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“With a big malt body and the crisp aroma of old-world noble hops, our Bohemian is a real lager, made with pride and sweat.”

Picked this one and a bunch of others from this brewery up in a small little independent bottle shop in Bendigo. The head brewer (Doug Brooke) and his wife initially opened the brewery in 2013. A year later they were opening the doors to their brewery bar. Poured into a shaker glass the appearance displays a translucent amber that reveals orange hues when held against the light. The head stubbornly held for a minute but eventually collapsed to a fine covering without much lacing. For a lager this aroma produces a hefty hop profile. New world hops in fact bring up subtle pine, spice and citrus but balance out nicely with earthy malts, caramel and grain. Mildly carbonated with a soft, rounded mouth feel. Initially there’s a slight tingling bitterness on the tongue. Citrus, grain and toffee malts open up through the mid-palate which leads to a soft fruit-driven finish with a nice bitterness in the tail. The 5.2% ABV is slightly above average but is certainly well hidden. Just a very mild bite at the back end adds good depth and a touch of warmth on this cool night. Impressive. Not bad at all for a small micro brewery in Bendigo. Big ups guys.

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“Cool Hops Lager (Ranked best pale lager in the world, 2014 ratebeer, and highest score in category, Craft Beer Awards 2014) is the only permanent release from EDGE, with a handful of limited releases available at any given time.”

Gypsy brewers Adam Betts and Christian Skovdal Andersen of Edge brewing project in Melbourne, VIC are probably one of the most well known, small scale micro brewers in Australia. This lager is their only permanent release but there are a few other seasonal’s and collaboration beers that they brew when “desired”. Poured into a shaker glass. The appearance displays a cloudy amber/orange with a tightly held 1 finger cap. Good head retention and lacing. Off the nose we get a good balance of cereal grains, spice, grassy hops and citrus. There’s a subtle and overall nutty earthiness that does add some depth and extra dimension to the aroma. Mild-medium carbonation with a silky soft mouth feel. Medium bodied. So evenly balanced throughout the whole palate. Subtle hop bitterness, citrus, biscuity malts, grain and caramel all mingle together to produce a very well rounded and super sessional lager. Big ups to Edge for putting out this highly palatable offering. We really liked it.

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From New Orleans USA , this lager pours like straw gold, with a nice head that fades away to nothing. Nice malty nose. We are unable to detect much hops. The nice thing about this lager is that it is real smooth. Not too bubbly in the mouth and no ugly bitterness on the back of the throat. Sitting at 4.5% this beer is perfect for seafood on a warm day, as its a tad watery but that’s what you expect with a lager. Interesting to note, this brewery was decimated in hurricane katrina and had the beer brewed in Europe.

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Other than the staple diet of bin tang, this other well known Indonesian lager is what is consumed in Bali. At some point this beer won medals at the Australian international beer awards, as seen on the side of the can. The way this beer is described is ‘experience perfection’…hmmm we’d have to question that. Got that typical lager nose with little hops, bit of malt and rice. Maybe a hint of crackers in here too. Reminds us of the million other lagers drunk in warm climates such as Asia. Thin mouth feel. Very watery. The flavour is much the same, malty sweet with little character. Hints of corn and wet cardboard with an abrupt finish. It’s 5% ABV and goes down quite smooth. We’d certainly drink this type of lager over say a crown lager but other than that we’ll wait until another trip to Bali until we return to this one.

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“Dogbolter was one of the first two beers Matilda Bay ever made. It got its name from a particular incident in the early stages of its brewing. Dogs have always been around breweries, as have cats – cats keep the mice under control, dogs keep the cats under control. One day in the early stages of experimentation with it, an extra-strong batch of the beer was thrown out, and the brewery dog got into it. The dog flipped out, made a run for it, and Dogbolter was born”.

Poured into a dimpled mug. The dark brown appearance reveals a soft crimson hue when held against the light. Capping it off is a finger’s worth of foamy tanned head which steadily reduced to a light film. Laced reasonably well, a bit streaky and wet but enough to leave some good residue. Quite well balanced on the nose. We get a good whack of decadent chocolate malts and cocoa against a very delicate grassy hop character. There is a certain fruity sweetness that’s creeping through too, almost like cherries or chocolate covered strawberries. Very nice. Subtle undertones of toffee, molasses and licorice really bring up the bottom end well. Decent aroma for Matilda Bay! Quite thinnish in the mouth which is a tad disappointing. Carbonation levels are mild and the body is about medium, leaning more to the lighter side if anything. The upside is no flavour is forsaken for a soft mouth feel. The taste buds are treated to a dose of caramel, bready malts and a hint of molassesy sweetness upon entry. As it pushes forward the mid takes on a subtle roasty bitterness which lingers on through to the finish. A nice, little cameo of hop bitterness arrives late and rounds off the back palate with decent length. Not bad, honestly…not bad at all. We are always a bit hesitant with this brewery as it’s been sold off to CUB but this one, along with the Alpha pale ale, would have to be their best two beers by far. Solid winter warmer.

