# Steel River Brewery



## Weizguy (30/11/05)

This brewery is being run by the guy who owns the "other" homebrew shop in Newcastle - Mayfield.

Ian has been getting some exposure in the Newcastle Herald newspaper and on ABC radio, for this venture.

Apparently, the brewery has a deal with a number of pubs to put his beer on tap by the end of the first week in December.

The website is a bit barren, as yet, but has a wmv of their first TV advertisement (starring James Blundell, if I'm not mistaken).

Their first beer is, allegedly, an all-grain lager with real beer taste and no chemicals, from Newcastle's only full-mash brewery. Is that a snipe at Bluetongue? I reckon so!

I'll let U know when I've tested one of them brews.

Please feel free to correct any details that I've left out, or got wrong.

No affiliation, honestly! For your information only...

Seth


----------



## Borret (30/11/05)

Yep, according to the ABC radio last week they were about to do their second pilot run of the pig iron lager. First one needed some equipment fine tuning but they were hopefull about the second. Haven't heard anymore after that.

ABC listeners ahoy

Borret


----------



## n00ch (30/11/05)

Apparently they have signed up about 60 pubs and clubs around Newcastle. Had a taste of their trial beers ages ago but i don't think they would have been much of an indication on the final products. 

Would be interested to give the pigs iron a go.


----------



## warrenlw63 (30/11/05)

Hmmmm....

Just downloaded their .avi ad. Where's John Mellion when you need him? Oh that's right he's dead. That ad isn't much better.

James Blundell you must have really needed a quid. Or a beer. :lol: 

Warren -


----------



## warrenlw63 (30/11/05)

Oh and I forgot.

Where's King Premium and Stockade Premium these days? h34r: S'pose I could find a slab on Ebay if i had a lazy grand. :lol: 

My final comments.  

Warren -


----------



## Weizguy (30/11/05)

warrenlw63 said:


> Hmmmm....
> 
> Just downloaded their .avi ad. Where's John Mellion when you need him? Oh that's right he's dead. That ad isn't much better.
> 
> ...


Warren, you're such a funny bugger.

I heard/read that Blundell was in the studio when they were recording sound for the ad, and was keen to get on board. Maybe he needs to money for a hair transplant - yeh yeh!

I'll grab the article from home and post more funny stuff from it tomorrow.

My apologies for posting in the wrong section of the forum. I'm all outta practice. Can an Administrator move this to the appropriate part of the forum, please.

Seth (cub reporter) 

* edited for poor spelling only *


----------



## Weizguy (5/12/05)

G'day again,

The ad (download from the website if U wish), has been on television already.
Not sure if it's politically correct to invite people to "Pull a Pig @ the Pub", although some would do it regularly. Maybe it's got to do with the Brewery being built on the BHP's old slag dump.

From the newspaper article (Necastle Herald Nov 12, 2005): the brewing equipment has served time in Bavaria, South Africa and Brisbane.

"What we're trying to do is to take the faults out of what people are drinking - not too bitter, more flavour, with the smell and taste of hops and malt rather than chemicals ...an easy-drinking all-grain lager." The beer is 4.6% alc.

The beer is slated to be released by mid -December and "should be available on tap in more than 80 clubs and pubs in the Hunter by the weekend of the 10th and 11th of December, if all goes well...".

"The brewery plans to produce 24,000 litres a week, bumping that to 36,000 within months."
"His $2 million brewery is capable of ramping up to make a lot more beer. In the best-case scenario Steel River would brew more than 60,00 litres a day, reaching markets as far as the Centrel Coast and north to Coffs Harbour".

Looks like Sydney misses out for the time being.

Seth out


----------



## neonmeate (5/12/05)

Weizguy said:


> "What we're trying to do is to take the faults out of what people are drinking - not too bitter, more flavour, with the smell and taste of hops and malt rather than chemicals ...an easy-drinking all-grain lager."
> [post="95523"][/post]​



bitterness is a fault?


