# Colonial Brewing Co. Margaret River



## deebee (1/2/05)

Im proud to say that I just spent a week at Margaret River and visited two breweries and no wineries. You can get beers from The Bootleg Brewery in bottles in Perth and I have tasted all their beers before, but had to drop in for a taste and some takeaways. I especially like their Raging Bull Ale. 

The Colonial Brewery is new and I was seriously impressed with their set-up. They only opened a few months back. Its much closer to town and I reckon will really give Bootleg a shake. Have typed out their tasting notes as follows.

Dr Quick, English Strong Ale, 7.7% ABV. Heavily hopped for bitterness, it features a deep palate of rich malt with hints of orange in a long, complex finish.

Spruikers Challenge, German Kolsch Ale, 4.5% ABV. Delicate hop flower aromas precede a palate so light, crisp and balanced that its often mistaken for a pilsner.

Pistol Whip, Scottish Best Bitter, 4.6% ABV. A complex brew, showing fruit and toffee aromas, a broad, rich palate and ending with length and complexity.

18 Hands, N-E English Brown Ale, 4.9% ABV. A mouth-filling brown ale in the northern English style. It displays a balanced, full malt palate before a long finish.

They have four seasonal beers. Currently they are serving their Summer selection, Back Breaker, Belgian Blonde Ale, 5.1% ABV. Lightly hopped, this cloudy wheat beer uses coriander and dried curacao orange peel to lend bitterness.

Autumn: Freebooter, German Rauchbier, 5.8% ABV. Literally a smoked beer, its strong in character, from the nose, through a meaty palate to a long smokey finish.

Winter: Gully Washer, English Porter, 6.3% ABV. Deep ruby brown, this robust style is a big mouthful with hints of coffee and rich roasted malt to the bitter end.

Spring: Big Blow, Bavarian Heffe Weissbier, 5.3% ABV. Light wheat beer, fresh and yeasty with simple fruity nose and palate before a light refreshing farewell.

They sell a paddle, shaped like a mash paddle fitted with five glasses about 150ml holding a sample of each the five beers on tap. It goes for $10 and comes in just over two standard drinks so you can drive afterwards. I got one of them on my first visit and was seriously impressed with the quality of the beers. On my second visit I went for a pint each of the Kolsch and the English Strong Ale. I also really liked the English Brown but couldnt get pissed because of other commitments that day but I am very keen on another visit in autumn to sample the rauchbier.

The Kolsch is delicate and fragrant and goes down fast like breathing in. Could just drink this all day. The English strong ale is nice and bitter at 42 IBU but not really English as Im sure it is late-hopped with cascade flowers. That sounds odd but it works really well and this is a sensational beer hands down my favourite of them all. Very deceptive in strength with no strong alcohol flavour or aroma. You could drink this all afternoon but at 7.7% you might go night-night very early.

The menu is good, but priced as you would expect for Margaret River. When we sent some chips back because Miss 11 year old said they had chilli on them the chef sent back an explanation that it was paprika but gave us another serve without paprika for free. The playground is about the best in the whole world according to Miss 6 year old. There are vineyards to gaze over and horses in the neighbouring paddock for the kids to pat.

As usual I claim no affiliation with this mob but give this plug because they are making a genuine effort to create excellent beers. Nothing in bottles yet but give them a visit if you are in the area. Website www.colonialbrewingco.com.au


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## BigAl (1/2/05)

Deebee,

Thats good news, im heading down to Margaret river this friday afternoon for some seafood and semillon festival at Amberley Winery. Apparently a classy pi$$up involving semillons from all around WA and 5 courses of seafood, not exactly my thing but fortunatley we will be visiting Colonial on Sunday for lunch and beer. Could be a challenge to try and get a pint of each beer in....I can see swmbo driving a drunken me home, happy days.. 

:chug: 

Cheers.


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## Goat (1/2/05)

I popped in there a few weeks ago, but didn't stay because they had a Reggae Festival on ( Mon! ) and wanted $10 bucks per family member to get in. 

I'd have to agree Deebee, it does look like a nice setup - plenty of stainless in the buisness end to gaze at. Nice relaxed, airy feel too. It will be a lot better when they get some trees up around the place but it looks like a great start.

I heard that the assistant brewer from Nail Brewery is their Head Brewer now that the former is brewrey has slowed.

( Can sense a Perth Brewers road trip? )


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## barfridge (2/2/05)

Sounds fantastic, that's a roadtrip I'd be up for!

Of course it would have to be overnight, as I dont imagine anyone wanting to drive us all the way back after a skinfull.


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## Backlane Brewery (2/2/05)

Sounds great but...



> Nothing in bottles yet but give them a visit if you are in the area.



:angry: Curses from the eastern states.


