Vlad the Pale Aler
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Did'nt Colonial change ownership recently?
Colonial Brewing Co. Margaret River
- Thread starter deebee
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Randall the Enamel Animal
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Going through the process at the moment. Business as usual at Colonial but we'll be freeing up some cash to build a couple more.Vlad the Pale Aler said:
big d
Hopaholic
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Will have to get down to margaret river in july when im in perth.Hope you have a real randall in place for my visit.Last randall i tried was at jayses place with a few bits and pieces we put together and heaps of hops from chiller.
Cheers
Big D
Roaming AHB ambassador
Cheers
Big D
Roaming AHB ambassador
Randall the Enamel Animal
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No Randall at Colonial....yet.
Hoping to make up a big wood-aged porter for winter that's pulled though hand-pumps and Randalls packed with three diffenet hops.
Hoping to make up a big wood-aged porter for winter that's pulled though hand-pumps and Randalls packed with three diffenet hops.
Hey Dean,
I recently had the pleasure of a couple of your brews from a family member who visited you on holidays last month and bought me back a couple of samples.
I got to try the Brown Ale and the Strong Ale.
Both were quality beers, well presented in great packaging. The standout of the two for me was the Strong Ale. It has all the malt and flavour charactristics I love in strong ales with the addition of American hops. The hops were up front, but not too out of balance in the beer. I really enjoyed it.
Am I able to enquire what hops you are using in the Strong Ale ?
Beers,
Doc
I recently had the pleasure of a couple of your brews from a family member who visited you on holidays last month and bought me back a couple of samples.
I got to try the Brown Ale and the Strong Ale.
Both were quality beers, well presented in great packaging. The standout of the two for me was the Strong Ale. It has all the malt and flavour charactristics I love in strong ales with the addition of American hops. The hops were up front, but not too out of balance in the beer. I really enjoyed it.
Am I able to enquire what hops you are using in the Strong Ale ?
Beers,
Doc
Randall the Enamel Animal
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Hi Doc
Hops, all American:
Centenial up front
Cascade late
Off boil with Amarillo
Just Amarillo works well too as it's pretty high in alpha acids and if you want to set up a continuous 'hop-feeder', this'd be the go. I do like the resiny flavour of centenial and the grapefruity Cascade adds a little hop complexity to the stone-fruity Amarillo. There's a few others I'll be trying soon too.
Hops, all American:
Centenial up front
Cascade late
Off boil with Amarillo
Just Amarillo works well too as it's pretty high in alpha acids and if you want to set up a continuous 'hop-feeder', this'd be the go. I do like the resiny flavour of centenial and the grapefruity Cascade adds a little hop complexity to the stone-fruity Amarillo. There's a few others I'll be trying soon too.
hughman666
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i just got back today from a long weekend in MR.
stopped by the bootleg on friday for a couple of pales and a wheat and was typically impressed, as i have long been a bootleg fan.
the real surprise of the weekend however was on saturday. the wife and i went to colonial to watch the afl grand final and have a few beers (she was driving, i had to drive through the wine tsastings on sunday)
i started with the seasonal beer, "big blow" which was a wheat and i was literally blown away. second up was the kolsch which was a very smooth pilsner-like beer. then i went on with a "pistol whip" which was the bitter and this was very tasty. 18 hands after that was like a newcy brown but had a longer finish to it. i switched between the seasonal wheat and the kolsch after that and ended up fairly happy :chug:
pity that dean had left before we got there, i was looking forward to a chat about the ingredients he uses.
i have to hand it to dean who has improved the quality of the beers a hell of a lot since i was last there in january '05. this place has stepped up alongisde bootleg and overetaken it in a couple of areas, particularly the wheat and the kolsch.
we signed up to the beer club and will be getting a mixed carton delivered on a monthly basis.
well done colonial, great brewery!
stopped by the bootleg on friday for a couple of pales and a wheat and was typically impressed, as i have long been a bootleg fan.
the real surprise of the weekend however was on saturday. the wife and i went to colonial to watch the afl grand final and have a few beers (she was driving, i had to drive through the wine tsastings on sunday)
i started with the seasonal beer, "big blow" which was a wheat and i was literally blown away. second up was the kolsch which was a very smooth pilsner-like beer. then i went on with a "pistol whip" which was the bitter and this was very tasty. 18 hands after that was like a newcy brown but had a longer finish to it. i switched between the seasonal wheat and the kolsch after that and ended up fairly happy :chug:
pity that dean had left before we got there, i was looking forward to a chat about the ingredients he uses.
i have to hand it to dean who has improved the quality of the beers a hell of a lot since i was last there in january '05. this place has stepped up alongisde bootleg and overetaken it in a couple of areas, particularly the wheat and the kolsch.
we signed up to the beer club and will be getting a mixed carton delivered on a monthly basis.
well done colonial, great brewery!