----------



## Linz (5/12/05)

Weizguy said:


> Looks like Sydney misses out for the time being.
> 
> Seth out
> [post="95523"][/post]​




Rumbles have it that The Macarthur area is getting its 2nd brewery soon......


----------



## wessmith (5/12/05)

Your loosing it mate - it will be the third> Shit, I'm only on my third tonight

Wes


----------



## Mercs Own (5/12/05)

"Pull a pig at the pub tonight"??????????????

Maybe I dont have a sense of humour or maybe I expect a little more than that - from a beer and from a beer producer.

I guess if one of those 80 pubs that will have it mid December has some Piss beer in the fridge one could brag about going down to the pub to suck some piss and pull a pig.

Talk about correcting faults - it would seem that the slogan is draging beer back into the six oclock swirl days.

JMO


----------



## nonicman (5/12/05)

"Pull a pig at the pub tonight" sound's like "pog lotto".


----------



## Borret (5/12/05)

I think the Pig Iron name has some appeal myself although actually associating it with a pig on the logo was not so good. Pouring a large molten crucible of glowing amber iron would have so much more appeal than a snarling pig. But then again you'd have to be a more passionate about Newcastles steel city heritage before understanding any of that.

There's nothing like a whole bunch o people taking the piss out of a beer they haven't yet tasted..... <_< There might even be a chance that you like it. Who would think a brewery with a cupid as it's mascot would take us all by storm.  

Shall we wait and see. :unsure: 

Borret


----------



## warrenlw63 (5/12/05)

Thing is the beer may well be a good drop and I for one would try it regardless. However problem is they're trying to encroach a mainstream market as opposed to a niche market where beers with cupids and pictures of old Lords of the Manor are expected and accepted because they don't upset the status quo of the commercial giants. :blink: 

Can you really see them taking a market share of CUB's or Lion Nathan's Draught Beer duopoly? Brave yes, to be admired most definitely but alas probably doomed to fail.  You see they're selling a product that's similar but not the same and most probably superior to VB, Carlton Draught, Tooheys New et al. h34r: 

Very hard to sell ice to the Eskimos and don't ever think of trying to find an alternative to fossil fuel or even dream of orbital engines. Where is Ralph Sarich these days? Probably under ten feet of concrete or abducted by aliens. :lol: 

Warren -


----------



## RobW (6/12/05)

warrenlw63 said:


> Where is Ralph Sarich these days?
> 
> [post="95682"][/post]​



I believe he's still going around


----------



## warrenlw63 (6/12/05)

RobW said:


> warrenlw63 said:
> 
> 
> > Where is Ralph Sarich these days?
> ...



:lol: :lol: 

Warren -


----------



## pharmaboy (6/12/05)

warrenlw63 said:


> Thing is the beer may well be a good drop and I for one would try it regardless. However problem is they're trying to encroach a mainstream market as opposed to a niche market where beers with cupids and pictures of old Lords of the Manor are expected and accepted because they don't upset the status quo of the commercial giants. :blink:
> 
> Can you really see them taking a market share of CUB's or Lion Nathan's Draught Beer duopoly? Brave yes, to be admired most definitely but alas probably doomed to fail.  You see they're selling a product that's similar but not the same and most probably superior to VB, Carlton Draught, Tooheys New et al. h34r:
> 
> ...



Unfortunately Warren I think you are dead on! I spoke one of the owners (brewer) around the middle of the year about their pitch, at that time they were still trying to get the colour down to VB, tooheys New, as an ex marketer I was gobsmacked that they were aiming at a lowbrow market with no identified niche, other than sell it to pubs. 

Now I have seen their marketing efforts I fear for all their efforts, I think it boils down to not been prepared to bottle the stuff and sell it to boutique sellers and get its recognition by standing out on its quality. Mountain goat are a good example of the reputation that can be built through good product, who could now easily expand their business into substantial draught sales.