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## Hoops (2/2/05)

Damn it! I tried to get down there at Xmas but the mates car blew the head gasket  
I'll have to go next year, and overnight would definitely be the go


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## tdh (2/2/05)

...and an extraordinarily excellent website.
Am tempted to get on over there asap!

tdh


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## Doc (2/2/05)

A fantastic website indeed.
Also great to see that 2 of the 3 brewers are kiwis.
Must be why the beers are so good B) 

Doc


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## THE DRUNK ARAB (2/2/05)

Thanks for the review deebee B) .

I will definately be visiting the Colonial in April when I am over that way.

C&B
TDA


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## Asher (2/2/05)

I shall be accompanying young Trash-Mash Al on this weekends southern adventure....
Dont think Ill be driving home on Sunday arvo!!!  

Asher for now


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## neonmeate (2/2/05)

hot damn i gotter get over to the state of excitement sometime soon...theres that place, bootleg, feral, the little creatures pub, the international beer shop, emu bitter...one of these days.


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## deebee (2/2/05)

A roadtrip might be an ambitious plan, but worth thinking about. We stayed at a big house that sleeps 12 and that or similar could be an option. Colonial do a free bus run to and fro the tourist bureau, but if we had a large number of drinkers they might be persuaded to collect us from our accommodation and drop us home afterwards.

April would have the rauchbier on tap and time in with TDA's visit. Alternatively winter has good cheap accommodation deals and the porter sounds nice.

Just a thought.


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## Hopeye (2/2/05)

Hey,

The Colonial Brewery was the old name of the Outback Brewery. Are the new owners of the Colonial bikers by any chance ???? The previous owners of the Colonial Brewery were a bunch of bikers........


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## Goat (2/2/05)

'Tis an ambitious thought Deebee, but could be fun with a few brewery tours etc. It would consume about 2 years worth of points with SWMBO though. <_< 

I've got a few ideas with accommodation - I grew up down there, so that side of things wouldn't be too much of a problem.


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## BigAl (3/2/05)

My 30th birthday is rapidly approaching in time for the rauchbier, theres probably more available points now than i will see for the rest of my life.....


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## kook (3/2/05)

Thats great news, I'd been waiting a while for them to open, but I beleive they had to wait a long time for their license to come through.

I heard rumours about them growing their own hops too!

I'll definately be taking a trip down there (even if its a 1 day-er) when I'm back in September for a week.


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## deebee (3/2/05)

kook said:


> I heard rumours about them growing their own hops too!


 Funny you should say that because as I sat there trying to focus after that strong ale I saw some vines growing up frames under cover at the far corner of the paddock. Thought to myself, "I wonder if that's... Nah surely not. Must be cucumbers." But maybe that was their hops crops after all. Didn't look too vigorous but it might be early years before plants are properly established.


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## Goat (3/2/05)

I thought they were fruit trees...... Would you need the screens for the Hops? I can't imagine a bird getting too excited about a hop flower.


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## kook (4/2/05)

Additional plantings of specialty barley and hops will be carried out on an annual basis

http://www.orgl.wa.gov.au/liquor/decisions/A110666.htm


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## deebee (4/2/05)

Hmmm,you've done your research kook.


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## Big Bad Bear (9/2/05)

Visited the Colonial a few weeks after opening and they had their seasonal wheat on tap.

Definately a wheat using a Hefeweizen yeast. Strong with cloves and banana and plenty of mouthfeel. Great stuff.

Cheers


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## ausdb (10/2/05)

My partner and I have the weekend free and plan on heading down this way on the weekend. This place is definitely on the to do list a few times.

Has anyone got some suggestions on nice camping places around Margarets, I havent been down there for ages

Cheers

Ausdb

PS deebee your belgian ale in the xmas case was mighty nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## barfridge (10/2/05)

The caravan park at Prevelly Park is quite nice, a little expensive for a campsite however.


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## big d (10/2/05)

boy o boy am i in for a treat next time in perth.more micros to visit.fortunately im in sweet with the missus as far as margaret river region goes as shes been wanting to visit the region for ages.and if im lucky between now and my permanent move to perth a few more micros will open up.life is looking good.   

cheers
big d


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## Guest Lurker (10/2/05)

Colonial are also planning to build a larger brewery in the industrial area at Prevelly (so they can call it a Margaret River beer on the label) to produce and distribute packaged micro-brews, which will be different from what they sell at the actual micro.


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## Goat (10/2/05)

Where did you hear that GL ? - I'd be interested in more info on that.

I would have thought that Bramley, where they are now, is just as close to Margarget River (the town) as Prevelly. Or did you mean the M/River industrial area where BUG Ocean are?


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## big d (10/2/05)

is bug ocean kiwi for big ocean :lol:


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## Asher (10/2/05)

Bug Ocean is exactly that Big D...

Owned and run by a bunch of Kiwi's 

Asher for now


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## Guest Lurker (10/2/05)

That will be quite enough kiwi bashing thanks boys.

From the West yesterday.


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## deebee (10/2/05)

So Asher and T.M.Al, how much did you love Colonial on the weekend? 

