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Oliver and Geoff

Oliver and Geoff
byOliver and Geoff, October 25, 2008
Malt Shovel Abbey Ale
Apparently “cellared beneath the Monastery” of the Benedictine monks of New Norcia, in Western Australia.

Malty and copper-coloured. Oliver had hayfever by this stage of the day's tastings so has no idea what it smelt like. A very nice beer. Bitter and malty.
byOliver and Geoff, October 25, 2008
Karlovacko
Pale, thin but lacy head. An easy-to-drink beer. Geoff: “It's all right.”
byOliver and Geoff, October 25, 2008
Emerson's London Porter
The label describes this beer as a “malty, bitter dark ale”. It is.

A good beer.

Isinglass, made from fish, is used to fine (clarify) this beer.
byOliver and Geoff, October 25, 2008
Ekstra
A generic, bad Eastern European lager. Prima facie it's completely flat with next to no bubbles, but is actually very lightly caronated. OK, but a little dirty. Very, very pale with a thick head.
byOliver and Geoff, October 25, 2008
Zywiec
The label says “Since 1856 this premium beer is brewed according to the original Zywiec brewers recipe from the best natural ingredients: finest malted barley, choicest hops and pure mountain water.”

We say: “Bullshit.”

To add to the diceyness of this beer it has a temperature gauge on the back that shows when the beer is at optimum drinking temperature. Given that the colder the beer the less you can taste it, we reckon about 0° kelvin may be the ideal temperature for this brew.
byOliver and Geoff, October 25, 2008
Wicked Elf Pilsner
Another rather troubling example of an Australian “pilsner” that's more fruity ale than crisp, bitter pilsner. Not a great beer, and definitely not a pilsner.
byOliver and Geoff, October 25, 2008
Wicked Elf Pale Ale
Deep copper colour. A pretty nice beer, but that's all it is.
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
3 Ravens Black
If you want to incorporate smoky flavours in a beer, this is the way you do it. You don't hit someone over the head with it. You put it in their mouth and slide it down their throat. It's bit …
★★★
Red
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Razorback Red Ale
Tastes red! Malty and sweet. That's all that we've got to say, as brevity is the source of wit.
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Pepperjack Ale
Brewed with a long shot of shiraz grape juice. Hoppy, but it's got a bit of a harsh edge. Label says "2007 vintage" and also that it should be drunk now. A paradox of a beer. Quite a thin, watery body, yet a big, bold flavour. We like it. Once you get over the unusualness of this, it's not as good as initial impressions, but nonetheless tasty and good.
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Miller Chill
"Inspired by a Mexican recipe with lime and and salt," according to the label. Geoff warned Oliver: "You'll laugh when you taste this, because it's a fucking joke." Sure enough, Oliver almost spat it out because he was laughing so hard. So close to the boundary of "beer" and another beverage as you can get.
The day before this tasting, Growlers, a bar in Torquay, Victoria, near where Geoff lives, had a promotion of this beverage. Geoff witnessed blokes turning down this beer from the hot promotional chicks with quizzical looks on their faces like they'd just been accused of being gay for no reason. (You can read more of other people's opinions on this "beer" on our forum here.)
This is one of the palest beers we've seen. Still, it has a green tinge. It looks like a Bickford's Lime Juice Cordial, and tastes about as much like beer as Bickford's Lime Juice Cordial (Tasting like Bickford's Lime Juice Cordial is not in itself a bad thing. In fact, Bickford's Lime Juice Cordial is extremely tasty. But you don't want a beer to taste like it.)
It's got a stinky nose, which Geoff likened to an open sewer. This is a crap beer. As if to add insult to injury, it's 4.2% alcohol. We'd like to see this "Mexican recipe".

Rated one star because we aren't able to go lower.,
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Matilda Bay Crema
Brewed with wheat, barley and Australian arabica coffee. You can smell the coffee. You can taste the coffee, which is not necessarily the best thing. MS likes it. Coffee and beer mix beautifully, just not in the same vessel. MM and BM are not convinced. A positive is that the coffee is not overpowering.
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Charlotte's Hefeweizen
Good, unpretentious wheat beer. Looks like a wheat beer (pale). Smells like a wheat beer (wheaty and floral). Tastes like a wheat beer (refreshing). Bitterness on the back of the tongue, which Oliver didn't like, but Geoff did. However, the residual bitterness perhaps prevents this being a sessional beer, which is a negative. A good beer for the snow. A good beer for the summer.
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Massive, foamy head. A great-looking beer, with slight cloudiness and a fantastic long-lasting head. Tastes like a beer shandy but with champagne. Does that make it a champy? But where's the scampi? We drank this while listening to The Angels. Life is good. Oliver remembers this being a bit more sour and less malty.
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Finely beaded head. Smells good. Slightly honey flavour. This beer isn't pretentious. You don't need to put a spoiler on a Monaro, and you don't need to have a million fancy ingredients to make a very nice beer. We don't know who the hell these blokes (men and women) are, but they make a bloody good beer.
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Boags Wizard Smith's Ale
An easy-drinking, darkish ale with a tinge of honey. This is a surprisingly good beer given that Boags's flagship beer, Boag's Premium, is such a shit beer. It;s lovely to be pleasantly surprised rather than bitterly disappointed.
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Barons Lemon Myrtle Witbier
You can smell that lemon myrtle! You can taste that lemon myrtle! This deserves points for *not* trying to be a Hoegaarden clone, and also for their embracing indigenous Australian ingredients. An interesting beer. However, it has a bit of a soapy, Palmolive Gold sort of taste.
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Barons Black Wattle Superior
One thing to like about this is the fact that there's no bullshit on the label about where and by whom this is brewed. Not Barons, which declares clearly on the label that this is brewed under licence by Australian Independent Brewers. Sweet and interesting. A little astringent. A promising beer, but too sweet for Oliver and a bit too thin for Geoff. Called variously on the website "Black Wattle Superior" and "Black Wattle Original Ale"
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
Crackenback Pale Ale
This is an American-stye pale ale, with Chinook, Amarillo and Cascade hops. Are there any craft brews in Australia that aren't brewed with "natural ingredients" (this beer) or "with all-natural ingredients"? Gold, with a tinge of orange. Not an in-yer-face American-style pale ale, but a very tasty, well-balanced beer. Hints of honey, with a nice, bitter finish.
byOliver and Geoff, December 24, 2007
3 Ravens White
Slightly cloudy, with a bubblegummy, citrusy, clovey nose. Tastes like it smells. They've tried to make a Hoegaarden. We wish they wouldn't do that. Points for effort, but it doesn't quite get there, as it lacks quaffability. Thin head.

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