The International #1 was already my favourite beer ever. This second brewing of it is almost as good. If you can get your hands on a bottle, I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a classic farmhouse/saison style.
So I popped my first ever bottle of home brew this evening. It’s definitely drinkable, so I did well with the sterilisation. The recipe I used is based of a pretty old-school pale ale (stone brewing’s original pale ale from the 90’s), as such it’s more Cooper’s than Pirate Life, but it’s not bad to drink and it packs a punch; it’s at least the 5.5%ABV that the recipe claims.
It probably needs another week or so to round out it out a bit more.
Yeah save a few for a bit as I notice the carbonation changes after you crack that first. Set one or two aside for a few months as well and see how it settles a lot further down the line.
One for @himmelblau - I’m having the Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier for the first time that I can remember right now. I see what you mean about Australian breweries not really mimicking the German style.
Newstead and green beacon are two of the best up there in my opinion. Across the river in Southbank is a craft beer bar called sacchromysses (spelling might be off) similar to bucket boys here in Sydney. Cracking selection of beers and owned and run by some great guys.