Any memories?


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## Asher (10/2/05)

I'm a bit embarrassed to say this.... but we never made it..... 

After the 'Seafood and Semillon festival' at Amberley winery on Sat., I was hung like a bull on Sunday.... So we decided to give it a miss until we could do it the justice it deserves & suck down a pint of each of their beers.... well at least taste them!


Asher for now


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## big d (10/2/05)

hung like a bull h34r: 
you make great beer and now ya start bragging as well. :lol:


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## ausdb (14/2/05)

Hi All

Just got back from a weekend down at margarets, two breweries is all I could twist the other halfs arm into visiting so it was bootleg and colonial.

Colonial is a pretty slick setup and I would have to agree with deebee, I thought the the kolsch was the best beer there and the playground gives me an excuse to take my nephew back there some time soon! :chug: 

Ausdb


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## ant (24/2/05)

Also worth noting is that you can arrange a tour with the brewer (Steve Plowman), think they run at 10 and 2 daily (except if busy brewing), for a cost of $14, which includes the $10 paddle. Steve is more than happy to answer questions and is a nice bloke (even if he is a Kiwi). From memory, I harassed him for about an hour, until SWMBO gave one eye roll too many and it was deemed time to go.

It is owned by the group who own Redgate winery, which explains where they got the capital for it I guess! Also explains why Redgate wines are the only wines served.

I was particularly interested in the Kolsch when I went down there, not being overly familiar with the style, so had a read up in Daniels on the basics of the style, so I could ask semi-sensible questions. Upon interrogating Steve, he told me some interesting things, the choice of grains and yeast being right up there. Let's just say the Kolsch wasn't based on a standard "Daniels type" recipe, and in fact was using no pilsener malt, but substantially more wheat and was actually using a Weizen yeast from memory. Interesting digression from style, but as you can see from the comments above - the punters still like it.

Colonial was also where it was suggested to me that you could use cans of swill as a starter.

Pretty though. Very shiny.


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## ryanator (17/10/05)

I went to the Colonial yesterday. From what I remember (which isn't much) it was a pretty decent brewery. I'm sporting one of the hugest hangovers today.


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## Corellion (19/10/05)

Just stumbled across this (rather old) discussion... but thought it worth pointing out that you can get their beers home-delivered (apparently even interstate?) via the beer club.
So if any of our eastern brethren wanted to test our claims of the Wheat-cum-Kolsch...

[edit] And the beer-club is through their website and a credit card ... and no I'm not affiliated [/edit]


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## Asher (19/10/05)

I forgot about this thread too.... I did eventually make it.

Did the grand tour..... They had just received delivery of the bottling line machinery the day we were there & we got to have a good look at the prototype bottles & packaging.... The labels are printed on the bottle itself like a corona bottle. Steve said "At least this way when all the homebrewers get a hold off em they cant soak the labels off.... cheap advertising really"

here's a couple of pics of the place...



Steve behind the bar & Lou lining up a couple of coldies



The brewery

:beer: 

Asher for now


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## Handy (7/11/05)

Asher said:


> I forgot about this thread too.... I did eventually make it.
> 
> Did the grand tour..... They had just received delivery of the bottling line machinery the day we were there & we got to have a good look at the prototype bottles & packaging.... The labels are printed on the bottle itself like a corona bottle. Steve said "At least this way when all the homebrewers get a hold off em they cant soak the labels off.... cheap advertising really"
> 
> ...



That's not Steve behind the bar, that is the owner Ross Smith. Steve went back to New Zealand and there's been a new brewer since June. New brewer is Dean McLeod who has worked at Malt Shovel Brewery, James Squire Brewhouse in Sydney, Lord Nelson Hotel and Sharer's Brewery in Picton, NSW (from bio on web site).


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## Asher (7/11/05)

Yeah... I ment Ross Smith..... Ex 'daytrader'


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## Randall the Enamel Animal (28/5/06)

Hi Guys

My name's Dean and I've been the brewer at Colonial since June last year, nearly twelve months now.

Been working really hard in that time getting the beers up to standard and was rewarded at the recent Australian Internetional Beer Awards with 14 medals, four best in class trophies and confirmed last Friday, the award for Champion Small Brewery (trophy being re-engraved and website to be updated).

Still a lot more work to do and in the future, we plan to build a few more around the country to give many more beer lovers the opportunity to drink some good ales without having to travel to the end of the earth!

If you do make it down MR way, be certain to ask for me as I'm sure to have something tasty in tank that needs a bit of 'evaluation' B) 

Cheers.

Oh, and the Kolsch is differnet now. German pilsener and local wheat malt, dry and neutral ale yeast that highlights hop notes (you know the one), and finished with truck-loads of Nelson Sauvin.


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## Vlad the Pale Aler (28/5/06)

Did'nt Colonial change ownership recently?