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Mikkeller’s ‘The American Dream’ is an innovative and very intricate concept conceived by Dirk Naudts from De Preof Brewery in Belgium and Mikkel from…Mikkeller obviously. Their website delves in to a process with 4 tasting panelists that review the aroma, flavour and bitterness of the beer over a 126 day period, essentially to pin point the best time to consume this lager. Very avant-garde.

Poured into a flute glass and the appearance is displaying a clear amber with a finger’s worth of head which gradually fades to a thin film on top. Reasonable head retention and lacing. Solid American hop-forward aroma with hints of herbs, pine, grapefruit and orange peel dominating over the restrained biscuity malt backing. Unbalanced but as huge hop fans we’re liking this. Carbonation is moderate with a slightly dry mouth feel. Medium weight in the body. We get a lot of bittering citrus hops upfront that lead to a splash of grapefruit through the mid-palate. Some sweet malts begin to develop which bridge nicely on to the dry, crisp finish. Decent length for a lager. The 4.6% ABV is surprisingly low for such a flavoursome beer, it was quite an interesting lager because it struck us as more of a powerful APA than anything else. Either way we look at it, it’s a highly enjoyable beer with a lot of thought behind it.

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We actually picked this bottle up from a little family winery named Gundog, in the Hunter Valley NSW. So the question we were asking was why would a Danish brewery label their beer with a red & white striped US diner-style strip? Well, the head brewer opened up a US inspired burger bar in Copenhagen and called it “burger & bun” and brewed an American style lager for the grand opening. Let’s say we were satisfied with the answer.

Poured into a shaker glass and displaying a hazy copper orange with a thick 1 finger head which slowly reduced to a fine covering on top. Laced well. Off the nose we detect a malt driven aroma with hints of biscuit, grassy hops and a hint of citrus. Soft floral notes also open up after being glassed for a certain amount of time. Medium carbonation with a slightly dry mouth feel. Upfront we picked up soft grassy hops with a mild biscuit malt to balance. This leads to an earthy mid palate with a short, dry finish with a vibrant bitterness on the back end. 5% ABV is spot on. Wow, one of the best things about this is that it doesn’t drink like a lager at all. Nice weight, well hopped and all on a solid malt backing. Good offering.

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Picked up a 6 pack of these for a mates BBQ. Wouldn’t normally go for a standard looking lager (especially with the selection at Dan Murphy’s) but it was a hot summer’s afternoon so something crisp and refreshing was in need.

Poured into a shaker glass. The clear gold appearance presents with a fizzy 1 finger head that diminishes quickly to a ring of foam with out much lacing. The aroma is quite subdued. Malt sweetness, grains, vegetables and light wafts of sour dough and biscuit come forward. Mild carbonation and mild-medium bitterness in the mouth. Light bodied. Crisp hops upfront lead to sweet honeyed malts in the mid palate. Grainy, malty finish with a mild bitterness on the back end. Average length. 4.9% ABV. We weren’t expecting a whole lot with this and that’s pretty much how it summed up. As expected, there wasn’t much to review on but it’s a well balanced, sessional lager…. that’s about it.

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You will usually see us giving Matilda bay a little flack for selling out to a bigger parent company, but we have to stop and think, hey these guys still brew some pretty good beers, and the upside is…when you are forced to enter that run down pub with a selection of tap beer you could only ever groan at, the matilda bay beers are there to shine a little light on the situation. This is usually one of those beers.

We served this bottled version in a mug. Very clear and translucent pour generates a tightly packed 1 finger head that reduces to a 5mm crown. The head retains well and omits a healthy lace trail down the glass. Very stock standard lager aroma here. Corn chips, whole grains, mild citrus, stone fruit and toast is all we can really get off of it. The mouth feel isn’t too bad it actually has some weight to it. The texture is slightly oily with mild-medium carbonation. Medium body. The flavour is to be expected…sweet bready malts from beginning to end with a little cameo of fruity hops in the mid and a light hop bitterness to finish. 4.7% ABV is on par. Look, it’s nothing more than a lightly crafted lager. In its defence, we usually despise lagers but this one was bearable, and if put in that situation, could session on this all arvo. If that’s any consolation.

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“Imagine the world’s two most popular brews coming together in one glass”.

