeast, I have heard that Carlton got their strain from there, and it is the oldest lager strain. 

Anyway welcome to the forum, what stage are you up to in HB? Remember that even though Bulimba is from before the 1980s it was still a very sophisticated and modern brewery so you aren't going to get a good copy without a bit of brewing nous. :beerbang:


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## bradsbrew (14/12/09)

Can anyone remember the carlton pilsener and when it stopped being produced.??

Cheers Brad


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## Bribie G (15/12/09)

bradsbrew said:


> Can anyone remember the carlton pilsener and when it stopped being produced.??
> 
> Cheers Brad



I won 10 cartons of it in 1982 (stubbies) and took it on holiday to Carnarvon Gorge. I guess it got wiped sometime in the late 80s or 90s. However it wasn't a national brand. As you can see it was also a Bulimba hangover that they kept producing for the local market.


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## wabster (15/12/09)

This is the Bulimba beer label I remember my Dad drank probably in the late 60's if not before. It must have had a good reputation or been cheap as my Dad used to buy it over the border and bring it back to our house in northern NSW. Remember in those days you couldn't buy Qld beer in NSW or vice versa.​


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## Bribie G (15/12/09)

Note how 'blonde' the beer was, also the non-use of seat belts. nails the period perfectly.

Also 


Getting thirsty yet donrosa ?


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## bradsbrew (15/12/09)

BribieG said:


> I won 10 cartons of it in 1982 (stubbies) and took it on holiday to Carnarvon Gorge. I guess it got wiped sometime in the late 80s or 90s. However it wasn't a national brand. As you can see it was also a Bulimba hangover that they kept producing for the local market.
> 
> View attachment 33903
> View attachment 33902


Thats the one i remember in the mid/late eighties but not the cans they were tallies with a similar label.


Cheers


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## rday (16/12/09)

bradsbrew said:


> Thats the one i remember in the mid/late eighties but not the cans they were tallies with a similar label.
> 
> 
> Cheers



I've got a couple of tallies with the CUB logo on them mixed in with the XXXX tallies that I bought from an old guy near Logan. I wonder if they once held this mythical Bulimba bitter...


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## mrTbeer (12/5/12)

Just watched an old movie called 'age of consent'. It stars Helen mirren as a teenager and they down quite a few bulimba draught beers and xxxx but they never used either brand name. It was set in 1969 and also shows Brisbane and TAA amongst other things.


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## seravitae (12/5/12)

pretty sure very late last year they started making it again (not sure why).

Depending on how well carlton filters (not sure of the process) you might be able to get some yeast out of it from careful culturing?




ah yep:




http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainm...1128-1o2sy.html


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## Bribie G (13/5/12)

It's still in the local Dans stores. A good solid 5% ABV and nicely hoppy. Recommended. 

CUB brew old beers now and again to retain the trade mark, e.g. Powers Bitter, Richmond Lager. They also did a batch of Brisbane Bitter. 
I was in Dans on Wednesday and was going to pick up a six pack before it disappears for my lifetime but got sidetracked by a six of Zwyiec Porter 9.5% for $20. Hic.


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## TidalPete (13/5/12)

Bribie G said:


> It's still in the local Dans stores. A good solid 5% ABV and nicely hoppy. Recommended.
> 
> CUB brew old beers now and again to retain the trade mark, e.g. Powers Bitter, Richmond Lager. They also did a batch of Brisbane Bitter.
> I was in Dans on Wednesday and was going to pick up a six pack before it disappears for my lifetime but got sidetracked by a six of Zwyiec Porter 9.5% for $20. Hic.



The old Bulimba Gold top just didn't seem up to scratch when I was a dedicated XXXX drinker with no taste buds whatsoever a zillion years ago Bribie but can taste the difference in my mind as per Post #3.
Sadly & unfortunately & too bad for past memories the upgrading of my HERMS brewery has come my first & foremost ojective to be completed before falling off my perch sometime in the 2030's.  
Might be able to get to Dans sometime in 2014 if things go well but happy to live off the fruits of my endevours in the meantime.  

TP


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## Swordsman (15/5/12)

mrTbeer said:


> Just watched an old movie called 'age of consent'. It stars Helen mirren as a teenager and they down quite a few bulimba draught beers and xxxx but they never used either brand name. It was set in 1969 and also shows Brisbane and TAA amongst other things.



I have this movie and will need to look that up. Although these sorts of beers are way before my time (although i do vaguely recolect the colour and design of some of the cans...must have seen some of them as a kid around the house) its pretty cool to see the history of beer and what has happened to their recipes etc. 

Just out of interest to those that have seen the movie 'age of consent' its worth noting that much of this film was shot in FNQld (tully/mission beach area) and the reason i have it is because it was recommend to me many years ago by my late grandfather who was a grip/extra on the set. If you watch the film there is a scene when the main character is taking a phone call in a general purpose store....the owner of the store is hand cutting bacon (brings back memories for some of you guys i'm sure). During this scene a very tall and very tanned gentleman walks across the scene carrying a side of bacon over his shoulder. That man is my grandfather. 

Funnilly enough my grandfather was a pretty legendary drinker and while he was mostly a XXXX man im sure he put away some bulimba bitter in his time....and if it was in that movie and on set...i bet he put some of it away during filming at that!


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## QldKev (15/5/12)

I got a carton of Bulimba Gold Tops from Dans just before Christmas... never again. I can see why the stopped making it. :icon_vomit: I'd rather drink VB :icon_vomit: 

QldKev


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## QldKev (15/5/12)

BribieG said:


> <<snip>>
> For starters you know what, I'd try US-05 but ferment cool at around 17 degrees, give a good long cold crash of about 2 weeks, fine well and use Polyclar.
> 
> 
> ...




I agree with the basis of that recipe from my tasting of the beer, definitely an ale base. Only changes I would drop back the Superpride to about half of that, and up the malt a bit and drop the sugar to 500g. 


edit: and vomit into the fermentor to get the real taste going. 


QldKev


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