Today I called past Ocean Reach Brewing in Cowes, on Phillip Island. Although they are not open on Monday, Simon, the head brewer was hard at work and able to give me a tour of their brewpub and, more importantly, a taste of their beer. This Brewery opened in December of last year and have established themselves well in the local craft beer scene with a great range of core beers and plans to keep expanding in both volume and styles made.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Island Pale, 5% abv, this pale ale is golden coloured and has a subtle fruity hop aroma. It has a lovely initial taste of malt and is followed by a great hop bitter finish.
2. Essex Girl, 4.4% abv, this English Blonde style beer has a light straw colour and an aroma of bananas. It has a wonderful, light taste and a crisp, dry finish. This is one for hot summer days, it is very sessionable.
3. Magic Lands, 6.2% abv, this is an IPA with a light amber colour and a great hoppy nose. It has a strong hoppy, fruit taste that is followed by a wonderful dry, hop bitter finish.
4. Frank Moses, 5.4% abv, this is a Red Rye Ale that is made with eight different malts. It has an amber colour and a nice malty aroma. The complex malt tastes dominate the palate and then lead into a great crisp finish.
This next beer that I had the pleasure of trying was still in the production stage, but should be available in the near future.
5. Porter, ~5.3% abv, this lovely dark beer gives off a strong aroma of espresso and follows it up with a lovely coffee malt flavour and a great crisp finish. This should be a truly wonderful beer when it is finished and available on tap.
This is a great brewpub, run by people with a true passion for producing great craft beers. If you are ever on Phillip Island then go to Cowes, the Brewery is on the main street, and is the only place you can try their beers. They also do food so it really is a wonderful destination for an afternoon session.