Beer Review Jamieson Pale Ale.
Dear diary….. this beer review represents the first of several “non birthday beer reviews”…..
For those new to FortyBeers.com, the whole premise around this website is that I received 40 individually wrapped beers for my birthday a while ago. I have been opening and reviewing these beers here, and enjoying them immensley. However, today I have broken away from this tradition, and have tapped in to some unauthorised-non-birthday-beers.
As unauthorised at they are, I realise that there are more beers out there than just those Forty Beers given to me for my 40th birthday by my good friends Simon, Phoebe and Chris.
So much so, that here I am on a little get-away on this Australia Day Weekend in a beautiful little town called Jamieson. Jamieson is near Mansfield, near Mount Buller in central Victoria, about 3 hours drive north-east from Melbourne, Australia. Steeped in goldrush history, it is a beautiful bush town surrounded by Aussie bush, rivers, trees, birds, sounds, scents, scenery and serenity.
I love my father-in-laws holiday house (thanks Noel) – staying here is very relaxing, and we don’t do it often enough. This time, however, I find myself sitting by a river with my lovely wife and two beautiful daughters, and with my good friend Simon, his lovely wife and his two beautiful daughters as well.
“Do you need a beer ?”, Simon asked as we watched our children spash in the water.
“Yes,……yes I do” I replied.
(note – Simon and I have been known to share several/many/lots of beers together over the last 22 years…..)
So – first on our local sampling list was Jamieson Pale Ale.
Unfortunately, it was a quite a hot day in Jamieson – late January being the middle of Summer here in Australia – and the Jamieson Pale Ale did not stay as cold as we would have liked in the walk from the ‘fridge to the river setting. Having said that, both Simon and I were pleased that we had carried it the 500 meters or so from the house to the river.
Once we had set up the video camera, and established that our children were safe and not drowning in the river, it was down to business. Not having brought any glasses to the river with us, it was a bit difficult to tell if the Jamieson Pale Ale was, in fact, pale or not. It certainly did not taste pale – in fact it tasted quite strong….. hops, malt, and a slight bitter twinge.
The yellow label, complete with Rainbow trout logo, was very apt given our setting. “Brewed Mountain Fresh in the High Country” was also appropriate. What I love about Jamieson is the fresh air, fresh water, the calmness and the unhurried relaxed atmosphere of this small town. During the Australian Gold rush of the 1850’s, Jamieson boasted 11 pubs. Now, 110 years later, there are only two – one of which has their own micro-brewery, the Lakeside Hotel, that produced the Jamieson Pale Ale sampled today.
(another note – the Lakeside Hotel in Jamieson has been known to serve great country pub meals, and is well worth the visit should you be passing by).
Simon and I had made our purchase a little earlier in the day from the Lakeside Hotel / Jamieson Brewery, where many a good beer and meal have been consumed.
We both enjoyed our Jamieson Pale Ale, and I was pleased to see that Simon appeared to be quite comfortable and confident in front of the video camera – even with bemused children, wives and passing strangers watching.
Overall, I would suggest that this Jamieson Pale Ale is a worthy 7 out of 10 on the Forty Beers Cheers-O-Meter. Several points were lost on the temperature of the beer… but that was our fault, and certainly no reflection on the brewer, nor the beer. Neither Simon nor I were sure we would like to consume multiple bottles of this beer in one sitting, but we were both very pleased to have tasted this one.
“Save water – drink beer” so says the label. And I must agree.
We purchased several of the Jamieson Brewerys offerings…. which will undoubtedly be mentioned in another “non birthday” beer review…..or two….
Thanks,
Matthew,
with Special Guest - Simon.
Tags: Ale, Australian Beer, Beer Review
Beer Review – Leather Jacket Lager – from Fish Rock Brewery in Australia.
Yet again, I have been very busy, and yet again I have not had the time to enjoy a good birthday beer. So, planning ahead, I put Beer Number 10 of my Forty Beers into the ‘fridge, and waited for an appropriate moment.
