Tasting Notes - Snowy Mountains Brewery - beer tasting
Apres ski amber
Kerry Scambler
Award-winning beer from the Snowy Mountains Brewery [©Snowy Mountains Brewery]
Would you like to try some of our beers? Who was I to decline the offer, after all what hop-appreciating woman would knock back trying four different beers from reputedly one of the country’s best microbreweries?
The boutique Snowy Mountain Brewery was conceived by US ex-pat Kevin O'Neill during a ski trip to Australia's Snowy Mountains. He was trying, without luck, to order a local beer at an après ski watering hole and with his passion for beer and some expertise in craft beer, it’s proven a fine idea. He’s gone on to brew four very different beers, each with a distinctive style and all, of course, with a Snowy Mountains theme. These beers have gained great respect and accolades in the brewing world picking up awards from both the brewing and hospitality industries.
Delivery for my taste testing was a bit tricky with no distributor in Tasmania (yet), but a convenient football and fine dining trip to Melbourne fixed that. Once the concierge had unlocked my valuable cargo it was time to make a selection for chilling down before the important first taste-testing.
When is the best time to taste test? The answer to getting the best result is to mix it up and compare the results – before heading out to a pub (or football match) where they only sell mainstream beer, before heading to a fine dining restaurant, as your knock-off drink, or with your usual home-cooked dinner. It’s an interesting exercise to contrast and compare.
Technical information on the hops, the malt and the brewing process and some amazing adjectives to describe the taste appear on the Snowy Mountain Brewery website - follow the link to their listing below.
First beer to lose its cap and sink into a glass was the Bullocks Pilsner. Beer tasting is quite similar to wine - the ritual is: swirl and check out the colour which is sunny and golden; aroma, which is slightly sweet but pleasant and now drink once and drink again. Bullocks Pilsner is very drinkable – it’s easy going across the palate with a pleasant and not overwhelming aftertaste. The tasting notes claim it “goes down like a pair of well-waxed skis” – a claim I’d probably agree with despite being a non-skier! Food-wise lighter dishes such as chicken and seafood would complement the subtle flavours of this beer.
Second cap off is the Razorback Red Ale. Given its lovely red hue, it’s obviously going to have some malty influences. Again the aroma is rich but not overpowering, mildly sweet and again pleasant. And the taste agrees with my nose’s verdict – its slightly biscuity without the crunch. Razorback is a full flavoured and well balanced beer with no overpowering aftertaste. It’s the sort of beer to really enjoy when you have time to relax, sit and savour. Charlie, our VisitVineyards.com Financial Manager, picked this as his Snowy beer of choice and we thought it would sit well with an eye fillet or even a strong cheese.
The third was Crackenback Pale Ale and this was decidedly different at first taste. It’s certainly not your usual Aussie pale ale (a la Coopers or Cascade) but brewed to the traditional American style. For those who like that particular flavour, this would be a great example, but at first attempt this taster couldn’t really get past the drink once and drink again - then give up. Importantly however, others from the VisitVineyards.com team also put these beers through their paces and they disagree with my verdict, which just proves that all taste is personal. No brewer makes every beer to suit every person – impossible - I came back to it later and that time it worked for me, as the first beer tasted on a clean palate. It was certainly a different experience. Crackenback Pale Ale would go very well with some mildly spicy food.
Last on the list was Charlotte’s Hefeweizen, named after the first woman to climb Mt Kosciusko in 1881, and I think Charlotte would have appreciated a cold one of these when she got there. It’s slightly cloudy but very easy to drink, especially if you are a friend of wheat beers. While it's hard to tell at this time of year in snowy Hobart, I'm pretty sure it would be a very refreshing beer come the warmer seasons.
All beers demonstrated the brewer’s stated objectives of brewing distinctive beers which would suit the après ski venue but would also be suited to the other varied climes of Australia. Hobart climate might prove ideal for taste testing Snowy Mountains beers, but the awards this brewer has been collecting recently show it’s not location, location, location but taste, taste, taste that plays the most important part.
The full range is very palatable and sure to be on the drinks list when they finally reach the shores of this island state (which does have some great skiing areas I might add). Meanwhile, distribution is virtually guaranteed at the NSW and Victorian snowfields but they’re also available in all the mainland capital cities.
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