I’ve managed to try a few different beers since making it down to Melbourne.
James Squire Pepperberry Winter Ale – a dark, spicy ale. Chocolate in colour and flavour, quite bitter, not really a session beer but nice to warm up with.
Bells Brewery Black Ban Bitter – Bells Hotel is a brewpub near work, this bitter is their flagship beer. A coppery ale, very bitter without much hop aroma. I was a little underwhelmed, especially as a middie was $5. Nice to support a small brewer, but a beer has to have more going for it that just bitterness.
Coldstream Brewery Lager – another brewpub, this one on the way up the Yarra valley past home. Again, a bitter beer without much aroma, but this one was supposed to be a lager. Another disappointment, unfortunately. Perhaps next time I’ll try the bitter or pilsner and see if they are a bit more true to type. It was pale in colour, but also pale in flavour, other than the excessive bitterness.
So, I guess in summary, I’m finding craftbeers all to be a bit too bitter recently. Hopefully spring will bring with it some more hop aroma and flavour, meaning better tasting beers to enjoy as the weather warms up.