From Fresh, The West Australian

Local breweries seem to be challenging the perception that summer drinking means the “coldie”, or standard Aussie sweet lager. Elmar’s in the Valley’s seasonal brew is a black beer and Gage Roads has produced Blue Angel which comes in an art deco-like blue bottle - and isn’t even a beer, but a cider.

First, the beer. Brewer Brad Harris describes his Elmar’s Schwarzbier (5 per cent) as having a creamy head and dark elegance, drinking smooth, malty and with coffee-chocolate flavours. Is that summery? Yes, apparantly.

“It’s not as bitter or dark as a stout, more ruby red, and people are surprised at how easy and refreshing it is,” Elmar’s marketing manager Carla Lizzi said.

Schwarzbier originated in Bavaria in the Middle Ages and Elmar’s version sticks to the 1516 Purity Law. The standard is set by one of the world’s top brews, Kostritzer Schwarzbier (4.8 per cent), from the 16th century brewery of the same name. Famed writer and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe drank it as a sustaining “food” when he was ill.

The International Beer Shop team and I rate Kostritzer highly. Called “the black beer with the blonde soul” it has a roast complexity with the drinkability of a clean lager. The late beer guru Michael Jackson described it as having “a spicy aroma hinting at red peppers, figs, and bitter chocolate . . . the same character emerging in big, expressive, smooth, long, dry, well combined flavours”.

Gage Roads with Blue Angel and Little Creatures with Pipsqueak Best Cider have recognised that apple cider and pear perry are an integral part of the craft brewing scene. In Britain they grab as much as a 50 per cent share at beer festivals.

Most Aussie cider is made with juice concentrate, according to Paul Wormley of World Brands Australia, who imports and distributes English Weston’s and Stowford Press draught and packaged ciders. In Britain, however, traditional – inedible - cider apples are used.

The Campaign for Real Ale specifies using only non-pasteurised juice, no concentrate, only the sugar naturally available in the fruit, no pasteurisation, no added colouring, flavourings or artificial carbonation.

On that score, top marks in WA must go to Weston’s Old Rosie Scrumpy (7.3 per cent) from a Herefordshire family cidery. It is cloudy, still rather than fizzy and packed with old-fashioned, bitter-sweet fruitiness. Sold here in bottles and two-litre flagons, Old Rosie is also served from handpumps at The Boat at Mindarie Marina and the Vernon Arms, Baldivis, which also hand-pulls Weston’s Perry.

Weston’s bottled ciders, many matured in oak barrels, range from 4.5 per cent Medium Sweet to 8.2 per cent Vintage Special Reserve. Stowford Press has a line-up of mainly dry ciders up to 6 per cent alcohol.

Stowford Press Cider Medium Dry (4.5 per cent) is also on tap at: Moondyne Joe’s, Tradewinds Hotel and Clancy’s Fish Pub in Fremantle; Lucky Shag, Moon and Sixpence, Fibber McGee’s, The Aberdeen and The Rock Late Night Bar in Perth; The Karalee Tavern; Knights Inn, Margaret River Resort; The Boat, Mindarie; Woodvale Tavern; Kingsley Tavern; Vernon Arms, Baldivis; Mundaring Hotel; Stamford Arms, Scarborough Beach.

Wychwood Green Goblin (6 per cent) from an English craft brewery is another traditional English cider sold here. It’s “full bitter-sweet”, made with Somerset cider apples, matured in century-old oak vats and cold, filtered. The light floral aroma, rich, ripe fruit taste and complex tannins are typical of genuine pressed cider.

Perhaps that is why Little Creatures has augmented its own Pipsqueak cider with 500ml bottles of Aspall, an English pressed-apples drop.

Aspall Suffolk Cyder (5.5 per cent): A nostril-hit of sweet English apples swiftly becomes a mouthful of tart, fresh fruit. Orchard flavours sparkle and the full-bodied, medium-dry palate imparts crisp refreshment. A good cider from a 180-year-old country firm. It’s not totally traditional – they retired the horse that worked the apple-press in 1979.

Pipsqueak Best Cider (5.2 per cent):Almost as light on the nose and the tongue as its colour in the glass, the cider made by Melissa Fettke at Little Creatures carries the definable taste of local apples. It’s neither sweet nor dry, rather like fruit-infused mineral water, though with a longer, pleasing aftertaste.

Pipsqueak is sold in 330ml bottles and is on tap at: Little Creatures, Fremantle; Rose & Crown, Guildford; Fenian’s, Parmelia Hilton, Murphy’s Irish Bar, Sassella’s, Rigby’s and The Vic in Perth; The Queens, Highgate; Como Hotel; Breakwater Tavern; Balmoral, Victoria Park; Leisure Inn, Rockingham; The Boat, Mindarie; Quokka Arms, Yanchep; Dunsborough Tavern.

Blue Angel (7 per cent): Once out of the blue bottle, the Gage Roads cider appears almost colourless with just the faintest yellow tinge. Perhaps it’s the addition of passion fruit to the Australian and NZ apple juice, but its aroma verges on tinny. In the mouth it’s sweet, becoming long, dryish with a tongue-tingling bite.

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Billabong to go on show

Myaree’s pioneering Billabong Brewery will feature at the Gluten Free Food & Allergy Expo at Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre on the weekend of March 7 and 8. “We exhibited last year and it was so successful we are keen to attend this year’s expo – it puts us in direct contact with coeliacs who are an important part of our customer base,” Billabong’s Alan Proctor said.

Billabong’s four certified gluten-free beers, with artwork by local international artist Bob Booth, will be available for tasting.

Australia's Pale Ale (5.1)

A US-style pale ale first bottled on Australia Day 2006 and flavoursome enough to match most barley-based versions. After the initial floral, spicy fragrance light malt sweetness, grapefruit, pear and apple explodes in the mouth, leaving floral, herbal, clean yet sweet aftertaste.

Ginger Beer (4.5 per cent)

“A brew designed for non-mainstream beer drinkers: more ginger than beer” says the brewer, who made it gluten-free after customers requested it. Fresh and concentrated ginger give a warm spicy flavour and a gentle yet distinctive bite.

Apple Beer (5 per cent)

Refreshing, crisp and cleansing with a “green” and dry finish like cider – but it’s defintely beer because it contains malt and hops. The brewer says a dash of orange or other cordial adds flavour to a “dangerous summer drink”.

Blonde (4.5 per cent)

This lager, the first of Billabong’s gluten-free beers, remains popular for its light-bodied, easy-drinking style, delicate stone fruit and grapefruit taste and hop balance. Goes with tempura battered fish.

By Vic Crossland