I took the drive out to Baffle Creek to visit the Baffle Beer Brewery on August 1st. It is one of the most isolated breweries in Australia, between Bundaberg and Gladstone, on the Queensland coast, near the towns of Agnes Waters and 1770. Because of its isolation they do not have a cellar door or do any brewery tours, but their beers are available from Brisbane to Yeppoon at selected pubs and bottle shops. Their availablity is bound to increase in the future.
The brewery is run by Bert and Bea, a young German couple with a history of beer making and a passion to bring good craft beers to this area of Australia.
The beers that I sampled were:
Euleilah Ale, 3.5% abv, (it is pronounced you-lee-lah and is an aboriginal word meaning a type of butterfly), this is a mid-strength amber ale with a light amber colour and a mild malty taste, followed by a nice fruit hoppiness and a gentle bitterness on the finish. Very refreshing and quite sessionable.
Australian Weizen, 4.7% abv, this is a wheat beer that has a dark, hazy straw colour and a subtle wheaty, banana aroma. It has a great, sweet wheat and banana flavour and is crisp and smooth on the finish.
Bavarian Helles, 4.9% abv, this is a Munich style Pale Lager that has a light straw colour and a subtle apple fruit aroma. It is well balanced with a mild malt taste and a gentle hop bitterness. It is a good, true to style Lager.
Fiesta, 4.5% abv, this is a chilli and lime Pale Ale, it has a golden straw colour and a citrus aroma. The taste is of a sweet pale ale with a citrus tang and then a very mild chilli aftertaste. Unusual, yet quite delicious and very easy drinking.
Capricornia, 6.7% abv, this is a Slightly Smoky Dark Bock that is dark brown in colour and has a smoky, sweet aroma. It has a wonderful sweet malt flavour and then a lovely smokiness with hints of smoked meat, ( like a true Rauchbier ). Very different and very, very good.
1770 IPA, 5.5% abv, this is an English style India Pale Ale, it has a golden colour and an aroma of fruity hops. It has a nice sweet malt and citrus fruit flavour and then a quite gentle bitter finish.
Humpback, 8.8% abv, this is an Imperial Porter that is black in colour and has subtle aromas of coffee and chocolate. It has a wonderful smooth malt flavour with hints of dark chocolate and coffee. Really enjoyable!
I very much enjoyed the beers produced by the Baffle Beer Brewery and would like to thank Bea for her hospitality and showing me their brewery. I strongly recommend giving their beers a try if you are lucky enough to be in this lovely area of Australia.