Sail and Anchor new range reviews

Righto, post #365 (and on Christmas Day no less) deserves something special - here we go with a back-to-back, side by side tasting of the new range from Sail & Anchor.

Yes - it's a pub partially owned by faux-craft-hungry Woolworths branching out into its own range. Yes, these new beers have the potential to skew the focus of said establishment and its taps moving forward. But it's also one of the best beer bars in Australia we're talking about here - a place that consistently sources absolutely top shelf craft beer from around the world up to and including sours and other confronting styles.

As such I was cautiously optimistic heading into this. If Sail (well, Gage Roads) could produce a decent sort of range here it could only be a good thing both to cement it as a Freo institution, and to help drive more and more patrons toward craft beer. To put it more clearly, I want these to be good. I want them to succeed.

First impression having seen the range is it's disappointingly uninventive in what is a booming, exciting industry. Of four beers we have three potentially very similar styles: a 'pale', an 'amber', and a 'golden' - the other being a kolsch (incidentally, all four come out at pretty much exactly the same abv too, not a great sign). They're all named after sailors' knots, and marketed, well, interestingly.

Regardless, it's with the 4.6% Cat's Shank Kolsch we start.

I poured this one right down the middle of a large Weihenstephaner glass while chanting "the power of glass compels ye!" to try to induce a real German effort here, so the excess head isn't the beer's fault. It did however disappear pretty quickly.. pretty loose and shortlived. The beer itself is so clear as to be mystifying as to how they've filtered it.. it literally looks like light yellow water. You can easily read a computer screen through the glass. Weird. I don't know, maybe the average consumer really rates clarity or something, but as a brewer it just seems really very artificial when targeted to this level. Certainly doesn't look like beer.

The aroma isn't bad, sort of wheaty German notes playing with a note of lemon. But the flavour itself is gone in an instant, a fleeting miasma of sweet macro beer notes and candied lemon. Carbonation is admirably low here (at least, if you smash it in a big glass) which provides no barrier at all to basically inhaling this.

Inoffensive but unmemorable beer. Not bad.. but hard to find any really redeeming features either. 4.0


Next up the amber. Nice hops on the nose actually, darker hue but still very transparent.

Ambers can be pretty insipid stuff when done wrong, and this too carries a character of mostly (only?) miscellaneous sweet malts. It's not too bad ice-cold first up and the blatant overcarbonation at least hides the sweetness a little.

Once it settles however this becomes a real "vodka-cruiser" sort of a 5%-er, sugary rather than malty, processed feeling, not great. Too sweet by a distance. 3.5


Next up the pale ale, chosen because I frankly couldn't handle the thought of drinking a "golden" straight after that amber.

To be frank though this is the worst thus far - insipid clear yellow pour, indistinct sweet nose, horrid sweet brewkit sort of a sticky body, no hops to speak of, utter rubbish.

There is a vague hint of woody Australian yeast in the background there but it's a slap in the face to the wider industry. Why is it sometimes brewers (or perhaps more accurately marketers) choose 'pale ale' as the slops bucket for all their junk? Couldn't finish it, undrinkable. 2.0


Finally the Golden.

Again - and expected by now - this is unnaturally clear. It's a reasonable hue though for the golden moniker, shame the fluffy white head doesn't hang around.

I complained about the 'sameness' of these beers earlier - this illustrates it nicely in actively calling itself "amber" on the label. Smells of not much at all to be honest, maybe just a hint of noble hops. Vague sweetness.

Jesus it's an unexpected taste .. slightly fizzy again but wow, what this is I really don't know. It has a sweaty, old clothing sort of aroma when you first drink it and doesn't do anything to improve from there before a fizzy tonic water finish. Really quite disturbing. What have they done here? I have no idea how I'd even go about recreating this in the brewhouse - not that you'd want to. Horrible. 0.5


Overall then this is pretty poor. Given the commercial interests in play here I wasn't expecting brilliance or anything outrageous: it was always going to be a "peoples' session beer" sort of approach, and there's nothing at all inherently wrong with that. The sceptical part of me would also expect things to degrade over time after launch once the line is established, but for the beer on day one to come out like this is a real disappointment. It reeks of cost cutting, profiteering, and either a disdain or misreading of the clientele who have made this place what it is.