Randall the Enamel Animal
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Thanks for the feedback Hugh.
Be sure if you do roll up to give me a call as I love talking about beer to guys who are interested. I had Ant through the brewery this afternoon and it really was a pleasure. And, there's usually something interesting out the back in a keg that needs a bit of QA.
Be sure if you do roll up to give me a call as I love talking about beer to guys who are interested. I had Ant through the brewery this afternoon and it really was a pleasure. And, there's usually something interesting out the back in a keg that needs a bit of QA.
I was down in Margs over the weekend for a wedding and unexpectedly found myself with an hour or two free on Friday arvo, so headed down to Colonial. Cos I hadn't planned on being there, I hadn't called ahead, but Dean still made himself available for a very generous amount of time to talk to me, particularly given he was in the middle of a double brew day.
While I drooled over the gear, Dean told me anything I wanted to know about the beers they produce (as evidenced in his previous posts in this thread!), listened to me waffle on and shared a couple of samples out of tanks, kegs, bottles, etc.
You'd be hard pressed to find a more open, honest and accommodating brewer, and I think we'll be seeing and hearing a lot more about Colonial with Dean at the Brewers helm. Do yourself a favour and drop by if you're down there; the 18 Hands is a corker.
Ant
While I drooled over the gear, Dean told me anything I wanted to know about the beers they produce (as evidenced in his previous posts in this thread!), listened to me waffle on and shared a couple of samples out of tanks, kegs, bottles, etc.
You'd be hard pressed to find a more open, honest and accommodating brewer, and I think we'll be seeing and hearing a lot more about Colonial with Dean at the Brewers helm. Do yourself a favour and drop by if you're down there; the 18 Hands is a corker.
Ant
Steve
On the back bloody porch!
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I sampled their wares last month. Very impressed...so impressed I bought a hat and spent the rest of my holidays looking like a typical pommie tourist 
Cheers
Steve
P.S. Well worth a visit - it'd be wonderful in the heat of summer though :chug:
Cheers
Steve
P.S. Well worth a visit - it'd be wonderful in the heat of summer though :chug:
uneekwahn
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Was down in Busselton / Dunsborough / Margaret River over the weekend, so one of my stops was definately going to be Colonial.
In two words, loved it.
Great atmosphere, really good food and absolutely amazing beer. I loved the seasonal "Big Blow" so much that I bought a 6 pack.
I got back yesterday and went to order a carton of it today, but unfortunately they've sold out! (Thanks for trying to scrounge enough 6 packs to fill a carton for me Dean, I appreciate it!).
Nothing but praise from my fianc and parents who were also there. Definately plan on going back again soon.
In two words, loved it.
Great atmosphere, really good food and absolutely amazing beer. I loved the seasonal "Big Blow" so much that I bought a 6 pack.
I got back yesterday and went to order a carton of it today, but unfortunately they've sold out! (Thanks for trying to scrounge enough 6 packs to fill a carton for me Dean, I appreciate it!).
Nothing but praise from my fianc and parents who were also there. Definately plan on going back again soon.
Tseay
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Interestingly this brewery is owned by the Empire Beer Group due to float on the ASX on Dec 8.
Quote from Empire's web site
"The first acquisition is the highly successful Colonial Brewing Company Pty Ltd in Margaret River, Western Australia, currently Australias Champion Small Brewery 2006 as awarded at the Australian International Beer Awards.
Empires primary asset will be the Colonial premises and brand. Empire will seek to achieve its short-to-medium-term growth via the expansion of the Colonial business model into strategic locations throughout Australia. Ongoing development of Colonial venues will be in similarly high-traffic, tourist locations that will maximise turnover and foot flow traffic while maintaining a focus on high-quality style ales and bright, family friendly venues."
