Westcoast Brewers - April Fools Bus Tour

[thunderleg]

A great day - thanks Ian.

My favourite was Ironbark. Those guys were classic. The whole setup was steeped in Aussie tradition - DIY! Beer was pretty good too.

I asked the old bloke what those things in the back of his ute were. His reply was a bit rambling but he definitely said that they were "Water cooler heaters", so that clears that up.

 

[mika]

What happened to Asha's Shiska ??

 

[Tony M]

Went home to a very nice Risotto. Guess what, it tasted of hops!
Thanks WCBers, for inviting me along. Most educational. Having tasted a heap of peers beers at AHB brewdays, it was pleasing to know that whilst we are behind the best, we are ahead of the rest. Bling doesn't always help.

 

[barfridge]

Another big round of thanks to Vlad for his superior organisational skills.

We started the day off at Feral, and first up was thier monumental 7%, 80 IBU imperial (american) IPA, hopped with chinook, cascade, amarillo, and a couple of others. Real stick-to-the-mouth flavours, that just stayed with you.

Second stop was Elmars, which was so-so. The beers have no faults, they are just bland and dull. We had lunch there which wasn't looking too good until they bought out another platter.

Then onto Mash. It was thier first day, and only had 3 beers on tap. They were good solid efforts and will only improve with some tweaking. The brewer (Daniel?) is obviously a keen beer nut, and just not in it for the cash. I just hope he can practice his craft without the accountants harassing him too much.

A flying visit was paid to the Duckstein. I had the bock, which was nice and tasty.

Last stop was the ironbark. I really fell in love with the place, it's just totally Oz. The brewer is an inventive bloke, reusing all sorts of things including most of an old dairy. The Hannans Lager was especially good, nice clean Willamette flavours coming through, even after lots of tastebud abuse all day.

I had a fantastic day, Bron my drinking buddy enjoyed herself as well.

Can't wait for the next one...