On Saturday the 18th of November I visited T-Bone Brewing Co. in North Hobart, Tasmania. This brewery is owned and operated by husband and wife team of Tom and Carla Bignell. They have been in operation since September 2016.
The name of the brewery came about from Tom’s high school nickname. The brewery uses a 1000 litre brew house with three fermentation tanks and three bright tanks that are used to pour straight to the taps for freshness. They are hoping to have a canning line in operation for the new year to enable them to enter the packaged beer market.
They produce four core beers, being; a Pale Ale, Golden Ale, IPA and Choc-Milk Stout. They also have a changing selection of seasonal beers.
The bar also has a great selection of high quality whiskey available as Tom’s father, Peter runs Belgrove Rye Whiskey distillery.
The beers that I sampled were:
1. Mobart Pale Ale 5.5% abv, this is presently named for their involvement in Movember fund raising. It has golden colour and a subtle fruity aroma. It uses the new Astra hop as well as Amarillo and Cascade hops. The flavour is a gentle one of fruitiness on a light bitter finish.
2. Golden Ale, 5.0% abv, this has a golden colour and a sweet malty aroma. It has a nice malt initial palate and then a mild fruity flavour on a crisp finish.
3. Fresh Hop Lager, 6.0% abv, this has a golden colour and malt aroma. It has been made with fresh hop flowers in the brew and has a sweet malty flavour on a clean, crisp finish.
4. Fruit Bowl IPA, 6.4% abv, this has a golden colour and a sweet tropical fruit and citrus aroma. It has a sweet, juicy, fruity flavour with a mild bitter finish.
5. Rye Barrelled Fruit Bowl IPA, 6.5% abv, this has a dark golden colour and a strong whiskey and fruit aroma. It has a sweet fruity flavour with hints of spice and coconut. Delicious!
6. Red Double IPA, 8.0% abv, this has an amber colour and a sweet hoppy aroma. It has a sweet malt initial taste and then a great fruitiness on a lovely mild bitterness before a crisp finish.
7. Choc-Milk Stout, 4.7% abv, this has a black colour and a sweet chocolate and vanilla aroma. It has a wonderful smooth mouth feel and a sweet taste with hints of chocolate and vanilla. This is the brewery’s signature brew and it is very nice indeed.
8. Big Old Stout, 8.0% abv, this has a black colour with a dark head and a malt aroma of coffee. It has a sweet malty flavour of espresso and dark chocolate and a gentle bitterness on the finish.
The T-Bone Brewing Co. are making some excellent beers and have a wonderful bar to enjoy them in. They are definitely worth checking out if you are in Hobart.
I would like to thank Josh for his hospitality when I visited.