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## Randall the Enamel Animal (28/5/06)

Vlad the Pale Aler said:


> Did'nt Colonial change ownership recently?
> [post="129779"][/post]​


Going through the process at the moment. Business as usual at Colonial but we'll be freeing up some cash to build a couple more.


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## big d (28/5/06)

Will have to get down to margaret river in july when im in perth.Hope you have a real randall in place for my visit.Last randall i tried was at jayses place with a few bits and pieces we put together and heaps of hops from chiller.

Cheers
Big D
Roaming AHB ambassador


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## Randall the Enamel Animal (28/5/06)

No Randall at Colonial....yet.

Hoping to make up a big wood-aged porter for winter that's pulled though hand-pumps and Randalls packed with three diffenet hops.


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## wessmith (28/5/06)

Gidday Dean, I must have missed something re the "Best Small Brewery" award - can you PM me the details?

Cheers,

Wes


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## Doc (28/5/06)

Hey Dean,

I recently had the pleasure of a couple of your brews from a family member who visited you on holidays last month and bought me back a couple of samples.
I got to try the Brown Ale and the Strong Ale. 
Both were quality beers, well presented in great packaging. The standout of the two for me was the Strong Ale. It has all the malt and flavour charactristics I love in strong ales with the addition of American hops. The hops were up front, but not too out of balance in the beer. I really enjoyed it. 
Am I able to enquire what hops you are using in the Strong Ale ?

Beers,
Doc


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## Randall the Enamel Animal (28/5/06)

Hi Doc

Hops, all American:

Centenial up front
Cascade late
Off boil with Amarillo


Just Amarillo works well too as it's pretty high in alpha acids and if you want to set up a continuous 'hop-feeder', this'd be the go. I do like the resiny flavour of centenial and the grapefruity Cascade adds a little hop complexity to the stone-fruity Amarillo. There's a few others I'll be trying soon too.


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## hughman666 (2/10/06)

i just got back today from a long weekend in MR.

stopped by the bootleg on friday for a couple of pales and a wheat and was typically impressed, as i have long been a bootleg fan.

the real surprise of the weekend however was on saturday. the wife and i went to colonial to watch the afl grand final and have a few beers (she was driving, i had to drive through the wine tsastings on sunday)

i started with the seasonal beer, "big blow" which was a wheat and i was literally blown away. second up was the kolsch which was a very smooth pilsner-like beer. then i went on with a "pistol whip" which was the bitter and this was very tasty. 18 hands after that was like a newcy brown but had a longer finish to it. i switched between the seasonal wheat and the kolsch after that and ended up fairly happy :chug: 

pity that dean had left before we got there, i was looking forward to a chat about the ingredients he uses.

i have to hand it to dean who has improved the quality of the beers a hell of a lot since i was last there in january '05. this place has stepped up alongisde bootleg and overetaken it in a couple of areas, particularly the wheat and the kolsch.

we signed up to the beer club and will be getting a mixed carton delivered on a monthly basis.

well done colonial, great brewery!


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## Randall the Enamel Animal (6/10/06)

Thanks for the feedback Hugh.

Be sure if you do roll up to give me a call as I love talking about beer to guys who are interested. I had Ant through the brewery this afternoon and it really was a pleasure. And, there's usually something interesting out the back in a keg that needs a bit of QA.


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## ant (10/10/06)

I was down in Margs over the weekend for a wedding and unexpectedly found myself with an hour or two free on Friday arvo, so headed down to Colonial. Cos I hadn't planned on being there, I hadn't called ahead, but Dean still made himself available for a very generous amount of time to talk to me, particularly given he was in the middle of a double brew day.

While I drooled over the gear, Dean told me anything I wanted to know about the beers they produce (as evidenced in his previous posts in this thread!), listened to me waffle on and shared a couple of samples out of tanks, kegs, bottles, etc.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more open, honest and accommodating brewer, and I think we'll be seeing and hearing a lot more about Colonial with Dean at the Brewers helm. Do yourself a favour and drop by if you're down there; the 18 Hands is a corker.

Ant


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## Steve (10/10/06)

I sampled their wares last month. Very impressed...so impressed I bought a hat and spent the rest of my holidays looking like a typical pommie tourist  
Cheers
Steve

P.S. Well worth a visit - it'd be wonderful in the heat of summer though :chug:


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## uneekwahn (4/12/06)

Was down in Busselton / Dunsborough / Margaret River over the weekend, so one of my stops was definately going to be Colonial.

In two words, loved it.

Great atmosphere, really good food and absolutely amazing beer. I loved the seasonal "Big Blow" so much that I bought a 6 pack.

I got back yesterday and went to order a carton of it today, but unfortunately they've sold out! (Thanks for trying to scrounge enough 6 packs to fill a carton for me Dean, I appreciate it!).

Nothing but praise from my fianc and parents who were also there. Definately plan on going back again soon.


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## Tseay (7/12/06)

Interestingly this brewery is owned by the Empire Beer Group due to float on the ASX on Dec 8.

