On August 17th I visited Brass Monkey Brew House in Severnlea near Stanthorpe, in Queensland. They have a good range of beers that are produced in small batches of 100L and 200L, so the range can vary due to availability. The beers that I sampled were:
1. German Wheat, 4.6% abv, this is a cloudy straw coloured beer with a yeasty wheat aroma. It has a nice sweet hint of banana on a good wheaty backbone. Very easy drinking.
2. German Pilsner, 4.6% abv, this is a light straw coloured beer with a subtle citrus aroma. It is very refreshing with a nice crisp, mild hop bitter finish. Lovely and true to the style.
3. Severn River Pale Ale, 4.8% abv, this is a hazy golden coloured Australian style Pale Ale with a subtle sweet fruit aroma. It has a good sweet malt initial palate and then a gentle fruitiness and hop bitter finish.
4. English Brown Ale, 4.5% abv, this Ale has an amber brown colour and a nice malty aroma. It has an initial taste of sweet malt with slight caramel notes and then transitions into a good hop bitterness.
5. Quart Pot Old, 4.4% abv, this is of the German Altbier style and is a dark amber colour with a sweet malt aroma. It has a wonderful full malt palate with hints of toffee and caramel and then a well balanced hop bitterness on the finish.
6. Tommy Hawk Stout, 4.6% abv, this is a black coloured stout with a roasted coffee malt aroma. It has a nice smooth mouth feel and a wonderful complex malt flavour with gentle hints of dark chocolate and coffee and a gentle transition into a mild hop bitter finish. Excellent!!
They also make a Russian Imperial Stout and a Belgian Tripel, but unfortunately there was none left.
I really enjoyed all of the beers available at Brass Monkey Brew House and would like to thank Ernie Butler, the brewer/owner for his time and hospitality. In my opinion this is a brewery worth visiting!