Beer and Cider at Airlie Beach

Keeping track of beer and cider at Airlie Beach. See also happy hours, party reports and wine tasting.

I'm not a great beer drinker, but to be honest, I think most Australian beers are pretty pathetic. Most are lagers, and are basically designed by some giant beverage corporation not to offend anyone. If you just want something to slake the thirst after a hard day boating (or even working) XXXX or VB are fine, but if you want something to savour, I think you need to look past the mass market stuff. I would also swear that the beers were not always so bland and undistinguished. Toohey's Old, as an example of a dark beer, once had some body and taste, but lost it years ago.

Look for anything from Coopers, or from Chuck Hahn's Malt Shovel Brewery under the James Squire name (the Hahn name is owned by Lion Nathan, for whom Hahn was once head brewer). Beer brewed this way will cost you significantly more than standard beers.

With ciders, it seems the fancier the advertising budget, the worse the result. About the only ciders you can get in Airlie are Strongbow in Sweet, Dry or Draught. I'm not very impressed with any of them. More important, some of my more expert visitors who make their own cider are even less impressed. Try to find some bottles of Mercury (at the Village Bottle Shop) or even better some Scrumpy Jack at ruinous expense at KCs (it isn't what I think of as a scrumpy, but it is probably the best you will do in town). I haven't seen any other brands here, so I think cider drinkers are mostly out of luck.

Beers

Carlton Midstrength Bitter Beer

Double hopped, and a lot better tasting than most CUB beers. 3.9% alcohol.

Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale

Runs of 22,000 and 35,000 cases sold out pretty quick, and go for real money.

Coopers Premium Ale

Australian made, Australian owned smallish family brewing companyfrom South Australia, dating from 1862. They make a range of about a half dozen beer styles. Uses malted and unmalted grains, chill filtered ale, fermented with yeast for a full flavour. This is a clear ale. www.coopers.com.au

Cooper Sparkling Ale

Cooper's Sparkling Ale is the one with yeast in the bottle. A bitter and cloudy ale with great taste. Some find the yeast leavings a bit of a mouthful.

Coopers Pale Ale

A step up in flavour from a lager, but not as intense as the other Coopers Ales.

Thomas Cooper's Finest Export

If you think the Sparkling Ale is wimpy in flavour, this is the one for you.

Crown Lager

Probably the most drinkable of the CUB products. Some hops and a refreshing aftertaste.

Hahn Millenium Ale

Should keep up to a year, so probably past it now, if you can find a bottle. A one off run of 21,000 cases. Worth trying if you can find a bottle still.

Hahn Premium

Lots of malt and hops in a German lager style. Probably the best of the Lion Nathan beers.

James Boag Premium

Pale gold, lots of hops and bitterness. This Tasmanian beer is a bit easier to find than some premium beers, and is a nice smooth drop.

James Boag Strongarm

Gold and malty, with less hops than the Premium.

James Squire Pilsener

Bohemian style pilsener. Very bitter, but with a sweet malted finish. Lots of flavour. You know you aren't drinking cold water.

Melbourne Bitter

Carlton and United Breweries should be ashamed to put their name on this crap. It is neither bitter nor does it have any taste. 4.9% alcohol

.

Power's Bitter

Queensland Breweries should be ashamed to put their name on this crap. It is neither bitter nor does it have any taste. 4.8% alcohol.

Redback Original Wheat Beer

West Australian, and hard to find here. Great head with lots of character.

Toohey's Old Black Ale

Once my regular beer, however over the years it has lost all its taste, and is now hard to distinguish from most other beers. I'm at a loss to find a dark ale that is readily available and has some taste. 4.4% alcohol.

Imports

Try Murphy's Irish Stout for a real stout. And the English Old Fart for an ale that you first drink for the name.

Cider

Mercury Special Dry Alcoholic Cider

Made in Hobart, Tasmania by Mercury Cider Company from Tasmanian apples. A dry crisp cider that probably won't please everyone, but at least the company seems to know what it is making. 375mL bottles, 5.5% alcohol, 1.6 standard drinks per bottle.

Strongbow Draught Alcoholic Cider

Made by Bulmer in Campbelltown NSW from local and imported apple concentrate. Can contain up to 10% pear juice. 375mL bottles, 4.7% alcohol, about 1.4 standard drinks per bottle. Well, their advertisements are fun.

Local Beverages

Airlie Consolidated Brewery (ACB) is making a micro brewery at Blue Bay Industrial Estate, and will be batch producing a light beer, a bitter, and draught ale. Master brewer Nathan McCrorie from New Zealand's Macashin Breweries Ltd., holds the Good Beer Guide award in January 1999 for his gold medal Hurricane beer. ACB is 100% local owned. It will wholesale to the boating and private function market, with a bottling plant to come later.

This page is considered obsolete.

Check our Outback Australia Travel site at
avalook.com.au or my critical sites Airlie Beach Bum and Whitsunday Terraces.
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