Given that four taps are permanently burdened with these at the Sail now, and other signs (lack of guest tap labels / crippled beer menu etc) pointing toward pushing them out, to a craft beer fan it's really not a good sign for the pub as a whole. Here's hoping it's not the beginning of the end.

Burleigh Brewing HEF

HEF, the label boldly proclaims. I've got to say I like the moustache on there too. Subtle but persuasive, like a well practiced pool boy.

Hef here also won gold at the world beer cup in 2012 - quite the achievement in what is a class filled with competition both new and ye olde. I'm not one to place too much store in these awards overall but drinking this, it's easy to see how it's done so well.

Perfectly on style it seems with all of the elements you'd expect from a hefeweizen, the beer also manages a lovely mouthfeel to ensure you experience it all as you drink. Typical banana, cloves, sweet yeasty notes, creamy head. Nothing radical, just a bloody good hef. Trust in the mo.

Good stuff, needs a retry, looking forward to slamming back a 6-pack over the summer sometime.. 8.0

Mikkeller Dry Stout

A hitherto unencountered combination I think - Mikkeller, doing a stout, that's light and sessionable, with no chili or herbs or buffalo or anything added. Curious?

Indeed this is a 4.1% dry stout in the mould of Murphy's or similar. If you're a dark beer nut like I am you might get obsessed with the bigger ones from time to time (phwoar eh) but this style is a tool in the dark arsenal and can be a rather pleasant session drink.

Mikkeller's effort is pretty much right on target - nose of predominately chocolate malt is on the light side, but appealing. The taste too is restrained from being too sweet, speaking more of dry cocoa than melted chocolate, but with a smooth dry lasting finish. Good stuff indeed when you want something to throw back with a bit of chocolate character and no heft whatsoever. Pick it up in growler / squealer format if you can, unless the Mikkeller moniker has ruined the price out of range for the abv.

It's all very light, sure, and you might normally call foul on its watery presence. The difference - this time it's by design. Respect. 7.5

Cantillon Gueze 100% Lambic Bio

A latecomer to the record as such - I've had this several times now and loved it on each occasion.

This is a bit of a classic in the world of lambic Gueze and with good reason. It's a beer-like pour alright, grainy light amber delivery with a snow white top. Still, you won't be in any doubt as to what's coming if you have any sort of olfactory capacity whatsoever: the sour nose really fills the room, sharp and vinous.

Make no mistake, this beer is sour, above and beyond the usual Flemish tartness. It is more crisp than others in this field, more sharp, less grainy and more extreme. All of this is delivered via a slightly fizzy carbonation, but that again works well with the beer itself.

The clean sour notes are maybe closer to vinegar than white wine and drive through any and all things that came before as the ultimate palate cleanser. Beyond that though I find it a compelling beer in its own right, hitting a crisp clear note of sourness that becomes a real obsession. "The Champagne of Belgium" indeed.

A delicious and eye-opening drinking experience. Highly recommended to all who can finance the crippling addiction drinking it will surely bring. 9.5

Kooinda Milk Porter

Back to Kooi for a new arrival, their milk porter with lactose.

This is a slightly lighter than expected pour, with a loose uncommitted head that's soon gone. The wateriness comes through a little on the smell too which is a wavering cross between a foreign extra stout and a choc porter.

Hmm. It's not bad this, a milk porter very much in style, with the silky sweetness coming through nicely. Nothing revolutionary here but competent and on target.

While milk porters are never a massive beer, I felt this could have been a bit fuller malt-wise to take full benefit from the mellow lactose. As it is it's just a little too light on - pleasant but not compelling. 6.5

Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René

A quick shared snifter of gueze mid session always clears out the tasting valves, or whatever they are.

It's a corked effort this one, always nice to see. Nice bottle all round in fact and pours with a low patina of crisp white head.

Definitive gueze delivery here: bitey nose and bitey taste, with slight alc and wheat present on the finish. It is sour - not as much as some other lambics but still enough for people to make faces when they drink it.

