One of Carl’s declared aims was to illustrate to me that beer in Australia isn’t just the ‘piss’ of the big corporate brands. Despite any other thoughts you may hold about this list, the one thing everyone has to agree is that it demonstrates a huge variety and scope in Aussie beer. It’s a theme which continued into the US, though given I was – for the most part – drinking along (the notable exception being an enjoyable evening with Colin in the Produce Row Cafe in Portland) the rate of consumption dropped considerably.
The beers in bold are something I hadn’t previously tried…
UNITED KINGDOM
Wednesday
Heathrow
Windsor & Eton – Conqueror Black IPA 5.0% (1)
SINGAPORE
Tuesday
Singapore
Heineken
Friday
Beerwerkz Oatmeal Stout 6.2% (2)
Beerwerkz Steam Beer 5% (3)
AUSTRALIA
Saturday
Perth
James Squire One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale 4.2% (4)
Little Creatures (Freemantle) Pale Ale 5.0% (5)
James Squire Amber Ale 5.0% (6)
Indian Pacific
Crown lager 4.9% (7)
Carlton Draught 4.6% (8)
Crown lager
Wednesday
Sydney
Australia Hotel
Hawthorne Premium Pale Ale (9)
Vale Experimental (rhubarb) (10)
Harts Pub, Essex & Glocester St
Illawarra Brewing Rust Amber Ale (Woollongong) 5.5% (11)
Charmer IPA (Wayward, NSW) 5% (12)
Trafalgar Hotel
Nelsons Blood Porter 5% (13)
Victory Bitter English Pale Ale 5% (14)
Thursday
Manly
Murray’s Brewery
Punch & Judy Ale 3.9% on hand pump (15)
Dark Knight Porter 4.5% (16)
4Pines
English Bitter (17)
Oatmeal Porter (18)
Lord Nelson Brewery
Admiral Ale 6.1% (19)
Friday
The Local Tap House
Stone & Wood Pacific Ale 4.4% (20)
The Pumphouse, Little Pier Street. Hopdog Tap Takeover
Hopdog Redhopolous (21)
Hopdog Massive Otter (22)
Halves of same again
Hopdog Explosivio (23)
Hopdog Redhopolous
Harts
The Governor 4.5% (24)
Illawarra Brewing Brownish Bomber 5.9% (25)
Tuesday
Canberra
Wig & Pen Velvet Stout 5.7% (26)
Wig & Pen Pale Ale (hand pull) 5.5% (27)
Wednesday
Thursday
Adelaide
Wheaty
Steam Exchange Choc Milk Stout 5.2% (28)
Mountain Goat FX stout 6.7% (29)
Brew Boys Ace of Spades 5.9% (30)
Mountain Goat India Saigon (31)
Friday
Lobethal Bierhous Bruce 3.5% (32)
Lobethal Bierhous Pils 4.8% (33)
Brew Boys Ace of Spades Stout 5.9% (34)
Bierra Del Borgi Perle di Porci (Oyster Stout) 5.2% (35)
Lobethal Red Truck Porter 5.8% (bottle) (36)
The Griffins
Little Creatures Pale
Saturday
Lobethal Bierhaus
Chocolate Oatmeal Stout 5.2% (37)
Pale Ale 5.4% (38)
Red Truck Porter 5.9%
Wheaty
Birbecks Four Brothers IPA 5% (39)
Brooklyn Brown tap (40)
Brooklyn Brown Hand pump
Brooklyn Sorrachi (41)
Brooklyn EPA (42)
Sunday
Earl of Leicester
Coopers Dark – crap
Little Creatures Pale
Mountain Goat IPA 6.2% (43)
Monday
Port Campbell
12 Rocks Beach Bar
Jug Prickly Moses Summer Ale (44)
Red Duck IPA (45)
Tuesday
Melbourne
Beer DeLuxe
Thornbridge Jaipur 5.9% (46)
Great Northern Hotel
Sierra Nevada Stout 5.85% (47)
Devils Backbone Torpedo Extra IPA 7.2% (48)
Stone & Wood (NSW) Pacific Ale 4.4% (49)
The Ale House Project
New Zealand Craft Beer Showcase
Croucher Coffee Stout (handpump) (50)
Parrot Dog Pale Ale 5.3% (51)
Back at GNH
Bridgeport IPA 5.5% (52)
Sierra Nevada Pale 5%
Wednesday
Carwyn Cellars
High Street Thornbury
Tasting
Sideshow Brewers Ticket Booth hoppy pale ale on tap (53)
3 Ravens Stout bottle (54)
Kooinda (Happy Place Brewing Co) English Red (55)
Kooinda Black IPA (wow!) (56)
Moon Dog Love Tap Double Lager (57)
Moon Dog Henry Ford’s Girthsome Fjord – Bugo American Brown Ale 8.2% deliberate mix of styles. (58)
Boat Rocker Smash New World Ale (59)
3 Ravens 55 American Pale Ale (from Thornbury) (60)
Mountain Goat IPA bottle
Mountain Goat Hightail Ale
Cavalier Pale Ale (61)
Boat Rocket Alpha Queen (62)
Brother Burger and the Marvellous Brew on Brunswick Street.