Quote from Empire's web site

"The first acquisition is the highly successful Colonial Brewing Company Pty Ltd in Margaret River, Western Australia, currently Australias Champion Small Brewery 2006 as awarded at the Australian International Beer Awards.
Empires primary asset will be the Colonial premises and brand. Empire will seek to achieve its short-to-medium-term growth via the expansion of the Colonial business model into strategic locations throughout Australia. Ongoing development of Colonial venues will be in similarly high-traffic, tourist locations that will maximise turnover and foot flow traffic while maintaining a focus on high-quality style ales and bright, family friendly venues."

Might not have to travel to Margaret Review after all.


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## Magic Box (4/2/07)

Any new sites in the works?


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## Randall the Enamel Animal (4/2/07)

Magic Box said:


> Any new sites in the works?


Yes, in the works. We should be able to make an announcement soon.


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## deadly (3/7/07)

Stopped in for a paddle on the weekend,very nice Dr Quick and Gully washer were my favourites (winter warmers) food was good but unfortunatly I couldnt take any beer home because they are out of stock for 6-8 weeks


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## clay (4/7/07)

Popped into Colonial a couple of weeks ago while on a blokes weekend. Unfortunately I was skipper. 

Was lucky enough to get a personal tour of the place and a free glass of porter (Winter Warmer I think). Very nice beer.

Learnt that they were planning to open their own pub at the Royal Hotel in East Perth.


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## ausdb (24/7/07)

Sorry to sound like a Colonial fanboi (actually not sorry) but what other micros in WA can actually make excellent beer (repeatedly) as well as have a great venue which caters to all ages and is able to expand on the idea?

I visited again last week with family and managed to take advantage of the good weather to have a bbq and then let the troops loose on the playground so I had a chance to have a good discussion about all things beer and brewing with Dean. To make things better Colonial have taken a leaf from our North American cousins and are selling 2L Growlers for takeaway's so you can make sure you are well hydrated for the trip home. The upfront cost seems a little bit confronting at 1st, mrs ausdb said "you are going to spend $40 on a beer bottle!!!" but when you take into account that refills are only $15 the cost for the beer is less than most good six packs and way fresher than anything in a bottle shop and you can get any of the beers on tap and a growler of their current IPA or Porter will go a fairly long way. After a pint of the Koelsch and Brown Ale I did some QA tasting with Dean and settled on the Porter.






I put myself on beer rations when I got home so I could see how long it lasted and managed to stretch it out till today (they recommend a 5 day best before) and it was still reasonably carbonated and certainly drinkable. The only thing we need now is for the Royal to come online as it's only a 15 minute drive from my place not 3 hours like Margaret River. It would be great if the other local micros could pull their fingers out and start offering something like this. (it sounds like some are)

Once again hats off to Dean for taking the time to talk and inspire a humble home brewer who's "trying find his mojo" again, we need more people like him not just ones who came from our ranks but now treat it all as a "big secret" 

Cheers and beers


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## Steve (24/7/07)

Im going to be able to visit Colonial again this Christmas....I cant wait.....anyone keen to catch up for an ale or two?
Cheers
Steve


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## Asher (24/7/07)

I'll be in Marg's from the 22nd till the 29th of Dec.... The In-Law's Christmas rotation & we have hired a shack in Prevelly. woo hoo!

Asher


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## Steve (24/7/07)

Asher said:


> I'll be in Marg's from the 22nd till the 29th of Dec.... The In-Law's Christmas rotation & we have hired a shack in Prevelly. woo hoo!
> 
> Asher




Im over that side of the world from 19th Dec - 3rd Jan.


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## Steve (8/1/08)

Had another nice afternoon at the Colonial whilst over in WA. Started off with the paddle again....then plumped for the wit and kolsch for the rest of the afternoon. The band tree top refugees were playing which were great....stinking hot, great beer, great food, kiddies on the playground. Very relaxing. Went to the bar later on and asked if Randall the Enamel Animal was around (try saying that after a few beers :lol: ).
Cheers
Steve


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## dig (8/1/08)

Steve said:


> Went to the bar later on and asked if Randall the Enamel Animal was around (try saying that after a few beers :lol: ).
> Cheers
> Steve


I'm trying to stay away from the palce on the weekends and on holidays; sick of getting roped in to helping behind the bar! If anyone is planning to drop in this holiday season, be sure to send me a pm and I'll make sure I'm around for a bit of a tour and some 'tank grazing'.

Growlers are back in stock now too.

Cheers, Dean (the craftsman formerly known as Randall).


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## RobB (16/1/08)

Is it my imagination, or have the old names been replaced with simple titles?

Regardless of it's name, the porter was the duck's nuts.


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## dig (18/1/08)

Malty Cultural said:


> Is it my imagination, or have the old names been replaced with simple titles?


