Anyone Tried Mildura Brewery?

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alcoadam

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On a quick trip to "Dan's" today I floated past numerous craft beers already sampled and as always was looking for something new to try. I've walked past the Mildura Brewery's range a number of times but decided today to part with my $4 for a bottle of his hard work.

Christ! Has anyone tried the "Storm - Cloudy Ale" offered from this brewery?....if so, u know my pain.

I hate to criticise someone that's already able to get their beer into the commercial scene but, this particular beer actually tasted identical to a "excess-of bits" brew I put together late last year and which currently sits in bottles on the shelf for when times are truely desperate.

My "clearing of the old cupboard brew" contained;

1 can of T. Coopers draught
1 can of Morgans Pale Lager Malt
A little handful of crystal,cara,amber something or other and a dollop of Amarillo.

Now I couldn't recommend u go and brew this, but it would have to be the closest match I have made to a commercially available beer.

It makes me wonder, are there craft beers out there using extract methods and charging premium dollars? I should of known a beer with the picture of the brewer on the front was going to be a flop....


I want my 4 bucks back.
 
I used to have little interest in this brewery after trying their beers from Dan's. One day I was at a tasting hosted by the head brewer and tried the Cloudy ale and found it pretty nice. Not mind blowing but had a nice, subtle American thing going on that I'd be happy enough to have a session on.

Could be handling or bottling issues maybe but don't write them off completely. Maybe try them at the brewery if you ever get the chance.
 
Point taken.

I didn't think too much of the "Kosciuszko Pale" until I tried if off tap from the source, at which time I was quite impressed! :chug:
 
I too was disillusioned about the The Mildura Brewery offerings and have bleated about it in the past. I now know that their beers are meant to appeal to the mainstream (i.e inoffensive, not over the top). I have to be honest and say that I went about a year without drinking anything from there. But recently I have tried a couple from the brewery and they have been fine for what they are. The storm ale is OK the desert lager is nice.

They definately aren't a Holgate/Feral/Murrays/Mountain Goat...etc but they don't pretend to be either.

Maybe they need to put a warning on their bottles. "warning. this beer is meant to be bland. if you are a hop head step away" :p

Also as far as I have seen they don't use extract. In fact their brewery is impressive. Loads of stainless bling.
 
Was quite a fan of their Mallee Bull & Storm at the brewery, but when you add the Dan's beer abuse factinto it all beers good beers have the opportunity to taste like oxidised crap. I saw it in Dan's last week and was tempted to buy some but what put me off was the Dan's abuse factor so I left it. Didn't want to taint my memories of good beers, 6 pack I bought from the brewery was excellent. I prefer their own beers alot better the the beers they brw for other.
 
This is quite a timely thread for me. We're up in Mildura for a wedding and just walked past the brewery. It looks quite nice on the inside and the tasting notes listed on their website sound good. But based on the comments above, it doesn't sound as if the bottled stuff transports well, which seems a shame given the effort that's evidently gone in to the setup. I'll drop in for a few quiet pints over lunch and will report back report back on how it tastes on tap.
Daniel
 
I went through quite a lot of malee bull last year when a local bottle shop was doing 6 packs for $13. I really liked it. Then I picked up a carton from Dan's, and it was almost undrinkable. It had that horrible skunky light struck hop flavour, which is pretty surprising since it came in a heavy cardboard box. Haven't had any since then.
 
I went through quite a lot of malee bull last year when a local bottle shop was doing 6 packs for $13. I really liked it. Then I picked up a carton from Dan's, and it was almost undrinkable. It had that horrible skunky light struck hop flavour, which is pretty surprising since it came in a heavy cardboard box. Haven't had any since then.

Haha - yeah, I got one of those too. I gave a six pack to a guy for helping me with my brew rig, thinking that this might be an interesting change for a dedicated VB drinker.
Unfortunately I only realized later after I tried one myself. Haven't seen him again, but can't see him leaving old faithful now.
 
The moral of the story is not to buy beer from Uncle Dan's.

+1

The list of beer Ive bought from other places and enjoyed, then have brought it again from Dans out of necessity, and its tasted like soda water is steadly growing all the time.

If I owned a brewery I would make sure that Dans didnt stock my beer. They are giving good beers a bad name.

Most of Dans beer customers are there for cheap megaswill, they see something different and decide to give it a try. But when they taste beer coloured soda water, no wonder they go back to megaswill.
 
The moral of the story is not to buy beer from Uncle Dan's.
It depends on where you live some people don't really have the choice. I mean slowbeer (and I presume others ship) but for the sake of convenience they are hard to beat.
 
Ok so we popped in here yesterday for lunch. As others have said, it's a great set up. If I ever buy a tatts ticket, and win, I'll build me one of those.

The food was great, and well priced. Fast and pleasant service. Couldn't be happier.

As for the beer, I got myself a tasting tray. 8 beers; from a light through to a porter. The first few, can't remember what they were (called something like sun, desert and honey), lacked taste and mouthfeel. Could've partly been a function of the way they were poured - slowly and with lots of head. The pale ale was an improvement, lots of cascade. After thinking that I was going to be disappointed, along came the pilsner. Nice and crisp, great saas / cascade flavour. Mallie bull and porter were also good, however the pilsner did it for me.

If you're in Mildura the brewery is definitely worth a visit, especially for a look at the brew rig. If you can find a bottle shop that treats their product well the pilsner is also worth a go.
 

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