capretta
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- 28/12/06
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Just returned from holidays down in sunny victoria ( yes it was very sunny ) and whilst doing the great ocean road cliche we took a detour to near colac and found some signs pointing to the otway brewery and winery.
Well i must say i was pleasantly surprised! they had 5 beers on tap
pilsener
wit
english style ale
red ale
farmhouse
the pilsener was tops.. plenty of saaz hops and a nice fresh taste. no diacytel like quite a few average pilseners i have tasted lately. but 3% abv ? at $4 a pot ? ( what is that anyway 275 mls or something? never did bother figuring it out but they seemed the size of middys for the price of schooners ) i know they have to avoid tax to keep their price low enough to be competitive but it would be a hard sell to the proletariat.
the wit was likewise great, a nice little hogarrden style thing. 3.5% abv from memory..
the ale they originally appeared to want to sell as a pale ale ( label on tasting notes ) but it was a very english ale. a good drop i thought somewhat in the Tetley-ish variety ( but with CO2 )
the red ale was the low point for me but it may just have been that batch cause it reminded me of when i sparged with water that is too hot. tasted grain husky and slightly gritty to me but my mrs didnt mind it.
the farmhouse was their big beer at 6% and reminded me a little of tre monts ,that french beer. pretty good too. slick taste with the typical yeasty flavours but not a strong belgium style.
really enjoyed my time there and the food was awesome as well. i would have stayed there but we had prior bookings.. and it was pretty pricey, but im sure it was nice.
the guy behind the bar assured me that he knew all about the beers but when i asked him what yeast they used in the farmhouse he looked bewildered and after a few other innocent questions my mrs swore he started backing away! in any case it appears that the brewer is some home brewer from perth who one of the owners knew and they got a 1000 l brewery and let him loose! they fly him over irregularily to brew. they bottle all except the pils which is sold by keg to a few places one of which i visited later that day.
At the Warnambool Hotel i was cheerfully assured by one of the bar girls that they didnt sell much of the Otway Brewery Pilsener and ,in fact, it " tasted like watered down carlton draught"
I let out a gasp and started to argue ( hops etc ) but her eyes glazed over and i think she actually got the sh!ts. Didnt like warnambool too much!
Has anyone else got any thoughts? tried their stuff or know a little more about the brewer?
Well i must say i was pleasantly surprised! they had 5 beers on tap
pilsener
wit
english style ale
red ale
farmhouse
the pilsener was tops.. plenty of saaz hops and a nice fresh taste. no diacytel like quite a few average pilseners i have tasted lately. but 3% abv ? at $4 a pot ? ( what is that anyway 275 mls or something? never did bother figuring it out but they seemed the size of middys for the price of schooners ) i know they have to avoid tax to keep their price low enough to be competitive but it would be a hard sell to the proletariat.
the wit was likewise great, a nice little hogarrden style thing. 3.5% abv from memory..
the ale they originally appeared to want to sell as a pale ale ( label on tasting notes ) but it was a very english ale. a good drop i thought somewhat in the Tetley-ish variety ( but with CO2 )
the red ale was the low point for me but it may just have been that batch cause it reminded me of when i sparged with water that is too hot. tasted grain husky and slightly gritty to me but my mrs didnt mind it.
the farmhouse was their big beer at 6% and reminded me a little of tre monts ,that french beer. pretty good too. slick taste with the typical yeasty flavours but not a strong belgium style.
really enjoyed my time there and the food was awesome as well. i would have stayed there but we had prior bookings.. and it was pretty pricey, but im sure it was nice.
the guy behind the bar assured me that he knew all about the beers but when i asked him what yeast they used in the farmhouse he looked bewildered and after a few other innocent questions my mrs swore he started backing away! in any case it appears that the brewer is some home brewer from perth who one of the owners knew and they got a 1000 l brewery and let him loose! they fly him over irregularily to brew. they bottle all except the pils which is sold by keg to a few places one of which i visited later that day.
At the Warnambool Hotel i was cheerfully assured by one of the bar girls that they didnt sell much of the Otway Brewery Pilsener and ,in fact, it " tasted like watered down carlton draught"
I let out a gasp and started to argue ( hops etc ) but her eyes glazed over and i think she actually got the sh!ts. Didnt like warnambool too much!
Has anyone else got any thoughts? tried their stuff or know a little more about the brewer?
