On Saturday the 23rd of September I visited The Little Brewing Company in Port Macquarie. This brewery was started by Warwick and Kylie Little about eleven years ago. However, they have moved on and it is now owned by two local Port Macquarie businessmen. The brewer is a man by the name of Kolongahapitiya Padmerl and he has been in charge of the operation for the last two and a half years. At present the management of the brewery are in the process of rejigging the brand. This is because the beers produced come under three different labels; The Little Brewing Company, Wicked Elf and Mad Abbot. They also have a range of seventeen beers and this has proved to be financially unviable, so it will be reduced to a selection of those beers that are more popular. The brewery consists of a 1200 litre mash vessel and several 2400 litre brew tanks so they are able to produce a large quantity of beer. They are aiming to have mixed cases of their beers available for online purchase in the near future.
The beers that I sampled were:
Wicked Elf Witbier, 5.0% abv, this is a straw colour with a yeast aroma and a nice banana and wheat flavour.
Wicked Elf Pilsner, 5.0% abv, this is a golden straw colour with a lovely clean crisp taste and a dry finish.
Wicked Elf Pale Ale, 5.4% abv, this ale has a golden colour and is very much malt driven in its flavour, it is well balanced with a mild bitterness on the finish.
Wicked Elf Summer Ale, 4.7% abv, this is a straw colour with a citrus and stone fruit aroma. It has a light fruity flavour and is very refreshing.
Wicked Elf Fastidious Bastard IPA, 6.8% abv, this IPA has a golden colour and an aroma of passionfruit and tropical fruit. It has a wonderful fruity flavour with tastes of passionfruit before a nice hop bitter finish.
Wicked Elf Single Hop Moutere IPA, 6.5% abv, this is a golden colour and has an unusual fruity and malt aroma. It has a light citrus fruit flavour and a gentle bitterness on the finish.
Wicked Elf Death Between The Tanks Double IPA, 7.8% abv, this beer has a golden colour and a strong cut grass and citrus aroma. It has a wonderful sweet fruity flavour and then transitions smoothly into a nice hop bitter finish.
Wicked Elf Breaking The Cardinal Rule Tripel IPA, 9.5% abv, this is a straw colour and has a sweet malt aroma. It has a wonderful smooth buttery flavour that lingers. Beautiful!
Wicked Elf Porter, 6.2% abv, this is a black coloured Porter with a roasted coffee malt aroma. It has a smooth mouth feel and a malt taste with hints of coffee.
Wicked Elf Stab in the Dark Imperial Porter, 9.1% abv, this is a black Porter with a strong malty aroma. It has a smooth mouth feel and a wonderful malt flavour with hints of raisins. Excellent!
Mad Abbot Dubbel, 6.9% abv, this beer has an amber colour and buttery malt aroma. It is very true to the style and is sweet, smooth and delicious.
Mad Abbot Tripel, 9.5% abv, this beer has a straw colour and a strong buttery aroma. It tastes wonderful and could have come straight from a Belgian Monastery.
Mad Abbot Christmas Ale 2015, 11.3% abv, this ale has an amber colour and an aroma of Christmas pudding. It has a magnificent flavour of Christmas pudding, fruit, raisins, its all their. Truly wonderful!! Wow!
Mad Abbot Christmas Ale 2016, 11.1% abv, this one has a dark amber colour and a strong Christmas pudding aroma. It has a similar flavour to the 2015 but is a little more subdued. Still fantastic! Yum!
The Little Brewing Company, who will soon be known as the Wicked Elf Brewery, are making some truly wonderful beers. They have a very extensive selection and should produce something to suit all beer drinkers. I would like to thank Steve very much for opening up the brewery for me to try their range. I strongly recommend their beers.
