On Thursday the 26th of October I visited the Wig and Pen Craft Brewery and Tavern in Canberra, ACT. This brewery started in 1994, which gives it the distinction of being Australia’s second longest continuously running craft brewery after The Lord Nelson in Sydney.
The brewery equipment originally came out of the closed Extract Brewery in Darling Harbour and although it is not a huge brewery it still maintains a large selection of beers including producing Lagers that have had a two and half month fermentation, as good lagers should have. The brewery consists of 6 hectolitre fermentation tanks and a 12 hectolitre bright tank. While in the brewery I was lucky enough to try their Imperial Stout straight from the tank, which was delicious, and a kettle soured beer that was being aged in an oak barrel, also very good.
The bar area has sixteen taps, fifteen for beer and one for cider. These include four traditional hand -pumped taps for their cask conditioned beers. These hand-pumped ales are a defining feature of The Wig and Pen and provide a traditional British beer experience to their Canberra drinkers. They are cask conditioned and are chilled to cellar temperature rather than refrigerated.
The beers that I sampled were:
The Last Splash, 4.8% abv, this is a Czech style Pilsner with a golden straw colour and a spicy floral aroma. It has great malt flavour and clean, crisp finish. Refreshing and true to the style.
Auf meine StraBe! , Munich Helles, 5.1% abv, this has a golden colour and a subtle hop aroma. It has a sweet malty taste and gentle bitterness on a crisp dry finish.
JP’s ESB, 4.4% abv, this hand-pumped Extra Special Bitter has an amber colour and a caramel malt aroma. It has a great malt flavour with hints of caramel and toffee. Lovely and true to the style.
Le Paysan Noir, 7.1% abv, this is a Black Saison with a yeasty, spicy Saison aroma. It has a nice malty flavour of smoked malt and then a Saison warm, dry finish.
Velvet Cream Stout, 6.7% abv, this is a black Stout with a thick creamy head and a roasted malt aroma. It has a wonderful sm
ooth mouth feel and a lovely sweet malt flavour with a great creamy finish.
Red Coat, 4.5% abv, this is an English IPA with a hazy golden colour and a subtle caramel malt aroma. It has a sweet fruit and malt flavour with a gentle bitterness on the finish.
D’Unkle Ester, 4.7% abv, this is a German style dark wheat beer with a dark brown colour and a yeasty, banana aroma. It has a spicy, wheat and banana flavour with a slight hint of chocolate.
W&P Pale Ale, 4.4% abv, this is an English style Pale Ale poured from the hand-pump with a golden colour and a strong tropical fruity aroma. It has a very light malt flavour with a sweet citrus fruit taste and then a mild grapefruit bitterness on the finish.
Little Citra, 3.7% abv, this is a light IPA with a light straw colour and a subtle citrus aroma. It is light bodied with a mild fruity flavour and a gentle bitter finish. Easy drinking and sessionable.
Streamliner, 6.4% abv, this is an American style IPA with a golden colour and a strong fruity aroma from the seven hop varieties used. It has a sweet biscuity malt flavour and then a lovely fruitiness on a mild bitter finish.
They have a wonderful selection of beers at The Wig and Pen Craft Brewery and Tavern and are well worth visiting. I would like to thank Andy Cross, from We Love Craft Beer Australia, for arranging my tour and Alan, the brewer, for his hospitality and giving up his time to talk with me.
