# Barons Brewing Co



## jdsaint (6/11/09)

Loyal Squaddies, 



It has been some time since you last heard from your faithful leader, but we at Barons have been hard at work these past few months to bring you some very big news. Heres what weve been up to: 



Newsflash 

We know how much you love Barons beers, and were excited to announce the addition of two more brands under our wing - Snowy Mountains Brewery and Lucky Beer! Snowy encompasses four different styles, including: Crackenback Pale Ale, Bullocks Pilsner, Razorback Red Ale and Charlottes Hefeweizen. And you probably recognise Lucky - its the infamous Chinese lager in the gorgeous green Buddha bottle! Check out their websites for more information and look for them at Dan Murphys, 1st Choice Liquor, or an independent bottle shop near you! 



In other big news, Barons is proud to announce the arrival of our first ever Belgian import, 88 Balls! This brand new, ballsy lager from Belgium is brewed and bottled at Palm Breweries, one of the oldest, biggest and best beer institutions in Europe. 88 Balls is a classic European style lager with a crisp, clean taste and a refreshing finish that leaves you wanting one after another! Well be having a tasting in Sydney soon, so read below for more information! 




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New Barons Website 

The Barons Brewing website has a brand new look! Check out the site at www.baronsbrewing.com and let us know what you think! Well keep the site updated with upcoming events, photos of past parties, and lots of fun beer stuff to keep you thirsty for Barons. 




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Next Squadron Party 

Look out Sydney Belgium is invading our shores! Were absolutely thrilled about the arrival of our new import lager, 88 Balls, and wed like to invite our Squaddies to be among the first to try it. Well be sampling the new brew starting at 6pm on Wednesday the 25th of November at The Phoenix Hotel in Woollahra. Please RSVP to [email protected] and make sure to join our Facebook group for more details and updated information! 



does this mean they have bought out these brewing companys? I mean I love barons but are they creating their own brew?


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## boingk (6/11/09)

Certainly does sound like they have bought them out to me. Barons will keep on keeping on (even got a new multimillion dollar setup recently), and I'm fairly sure the breweries they have aquired will keep on making their own much as they do now, just the head company will have final say on things and probably be able to give better financial support for advertising and the like.

I wouldn't be worried - boingk


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## jdsaint (6/11/09)

maybe cheaper snowy mountains :icon_drool2:


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## .DJ. (6/11/09)

Lucky Beer is pretty ordinary....


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## jdsaint (6/11/09)

lucky bottle's would be nice for home brew though specially for special occasions!


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## moodgett (6/11/09)

jdsaint said:


> maybe cheaper snowy mountains :icon_drool2:



last time i checked snowy mountains are $50 a case at warners at the bay
how do you rate the pale ale?


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## Doogiechap (6/11/09)

moodgett said:


> last time i checked snowy mountains are $50 a case at warners at the bay
> how do you rate the pale ale?



I'm quite fond of the Pale Ale and find it is a cut above some of the same-sameness that you find with many other Aussie micro brewed PA's with a bit more complexity and hop aroma/ flavor.


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## jdsaint (6/11/09)

Have tried the red ale (razorback) but not their pale as yet so only $50? I thought it was more, still above what I like to spend I usually grab something around $40-42 then 2 bottles of something I have not tried from warners at the bay...
I recently tried pigs fly pale ale and enjoyed that, and also happy goblin pale ale both were great pales but happy goblin did produce a big head filling my drinking glass which was the only pain!


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## drew9242 (6/11/09)

I was of the opinion that barons never brewed there own beer. They just buy beer of a brewry and then market it and sell it. And as they got bigger they started to buy the brewrys that were making there beer. Correct me if i'm wrong.


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## HarryB (6/11/09)

The Snowy ountains Pale Ale is a pretty nice beer - I don't have it often but every time I do I surprise myself with how good it is. Gotta love those WATB prices. The real bargain there at the moment is the Brewdog IPA at about $55 a case. Really nice beer.

Back on topic, I've never really had a baron's beer which I enjoyed other that the ESB which is ok. Hopefully they don't ruin SMB.


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## .DJ. (6/11/09)

Drew9242 said:


> I was of the opinion that barons never brewed there own beer. They just buy beer of a brewry and then market it and sell it. And as they got bigger they started to buy the brewrys that were making there beer. Correct me if i'm wrong.


Their beer was contract brewed at AIB as far as I know.. Using Barons receipe.

