As a pom who cut his teeth on British real ales the problem with the examples we get here is that they are bottled. Now without sounding condescending this is a point which is often lost on Aussies who have not been to the UK and tried their real ales such as Timothy Taylor or Wells Bombardier etc.
The reason that most Aussies don't "get it" is that they have grown up on the likes of XXXX, Tooheys etc and in the case of say XXXX it is zapped and gassed at the production line, and the beer you get in the can or stubby is the same as the beer across the bar which comes in a keg that is really just a giant can.
The same could be said for James Squire Golden ale or even Coopers Pale Ale. And certainly for the overwhelming range of German and Czech beers where cask conditioning has never been a tradition. You have to go to the Wig and Pen in the ACT, or one of a handful of Sydney or Melbourne pubs to appreciate the difference between a live cask conditioned UK style beer served without CO2 pressure, and a beer with undoubtedly the same base ingredients, but filtered, pasteurised, carbonated and bottled.
The New Zealanders are getting into hand pumped real ales and some of their IPAs etc on handpump are divine. Really, much as I like the odd bottle of Old Hen or TTL as a nostalgia trip I still believe it's more "authentic" to brew your own UK style ale from the real ingredients such as TF malts and UK Hops, than to buy the bottles.
I just love this beer and if I had more money it would be my house staple beer.