Might not have to travel to Margaret Review after all.
Quote from Empire's web site
"The first acquisition is the highly successful Colonial Brewing Company Pty Ltd in Margaret River, Western Australia, currently Australias Champion Small Brewery 2006 as awarded at the Australian International Beer Awards.
Empires primary asset will be the Colonial premises and brand. Empire will seek to achieve its short-to-medium-term growth via the expansion of the Colonial business model into strategic locations throughout Australia. Ongoing development of Colonial venues will be in similarly high-traffic, tourist locations that will maximise turnover and foot flow traffic while maintaining a focus on high-quality style ales and bright, family friendly venues."
Might not have to travel to Margaret Review after all.
Randall the Enamel Animal
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Yes, in the works. We should be able to make an announcement soon.
Popped into Colonial a couple of weeks ago while on a blokes weekend. Unfortunately I was skipper.
Was lucky enough to get a personal tour of the place and a free glass of porter (Winter Warmer I think). Very nice beer.
Learnt that they were planning to open their own pub at the Royal Hotel in East Perth.
Was lucky enough to get a personal tour of the place and a free glass of porter (Winter Warmer I think). Very nice beer.
Learnt that they were planning to open their own pub at the Royal Hotel in East Perth.
ausdb
Copper kettles don't kill people....
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Sorry to sound like a Colonial fanboi (actually not sorry) but what other micros in WA can actually make excellent beer (repeatedly) as well as have a great venue which caters to all ages and is able to expand on the idea?
I visited again last week with family and managed to take advantage of the good weather to have a bbq and then let the troops loose on the playground so I had a chance to have a good discussion about all things beer and brewing with Dean. To make things better Colonial have taken a leaf from our North American cousins and are selling 2L Growlers for takeaway's so you can make sure you are well hydrated for the trip home. The upfront cost seems a little bit confronting at 1st, mrs ausdb said "you are going to spend $40 on a beer bottle!!!" but when you take into account that refills are only $15 the cost for the beer is less than most good six packs and way fresher than anything in a bottle shop and you can get any of the beers on tap and a growler of their current IPA or Porter will go a fairly long way. After a pint of the Koelsch and Brown Ale I did some QA tasting with Dean and settled on the Porter.
I put myself on beer rations when I got home so I could see how long it lasted and managed to stretch it out till today (they recommend a 5 day best before) and it was still reasonably carbonated and certainly drinkable. The only thing we need now is for the Royal to come online as it's only a 15 minute drive from my place not 3 hours like Margaret River. It would be great if the other local micros could pull their fingers out and start offering something like this. (it sounds like some are)
Once again hats off to Dean for taking the time to talk and inspire a humble home brewer who's "trying find his mojo" again, we need more people like him not just ones who came from our ranks but now treat it all as a "big secret"
Cheers and beers
I visited again last week with family and managed to take advantage of the good weather to have a bbq and then let the troops loose on the playground so I had a chance to have a good discussion about all things beer and brewing with Dean. To make things better Colonial have taken a leaf from our North American cousins and are selling 2L Growlers for takeaway's so you can make sure you are well hydrated for the trip home. The upfront cost seems a little bit confronting at 1st, mrs ausdb said "you are going to spend $40 on a beer bottle!!!" but when you take into account that refills are only $15 the cost for the beer is less than most good six packs and way fresher than anything in a bottle shop and you can get any of the beers on tap and a growler of their current IPA or Porter will go a fairly long way. After a pint of the Koelsch and Brown Ale I did some QA tasting with Dean and settled on the Porter.
I put myself on beer rations when I got home so I could see how long it lasted and managed to stretch it out till today (they recommend a 5 day best before) and it was still reasonably carbonated and certainly drinkable. The only thing we need now is for the Royal to come online as it's only a 15 minute drive from my place not 3 hours like Margaret River. It would be great if the other local micros could pull their fingers out and start offering something like this. (it sounds like some are)
Once again hats off to Dean for taking the time to talk and inspire a humble home brewer who's "trying find his mojo" again, we need more people like him not just ones who came from our ranks but now treat it all as a "big secret"
Cheers and beers
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