They have built or are now building a brewery for their operation so they will actually brew themselves in the future


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## Will88 (6/11/09)

Can't remember who told me but I was told the only original Barons beers were their native range whilst the others were some generic recipes they'd picked up somewhere.


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## Snowdog (6/11/09)

jdsaint said:


> maybe cheaper snowy mountains :icon_drool2:




I buy the Razorback Red by the carton at Dan's as the wife loves it! Fifty would be a deal here.
The Crackenback is pretty good as well but I prefer Little Creatures.
And of the Baron's lot, I like the ESB.


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## PostModern (6/11/09)

Will88 said:


> Can't remember who told me but I was told the only original Barons beers were their native range whilst the others were some generic recipes they'd picked up somewhere.



Whoever told you is incorrect. Barons' head brewer developed the recipes and works on the Barons brew days at AIB.


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## jdsaint (6/11/09)

I am happy to hear that PostModern


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## moodgett (6/11/09)

jdsaint said:


> Have tried the red ale (razorback) but not their pale as yet so only $50? I thought it was more, still above what I like to spend I usually grab something around $40-42 then 2 bottles of something I have not tried from warners at the bay...
> I recently tried pigs fly pale ale and enjoyed that, and also happy goblin pale ale both were great pales but happy goblin did produce a big head filling my drinking glass which was the only pain!



yeah mate it's been down for a little while I think, I used to get a barons pa case each week but now I don't enjoy it much only another 10 bucks for js ipa at 1st choice and I'm loving it, does snowy mtns bottles have the same labels at barons or are they removable?


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## matti (6/11/09)

I have always enjoyed Barons beers.
I even Don their T-shirt at times.
Hey any Job Going?
hehehe

(I've seen heap of Job adds for Blue tongue Brewery owned now by Coca Cola Amatil.)

Back on topic the Beer at Baron are Reasonable main strem in the home brewing world but 10 times better the VB Toheys Swan etc...
My2c worth


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## moodgett (6/11/09)

HarryB said:


> The Snowy ountains Pale Ale is a pretty nice beer - I don't have it often but every time I do I surprise myself with how good it is. Gotta love those WATB prices. The real bargain there at the moment is the Brewdog IPA at about $55 a case. Really nice beer.
> 
> Back on topic, I've never really had a baron's beer which I enjoyed other that the ESB which is ok. Hopefully they don't ruin SMB.




55 really? What type of ipa?


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## HarryB (6/11/09)

moodgett said:


> 55 really? What type of ipa?


brewdog is a scottish brewery, but heavily American-influenced. it's good.

from the website:



> This 6% trans-atlantic fusion IPA is light golden in colour with tropical fruits and light caramel on the nose. The palate soon becomes assertive and resinous with the New Zealand hops balanced by the biscuit malt. The finish is aggressive and dry with the hops emerging over the warming alcohol.
> 
> This fresh, full flavour natural beer is our tribute to the classic IPAs of yester-year. The post modern twist is the addition of amazing fruity hops giving an explosion of tropical fruit flavours and a sharp bitter finish.
> 
> ...



http://www.brewdog.com/punk_ipa.php


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## clifftiger (6/11/09)

I may be a little cynical, but I have never really liked the concept of the Snowy Mountains range, which other than by name, has no association with the alpine region. Smeaton Grange is a long, long way away - but many people I know have bought the beers assuming they're brewed in the Snowy's.


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## bum (6/11/09)

What do you think of the beer, though?


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## clifftiger (6/11/09)

Only tried the Pale Ale - it was OK - I am a fan of Murrays Nirvana so tend to use this as a benchmark for pale ales - don't get me wrong, good beer is good beer, serve it to me in what ever you like and call it what you want!


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## Count Vorlauf (6/11/09)

<rant>

Argh! Neither Snowy Mountains nor Lucky are "breweries". They are BRANDS brewed at AIB or other contract brewing operations. A batch of "Cuba '59" a batch of "Baltika" and a batch of whatever else is on the roster. Alcopops next door, please.

Sorry, but unless you've been in there day in and day out scrubbing drains, driving the forklift, hauling sacks of malt and making the beer start to finish please stop calling yourself a brewer. If you haven't done the hard yards to raise the capital, put it all together and keep all that equipment running YOU ARE NOT A BREWERY - YOU ARE A BEER DISTRIBUTOR. At least be honest with your customers and tell them who makes your beer for you instead of hiding behind a PO Box and a glossy marketing campaign.