GBW event Croucher and Liberty both NZ takeover.
Croucher Patriot Black IPA 5.5% (63)
Liberty Summit IPA 7% (64)
Tramway Hotel
Steam Exchange The Big H Milk Chocolate Stout 5.5% (65)
Second given by brewer following photo op.
Woodshed Judas the Dark 5.9% (66)
dejjAVu
Burleigh Duke Premium 4.8% (67)
Thursday
Beer De Luxe
Mikkeller Single Hop IPA – Cascade and Challenger (68)
Birra Del Borgo (Oyster Stout) — Porci (c)
Mountain Goat Hightail (bot)
Holgate (Woodend, Vic) Road Trip 5.8% (69)
The Local Taphouse, St Kilda
Mornington Brown Ale from cask (70)
Camden Town USA Hells 4.6% (71)
Hopdog Massive Otter 5.3% (NSW) (72)
Friday
Slowbeer bottle shop & cafe. 468 Bridge Rd Richmond
Kooinda Black IPA 7% bot (Heidelburg West, Vic) (73)
The Royston River St/North St WA Pint of Origin
Nail Ale Pale Ale (Bassendean) 4.7% (74)
Bootleg Brewery Raging Bull Porter 7.1% (Margaret River, WA) (75)
Mountain Goat
Grainfed Brewery The Sneaky One Summer Ale 4.2% (Newcastle) (76)
High Tail
Abbey Colabbey (77)
Mountain Goat Steam beer
Great Northern
Bridge Road IPA
Beer DeLuxe
Moor Illusion Black IPA 4.5% (78)
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Spirit of Tasmania.
Moo Brew Dark 5% (79)
Moo Brew Pale Ale 4.9% (80)
Moo Brew Pilsner 5.0% (81)
Another Moo Brew Dark
Tuesday
Hobart
Preachers 5 Knopwood Street, Battery Point TAS
Van Dieman Oatmeal Stout 5.1% (in a dimpled handled glass!) (82)
4 Pines Oat Porter 5% (83)
Two Metre Tall (Tas) Forrester’s 5.1% (84)
9/11 Bottle Shop
Two Metre Tall Derwent (local river!) “aromatic spelt ale” or a wheat beer (85)
Two Metre Huon – dark apple ale (86)
Wednesday
Cascade Premium (87)
4 Pines Stout 330ml 5.1%
Beach Hut Steam 202 4.7% (Torquay, Vic) (88)
MOA Noir dark lager 5% (Marlborough, NZ) (89)
Saturday
Canberra
Kosciuszko Pale Ale (sample) 4.5% (Jindabyne, NSW) (90)
Heretic (Pitsburg CA) Evil Twin 6.8% (bottle) (91)
Heretic Evil Cousin 8.0% (bottle) (92)
Wig & Pen
Big Brown Beaver 6.8% (93)
Ballyragget Red 5.0% (94)
Carl – Venom Pale Ale
Imperial Red Ale (95)
Brewers IPA 5.7% (96)
Sierra Nevada Oatmeal Stout 9.0% bottle (97)
NEW ZEALAND
Monday
Speight’s Gold Medal Ale 4.0% (1)
Galbraith’s
Grafton Porter 5.0% (2)
Pride of Warminster IPA 6.2% (3)
(both pints both hand pull)
Trig’s homebrew porter (4)
Stoke Bomber (Nelson, NZ) Oatmeal Stout 5.2% (bottle) (5)
Stoke Bomber (Nelson, NZ) Smoky Ale 5.7% (bottle) (6)
Stoke Bomber (Nelson, NZ) Kiwi Pale 5.5% (bottle) (7)
Tuesday
Auckland
Puhoi Hotel
Deep Creek Brewing Co. 309 5.0% (8)
Cassells Pilsner 4.8% (9)
The Wade Hotel
Boundary Road Flying Fortress pale ale 4.6% (bottle) (10)
Flying Fortress Pilsner (bottle) (11)
Back at Trig’s
Flying Fortress Mumbo Jumbo IPA 5.2% (bottle) (12)
Epic Armageddon IPA 6.66% (bottle) (13)
Wednesday
Brew on Quay
Emerson’s 1812 IPA 4.9% (14)
Moa Five Hop Winter Ale 6.2% hand pump (15)
Epic Pale Ale 5.4% (16)
O’Carrols Freehouse
Stoke Old Pour Oatmeal Stout 5.2% (17)
Liberty Sauvignon BOMB IPA (18)
Mata Volcano Red IPA (19)
Croucher Patriot (20)
8wired Hopwired (21)
Andrew Andrew
Mata Seasonal Brew (tastes like Christmas pudding!!) (22)
Back to Brew on Quay
Moa Five Hop on hand pump
Thursday
Wellington
Fork & Brewer
Croucher Coffee Stout tap (23)
Little Beer Quarter
Emerson Bookbinder 3.7% (Dundedin, NZ) (24)
Friday
Featherstone Bar & Grill
Renaissance Scotch Red (25)
Saturday
Christchurch
CBD Bar & Pizzeria
Cassels Milk Stout 5.2% $8 imp pints hand pull (26)
Cassells Best Bitter 4.6% hand pull (27)
Cassells One PA tap (28)
Cassells Alchemist 4.6% (29)
Sunday
Speights GMA. Meh.