We love this concept, if you don’t find us in the pub or at home sinking crafties on the weekend you’ll see us in a cafe sipping on coffees. These 2 flavours are meant for each other..like 2 peas in a pod. Served in a dimpled mug the opaque, cola-like pour produces a short, filmy tan head that retains quite well but minimal lacing is shown. Gorgeous wafts of roasted espresso dominates the nose. Undertones of vanilla, dark chocolate, toffee and roasted dark malts also come through handing this nose a rich decadence. Medium carbonation with moderate body. We guess this is where the lager side comes in as the body isn’t heavy like a porter or a stout, just really well balanced. Flavour is delicious. Espresso dominates the palate with a subtle hint of hops, roasted malts, chocolate and a touch of leather. Bitter espresso finish that lingers well on to the back end. A modest 5% ABV doesn’t add much to the flavour but it doesn’t take any away either. Really impressed with the overall balance, all the hallmarks of a tasty stout are here but with the light body of a lager. Good drop.

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“Cellar Door has often been cited as the most beautiful sounding phrase in the English language, its practical usage in brewing relates to the location of a brewers storage and/or sales rooms. In Australia it is probably more commonly known for its application in the winemaking industry however appears to have originally gained popularity in the US through the rise of speakeasies during the prohibition (which were often hidden in basements).”

Served in a dimpled mug the amber pour reveals copper highlights when held against the light. Capping it off is a quickly fading finger of white head that reduced to minimal lacing. The aroma boasts doughy and malty sweet characters with quaint undertones of caramel, toffee and biscuit. Almost non-existent hop aromas with a very muted undertone of white fleshed fruits barely coming through. Pretty simple. The carbonation is mild-moderate with low bitterness. The mouth feel is smooth with high session ability. On the tongue it’s slightly grainy upfront with hints of sweet malts, followed by caramel/toffee notes through the mid. Soft, malty finish with a light bitterness in the background. Good length. 5.5% ABV is bang on. Just a well rounded, highly sessional Märzen style lager. Nice one lads, highly drinkable small batch lager here.

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On tap at the brewery bar in Mt.Duneed, Geelong VIC. Clear golden pour with a thin but lasting white head that omits webbed lacing down the glass. Simple aroma consisting of German wheat, grains, spice, biscuity malts and hay. Mild carbonation and bitterness in the mouth. Moderately bodied. Flavour is also quite simple, it’s easy to tell that this lager was brewed for mass consumption at Oktoberfest celebrations. Grainy, malty and slightly spicy with a touch of German wheat makes for the perfect session lager. Maybe a hint of citrus tartness in here too. Clean, refreshing finish. Pretty easy to sit on this one for a while. Not a bad beer on this beautiful, warm day.

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“Anchor Steam’s® roots go back to the Gold Rush, long before icehouses and modern refrigeration made traditional lagers a viable California option. In 1876, thanks to an ice pond in the mountains and a belief that anything is possible in the Golden State, a little brewery named Boca created California’s first genuine lager. Anchor California Lager® is our re-creation of this historic American beer.”

From the bottle into a shaker glass, the translucent golden pour produced a fine 1 inch white head that maintains well. OK lacing. Along with the standard wafts of sweet malts, popcorn and grain, the whole Cluster hops that are used are offering crisp herbal perfumes while soft undertones of toast and a hint of bubblegum also come through. Not a bad aroma for a lager. In the mouth it feels smooth and round with medium carbonation. Medium body. Upfront we detect the standard sweet malts with a mild hop bitterness. Maybe a subtle hint of honey as well. Some light herbal notes in the mid-palate deliver a clean, crisp finish with lingering grain on the back end. 4.9% ABV. Without being too critical, lagers are just way too simple. Although, these guys have done pretty well to make a boring beer somewhat enjoyable. Hardly anything to get excited over though. OK beer at best.

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“Israel’s most beloved and best selling beer. Red lager (in bottom fermentation) with a unique taste and aroma. Goldstar is based on a recipe dating back over 60 years from a mixture of hops to give clear and roasted taste in a traditional process which gives her the deep flavor. 4.9% alcohol.”

This is our first crack at an Israeli beer. Served in a shaker glass it pours a dark gold with copper highlights. Capping it off is a short white head that gradually deconstructs to a light dusting on top. Minimal lacing. A twirl of the glass produces a doughy, earthy aroma. Also wafts of raw nuts, corn flakes and caramel come through. Mild-medium carbonation and a silky mouth feel. Medium body. The fore-flavour is slightly metallic but it’s followed by more complex flavours of toasted bread, caramel, dark fruits and a biscuity malt on the back palate. Slightly abrupt finish with a hint of malt sweetness. The 4.9% ABV works well with the beer overall. All up, it wasn’t a bad drop but it’s nothing memorable.

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“Since their invention in the 1840s, Pilsener-style beers have become the world’s most popular style. With a nod toward the original Czech tradition, Summerfest is brewed to feature the best of Bohemian nature. Crisp, golden, dry and incredibly drinkable, Summerfest has a delicate and complex malt flavor and spicy and floral hop character—the perfect warm weather beer.”