Niche is where marketing starts, then to mainstream, unless you have the budget of Lion Nathan or Fosters to start with.


----------



## Mercs Own (6/12/05)

I understand where the name Pig Iron Lager comes from and that is smart marketing for a town like Newcastle and also to sell that image to the rest of Australia. I like the name in that context. I completely dislike the add slogan and think it drags the beer down to a low level - a level I thought we as craft brewers were trying to lift it up from in order to give beer the dignity and image it deserves as a great quality product. The boutique market is where the growth is and as Warren put it it remains to be seen if Steel City make a boutique product or a copy of the mass market swill - pun intended. Their advertising slogan would suggest the latter.

They must have some pretty good money behind them by the sound of their plans for December and I wish them luck and look forward to trying their beer.


----------



## Weizguy (6/12/05)

I agree that the marketing angle is a bit "wak". Pig, Indeed! I would have concentrated on the Iron angle (unintentional pun)

The initial object was to get the beer into everyone's head is a regular beer, and to take market from the similarly-priced, yet inferior, commercial beers. Maybe this is the seat of the low-brow advertising and pub release.

They plan to release a quality bottled ale in the next few months, and this is prob where the classier side of the situation comes in.

The first I heard of this brewery was at a lhbs, where the owner was looking for equipment, and planning to sell a better beer to the public, as well as to make a few $$, of course. High ideals of course, and subject to change due to reality.

I believe that a former employee, who now runs another home brew shop, was highly influential in the initial crafting of the brewery setup and its image, so the campaign may have lost its feet since he is no longer involved?

No affiliation, dudes!

Seth out


----------



## tangent (6/12/05)

the baldy guy isn't making any connection to my demographic whatsoever 
are they targeting 40-55yo males maybe?
certainly don't think any females will be mad keen to get on their bandwagon. <_<


----------



## Weizguy (6/12/05)

the baldy guy has little appeal to me, as well.

Maybe they could have got Ron Jeremy to do the ad. I could prob relate better to a short, fat horny guy, than a C&W singer.

Not even sure if these guys had a demographic in mind. Maybe they were targetting general rough-nuts of all ages (plenty in Newcastle), who might be amused by the "pig" analogy.

Do women actually drink beer? (I know the answer...it was rhetorical, OK?) I'd say that women drinkers, with apologies to all on this forum, are a niche market that the Steel River Brewery are not concerned about.

Merc, Newcastle is not a town for a niche beer, not initially anyway. Novocastrians seem to appreciate a base-level approach, and a beer aimed at the common bloke is probably the only "in" for our market. No fanfare, no pretentiousness, just a plain (hopefully good/ tasty) beer. A boutique beer would be slaughtered outright. With regard to marketing, remember, BlueTongue got their beer into pubs here first and then moved ahead (although rapidly) with bottles, IIRC.

It'll be interesting to see the result, as Newcastle is a town used quite a lot as a "test market". We got plastic money beore the rest of the country, as well as quite a few things that didn't get a run elsewhere. Not sure if Coke with lime fits this description, or hot chilli Twisties, but U get the picture...

Novocastrians have a strong attachment to "Our Town:, as it's called in the local TV ads, and we hold a strong attachment to it. If this beer can attach to the city's image, it'll become part of our culture and accepted readily, and defended as "ours".

Amateur psych hour is over.
Can't wait to taste the beer, and I won't hold back any punches. You have all prob raed how I feel about BlueTongue. tasted it a while back, when it wasn't too consistent, and not likely to go back and taste again. Especially at "rich beer [email protected]" prices.

Seth out

edit: No affiliation at all, except with Newcastle city, of course!


