On 6 September I visited the Byron Bay Brewery in Byron Bay, New South Wales. This is a great venue for a drink, a meal or to catch a band, they have the area for it all. On top of this they have some wonderful beers. The beers that I sampled were:
- Rosy One, 3.5% abv, this is a red mid-strength lager with an amber colour and a subtle malt aroma. It has a nice initial malt taste of caramel and then a clean, crisp finish. It won a silver medal at the AIBA this year. Very sessionable
- Hazy One, 4.4% abv, this is a lager with a cloudy golden straw colour and a subtle fruit aroma from the Melba hops used. It has a nice, gentle fruit flavour on a mild bitterness with a crisp dry finish.
- Pale One, 4.5% abv, this is an Australian style Pale Ale that is golden coloured with a lovely passionfruit and tropical fruit aroma from the Galaxy and Cascade hops used. It has a wonderful fruity flavour with good passionfruit hints and a mild hop bitter finish. Very easy drinking.
- Bold One, 5.7% abv, this is an India Pale Lager with a golden straw colour and a creamy head that has a subtle, sweet citrus and grapefruit aroma. It has a nice malty backbone and then a good strong, lingering fruity, hop bitterness on a crisp finish. It has an IBU of 60. This one also won a silver medal at the AIBA.
- Lively One, 6.6% abv, this is an American style IPA that has a golden colour and a great aroma of citrus fruit from the Citra hops used. It has a sweet initial taste and then a huge fruit bitterness that lingers. True to the style. It has an IBU of 80. Nice!
- Mocha Rocka, 5.1% abv, this is a coffee Porter that is a seasonal brew. It has a dark amber colour and a strong espresso aroma. The mouth feel is creamy and the flavour is one of malt and coffee with a mild bitter finish. Very nice!
- The Dark One, 5.2% abv, this is a dark Lager that has a dark brown colour and a mild roasted malt aroma. It has a lovely malt flavour with great hints of coffee, dark chocolate and caramel. It has a really solid malt backbone and is very enjoyable beer.
I really enjoyed all the beers that I sampled at the Byron Bay Brewery. They also have a great food menu to complement their beers. I would like to thank both Will and Louie for their hospitality, passion for great beer and taking the time to explain their beers and show me through the brewery. Well worth the visit!!