Good reliable stuff, balanced and dry. I like the look, and I like the nose - but I want more and more sourness from these! It's a growing addiction.. 7.5

Lindemans Faro Lambic

A new type of lambic to try - this one's a Faro, which I gather are generally sweetened and diluted versions of the proper sort.

I'm not sure what if anything was used to season this one but the caramel input's certainly come through to change the typical lambic development. The aroma is still sour with berry notes, but it also smells a bit more like a beer than normal.

Taste too is restrained, somewhat sweeter than the norm and somehow artificial because of it. The sourness takes a back seat in this and there's a sense you're drinking something a bit more like a cordial cocktail than anything else. It's sticky, and a bit artificial.

I suppose you could make a case for this as a sort of training wheels assisted pathway beer to the world of sours - but I'm not sure you're giving the right message.

It's probably more to do with the style than the creation of this beer but I didn't much enjoy it. Go the whole unadulterated thing or don't do it at all. 4.0

Lobethal Bohemian Philsner

Hurr hurr, Philsner.

More importantly though it's both the first beer at what I'm told is an Adelaide institution The Wheatsheaf, and the first tap beer from Lobethal Bierhaus, part of what is an increasingly endangered species of Adelaide breweries.

Additionally, it's pretty good for a Pilsner and slid down very nicely after the 4.5km walk to get to this place. Good looking beer, pretty nondescript nose but a good bite first up then clean finish. Pilsner.

Good stuff! 7.0

SorA'LaMA' gulp! Apple beer

"Gulp" is right, after my last experience (review upcoming) with this mob's frankly unlikeable barleywine.

I seem to have misplaced the image here which would normally invalidate the review .. but then, I feel it's kind of like a public service to review this one anyway. You'll see why. Pretty bloody elaborate packaging around the label above in any case, winelike plastic wrap over the bottletop for a beer with the mighty 4.2% abv.

This is supposed to be an apple beer of some description, with a nose of biscuit and lemon for the most part. Little bit of sweet apple around the edges if you search, and visually it's there certainly. Massive chunks - less chunks, more meteorites really - swirling around in this.

It pours with a pretty good head actually considering the above, though the chunks don't blend in even with agitation.

In practice .. 'lagerish' is the word that comes to mind. The mouthfeel's not bad but the contents thereof are bitey metallic offerings, the burnt and charred remnants of ales sadly lost. Bit of apple in there but covered in a blanket of things unwell.

To be honest I don't really see what the point of this was as a commercial release above and beyond the brewhouse 'experiment'. Worse than a cider and worse than a beer.

Hmm. 3.0

Anchor Steam Beer

Made in San Fran since 1896, this beer is a bit of a classic.

It also "is virtually handmade" according to the bottle. Not sure if a computer makes it by hand, or if they're treading a line here with mechanisation, or if it's a copout. The label also informs me that no-one knows what a steam beer is.. kind of arrogant. And then it says Anchor is "one of the smallest and most traditional breweries in the world". Seriously? I think plenty of breweries would argue with both of those points.. not a fan of the hyperbole.

Regardless, slightly darker pour than expected maybe, flat, pilslike nose but with something more there too.. a bit more body in line with (defining?) the California Common style. First impression actually involves a bit of nutty character both on aroma and taste. Aroma not great overall, but flavour profile actually rather good for a session beer. It has taste, and a light watery body that makes you want to scull it. All good says I, and I put it away forthwith.

So - writing a lot of fucking cheques there Anchor. Good thing for you that the beer cashes at least some of them. 7.5

McAuslan St Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale

Darkish pour for a 5% beer, and no real head to speak of. Both easily enough explained by the way this is, well, an apricot wheat ale of all things.

For me at least buying a beer like this is an interesting experience, as expectations are set kind of low for the most part, but matched against a thin ray of hope it may be a flavour sensation. In this case, you first encounter a nose reminiscent an alcoholic apricot marmalade, thick, heavy, syrupy and sweet. Taste is definitely apricot, with a welcome spicy citrus finish. Sort of like a liquid apricot danish in places.

I'm not sure if this is brewed with fruit - or more correctly, how the fruit is used to achieve this effect, but it's reasonably heavy to me particularly for the 5%.

