On June 30th I visited the Barrier Reef Brewing Co. in Cairns. Their beers are available bottled from the brewery and at quite a few hotels, restaurants and on some of the cruise boats here in northern Queensland. I had tried their Two Turtles Pale Ale, last week at the Daintree Village Hotel, and really enjoyed it so I was eager to sample the rest of the range.
The beers that I sampled were:
Two Turtles Pale Ale, 5.0% abv, this is a golden, straw coloured ale that has an aroma of hops and tropical fruit. It is very well balanced with smooth malt flavours and then it moves into a generous, lingering hop bitterness on the finish. Very nice and more importantly, every one sold sees money donated to help look after the Great Barrier Reef.
Prawn Star Pilsner, 4.8% abv, this is a German style Pilsner that has won local beer awards. It is straw coloured and has a subtle yeast aroma. It is crisp and refreshing. Everything a good pils should be. Very easy drinking.
Arlington Amber Ale, 5.0% abv, this is an English style amber ale with a sweet malty, caramel aroma. It has a wonderful, full malty flavour with strong hints of toffee and caramel. Very smooth and quite delicious.
Double Shot Coffee Amber, 4.9% abv, this is the Arlington Amber with, locally sourced, cold pressed coffee added late in the brewing process. It has a dark amber colour and a lovely aroma of espresso. It still maintains the smooth, sweet, complex malt palate of the original amber, that is dominated by caramel flavour, before transitioning into a gentle coffee finish. Excellent!
Cameron, the man behind the brewing, is producing some wonderful beers and has plans for other varieties down the track, so Barrier Reef Brewing Co. are definitely one that I would keep an eye out for.