It was recently announced that Stone & Wood had bought back a 20% stake in the company that had been held by Little World Beverages since February 2009. This was in part due to the recent acquisition of Little World by the mighty alcohol entity that is Lion Nathan.
Within a short space of time after the buy-back, Stone & Wood released a new limited edition brew called Garden Ale.
Before somebody stumbled upon the idea of using hops in the brewing process, brewers used to ransack their gardens looking for something different to flavour their beer. The first garden that I ever owned consisted of nothing more than a couple of dead worms, a few spiders webs and the odd appearance of a dead bird - the ingredients more widely associated with being tossed into a witches cauldron to make a potion!
Garden Ale has been designed as a tribute to these old fashioned brewers. Intrigued, and in need of a pint of something, I headed off to my (very) local - The Platform Bar at Grand Central Hotel (Brisbane) where Garden Ale was making a guest appearance on tap - today, exactly four years ago to the day since the very first Stone & Wood was poured at Byron Bay.
The review:
It's a different beer altogether to the Endeavour Growers Ale that I tasted and reviewed only days ago but was worthy of the extra half of a star.
It was a bit more robust - a little bit more to it. Somewhat more satisfying which I'm sure was aided by the fact that I was drinking it off tap out of a chilled pint glass.
There is a very distinct, yet subtle bitter fruitiness to this beer. Not to the nose though - only as an aftertaste. This could be attributed to the inclusion of juniper berries that have made their way into the recipe. I found the aftertaste to be very slightly sour but nowhere near enough to be off-putting.
At 3.8% abv this is very much a beer to sit and drink all afternoon, all evening or even all Summer long if you can find somewhere that has it tapped or if you can lay your hands on some of the 500ml bottles which are limited.
Definitely worth a try.
Having sampled Endeavour's 2010 Reserve Pale Ale almost 2 years ago to the day, it seemed rather fitting to mark the occasion with a trial run of their latest release - the 2012 Growers Ale.
This brew has been formulated as a mark of respect to this fine nation's hop and barley growers. A tip of the hat to those unsung heroes that enable you and I to sip on the finest Australian beers to our hearts content.
The review:
Hmmm, a bit tricky to rate out of five this one. I wanted to give it more than three stars but then it's just not worthy of the heady heights of a four or even a five. Perhaps it deserved a 3.5? No, but it only just missed out.
It really is quite sessionable. I realise that most of my loose reviews mention how sessionable a beer is. Well, that's because I enjoy a session! A beer that has an alcohol content of 4.2% abv is bound to attract attention as being sessionable. Some 4.2's taste like old socks of course but Growers Ale is a nice, sensible tasting drop that would happily see itself through a session of mine. Very drinkable.
I sank my first Growers on a very humid, Queensland evening and it....just....slid down. It was very thirst quenching indeed. It took my mind off the fact that I was only 30 hours past my maiden wisdom tooth removal.
There are certainly some hoppy notes emanating from Growers however, as a hoppy beer lover, this didn't live up to my expectations. I thought it might have been a bit more hoppier.
Hoppier = Happier.
There is also a gentle hint of citrus in there too. Of course, this assists the ability to quench ones thirst.
Although I'd happily sit drinking this beer all evening, there is a little something inside of me wanting more from it. I can't think of an appropriate word to describe these feelings. Uninspiring perhaps? This might sound a little harsh but it's certainly along those lines.
If you're out with your mates in a pub this Summer and looking for something new to try for a change. Something that isn't going to leave you with a grotty hangover then drink this. It certainly won't ignite anything that will sort out the Earth's problems but, hey, Endeavour haven't set out to fix up the planet.
Enjoy.