Yes, the names have been changed. They were daft and confusing. The Kolsch ale used to be called _Spruiker's Challenge Dutch Courage Brew, _the font decal feature some bloke doing something with a chicken and nowhere did it say _Colonial_ or _Kolsch_. When you're lined up among 22 other taps, as we are at The Royal, the brand really needs to stand out.

Yeah, so the beers are just named now as per their style. We've kept the two popular seasonals (wit and robust porter) and made them year-round offerings, and ditched the unpopular ones. Dextrose was thrown into the skip bin and the strong ale pulled back to a more sessionable 6.6% and brewed finally as a proper American IPA. A mid-strength amber has been added for the drivers to round out a solid collection of seven beers. 

Getting close with that IPA.... landing them all around the bull's eye.


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## Guest Lurker (18/1/08)

dig said:


> Getting close with that IPA.... landing them all around the bull's eye.



I thought the keg at the WA brewing thing at Clancys was pretty good, have to try it again if its getting better.


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## Goat (18/1/08)

Which beers are now on tap at the Royal ?

When there last I was excited to see the menu only to find that only about 3 were actually on tap - albeit 3 pretty gooduns...


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## dig (18/1/08)

They only want four, and the same four. Wit, Kolsch, Pale and Brown.


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## Goat (18/1/08)

Thanks Dean. I'll settle for that.

I assume "they" are the Licencees as opposed to they being the great unwashed consumers... who drink and pay for it. 

Are the other beers there in bottled format ?


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## dig (18/1/08)

No bottled beer anywhere at the moment. The brewery is running so far over capacity that there is simply no spare liquid for packaging. Set a new benchmark low this week for 'grain-to-brain'; 10 days.... Brew, ferment, mature, crop yeast, filter, gas up and serve to the bar. <_< Yeesh.


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## big_alk (18/1/08)

dig said:


> No bottled beer anywhere at the moment. The brewery is running so far over capacity that there is simply no spare liquid for packaging. Set a new benchmark low this week for 'grain-to-brain'; 10 days.... Brew, ferment, mature, crop yeast, filter, gas up and serve to the bar. <_< Yeesh.


hope it was a wheat beer!


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## troywhite (18/1/08)

Steve said:


> Had another nice afternoon at the Colonial whilst over in WA.



Nice one Steve. Are you originally from WA? We'll have to have a yack about it at the next Canberra Brewers meet.


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## dig (18/1/08)

big_alk said:


> hope it was a wheat beer!


No, wish it had been. Unfiltered beers will continue to improve as you drink through the serving tank, it's the filtered ones that you don't want to push along. Once the yeast is off, there's only one way for that beer to go, and that's down, down, down to funky town.


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## dig (1/5/08)

I read on the ASX site that Empire have appointed Mal Secourable (ex Sail&Anchor, ex Matso's) to the role of Brewer at Colonial Margaret River. Mal's a good bloke and a good brewer and I'm sure he'll do well there. Looking forward to rolling back down to Margs and raising a pint before heading over east. Congratulations Mal and best of luck.


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## kirem (1/5/08)

So DiG, tell us about your move back east?
Anything to do with that secretive new brewery going in near a winery in the Yarra Valley? Word has it that there has been some earthworks underway at the new site.

A little bird tells me you'll be heading up the brewing there.

What can you share with us?


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## Kai (1/5/08)

dig said:


> I read on the ASX site that Empire have appointed Mal Secourable (ex Sail&Anchor, ex Matso's) to the role of Brewer at Colonial Margaret River. Mal's a good bloke and a good brewer and I'm sure he'll do well there. Looking forward to rolling back down to Margs and raising a pint before heading over east. Congratulations Mal and best of luck.



Good to hear they found a new brewer. I'll be down that way in July, will definitely go in to ogle the brewery and sample the wares.


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## dig (3/5/08)

Can't say much other than we plan to make very good beer. I'd be disappointed in the future if a 'clone' thread didn't spring up.


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## lowtech (3/5/08)

kirem said:


> Anything to do with that secretive new brewery going in near a winery in the Yarra Valley? Word has it that there has been some earthworks underway at the new site.



Is that at DeBortoli?

There was a guy called Vin who posted on beer advocate a couple of years back hinting that debortoli was looking at brewing beers.He seemed to be involved.HERE'S the thread
Never heard anymore about it until now.


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## kirem (3/5/08)

lowtech said:


> Is that at DeBortoli?
> 
> There was a guy called Vin who posted on beer advocate a couple of years back hinting that debortoli was looking at brewing beers.He seemed to be involved.HERE'S the thread
> Never heard anymore about it until now.



Deborts brewery is at their Griffith site - Riverina NSW, well actually its in Bilbul near Griffith It is called William Bull Brewery. They advertised for a brewer not that long ago.

Dig's new gig is in the Yarra Valley Victoria and he is being very secretive about most of it. Hope we don't have to wait too long.