----------



## Borret (6/12/05)

All together now

HEY, this is our town,
Hey, this is our town,
Hey, this is our town,
Our town .. Our town. :beerbang: 



and proud of it.
(well though out jingle that  )

If only the bald guy had a goatie he might look local. :lol: 

Borret


----------



## Lukes (6/12/05)

"Pull a Pig @ the Pub"

Just make sure you wear protection.
:excl: 
You don't want an infection.
:blink: 
Luke


----------



## warrenlw63 (6/12/05)

Borret said:


> If only the bald guy had a goatie he might look local. :lol:
> 
> Borret
> [post="95847"][/post]​



Is this more up to snuff?  :lol: 

Warren -


----------



## n00ch (6/12/05)

I really wish you wouldn't post my photo Warren....... :blink:


----------



## Weizguy (6/12/05)

Apart from being a little off-topic, Warren, the bald guy still needs earrings and a tattoo on his neck...and the goatee is not long enough.

Well done, though, as a non-local.


----------



## warrenlw63 (6/12/05)

I sure hope James Blundell doesn't lurk on this forum. h34r: 

Nah! He'd be off having a pig. :lol: 

Warren -


----------



## Mercs Own (6/12/05)

Just out of interest:

The stats at around late 90's were 5.5 million beer drinkers in Australia - 1.3 million were women. I imagine that the beer market in terms of women drinkers has grown consistently since then.

ps nice self portrait Warren!


----------



## Trent (6/12/05)

Hmmm
Another brew to come out of Newy. I think that you and I may have similar opinions on Bluetongue, Weiz, but I havent ever tried their seasonals. I will definitely try this new beer, though I must admit, I will try it with some serious reservations, as I dont think much of Bluetongue lager, and if they are chasing after that market, and their quality isnt up to scratch, then it can only be a bad thing. I think that there are more than enough bad beers on the market, and, to add another is just silly. So that means it has to be very good to succeed. They may get good sales initially, through consumer interest, but if it isnt blow yer socks off good.... I do hope, though, that it is a good quality beer, and I will save my opinions until I try it, though I think their marketing may be leaning my opinion one way more than the other already! Maybe if they named it after the larger than life phallic symbol from Queens Wharf, they might apeal to some of the newy chicks! (no offence intended, if you are female, and from Newy) And yeah, that goatee needs to be abit longer, Warren, if you were to ever fit in in "our town"
All the best
Trent


----------



## Weizguy (5/1/06)

Thread revival...maybe.

I see that, on the Hunter Brewing website, they now have 10 pubs with their beer on tap, and more each day.

Looks like I'll have to travel for a taste, but one of the pubs is about a block or two from my lhbs.

One day soon. Cheers.

Seth


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (5/1/06)

Boy you guys have it *ALL WRONG*

Pig Iron refers to the slag left over from steel production...something Newcastle is famous for

Pig Iron Brewery is built near the old Newcastle BHP steel works...


My missus and her family are "Newy" folk..and keep me informed...and yes, Blue Tungue Lager is a shit Newy beer, according to those that live there...and they live about 5km from the Brewery and they cant even sell it locally...

The outlaw is still waiting to sample the beer from Pig Iron...


----------



## Gough (5/1/06)

Tried the Pig Iron Lager this arvo at the Hamilton Station Hotel. Not what I was expecting (or what they have been promoting in my opinion) at all. It was quite a dark beer with a dominant crystal malt flavour and aroma. It is quite light in body, but given they have been marketing it as a beer to take on the VB/New draught beer market it was comparatively very full in flavour. Vastly different style to the front bar megalagers. It has way more flavour than the megalagers - not a flavour I particularly liked and not something I would want a session on, but much more flavour/mouthfeel than a VB or a New. Like I said, VERY different to what I was expecting. I wish them luck and hope they can take a slice of the market  I'll be interested to see what others think. Not a great beer, but a lot better than I was expecting, and a lot better than their marketing would lead you to believe... I'm not sure how many New drinkers they'll convert though... 

Shawn.


