roddersf
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I'd been super keen to go to check out this "brew pub" but had always something get in the way. That is until yesterday which bought more than its share of surprises...
For me the fine people at Schwartz were living the dream - they were brewing for the love of it and have been finely awarded for that passion in the past and present. This topped with a fantastic location was pure brewer's heaven - and tasters...
My mates know that when I get exited about beer (which is often) I become a passionate "poet like person" who cant stop heaping praise on the bubbling beverage at my hands or the the genius that put it together. I'll pull every part of it apart and analyze every flavour. For which my mates will usually reply with a "yeah, its alright eh...". Couldn't put it better myself...
This is not to mention the way I seem to bounce off the walls and lap in the environment around me. There are few things that can bring a grown man to tears - fermenters lined up behind clear glass for everyone to see is definitely one of them.
Last night was one of those nights. It started when we were getting close to the brewery - On approach to the Macquarie Hotel - The ususual excitedness that come over us - you know the one - like when you were 5 and your parents took you to the toy store to actually buy something. Yet this time you hold all the cash.
On entry I was surprised to see the brewery empty. It was - after all - a Saturday night. After grabbing some nibblies we made our way to the bar. The Macquarie is an interesting spot. The hotel proper has the usual Lion Nathan beers on Tap (not that I really noticed) - you need to head to the brewery itself to see the familiar SB logo on the taps. Seeing it deserted we thought that we had accidentally stumbled on a "restricted" area of the Hotel - nope - this was THE Schwartz brewery alright.
Being an annoyingly positive bloke I immediately put it down to us being smart enough to beat the crowds. 7:30pm was just too early for them!
We made our way to the bar - the taps seemed to speak of brewing wisdom and happy taste buds. Here were award winning beers right infront of my face urging me to try them!
Wheat Beer, Pale Ale, Pilsener, and the famed Red Larger - together with a "Barons" Dark Ale.
To my dismay though - no Schwartz dark beer! (maybe the reason why the Baron's was there?)
We immediately got to tasting - my mate went for the Barons Dark Ale first. I, thinking to start with the "litest on the palate" first went for the Schwartz Wheat Beer. While the bar girl poured the beers I noticed the excellent golden colour to the Wheat brew, and asked if the brewer was in the house - hoping that I could have a chat about how the beers were made and what inspired the flavours. Unfortunately it wasnt to be - She didnt even know the brewer - but onto the beers...
To my surprise the wheat smelled very fruity. "This is interesting" I thought outloud and gave my opinions on the aroma. Looking to my mate who had foregone the sniff and tucked straight in, I gave him a nod for his opinion: "its alright eh..." came the reply, so I tucked the first gulp in.
"Wet sock with saccharine and slighly off pinaple" came rushing from my taste buds and into my brain. This cant be right I thought. I looked at my mate again - "its allright eh..." was all that came back.
I asked the bar girl if I could have a sample taster of the Barons - sure enough it was excellent! I then asked to sample the Bavarian Red Lager - The smell was beyond any of the worst K+K mistakes I had ever made. The flavour was rotten egg mixed with soap. I asked the bar girl her opinion and she quickly came back with the "I dont know, I dont drink beer" response. Silence...
I sat down with my fruity Wheat beer and uttered not a word on the subject the rest of the night.
Lets just say that the Schwartz brewery let me down. Surely such a well decorated set of brews could perform much better than this? Where was the passion? Where was the love?!
I then realised why the place was empty. Has the Schwartz been serving up rotten drinks to the people while wowing the judges with a totally different brew? Surely not!
I will go back to the Shwartz, I want to believe! But the weekend's showing has not and will not help the cause of the microbrewer or the craft brew industry if it comes with such poor showings to those that are most passionate about the industry. Thank goodness my mate had the Barons!
Cheers,
Roddersf.
For me the fine people at Schwartz were living the dream - they were brewing for the love of it and have been finely awarded for that passion in the past and present. This topped with a fantastic location was pure brewer's heaven - and tasters...
My mates know that when I get exited about beer (which is often) I become a passionate "poet like person" who cant stop heaping praise on the bubbling beverage at my hands or the the genius that put it together. I'll pull every part of it apart and analyze every flavour. For which my mates will usually reply with a "yeah, its alright eh...". Couldn't put it better myself...
This is not to mention the way I seem to bounce off the walls and lap in the environment around me. There are few things that can bring a grown man to tears - fermenters lined up behind clear glass for everyone to see is definitely one of them.
Last night was one of those nights. It started when we were getting close to the brewery - On approach to the Macquarie Hotel - The ususual excitedness that come over us - you know the one - like when you were 5 and your parents took you to the toy store to actually buy something. Yet this time you hold all the cash.
On entry I was surprised to see the brewery empty. It was - after all - a Saturday night. After grabbing some nibblies we made our way to the bar. The Macquarie is an interesting spot. The hotel proper has the usual Lion Nathan beers on Tap (not that I really noticed) - you need to head to the brewery itself to see the familiar SB logo on the taps. Seeing it deserted we thought that we had accidentally stumbled on a "restricted" area of the Hotel - nope - this was THE Schwartz brewery alright.
Being an annoyingly positive bloke I immediately put it down to us being smart enough to beat the crowds. 7:30pm was just too early for them!
We made our way to the bar - the taps seemed to speak of brewing wisdom and happy taste buds. Here were award winning beers right infront of my face urging me to try them!
Wheat Beer, Pale Ale, Pilsener, and the famed Red Larger - together with a "Barons" Dark Ale.
To my dismay though - no Schwartz dark beer! (maybe the reason why the Baron's was there?)
We immediately got to tasting - my mate went for the Barons Dark Ale first. I, thinking to start with the "litest on the palate" first went for the Schwartz Wheat Beer. While the bar girl poured the beers I noticed the excellent golden colour to the Wheat brew, and asked if the brewer was in the house - hoping that I could have a chat about how the beers were made and what inspired the flavours. Unfortunately it wasnt to be - She didnt even know the brewer - but onto the beers...
To my surprise the wheat smelled very fruity. "This is interesting" I thought outloud and gave my opinions on the aroma. Looking to my mate who had foregone the sniff and tucked straight in, I gave him a nod for his opinion: "its alright eh..." came the reply, so I tucked the first gulp in.
"Wet sock with saccharine and slighly off pinaple" came rushing from my taste buds and into my brain. This cant be right I thought. I looked at my mate again - "its allright eh..." was all that came back.
I asked the bar girl if I could have a sample taster of the Barons - sure enough it was excellent! I then asked to sample the Bavarian Red Lager - The smell was beyond any of the worst K+K mistakes I had ever made. The flavour was rotten egg mixed with soap. I asked the bar girl her opinion and she quickly came back with the "I dont know, I dont drink beer" response. Silence...
I sat down with my fruity Wheat beer and uttered not a word on the subject the rest of the night.
Lets just say that the Schwartz brewery let me down. Surely such a well decorated set of brews could perform much better than this? Where was the passion? Where was the love?!
I then realised why the place was empty. Has the Schwartz been serving up rotten drinks to the people while wowing the judges with a totally different brew? Surely not!
I will go back to the Shwartz, I want to believe! But the weekend's showing has not and will not help the cause of the microbrewer or the craft brew industry if it comes with such poor showings to those that are most passionate about the industry. Thank goodness my mate had the Barons!
Cheers,
Roddersf.