</rant>


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## hazard (6/11/09)

Count Vorlauf said:


> <rant>
> Sorry, but unless you've been in there day in and day out scrubbing drains, driving the forklift, hauling sacks of malt and making the beer start to finish please stop calling yourself a brewer. If you haven't done the hard yards to raise the capital, put it all together and keep all that equipment running YOU ARE NOT A BREWERY - YOU ARE A BEER DISTRIBUTOR. At least be honest with your customers and tell them who makes your beer for you instead of hiding behind a PO Box and a glossy marketing campaign.
> </rant>


Who gives a? Either you like the beer or you don't. It don't matter who makes it, if you don't like it, don't drink it. I don't care what they call themselves, I like the Razorback red ale and would happily drink it whether brewed at AIB, Barons new facility, at Tooheys brewery or at Matilda Bay, as long as it tastes the same. I find the Pale Ale too hoppy, but that's a matter of personal preference (I find LCPA too hoppy as well, theres no malt flavour just hops).


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## dig (7/11/09)

I think it's important to know where your food comes from. Increasingly these days, with supermarkets and home delivery convenience, we have lost connection with the source of our food and we no longer know how it gets processed into what we eat (and drink). These things, provenance and traceability, I think are critical bits of information that have been deliberately removed from the consumer. Long before I read _The 100 Mile Diet_, it had become really important to me to find out who grows my spuds, who raised the pork I ate and how it was done. And as beer is a such big part of my diet, it's important to me to at least try to find out what I can about what I drink. So today, I'm heading across town to Central City Brewing to speak with brewer Gary Lohin about his beers (which account for about half my daily calorific intake... :unsure: )

Brew your own beer, grow your own veges and keep your own chooks. For everything else, ask as many questions as you can and if you're not getting the right answers, choose another product. Phone Baron's and ask to visit their brewery and speak with their brewer. If you get brushed off, walk past their products at the bottle-o and select something else.


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## Count Vorlauf (7/11/09)

hazard said:


> Who gives a? Either you like the beer or you don't. It don't matter who makes it, if you don't like it, don't drink it. I don't care what they call themselves, I like the Razorback red ale and would happily drink it whether brewed at AIB, Barons new facility, at Tooheys brewery or at Matilda Bay, as long as it tastes the same. I find the Pale Ale too hoppy, but that's a matter of personal preference (I find LCPA too hoppy as well, theres no malt flavour just hops).



Actual craft brewers give an a. Contract beers and faux micros are piggybacking on the growing popularity of craft brewing. Part of the craft beer "brand" is the general understanding that these beers are being hand crafted by independent companies. By misrepresenting themselves as being from a particular region (e.g. Byron Bay and Snowy Mountains) or being made by "a couple of blokes in the shed" they are eroding the trust of consumers when those consumers find out that the beers are made at a different location by a large company.

Yes, they make some good beers. Same with James Squire (Lion Nathan) and Matilda Bay (Fosters). I enjoy their beers, but wish that they would be more honest about their provenance.


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## Count Vorlauf (7/11/09)

Count Vorlauf said:


> wish that they would be more honest about their provenance.




An addendum to that: The ACCC finally stepped in and forced "imports" that are actually brewed domestically (e.g. Stella, Heineken, Guiness) to state so on their labels. I think the same ruling should be applied to contract beers.


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## Muggus (7/11/09)

HarryB said:


> Brewdog IPA at about $55 a case. Really nice beer.


I love this beer! :icon_drool2: 

Funny this thread pops up after having a couple of Barons Pale Ales ($3 a schooner happy hour!) and Snowy Pale Ales. Both decent beers, I think I prefer the Snowy though.


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## moodgett (7/11/09)

i just rang Warners at the bay to see if they had any in stock, anmd they said it was $117 a case :icon_vomit:


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## Kai (7/11/09)

hazard said:


> Who gives a? Either you like the beer or you don't. It don't matter who makes it, if you don't like it, don't drink it. I don't care what they call themselves, I like the Razorback red ale and would happily drink it whether brewed at AIB, Barons new facility, at Tooheys brewery or at Matilda Bay, as long as it tastes the same. I find the Pale Ale too hoppy, but that's a matter of personal preference (I find LCPA too hoppy as well, theres no malt flavour just hops).



I have tried snowy mountains off tap and found it excellent. However, I do give a. Liking the beer is irrelevant, the Mr Vorlauf's issue is these brands labelling themselves as breweries. Which, they are clearly not.


