Since 2008 Fosters has been releasing a special limited edition version of their Crown Lager. Known as Crown Lager Ambassador Reserve, the pricey beer comes in a special box with each hand crafted bottle numbered in a similar way to some of the more collectible wines are sold. 5000 bottles were made in 2008 and 6000 of the 2009 vintage beer have been released today. The very first bottle of the 2008 vintage was given to the Queen as a present on the anniversary of her coronation, so if you don’t want to pony up the coin for a bottle you may need to pop past her place and ask nicely for a taste. The 2008 Vintage sold for around 60 bux a bottle, it may seam a bit rich for a 750ml bottle of beer but we have noticed a bottle of the 2008 stuff on eBay already up to 100 dollars, so it may be a good investment. Check out the Crown Lager site below for the full story on how this beer is put together.
Posts under ‘Australia’
Blue tongue Premium Light
We firstly have to apologise for the photo, we couldn’t find any blue tongue lizards, our stuffed dinosaur was the closest thing. Well the tongue brand of beers are just new onto the Australian market and are being distributed by the Coca-cola company. They have a great range of beers, including a beautiful Ginger Beer, we will feature more over the next few months. Today we are talking about the Premium Light, Light or low alcohol beer is a growing market in Australia and this one has caught the imagination of the beer drinkers, with a crisp and clean taste. The beer is about half alcohol volume compared with normal beers at 2.7% but misses none of hte great taste. The beers are brewed in the beautiful Hunter Valley of New South Wales and look destine to become on of the major players on the Australian market over the next few years. Read the rest of this entry »
Storm in a beer bottle
A few days ago our story was on a beer found at the discount supermarket chain Aldi, well we have another one. This one is called Storm Light, it is a premium larger but low in alcohol and a great alternative to the big brand name light beers on the market and at a fraction of the cost. This beer like many of the beers on sale in Aldi stores in Australia is brewed in New Zealand. The beer has full flavor and a slight hoppy taste- quiet a good beer and great value. Look out for it in your local Aldi.
Arrrr she be a fine Amber Ale
Discount supermarket chain Aldi has a great range of beers at very affordable prices and a new one that has hit their Australian store shelves is Shipstone’s Crew Fine Amber Ale. It’s quiet a tasty drop, with a sweet and smooth taste. The beer has a 4.0% alcohol volume and is sold in 330 ml brown bottles. The Australian version of this beer is made in New Zealand, we are not sure if it is avaible from in the American and European stores or where these beers are brewed- if you know drop us a line and we will tell our readers.
Charlotte’s Hefeweizen
Charlotte’s Hefeweizen is brewed in New South Wales in Australia and is named after Charlotte Adams who was the first woman to climb Australia’s highest peak Mount Kosciuszko back in 1881. The beer is relatively new onto the Australian market and is a very tasty German Style beer using Pale, Wheat Munich and Crystal malts to give the beer a full bodied fruity beer. The beer also contains both Cascade and Willamette hops which gives the beer a very refreshing mild bitterness. The beer has a 4.7% alcohol volume and is one of the range of brands being produced by the Snowy Mountains Brewery which has been operating only since 2004. Others to look out for are a beautiful pale ale called Crackenback, a pilsner called Bullocks and the Razorback Red Ale which is a fine beer for the Australian winter, which we are half way through.