----------



## Weizguy (7/1/06)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> <abbrev>
> Boy you guys have it *ALL WRONG*
> 
> Pig Iron refers to the slag left over from steel production...something Newcastle is famous for</abbrev>
> [post="101117"][/post]​


Nah, we know about real pig iron. Don't get us wrong there. Us locals just have a strong feeling about the "pig" pun.

The only beast that's worse than a pig is a "dog". Lucky they didn't give us a dog beer, or did they?

Thanks to Gough for the review. I'll add mine ASAP.

Seth


----------



## Weizguy (17/1/06)

OK, so I haven't been ou of the house for a while.
Today I went back to work after 2weeks off, and dropped by the lhbs for some supplies. Irish Red (grains/hops for an ag). At closing, Mark suggsted we have a beer, so we went to the pub where Gough sampled the pig.

In his inimitable style, Mark ordered himself a Coopers pale and got me a "Squealer".

OK, so it looks the colour of a Kent (Tooths) Old. It doesn't taste clean like a lager either. There is a sweet, caramelly/toffee taste from maybe some dark crystal, with a slight astrigent aftertaste. Can't really taste the malt underneath (just like a lot of commercials), and there is an initial hop hit. We thought it may have been Willamette/Cascade blend, or maybe Northern Brewer. The hops reminded me a bit of the porter (maybe) at Paddy's, except for the lingering bitter (not much, but it's there) aftertaste in the "Pig". BTW, the sweetness does not last too long. So it's there and gone, and let's have another sip to taste it again. That's the way... :chug: 

All this adds up to a American Brown? Ale taste, rather than a clean malty lager.

Having said that, the beer was balanced enough to be commercial, and I could have a few in preference to VB, TuiNui, or TED.

Don't know if it will take many customers from the mega-lager market, but it could get some devotees.

Last but not least. By some reports, this appears to be different to the first batch, and has been adjusted to minimise the burnt, astringent flavour from the first batch, and the OTT bitterness?

Seth (cub reporter/ beer writer)


----------



## Gough (4/5/06)

Just to drag up an old thread...

I hadn't had a 'Pig Iron' Lager for a few months and thought I'd try another one after work this arvo to see how it was tasting...

It was a completely different beer :blink: I'm talking _completely_ different. It is no longer a darkish amber colour similar to Kent Old 'Brown' as both Seth and myself noted earlier in the year on its release in our reviews above. It is now pale - a shade darker than VB - the bloke sitting next to me had a VB and we compared it side by side. It tastes different as well. No more 'crystal' flavour, and much crisper and more 'mainstream lager' like. It has more bitterness than either New or VB and a maltier aroma. Slightly fuller mouthfeel than New/VB, but only slightly. It is advertised as being all malt and it tasted like it. It had a slightly nasty POR hop flavour to it - tasted to me like they had used it as a latish addition. That said it wasn't too bad given its target market. It now MUCH more fits its marketing - it tastes like a front bar Aussie mainstream lager but with a slightly maltier profile and with more assertive bitterness and hop flavour. 

I have no contact with the (local) brewers and am only speculating, but I'm wondering if the first batch(es) were some kind of error?? They marketed it strongly throughout the Xmas/New Year period on its release as a front bar lager to take on New/VB. The beer they delivered was a 'brown' and not something that fitted its description at all, let alone its target market. The beer has had an unannounced complete revamp in both appearance and flavour - indeed it is now a completely different style. I reckon if this had hit the pubs first up they'd have had greater success. I hope the new incarnation of the beer works for them. Not something I'd personally choose to drink a lot of, but then I'm not their target market judging by their marketing.

Anyway, an interesting development. 2 completely different beers under the same label in the space of 3 or 4 months!! Is this a record? 

Shawn.


----------



## beerguide (17/7/06)

To dig up an old thread again I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Ian from Steel River Brewery. He has cleared up a few misconceptions and things like where did the name come from etc.. and what the future holds for them.

If you are interested the link is: http://www.beerguide.com.au/ale-tales-news


----------