As we wipe the sweat off our brow on this warm Sydney day we thought a crisp, refreshing lager would be a fitting beverage. We served in a dimpled mug. This pilsner-style lager pours a slightly hazy gold with a compacted white head that peels off quite quickly, forming a halo around the glass with minimal lacing. A vigorous twirl of the glass struggles to lift the very delicate aroma that mainly consists of herbal saaz hops, honey, light citrus and bready malts. A little too restrained for our liking. Swishing the beer around the mouth provides a light texture with mild carbonation. Medium bodied. Upfront we got a subtle grainy malt sweetness with a mild lingering hop bitterness. A soft hint of citrus props up in the mid and leads to the crisp, refreshing finish. Reasonable length. At 5% ABV it’s a perfect beer for a hot afternoon session. A little bland for this brewery but overall it wasn’t a bad addition to this brewery’s huge repertoire.

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This lager from India is fairly basic. To be honest it’s more of a premium imported than a craft beer, but we had a few lying around after we bought a case of them so we thought we’d do a review. Served in a shaker glass the golden pour offers excellent clarity. Carbonation is slightly inactive as any formation of head is instantly relinquished. Laced poorly. Standard lager perfumes, we pick up light florals, sweet malts, rice crackers and buttered popcorn. The mouth feel is soft and round with reasonable weight. Mild-medium bodied. Not a great deal of flavour, just sweet malt, grains and a mild hop bitterness that leads through the mid and finishes with soft biscuity notes. Sits at 5% and it is fairly malty. We dont really like beers brewed under license by bigger conglomerates. This beer is one of them. Such an easy session beer, but unfortunately that’s all it really has going for it.

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3 boys take on the popular but overrated corona. Very clear, straw like colour, minimal floral aroma on the nose and some bubble, it’s a splitting image of corona. It’s 5% so it has a bit more body than corona. It’s extremely easy to consume.. You almost have to burp to taste it! It’s ok, but that’s probably where it stays.

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Big Helga – we can’t completely admit that we aren’t picturing a busty Fräulein with gold pig-tailed hair serving us steins of lager at Oktoberfest in our heads….but we can admit we’re serving this ‘dry Munich-style lager’ in a dimpled mug wishing we were.

Nice, clear golden appearance with brilliant transparency. Carbonation looks good, with streams of active carbonation rising up to the stubborn 1 finger head which eventually reduced to a fine cover on top. Reasonable lace. Straight off the bat we were pleasantly surprised with the forward fruity/floral hop aroma emanating, definitely a more burly presence than other lagers. There is also a firm malty sweetness that lends suggestions of brioche and subtle toffee. Maybe a trace of nuts too. Nice aroma. In the mouth it’s well rounded and slightly dry. Carbonation is mild-medium with medium body. The flavour initiates with light, toasty/biscuity malts with an ever so subtle hop bitterness flowing through. We detect a herbal taste through the mid which leads a sweet touch of honey to the light, dry finish. No real length on display. 4.7% ABV which is about on par considering this beer is brewed to be consumed German-style. Look, it’s nothing memorable but it’s a sessional and easy drinking lager. That’s about it.

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“The equivalent of drinking fresh hop goo, goo that’s an amalgam of German, Aussie and Kiwi hops, an amalgam in which the New World hops carry out an almighty smackdown on the Old World, a smackdown in which, despite the seemingly huge amount of hops packed into the beer, the result is a smooth, bitter-without-being-beastly, hazy golden beer with bucketloads of fresh tropical aromas, a hazy golden beer that you’d swear was never 7.1 per cent. Yet it is. And it turns out it’s a lager too – a double lager, apparently – and we’d wager they’ll be making more of it soon. Just give the pig a monocle and feather in his cap and we’ll call it quits, guys.”

This brewery from Melbourne is known for brewing some pretty whacky beers, but by saying that they are all really characteristic. We love the creativity these guys put in to every one of their beers. served in a shaker glass the hazy amber pour produced a big 2 finger white head that retains well. Thick, blotchy lacing is omitted all the way down the glass. Very ale-like nose with big citric overtones. New world hop aromas of pineapple, grapefruit, aniseed and pine are nicely balanced by the intermittent old world, vinous wafts of herbs and lemon. Some honey-like pilsner malts also come through. In the mouth it feels frothy with lively carbonation. Medium-full bodied. Quite bitter up front, which develops into an assertive hop dryness before the malt base takes the edge off. Lovely notes of passion fruit, grapefruit and pine In the mid palate deliver a crisp herbaceous finish. Good length. The 5.9% ABV we think is a fitting tip of the hat to the new world aspect of this craft lager. Huge respect for these guys, they’re in our top 5 best Aussie breweries for a reason.

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This is a cracker beer from Finland. It’s a delicious lager which at 5.2% is very sessionable. Really fresh on the palate, it’s similar to the Czech lagers in flavour. If you find it at your special bottle o, just buy one and try it.