Low Carb VB may be coming soon
Acording to this news article on Business Day Fosters Group is considering introducing a Low Carb VB after seeing a souring demand for low carb beers after the introduction of its Pure Blond range in 2004. The low carb VB will become the 3rd VB product if the plan goes ahead after the successful launch of VB Mid strength in 2007. Low carb beers have been late to catch on in Australia unlike in the US where their low carb equivalent (known as Lite Beer) accounts for one in every two beers drunk. Fosters first attempt at a low carb beer was back in 1995 with Carlton Diamond. If you cant remember it, its probably because it didn’t last long on the market and was a bit of a flop despite a huge marketing campaign at the time. Check out the video above if you need jog you memory. Read the rest of this entry »
World’s greatest pub crawl
We did a story last year about the Australian town of Maryborough in sunny Queensland staging a Guinness World Record attempt for the worlds largest pub crawl. Well they pulled it off, for the third time in four years and are trying to beat their record again in 2009. Now the amazing thing is, it took London with a population of about 12 million people to knock of Maryborough’s record in 2006- Maryborough only has a population of about 21500. The world’s largest pub crawl happens on the Queen’s Birtday weekend in June and a new record of over 3000 revelers is hoped with people needing to drink 1 drink alcoholic or non alcoholic at each of the towns 10 pubs. Now the event just isn’t a chance to enter the record books, drink a few beers and have fun, it also raises much needed funds for the McGrath Foundation’s breast cancer support and research. If you have been on a previous pub crawl record attempt anywhere- we would love to hear your comments.
http://worldsgreatestpubcrawl.com/ Read the rest of this entry »
Lion Nathan may soon be “Bloody Un-Australian”
The Japanese Stag
In Australia if your beer is not made by the Fosters Group it is probably made by Lion Nathan (see full product list below), Together they control over 90% of Australian beer market either via their own Australian brands or imports they either distribute or brew under licence. The Australian Beer industry grew out of several regional breweries that still hold a bit of dominance in their respective states today. In New South they love Tooheys or Hahn, XXXX in Queensland, Swan or Emu in WA, Boags in the top of Tasmania and West End or Southwark in South Australia. Victoria has always had a love of Fosters owned Carlton or VB despite a push by Lion Nathan to penetrate the Victorian market like Fosters did with VB and Carlton across Australia in the 1990′s. Currently Lion Nathan is 46% owned by Japanese brewer Kirin and according to this News.com.au report that may soon change as Kirin has launched a takeover bid of the company putting many of the brand names of Australia’s beer industry under Japanese control. According to the article, some of Australia’s beer drinkers have vowed to switch to switch to Carlton if sale goes ahead (nobody tell them Fosters is 19% owned by Asahi). We recon if the sale forces a beer to come out of Lion Nathan’s factory that tastes like Kirin we would be happy to see the sale go ahead. Read the rest of this entry »
VB in Anzac Day upset
Victoria Bitter or VB is about as Aussie as kangaroos and koalas, but it has raised criticism lately for trying to commercialize another great Aussie tradition, Anzac Day. The VB Raise a Glass Campaign aims to donate $1 from slabs of VB sold during the promotion, as well as funds from 1500 kegs donated to pubs and clubs, the money raised is to be divided between the Legacy family support charity and the Returned and Services League. A bunch of ad’s have been created featuring stories from Australia’s armed forces to promote the campaign but the campaign has come under fire as some people recon you shouldn’t commercialise Anazc Day in this way. The RSL don’t seem to mind and seeing they will be getting a good bit of coin for their cause we recon its an OK idea too. What do you recon cheap marketing stunt or good corporate citizens? drop us a comment below. Read the rest of this entry »
ESB risen from the ashes
At Beer Deluxe in Melbourne’s arts and leisure precinct we found a very tasty beer with a very interesting but tragic story behind it. The beer was an ESB beer brewed by what was regarded as one of Victoria Australia’s best microbreweries Hargraves Hill. Hargraves Hill brewery was relatively new and was located at Steels Creek in the Yarra Valley but was completely destroyed by the horrific fires which swept Victoria in February killing over 200 people. The ESB or Extra Special Beer was a absolute classic and we were hoping that they would rebuild and start producing this fine beer at their brewery again soon. But after a bit of a chat with the bar staff we found that some of the local breweries are helping out letting the guys brew their beers on their premises, while they take on the hard task of rebuilding. So look out for the Hargraves Hill ESB you won’t only be drinking one of the best beers we have tasted in quieta a while, but supporting a great brewery that nature destroyed its facilities but not its spirit. Read the rest of this entry »
