There was a time 10 years ago all I drank was triple ipas and imperial stouts.
Man, that’s a heavy trip to lay on yourself.
I’m back to lagers purely because they’re generally cheaper.
I think the move back to lagers and lighter styles could also be down to having the first hot and humid summer in close to 5 years.
There’s nothing refreshing about a 9% double IPA and there’s far too much going on in those big, thick hazy’s that One Drop, Mountain Culture etc. put out.
Even I’ve stepped right back with Coopers or Balter XPA being the biggest beer I’ve been drinking but I’ve been partial to a Super Crisp or 2 this summer.
Can’t wait for our 2 months of winter so I can get stuck into the big stouts again though.
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I honestly think it’s to do with the fact that most of them can’t be told apart. Mountain Culture could release 3 beers of the same style a week and you couldn’t pick them apart. At one point they were relying on FOMO to sell beer, unfortunately [for their bottom lines] they can’t afford to brew that many new beers anymore and people can’t afford to buy them.
Hopefully it results in them actually putting a bit of effort into brewing stuff that tastes different. 82 NEIPAs that taste marginally different is not the way forward for beer in Australia. I’ll drink 100 seabass lagers to every 1 one of those beers at the moment, zero regrets.
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And also fashion. Booze is just as fashion driven as anything else. I’m just happy that the obsession with creating beers that taste like your grandma’s rose garden seems to be on the wane.
A mate brought this back from the US for me with it being less than 2 months from bottling date.
Lighter bodied than I imagined but the bitterness is so well balanced that the 8% ABV would become dangerous if I was left alone at their brew pub.
Definitely an old school WCIPA with citrus and pine aromas jumping out of the glass.
It is an icon for a reason.
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I like the old school bottle with the thick lips.
They were the primo score back in the day for home brewing.
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Cheap kegging equipment has made bottling a very niche market now in the HB community but Coopers long necks probably still reign supreme there.
I have always wanted to try this. So hard to get, unless you’re in the know…
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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One of the greats.
Went to the brewery a few years back, was absolutely rammed on a random Wednesday lunchtime in September. Lived up to the hype.
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Deeds are the latest brewery to enter administration.
Like a lot of other breweries they’re citing a debt owed to the ATO that was accrued during COVID as being the major factor.
This follows on from Wayward screwing everyone over, Hawkers entering administration around 3 weeks ago and Big Shed following suit about a fortnight ago.
Willie the Boatman sold to an English Brewery last week as well.
I have it on good authority that a major Sydney craft brewery is very close to being the next one to go.
Definitely is a tumultuous time in the industry.
Is it true that administrators negotiate to pay the ATO bill at ten cents on the dollar? I assume there’s a strike against them or something if this is just a way to hack your way out of a bill.
What’d Wayward do?
There is also a shortage of CO2 meaning some places can’t can.
Offered all of their creditors 10c in the dollar, not just the ATO and they owed just about everyone in the industry apparently.
They went down the path of “full restructure” where just about the only person not affected was the owner.
Everyone associated with a brewery that I’ve talked to do not have a good word to say about them anymore. Basically everyone is struggling and they’re trying to help each other out as best they can yet Wayward went down the path of shorting everyone (suppliers).
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Absolutely spot on here.
Essentially this is last chance saloon for them and it will be tight conditions as suppliers will be fairly strict in terms of what they offer them. Creditors won’t cop any similar deed of arrangement again should they go into administration and the ATO would simply seek a winding up order.
It’s wild that the ATO won’t negotiate before an administrator steps in, only to accept 10c for every dollar owed.
Inconsistent too. Some breweries have been allowed to go on a payment plan, others have been told to pay 100% immediately.
Imagine giving away 90% of a debt, rather than collecting 100% over a few years.
We might be able to build roads and tunnels that aren’t tolled up the wazoo. Imagine that.
Quick review of the breweries on my roadtrip.
Mudgee Brewing - bang average beer selection. Didn’t get past looking at the beer list.
Three Tails - nice selection of beers. Nothing stood out apart from maybe their stout which was on the sweeter side. Think a toned down Big Shed Golden Stout Time. Actually now that I think about it that might have been a guest tap from Nomad. Best smoked wings I have ever had though.
Badlands - Nice beers overall. Good location right on the main street of Orange. Good music selection until they completely switched it up midway through my 2nd beer.
Reckless - Still here. Nice venue. Beers are good. Wonky pool table.
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