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## Will88 (7/11/09)

PostModern said:


> Whoever told you is incorrect. Barons' head brewer developed the recipes and works on the Barons brew days at AIB.



Thanks for clearing that up. I've always enjoyed the Barons pale regardless of where it was made.


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## hazard (7/11/09)

dig said:


> ... it had become really important to me to find out who grows my spuds, who raised the pork I ate and how it was done. And as beer is a such big part of my diet, it's important to me to at least try to find out what I can about what I drink. ...


OK its made under contract by AIB. We already know that, so what is the real issue here?


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## dig (8/11/09)

The issue _for me_ is that I do give a. and as you quoted: it's important to me to at least try to find out what I can about what I drink, and that's really hard to do if you don't know where the beer comes from. In the case of Baron's, you're right, I didn't buy or drink the beers because I never really enjoyed them. No problem. In the case of Redoak, I stopped buying their beer because it's impossible to find out anything about them and how they are made.


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## jdsaint (8/11/09)

If you love , you will drink it! this topic has turned into girls pulling each others hair, who cares were its made, as long as it good.........


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## Peteoz77 (8/11/09)

Tell you what... if LCPA was made by mutant evil gnomes in the back of a firetruck on Lankawi Island.. I would still drink it, because it tastes good. And if they didn't tell me where it was made, I wouldn't care. What I don't like, is when "Snowy Mountians", or "Byron Bay" are used in the product titles, but they have nothing to do with the product. It's all a fun game that they play, and I can't do anything about it, other than not drink it. Gotta say that it will be good when Baron's does start to make their own beer. They have always been completely honest about the fact that AIB makes the beer.


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## bum (8/11/09)

Peteoz77 said:


> And if they didn't tell me where it was made, I wouldn't care.



But it is the end of the world if they tell you the wrong place? 

I don't understand this at all.


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## Peteoz77 (8/11/09)

bum said:


> But it is the end of the world if they tell you the wrong place?
> 
> I don't understand this at all.




No, it's not the end of the world.

However, it should be illegal to make a product called "Byron Bay Lager" and not brew it there. That's Misleading, bordering on criminal.

They get around the lies by printing in VERY small print that it's brewed by AIB.

I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it, trust me


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## jdsaint (8/11/09)

Peteoz77 said:


> No, it's not the end of the world.
> 
> However, it should be illegal to make a product called "Byron Bay Lager" and not brew it there. That's Misleading, bordering on criminal.
> 
> ...



Now u got me disapointed.........................Disapointed that tooheys white stag does'nt have a white stag in the bottle :angry: damn that false advertising,


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## WeaselEstateBrewery (8/11/09)

jdsaint said:


> If you love , you will drink it! this topic has turned into girls pulling each others hair, who cares were its made, as long as it good.........



"girls pulling each others hair".....hilarious!!


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## geoff_tewierik (8/11/09)

jdsaint said:


> Now u got me disapointed.........................Disapointed that tooheys white stag does'nt have a white stag in the bottle :angry: damn that false advertising,



You're taking the advertising the wrong way.

The beer doesn't contain a white stag, it gives you one.


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## jdsaint (8/11/09)

geoff_tewierik said:


> You're taking the advertising the wrong way.
> 
> The beer doesn't contain a white stag, it gives you one.




oh my bad :lol:


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## /// (8/11/09)

Peteoz77 said:


> However, it should be illegal to make a product called "Byron Bay Lager" and not brew it there. That's Misleading, bordering on criminal.



Well the wine party was ruined with this sorta talk, but the Bryon Bay brewery is now open. So now they are 'legit', does it matter that they do not choose to bottle a beer there??

Scotty


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## Kai (8/11/09)

/// said:


> Well the wine party was ruined with this sorta talk, but the Bryon Bay brewery is now open. So now they are 'legit', does it matter that they do not choose to bottle a beer there??
> 
> Scotty



No, so long as it's labelled appropriately. Which, I believe it is.

And wine appellations are a different beast, imho. That avenue is more in line with whether you can call a koelsch a koelsch or not (or a pilsener for that matter...).

I guess it's best to summarise my opinion on this as such; firstly, I have no problem where a beer is brewed or who by. But secondly and more importantly, I think it ought to be a requirement to declare the brewery of origin on the label.

It's no different from "premium imports" being brewed locally (which, as has been mentioned, are now labelled as such), except I believe some folks here may feel more lenient towards what they consider a craft brewery.


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