# Bellarine Brewery



## RobW (2/9/08)

I was in Queenscliff last weekend and tried a couple of brews from the Bellarine Brewery.
The Heads is an Irish Ale style which I found a little underwhelming but the Mussel Stout is a cracker.
Smooth with chocolate and roast tones and went down a treat. 
Couldn't actually taste any mussels although the label says they're in there - and a couple of them seemed to work B)


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## Bribie G (2/9/08)

Last time I was in Geelong I went to Queenscliff and all you could get on tap was VB, Carlton Draught and Cascade light. It was horrible, like being time warped back to Queensland in the 1970s when each pub had a tap behind the bar serving beer. Just the one. No choice. It's great to hear that things have improved immensely. (actually to be fair the Bended Elbow in Yarra Street Geelong was my wonderful oasis in the two weeks I spent there). Does the Scottish Chieftain still brew?


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## jlm (2/9/08)

A mate bought a bottle of the mussel stout back for me from the brewery (hardly low beer miles to QLD). Agree its a top beer. I could pick pick up a very slight hint of the mussels, definatley doesn't "taste of the sea" like the Hunter Oyster Stout.


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## Ronin (2/9/08)

BribieG said:


> Last time I was in Geelong I went to Queenscliff and all you could get on tap was VB, Carlton Draught and Cascade light. It was horrible, like being time warped back to Queensland in the 1970s when each pub had a tap behind the bar serving beer. Just the one. No choice. It's great to hear that things have improved immensely. (actually to be fair the Bended Elbow in Yarra Street Geelong was my wonderful oasis in the two weeks I spent there). Does the Scottish Chieftain still brew?




I'm down in geelong, and yes the Scottish Chief Tavern still brews it's own, they're not bad beers. My local, the Elephant and the Wheelbarrow has Newcastle brown on tap, and a selection of otway estate beers in bottles. I unfortunately had a tetleys ale at the bended elbow, which wasn't a pleasant experience and I haven't been back since. And the next time you're in queenscliff, go to the queenscliff hotel on the foreshore...I had an erdinger crystal, my wife had a pilsner urquell, and they had a good selection of other beers too. Maybe things have gotten better recently.

I've been to Bellarine Estate Brewery a few times, and I agree with the OP that the heads ale is a bit bland...so are there other too light coloured ales (A lager and a honey wheat I think). The Bellarine Bitter isn't too bad, maybe balanced a little too much towards the malt for an english style bitter (at least in my opinion), but there's an unusual, pleasant flavour in there.


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## hoppinmad (30/1/09)

I am close with the winemaker at Bellarine Estate (who is involved in making the beers... but not the head brewer) and he told me they put 4kg of mussels in a 600 litre boil. I didn't ask him exactly for how long but he said it was very brief. Apparently the mussels add a creaminess to the beer... but obviously doesn't create any mussel flavours.

I agree too... it is an amazing beer... although it is definitely not a beer you can drink a lot of in one sitting.


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## Lecterfan (14/11/10)

Over the weekend I've tried a few of the Bellarine products for the first time:

Mussel Stout - nice, pretty standard stout. I wouldn't say it was particularly creamy but certainly had some body and a decent mouthfeel. My gf didn't detect it but I think there is a certain dryness at the end of the beer which is certainly of a savoury nature (rather than just pure roastiness)...im not going to say saltiness, but savoury nonetheless.

Bellarine Blonde - a surprisingly nice %5 "low carb" thing. I thought it was a bit fruity and definitely (for me) quaffable. I will go so far as to say it was the nicest of the "low carb" things I've tasted (which I know isn't really saing much).

Queenscliff Ale (Honey/wheat) - now I am not a huge fan of wheat or honey in beer, but after 
the first two mouthfuls this beer really grew on me. I could happily drink 3 or 4 of these, and that's the first time I've thought that about a beer with an obvious honey taste. It wasn't cloyingly sweet or overpowering, but was certainly present.

Lonsdale Lager. - gf liked it, I thought it was a fairly uninspiring/uninspired Aussie lager (so will probably be enjoyed by many). To be fair I'm not the hugest lager fan to begin with.

:icon_cheers:


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