Steinlarger – double meh!
Mac Gold. No better
UNITED STATES
Los Angeles, CA
Domestic bottled from 7-Eleven
Seattle, WA
Sunday
The Pike Brewing Co.
Pike Clam Diggers Ale 4.9% (1)
Pike Post Alley Porter 6.0% (2)
Pike Pale – Heirloom Amber Ale 5% (had difficulty saying it!) (3)
Collins Pub
Deschutes Obsidian Stout (4)
Harmon Puget Sound Porter (5)
Naked City Black Hops CDA (6)
Portland, OR
Monday
Produce Row Cafe
Amnesia Slow Train Porter 5.0% (7)
Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout (Ca) 5.7 % (8)
Everybody’s Country Boy IPA 6.2% (9)
Goose Hollow
Missed the name of it porter
Tuesday
Bridgeport IPA (bottle) (10)
Deschutes Inversion (bottle) (11)
Road Trip
Thursday
Tillamook, OR
Legunitas IPA (pint bottle) (12)
Friday
Hermiston, OR
Nookie’s Brewery
Deschuttes Black Butte Porter 20oz x2 (13)
Portland Brewing MacTarnaha’s Amber Ale (5.1%) pint bottle (14)
Saturday
McCall, ID
McCall Brewing Company
Loud Boy Porter (15)
Hippie Hopped Pale Ale (16)
Mackinaw Red (17)
Minimalist Bane IPA (18)
Sunday
Twin Falls, ID
Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout (Bottle) (19)
Monday
Rock Springs, ID
Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout (Bottle)
Tuesday
Steamboat Springs, CO
Mahogany Ridge Bar & Grill
Life O’ Riley Pale Ale (20)
Dave’s Downtown Brown (21)
Powdercat Porter (22)
Wednesday
Boulder, CO
BJs Restaurant Brewhouse
BJs Oasis Amber (23)
BJs PM Porter (24)
BJs Hopstorm IPA (25)
Thursday
Denver, CO
Dry
Friday
Denver Beer Company
Session IPA (26)
Yin Black IPA (27)
Ale House
Left Hand Milk Stout (Longmont, CO) 6% (28)
Telluride Face Down Brown 5.7% (29)
Breckenridge Thunder Stout 5.% (30)
Saturday
Austin, TX
The Jackalope
Austin Beer Works Black Thunder (31)
Austin Beers Works Fire Eagle IPA (32)
Pearl Snap Pils (33)
Sunday
Champions Bar
Austin Beer Works Amber Ale (34)
512 Pecan Porter (Austin)(35)
512 IPA (36)
Thirsty Goat Amber (Austin) (37)
Independence Stash IPA (Austin) (38)
Monday
To St Louis
Dry
Tuesday
St Louis, MO
Schlafly Tap Room
Oatmeal Stout 6.0% (39)
Dry-Hopped APA 5.9% (40)
Eighty Schilling 4.0% (41)
Maibock 6.86% (42)
Wednesday
Nashville, TN
Blackstone Restaurant & Brewery
St Charles Porter 1056og (43)
APA (American Pale Ale) 1049og (44)
Nut Brown Ale 1052og (45)
Black Gold 1046og (46)
Tin Roof (over road from hotel)
Black Stone Nut Brown (47)
Thursday
Chattanooga, TN
Big River Grille & Brewing Works
House Brand IPA 6.0% (48)
Iron Horse Stout 5.7% (49)
Sweet Magnolia American Brown Ale 5.2% (50)
Friday
Charlotte, NC
Dry
Saturday
Boston, MA
Cambridge Brewing Company
Collier Stout 4.0% (51)
Charles River Porter (house beer) 6.0% (52)
Tell Tale Pale Ale 5.8% (53)
another Collier Stout
Sunday
Boston Beer Works
Curley’s Irish Stout 4% (54)
Victory Red 5% (55)
Back Bay IPA 6.5% (56)
Bullfinch British Ale (57)
Green Dragon
11 Marshall St
Waschusett Green Monsta IPA (58)
Monday
Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, Logan Airport (quite remarkably!)
TOTALS
Singapore 0
Australia 97
New Zealand 29
USA 62
Grand total of unique beers sampled during the Great Escapade = 188.
Are We There Yet 