Overall, not my favourite beer but hey - I didn't really expect it to be. This does exactly what it says it would, and there's no point getting upset about that. Nice work, interesting idea well executed. 7.0

Woolshed Brewery W Amazon Ale

Champagne glass pour.. bit limited with hotel rooms unfortunately.

Why the hotel? I had come to Adelaide, where while there's a Coopers flag outside every bar (no seriously - every bar), and a couple of Coopers Pale Ales in every hotel minifridge (a definite improvement on the norm), it seems wider craft is floundering. I hunted down a bottle-o to check out some locals and after the server has leisurely taken his 10 minutes to run up my 4 bottles, cracked into this hitherto unforeseen rare bird of an ale.

It's a very clear pour here with a reasonable fizzy head. The nose gives up pils metallicisms first off but then delivers something a bit sweeter, I had thought honey or something perhaps, combined with probably Australian Pale Ale yeast.

The body is pretty sweet overall, but also delivers some nice nutty characters at odds with anything I was expecting and these become more apparent as it warms. It's a bit of a spin first up but not bad once you're used to what you're getting, though there is still just that tiny itchy hint of metal on the finish holding it back.

Label says it's their inaugural brew made using solar energy, rainwater, and 100% recyclable techniques (good thing here, I hate seeing places using unique brewing techniques every time that aren't reuseable). Quite enjoyable on the whole - keep doing what you're doing, chaps. Perhaps there is a future for Adelaide after all ? 6.0

Lucky Beer

As frequently mentioned on this blog, appearance is important to good beer.

The bottle of this beer is pretty cool. The beer itself however looks insipid. A bottle such as this could signify dedication, fine attention to detail and a sense of humour - or just a desire to draw attention away from what's inside it. Given the appearance, I'm leaning toward the latter.

Lucky is quite clear like a pale lager, no real head to speak of, nose of spice / asian rice lager / slight bitterness. Taste wise is where this really falls down, delivering a too-sweet, too-flat experience indolent with metals and skunky dead lager notes that make you wonder what's actually in it. It certainly doesn't taste like water, malts, hops, or yeast.

Aeration could be improved here to make it a bit more refreshing - as it is, it's maybe a little undercarbed, which in this case forces an unnatural focus on the flavours or lack thereof.

Not much fun sadly, and some distance behind the other common Chinese challenger Tsingtao. Lucky I only had one. 1.0

Kooinda Red Ale

Exciting times: a new Kooinda to try!

Interesting pour this, a fair bit darker than expected particularly given the conciliatory abv. Nose is of nuts but also some sticky sugary notes, slight sour citrus to balance. Not quite what I was expecting all round, but not bad nonetheless.

Taste-wise there's a nice nutty presence but also a little bit of sourness and almost metallic sort of character that limits full enjoyment.. it's fine beer in itself but you're left longing for a softer palate to avoid any jarring notes. You're looking, in short, for Rogue.

It's a short review but it feels to be honest like a 'shorter' beer than most everything else from Kooinda. Far from bad - but in a context of frequent brilliance from this stable, just a little off the pace. 7.0

Victoria Bitter (VB)

So.. a premium lager known that brings to mind images of bogans more than beer afficionados. How would it stack up these days?

We all know these macro produced premium lagers are not going to stack up to the more refined nuances of craft beer. But, well, sometimes needs must, and there must therefore be a craft drinker's premium lager.. the best of a bad lot, if we're being crude.

Which brings us to VB. I approached this with a grin and little expectation I'd manage to finish the glass but to be honest it's palatable enough for what it is, and ahead of a couple of other examples I'd been force fed recently. The pour is highly aerated and an insiped clear amber colour with a fleeting bubbly head. Aroma is Ringwood, metallic notes, dead malt. Not impressive. But taste.. well it does at least have some sort of character to it, ie it has a number of stages that it progresses through from a burst of bitter nondescript ground hops first up, to a malty flat denouement.

There's not a lot of complexity to the flavour but hey - I managed to finish 3/4 of the glass before tipping it out and actually enjoyed (to a point) most of it. Early frontrunner in the macro lager cup? 2.5

2 Brothers Growler American Brown Ale

Inspired by their recent collabeeration with Feral, we were quite looking forward to this one.

