On Monday the 2nd of October I visited Murray’s Brewery in Bob’s Farm near Port Stevens, New South Wales. The brewery was originally opened in the Taylor’s Arms hotel eleven years ago. However, it quickly outgrew that location and was moved to Bob’s Farm nine years ago. They had some bad luck last year when a fire destroyed their premises. They managed to put together a very good temporary arrangement that has allowed them to continue operating while the new premises are being constructed. The new cellar door premises will be opened in November and I am sure this will be a great relief to the hard working staff of Murray’s.
They are always very busy with the tourist buses using them as a destination for wine and beer tastings and also as a lunch stop. They have an excellent food menu which compliments their beers and wines. They also have live music on a fairly regular basis and an app to keep the kids occupied.
They are so busy, in fact, that they are looking for more staff. So if you can see yourself working in the hospitality field at a great craft brewery drop in with your resume and try your luck.
The beers that I sampled were:
Whale Ale, 4.5% abv, this is an American style wheat beer with a straw colour and a malt and citrus aroma. It has a nice, mild malt taste with a crisp finish.
Melon Rouge, 4.5% abv, this is a watermelon wheat beer with a straw colour and a malty flavour that is followed by a refreshing watermelon taste.
East Coast XPA, 4.5% abv, this has a straw colour and strong tropical fruit and passionfruit aroma. It has a nice sweet malt initial taste and then a nice flavour of tropical fruit before a mild bitter finish.
Dark Knight Porter, 4.5% abv, this beer has a dark brown colour and a roasted coffee malt aroma. It has a wonderful strong malt flavour of coffee and dark chocolate.
East Coast Lager, 4.8% abv, this is a straw colour and has a subtle malt aroma. It has malty taste and then a refreshing mild fruit and gentle spiciness on a crisp finish.
Angry Man Pale Ale, 5.0% abv, this is an American style Pale Ale with a golden colour and a citrus and pine aroma. It is very well balanced with a sweet malt initial taste and then a fruitiness before a bitter finish. It uses English, Australian and German malts and American hops.
Fred IPA, 5.6% abv, this IPA has a golden colour and a strong fruity aroma. It has a sweet fruity, spicy citrus flavour and then a mild hop bitterness on the finish.
Kaiser Oktoberfest, 5.6% abv, this beer was brewed especially for this weekend. It is a German IPA with a golden colour and a subtle malt aroma. The flavour is malty before a mild hop bitter finish.
Rudeboy, 4.8% abv, this is a Pilsner with a pale straw colour and a citrus aroma. It has a good biscuit malt flavour and then a gentle bitterness on a crisp refreshing finish.
Moonboy, 4.5% abv, this is a golden ale with a tropical fruit aroma. It has a well balanced flavour of sweet malt before a fruity, gentle bitter finish. Nice.
Frankie, 7.0% abv, this is an Extra Porter with a black colour and a sweet roasted malt aroma. It has a wonderful full malt flavour of chocolate with a gentle bitterness on the finish. Magnificent!
I liked all of the beers that tried at Murray’s Brewery, they have a wonderful selection of beers that are all very well produced and true to their style. I would like to thank Brian and Nick for their time and hospitality.
I would also like to thank Leon, who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Craft Beer and Oyster festival in Tuncurry where he was running the Murray’s beer tent last week. He made a special effort to come to the brewery especially to have a chat with me and share a few beers. He is a great ambassador for the brewery as well as being a top bloke.