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## dig (8/6/08)

Oh dear. I was down on the long weekend.... thought I might just bite my tongue. But this in my inbox from a winemaker in MR:



> What's going on...
> 
> Bought a growler of India Pale Ale and it was as dark brown as a cuban cigar, had little to no head or carbonation and tasted of malts, malts, malts ... didn't you leave the recipe book behind?
> 
> I'm going to miss you as the beer quality will be shot ... gawd dammit!



Grrrr. That beer won a gold and the best draught ale trophy at the AIBA just in March... so much work, so much learning, just thrown out the bloody window.


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## Vlad the Pale Aler (8/6/08)

Dig, slightly OT, but if MS is at Colonial, who took over at The Sail?


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## dig (8/6/08)

Not sure. Had an IPA at the Sail on Friday and it was pretty good. Mal's only just started at Colonial, so I doubt the beers on tap there or at The Royal are his work.


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## ausdb (8/6/08)

I heard a rumour that the beer was just not the same but thought that it was somebody having a lend of me, sounds like they weren't


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## Beer Guy (9/6/08)

They ran out of beers so the CEO instructed the managment team and the brewer to put on the beers in the serving tanks that were still in conditioning the IPA was one such victim and was pretty ashamed on behalf of Digs work for that, it poured like the dregs from the coopers for about a week.

It sounds more like he copped a flat brown(another brilliant management desision) not the IPA though as from memory that IPA brewed in may was a bitter and twisted little number and the balance was favouring the hops. I thought the bite and bitterness may clean up as the yeast dropped bright but did not get the opportunity to see that before I left.

It should still be on tap so if any MR AHB's want to second opinion pls do. I can honestly say that the brew logs were not deviated excepting the unavailability of Bairds GP which I replaced with Marris Otter.


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## brendanos (27/6/08)

I'm heading down to MR for a week tomorrow, so I'll be sure to report back on all things beer and Colonial!


*fingers crossed all beers have been adequately conditioned by the time i get there.


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## Beer Guy (28/6/08)

Say hello to Mal and Joel for me. 
Richo.


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## brendanos (29/6/08)

I made my first visit to Colonial today (it's my local atm, so I think i'll be there a few times) so I thought I'd share my experience. I got the paddle, so Witbier, Koelsch, Pale, Porter, IPA. The IPA and the Pale ale were the standouts, and in great condition. The Pale seemed maltier (fudge) than the ones I've had at the Royal, and the IPA was bright and hoppy. The Porter seemed a littled sweet, otherwise good, and the Koelsch tasted overbittered and not as clean and quaffable as the ones I had in the past. The only beer I couldn't drink was the Wit, which looked like a yeast starter, and smelled like a tub of hoyyts popcorn. This is my first major experience with Diacetyl, and forgive my ignorance but I didn't even know you could produce such noticeable quantities with an ale yeast. It was really quite full on. The bar manager had a taste and insisted it was as intended, and did not at all taste like buttered popcorn. He actually quite liked it, and was pretty angry with me for giving him some feedback. Sadly in this day and age it seems the customer is always wrong. Not having a dig at Mal, I'm sure given proper conditioning a belgian witbier might have presented itself, but sadly it was very much on the green side.

I'll be back to fill my growler up with IPA a few more times though!



Beer Guy said:


> Say hello to Mal and Joel for me.
> Richo.



Will do, mate.


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## randyrob (29/6/08)

brendanos said:


> This is my first major experience with Diacetyl, and forgive my ignorance but I didn't even know you could produce such noticeable quantities with an ale yeast.



Hey Brendan,

sometimes hard to believe i know, but it is definatley possible!

i've got a beer in primary i pitched us-05 into and it's been sitting at 16*c ambient temp in the shed, prolly even lower over night
and it got some serious diacetyl going on even overpowering simcoe!

i've also kegged a couple of ales to early and low levels of diacetyl have been present.

i'm pretty careful about doing a d-rest with lagers so have never had it in any of my lagers yet!

be intersted to see what you think of some of the other micro's offers out that way  

Rob.


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## brendanos (1/7/08)

randyrob said:


> be intersted to see what you think of some of the other micro's offers out that way



Will summarise when I get back in an appropriate thread and when I have a bit more time, but so far the Cowaramup Special has been the hit.


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## Millet Man (1/7/08)

randyrob said:


> Hey Brendan,
> 
> sometimes hard to believe i know, but it is definatley possible!
> 
> ...


A bit OT but I have recently done 4 identical (apart from the malt cultivar) trial brews with US-05 at 18-20C and they all had ship loads of diacetyl and very cloudy. I even left the last 2 batches on the yeast in primary for almost a week to try and get it to re-absord but no difference. Only after about 3-4 weeks in the keg (unfiltered) have they cleared up and the diacetyl has almost all gone. Never had this before with US-05.

Cheers, Andrew.


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## Online Brewing Supplies (1/7/08)

brendanos said:


> Will summarise when I get back in an appropriate thread and when I have a bit more time, but so far the Cowaramup Special has been the hit.