And for once our confidence was not misplaced as 2 Brothers have delivered a very pleasing brown ale here with a lot of character and complexity. Looking forward to trying the rest of their range given a chance now.. could be yet another strong Victorian producer to add to the crowd.

Shame about the confusing choice of title though - whoever heard of drinking a growler from a squealer, or from a bottle for that matter?

Dark body and tan head good to look at, dead brown dry but floral nose. It's pretty expressive from early on and doesn't let up. The big biscuit and buttery malt flavours that give this one a nice sense of presence and permanence for its 4.7%. Enjoyed this beer and would drink again in a flash. 7.5

Nøgne Ø Havrestout

Are you waiting for someone?

Why not drink a stout in the park? At night? By yourself? From the bottle?

.. what do you mean, alcoholic?

I'll have you know I selected this specifically for its low alcohol (4.5%) and to see if those prodigies from Nøgne Ø could succeed in a quest I must admit I found unlikely: to make a full flavoured, easy drinking stout for the masses at a low ABV.

The nose is pleasant but introverted here and to be honest, the beer itself is more of the same. Light coffee, sultana, it's none of it unpleasant but a little fizzy in the mouth. I feel Nøgne have succeeded in producing a stout here that avoids some of that 'empty', watery character that plagues a lot of lighter efforts. In doing so however they've hit up against the reality of the limitations of such a lightweight body and produced a beer that arguably, fails to deliver some of the real pleasures of darker beers.

This beer may be an OK gateway introduction to those unaccustomed to the world of stout, but personally I think it's more the stigma attached to dark beers, rather than their alcohol content that really puts people off. 6.5

Holgate Mt Macedon Ale

Sometimes you have the beer for an occasion and not the food, or vice versa.

Happily, matched tentatively with home cooked yakiniku complete with the spicy miso and lettuce leaves, this proved a very good fit and alas evaporated quickly when shared with the wife.

The initial pour here is almost oily, quite heavy and inert for the style, producing a low head and deep amber colour. Not bad, but at this stage not really building any high expectations.

The aroma is where that starts to happen - nice APA strains, fruity, on the sweet side but bitterness also foretold and proclaimed. Yum.

It's immediately clear upon tasting that inspiration here has been hung drawn and quartered from the Little Creatures Pale Ale school of beering, but it's another thing entirely to execute, and this beer delivers an impressively balanced and massively drinkable drop that ticks all the right boxes for this style. Deep lasting malt with nuts and caramel support a spicy, bitter bite of lasting hops, very refreshing stuff. My immediate thoughts are a strong lament I can't buy this by the carton. Top stuff. 8.0

Youngs Bitter (bottle conditioned)

This is the bottle conditioned version, weighing in at a still paltry 4.5% compared to the normal 3.7%.

And, well, it pours and looks like a big English mug of English bitter. A closer look reveals this is distinctly orange rather than amber in colour, lighter than expected, transparent, and the head dissipates as if embarrassed to be around. Nose of bitter, macro lager notes, not much caramel, with the slightest hint of nut on the denouement. I'm glad the dog above is interested because I'm not, this is not enticing.

At this point I actually started wondering if its actually going to be bitter, or some sort of horrid hybrid lager ale instead. But indeed after a pretty pilsner sort of start it does mellow with a little talk of caramel. Taste wise it is pretty nondescript but never unpleasant per se. I just found it eminently boring throughout and far from compelling. A beer that takes effort to drink and still makes me yawn is not going to be purchased again. 3.0

Renaissance Craftsman Chocolate Porter

Another porter from the NZ crew at Renaissance - after surprising with their first one, could they deliver another cocoa winner?

This time around the brew is explicitly a chocolate oatmeal porter and so starts life with some quite clearly defined targets at which to aim. But while it hits the mark with the basic chocolate vanilla roast characteristics of the aroma and flavour, there's a disappointing lack of real smooth velvet body that keeps it from hitting greatness. I also felt it was perhaps a little green in the middle .. but upon checking it was approaching the end of its 'best before', not the start (and yes, it was a best before rather than a best after).

So, a recommendation? To me it depends on price. If you see this for cheap, it will not let you down. But if you've access to Mildura Brewery's Choc Hops for example you'll save some dosh and procure a better beer in the process. 7.0