On Friday the 13th of October I visited the 4 Pines Brewery in Manly, New South Wales. This brewery was started by the Mitchell family just over nine years ago, the tenth anniversary celebrations will be in June 2018.
Although the brewery was recently purchased by a large beer making conglomerate it is still operating the same as before the takeover, with the Mitchells still very much involved. The only noticeable change has been that their beers are now available at the MCG.
The brewery started as a brewery/ restaurant producing a Pale Ale and a Kolsch, but changed their license to a small venue license as soon as these became available so that people could drink without the need to by food.
They opened a second brewery in Brookvale and when this opened it made them the second largest independent brewery in the country at that time. This brewery has their bottling line as well as a great bar. I also visited it. The bar is made from an old Dodge truck and has an extensive selection of their beers on tap.
Four Pines has also been picked for an unusual task. They are going to make the first beer for space travel. This should be a Nitro Stout capable of being consumed in zero gravity.
They won the Champion Large Brewery category for 2017 at the Craft Beer Awards.
The beers that I sampled were:
Indian Summer Ale, 4.2% abv, 15 IBU, this is straw coloured and has a passionfruit aroma. It has a light, tropical fruit flavour on a gentle bitterness.
Hefeweizen, 5.2% abv, this has a hazy straw colour and a sweet banana aroma. It has a wheaty, spicy banana flavour.
Lemon- Melon Wit, 5.1% abv, 18 IBU, this has a hazy straw colour and an unusual aroma of fruit that is both sweet and a little sour. It is infused with watermelon and lemon zest. The flavour is one of a wheat beer with a sweet melon taste and then a gentle citrus bitter finish.
Roggenbier, 5.0% abv, 18 IBU, this is an amber colour with a caramel malt aroma. It has a lovely malt flavour of caramel and toffee with a gentle spiciness.
Kolsch, 4.6% abv, 22 IBU, this has a light straw colour and a subtle citrus aroma. It has a sweet malt taste and then a citrus fruit flavour on a gentle bitterness.
Best Bitter, 4.8% abv, 24 IBU, this was served via the hand pump and has a light amber colour and a subtle malt aroma. It has a nice sweet toffee malt flavour with a gentle hop finish.
Pale Ale, 5.1% abv, 35 IBU, this is an American style with a golden colour and a grapefruit and pine aroma. It is well balanced with a sweet malt taste and then a mild citrus fruit bitter finish.
American Amber, 5.1% abv, 37 IBU, this has a dark amber colour and a subtle sweet fruit and malt aroma. It has an initial taste of malt and then a fruity bitterness on the finish.
In Season IPA, 6.3% abv, 67 IBU, this has a golden colour and a floral hops aroma. It has a sweet fruity taste before a generous, resinous hop bitter finish.
Imperial Red Ale, 8.0% abv, 66 IBU, this has an amber colour and a subtle sweet malt aroma. It has a wonderful sweet malt palate with hints of caramel and toffee and then a nice spicy alcoholic warmness on a mild bitter finish.
Stout, 5.1% abv, 40 IBU, this is served on Nitro and has a black colour and a dark creamy head with a roasted coffee and chocolate aroma. It has a smooth mouth feel and a flavour of dark chocolate and caramel before an espresso bitterness on the finish.
Tonka Bean Baltic Porter, 7.2% abv, 35 IBU, this is black with a sweet malt aroma. It has a lovely sweet, complex malt flavour. Nice!
Scandinavian Farmhouse Ale, 5.9% abv, this has a golden colour and a spicy yeast aroma. It has a nice sweet spicy flavour.
Citrus IPA, 7.0% abv, 60 IBU, this has a golden colour and a strong citrus aroma. It has a sweet, fruity citrus flavour with a lingering bitterness of lime.
Centennial XPA, 6.0% abv, 35 IBU, this has a golden colour and an aroma of rose water. It has a flavour of sweet malt and then a well balanced gentle bitter finish.
Australian DIPA, 9.0% abv, 84 IBU, this has a golden colour and an aroma of citrus and pine. It has a sweet initial taste of tropical fruit before a huge, resinous hop bitterness on the finish.
Imperial Pilsner, 7.6% abv, 70 IBU, this is a straw colour with a subtle malt aroma. It has a wonderful sweet malt taste with a fruitiness before a mild bitterness on a dry finish.
ESB, 5.4% abv, 35 IBU, this is amber in colour with a caramel malt aroma. It has a sweet caramel malt flavour with a mild bitter finish.
Belma XPA, this single hop XPA has a golden straw colour and a melon and citrus aroma. It has sweet malt taste and then a sweet fruity hop finish.
Lil American, 3.5% abv, 27 IBU, this has a straw colour and a citrus aroma. It has a citrus fruit flavour and then a gentle bitterness on the finish. Sessionable.
The selection of beers available at Four Pines is extensive and there should be something to suit everybody’s tastes.
I would like to thank Luke and Emily at the Manly brewery and Will in the Keller Door bar, as well as Robbie at the Truck Bar in Brookvale for their hospitality.