Hi 
Have you found any suitable foods ? If you can write them down I woulkd appreciate the list for a later beer expedition.Nice and cold down there at the momnent?
GB


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## Vlad the Pale Aler (16/11/08)

Was at Colonial the other day, and the beers were all up to scratch.
Looks like Mal and Richard have it under control.


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## hughman666 (8/3/09)

was at the royal on friday after work and tried the kolsch, pale, wit and ipa.

the ipa was the standout, but the wit and kolsch have gone to the dogs. the wit had overpowering orange falvouring and no zestiness that is expected of this style. it was also fairly flat, so not ideal...

the kolsch has lost all of its character and now just represents a very bland pils more than anything. considering the original spruikers challenge set a new benchmark in australian craftbrewing back in the day, it is sad to see it lose all of that differentiation and become a very bare shadow of its former self.

the pale ale is a very good solid representation of the style and a nice quaffer. the ipa was the ducks nuts.

i'm not bagging out the first 2 beers for the sake of it, i just remember the colonial beers that dean brewed with such character, such as "big blow" which was the seasonal hefe and the best wheat in recent years from memory...

colonuial used to have a good line-up of standout beers that were something really special. now they're just beers...


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## mika (8/3/09)

I had a Kolsch at the Royal not that long ago either, wasn't impressed. My brother was at the pub in the week before the Australia Day long weekend, said it was good, but rated the IPA as 'a bit rough'.
Dig was getting annoyed at the way the beers were being treated and I haven't since heard of any upgrades to production. Beer Guy's post seems to indicate that this is still occuring and the quality of the brews isn't where it used to be. Hopefully management will realise that they can't just keep flogging the cash cow indefinitely and spend the money to save their reputation.


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## dig (22/5/10)

Anyone have any current info on Colonial? Anyone been there recently? Do they still exist? I read an article online recently by Vic Crossland talking up the WA breweries and their chances for success at the AIBA, and I thought it was odd that he omitted Colonial. Just scanning through the 2010 AIBA results, and Colonial didn't enter. There was talk of a new brewery going in somewhere... Anyone have any news?


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## Thommo (22/5/10)

I was there about 4 weeks ago and enjoyed it. No bad beers for my tastes, really liked the porter and the IPA.


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## BrenosBrews (22/5/10)

dig said:


> Anyone have any current info on Colonial? Anyone been there recently? Do they still exist? I read an article online recently by Vic Crossland talking up the WA breweries and their chances for success at the AIBA, and I thought it was odd that he omitted Colonial. Just scanning through the 2010 AIBA results, and Colonial didn't enter. There was talk of a new brewery going in somewhere... Anyone have any news?



Maybe they are going the way of Matilda Bay? I've heard they are pushing pretty hard to get a brewery in Cape Schanck up and running. Which makes sense given they own more venues in Victoria than WA.

Their application for extended hours and what not was knocked back I believe.


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## BottleBitch (22/5/10)

dig said:


> Anyone have any current info on Colonial? Anyone been there recently? Do they still exist? I read an article online recently by Vic Crossland talking up the WA breweries and their chances for success at the AIBA, and I thought it was odd that he omitted Colonial. Just scanning through the 2010 AIBA results, and Colonial didn't enter. There was talk of a new brewery going in somewhere... Anyone have any news?




Yeah they are still going Dig, I had a chat with Richo a few months ago and they where upgrading the brewhouse to 25hl, should all be in and running by now. 

I feel that a lot of brewers have not entered beers this year, we even reduced our entries to 3 for LCB and 1 for WR, but Dig WR Dark Ale won a gold, always thought that was a pretty solid beer, nice work!!!


Cheers 

Brett


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## O'Henry (22/5/10)

I was there last weekend. The beers were alright. Porter was the best, then the IPA (which was lacking a lot of hop flavour, strange in what seemed to be an American style) and the other beers I would not rate at all. Struggled through a Pale. They were doing a pumping trade. Not sure what is going on there atm, but there was a massive hole in the ground next to the brewery. Maybe buildings of some sort. It was a serious hole though, like some one was building a small commercial wine cellar.


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## mika (22/5/10)

That brewery upgrade must have been an epic fail for them. They'd ripped the brewhouse out when I was there back in late January. Heard they were shopping their recipes out to any local micro-brewery with spare capacity just so they could keep beer on tap.
Bit dissappointing for what used to be my favourite micro in WA.


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## dig (23/5/10)

Herbstoffe said:


> WR Dark Ale won a gold, always thought that was a pretty solid beer, nice work!!!



Hey Brett. Great to hear that WR did well, but I'm not taking credit for that. Pretty happy with the job we did cobbling together that brewery, and putting together a beer that works well has always come easy to me, so no, the credit needs to go to the brewers who day-in, day-out punch out consistantly excellent brews. That's what was judged.

Re. that big hole in the ground at Colonial; probably a sewage upgrade as the system they had there was really inadequate.


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