On 6 September I visited Stone & Wood Brewing in Byron Bay, New South Wales. It is a great brewery and bar in the industrial area outside of town.
The beers that I sampled were:
- Green Coast, 4.7% abv, this is a straw coloured Helles style lager with a subtle malt aroma. It has a lovely sweet malt taste and then a clean, crisp finish. Very good.
- Cloud Catcher, 5.5% abv, this is an Australian style Pale Ale with a golden colour and a nice tropical fruit aroma. It has lovely tropical fruit flavours of passionfruit and melon before transitioning smoothly into a gentle hop bitter finish.
- Jasper Ale, 5.4% abv, this is an amber coloured ale with a sweet malt and tropical fruit aroma. It is well balanced with a sweet malt initial flavour and then a good citrus fruitiness on a mild bitterness. Very nice!
- Forefathers, 5.6% abv, this is an English style Pale Ale that is golden in colour with a subtle sweet malt aroma. It has a lovely, complex malt initial taste and then transitions smoothly into a gentle hop bitter finish. Enjoyable!
- Sambo’s Dubbel Down, 7.3% abv, this is a Belgian style Ale that has a hazy amber colour and a strong malt aroma. It has a wonderful, smooth, buttery mouth feel and a complex sweet malt flavour. This is very true to the style and a really wonderful beer!!
- Garden Ale, 3.5% abv, this is a golden coloured ale with a subtle floral aroma. It has a nice balanced flavour of malt and fruit on a mild bitterness. Very sessionable and easy drinking.
- Pacific Ale, 4.4% abv, this is the mainstay beer of the brewery, it is a hazy straw colour and a subtle tropical fruit aroma. It has a wonderful flavour of tropical fruit that flows easily into a mild bitterness on the finish. A great beer!
- East Coast Citrus IPA, 6.2% abv, this is a collaborative brew with other AIBA winners. It has a cloudy straw colour and a sweet passionfruit and tropical fruit aroma. The taste is one of strong stone fruit and then a generous, lingering hop bitter finish. Quite wonderful!
The Stone and Wood Brewery are doing wonderful things and producing some fantastic beers. I would really like to thank Cale for his hospitality and enthusiasm, he made a good afternoon great. This is a brewery that is well worth visiting!