“The Platypus comes from us, (duck) and the Willamette hops (bill). Early Holden’s were painted a Platypus grey, hence the label colour. There is a pleasant earthy / woody hop aroma that complements the all Australian malt sweetness and body. As a medium bodied beer, Australian Pale Ales are intended to be rewardingly refreshing, but not overwhelming’.
This is the first we have ever heard of this brewery from Port Macquarie NSW. Poured into a shaker glass, the appearance displays a hazy golden orange with a short finger of white head that swells but peels off quite quickly, settling to a collar with minimal lacing on the glass. Earthy, sweet malt-driven aroma with doughy and biscuity undertones. Maybe a touch of grassy hops. Slightly muted and unbalanced, no real standout perfumes to speak of. In the mouth it’s mildly carbonated with a soft, rounded texture. Quite chewy. Mildly assertive bitter hops upfront make way for a caramel malty mid-palate. The short bitter finish rounds off a pretty average beer. Only 4% ABV so not a lot of help to the light body there either. To their credit, it seems the brewers were after a light and approachable English style pale ale so they’ve hit their target. Easy drinking though so we guess the upside is that it’s sessional, other than that it’s pretty disappointing.