The moment that I have all been waiting for has arrived. Welcome to my humble beer review of the mighty Leather Jacket Lager.
As you may have seen in the above video, things did not go too well during my beer review. This, however, was not the fault of either the beer or the brewery. Let’s just pretend that I had “technical difficulties”.
After the beer was actually opened and tasted, all was well within the world once again.
Leather Jacket Lager was/is certainly a good beer. It has a strong hop flavour, and quite a spicy and bitter aftertaste. The label itself suggests it is “a true pilsner style” beer. It would appear to be suffering from a small identity crisis – Lager ? Bitter ? Pilsner ? Even without a definite pigeon-hole term/style/type to define it (although the Fish Rock Brewery call it a Lager, and they should know), this beer would make an excellent liquid refreshment accompaniment to a curry of some sort – think vindaloo, think gaeng keow wan (thai green curry).
Side Notes:
For those who are interested, a “Leather Jacket” is a fish found in waters off the coast of Australia. You can catch them off the local jetty / pier, or go out a fair way on a boat to get them. A simple Google search for the term “leather jacket fish recipe” revealed approximately 130,000 results.
Also, my friends Phoebe, Simon and Chris who gave me these birthday beers obviously remember the leather jacket I used to wear when we were sampling a few of the local ales at various and numerous fine drinking establishments.
And I can’t use the Monty Python “with the worlds great taste of fish” joke here, because I’ve already used it in a previous beer review.
Back to the Beer Review:
To borrow from the impressive metallic and green label:
“A true pilsner style beer, using centuries old decoction mashing techniques, and incorporating hop flowers from the fields of Zatec. Sweet barley flavours quickly recede, revealing the emphatic spiciness and characteristic aftertaste of the Czech Saaz hops”.
To me, the fields of Zatec is perhaps a little Star Trek-esque…. or a good name for a band. Perhaps I am showing my ignorance here, but I have no idea what/where Zatec actually is – but apparently it has flowers, so I’m sure it’s a pretty place.
I enjoyed this beer. Having said that, it is perhaps, in my opinion, a little too “hand crafted”. I enjoy making my own home brew on occaision, and while I’m sure that there is heaps of love and care in Leather Jacket Lager, it reminded me a little too much of a home brew. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I guess I sort of expect a beer from a “real” brewery to taste like it came from a “real” brewery, and not out of some foolish Melbournians kitchen/laundry/shed. Please do not take this as a big plug for my home brew (given I have many more failures than successes), nor as a minus points position for Leather Jacket Lager either. The Fish Rock Brewery people are very clever at what they do. I guess that while this is certainly a good beer, to me it’s just not my favourite – that’s all. But I certainly enjoyed the one I had. And if someone gives me another one or two, I’ll say “Thanks !!” and enjoy them too.
So – on the Forty Beers Cheers O Meter – I give it a 7 out of 10.
Thanks,
Matthew
Beer Reviews , Beer Review , DIY Website
Tags: Australian Beer, Beer Review, Lager
Once again, I find that I have not had the time to open, enjoy and review another of my birthday beers lately. Yes, I could simply grab one out of the ‘fridge, turn on the video camera and blather on…. however I’d like to enjoy the beer itself too. And what with coming up to the end of the year, Christmas stuff, kids school concerts, kids choir concerts, a whole heap of family birthdays and stuff – I just haven’t had the time. Sorry.
However, reading the newspaper the other day, I came across this article, which I thought I’d share:
Froth and Substance – The Age.
Basically, it talks about the growing awareness of matching beer with food. Wine makers and wine lovers have known this for hundreds of years. It would appear, however, that beer drinkers have only just discovered this concept.
I thought it was interesting…. I hope you do to.
Thanks – I’ll try to get another beer review done soon !
Matthew
Tags: Beer Facts
Beer Review – Sol Mexican Beer – Cerveza Importada
Again, it has been a little while since my last beer review… this time I’ve been in a little town called Jamieson, which is about 3 hours drive north east of Melbourne. Jamieson is near Mount Buller – one of the well known ski mountains within striking distance of Melbourne – and it is a beautiful place set in the Australian bush. Lots of trees to sit under, fresh air to breathe, birds to watch and feed, rivers and streams to paddle and swim in, and more fresh air. It’s a wonderful place to hang out and do very little except relax (and partake of the occasional amber foaming frothy). Jamieson is also where my friend Rick and I recorded many of the nature sounds for our Relaxation Music …..
My father-in-law has a holiday house in Jamieson, which is a great place to stay. This holiday house has a ‘fridge. In that ‘fridge I put several “stock standard” cans of Melbourne Bitter and Victoria Bitter…. obviously some local beers….. which are, I guess, the staples of beers drinkers, at least in Melbourne / Victoria / Australia anyway. However – I digress……
Back to the beer review at hand – Sol – a Mexican Beer that appears to be exported around the world.
“Sol” is Spanish for “Sun” or “Sunny”, and this beer is certainly a light, sunny colour as are most Mexican beers. It looks like Mexican beer, it smells like Mexican beer, but I’m pleased to say it tastes much better than many other Mexican beers I’ve been lucky enough to sample.
Its clean, crisp, light taste was actually a nice surprise. I’m not a fan of some of the insipid beers that come from Mexico – the kind that need a wedge of lime squashed in the top, or some other kind of fruit additive. This Sol Mexican beer certainly didn’t need anything shoved down the neck of the bottle to improve its taste. It had a subtle taste – not strong, but certainly not weak – that actually left hints of “another one would be good…” at the back of my mouth. I suspect that if I had another bottle, I would have opened it too.
A quick search on the internet revealed that Sol Mexican Beer appears to have several “official” websites. The Australian Sol Beer websiteappears to be heavy on the “party with Sol” vibe, but surprisingly devoid of information about the beer itself. The UK Sol Beer website also is fancy with graphics, flash moving pictures, and other stuff, but again is not forthcoming with too much beer info…. however, the text below is copied from the Australian Sol website:
” Brewed in Mexico, Sol is an easy-to-drink beer with a smooth and refreshing flavour. It all started on a sunny Mexican morning in 1899…
On a clear sunny morning just outside Mexico City in 1899, in a little brewery called “El Salto de Agua” (“The Water Fall”), the sun’s rays creep over a brewing pot, inspiring the German brew master, to name his new beer “El Sol” – Spanish for “The Sun” At that moment, “El Sol” was launched as a beer for the working class – offering them a beer much more refreshing than the predominant heavy European-style beers of the time.
By 1924, “El Sol” – keeping its original design – is renamed simply “Sol” and begins its expansion into the national market, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico region. Despite a steady demand for its clear, smooth and refreshing character, Sol more-or-less remained a small regional brand until the early 90s…
In 1993, Sol underwent an aggressive national relaunch. The market conditions at the time assured Sol’s success, and by 1997, Sol was present in 90% of the Mexican market. On the back of its phenomenal rise on a national scale, Sol also began to achieve great success at an international level – most notably in Europe, where each year Sol expands and strengthens its market presence.
Today, Sol has gained the preference of consumers all around the world. Its refreshing image, its smooth and pleasant flavour and the world-wide meaning of its name has allowed Sol to conquer an important part of markets in the Americas, Asia, the Middle-East and also right here in Australia. Much has changed since that sunny morning in 1899, but one thing that hasn’t is the need for Sol beer’s unique ice-cold refreshment.”
Interesting, as is the Wikipedia page about the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery – the makers of Sol Mexican Beer.
I enjoyed my bottle of Sol. I’ll happily give it a very good 8 out of 10 on the Forty Beers Cheers O Meter.
Ahhhh – the wonders of beer. I wonder what my next present opening and beer review will bring. I must admit that I am enjoying this Forty Beers gift !
Thanks,
Matthew – Beer Reviews , Beer Review ,
Tags: Beer Review, Lager, Mexican Beer
