Classic Aussie Beer Reviews Part 1

Classic beers for classic Aussies

In a sea of craft IPA’s, I began to wonder about those classic Aussie beers. Those giants who were marketed so well to working class Australia. Whose market share these upstart boutique breweries have begun to to usurp and perhaps even eclipse.

How do they compare? Are they still good? Were they ever? This is part of 1 of a series that will explore these questions in the form of some quickfire reviews

1. Victoria Bitter ‘VB’ - A.B.V. 4.9%

   

   First Brewed: 1854

   Taste: Malty and slightly bitter. A little hoppy that leaves a bitter finish that lingers a little bit

   Verdict: 3.0

   A little stronger than I was expecting, none the less the VB was quite drinkable at least while it remained ice cold. Once it warmed up it became a little less enjoyable. Bonus sport trivia on cap and aesthetically pleasing vintage bottle lift this one up just a little bit. Not a bad start, for this largely enjoyable beer.

2. XXXX Gold - A.B.V. 3.5%

   

   First Brewed: 1991

   Taste: Light and mellow. A bit citrusy and a little bit bubbly

   Verdict: 2.75

   I was a little surprised this was first brewed as recently as it was. This lager is short on flavour but leaves a slight fluffy mouth feel. Not terrible but not great either. Definitely at its best when it was ice cold (a bit of a theme with these kinds of beers) and its most drinkable. A handy exact 1 standard drink per can but otherwise certainly a slight above average beer. No trivia either which is always a shame.

3. Fosters - A.B.V. 4.9%

   

   First Brewed: 1888

   Taste: Citrusy & slighly malty with a bitter finish.

   Verdict: 2.25

   Australia in a can!! I mean not really. Australia’s most famous beer was certainly the worst out of the three beers that I tried. Kinda drinkable but with a flavour that scientist would probably describe as blah. This lager is perhaps as generic as it comes and even ice cold did not really improve on it. Again no trivia. Not recommended if other choices are available.

The joy of doing something you have low expectations for is that it can sometimes surprise you. And to be honest I was kind of surprised that the VB and XXXX were not too bad. Would I drink any of them instead of a high quality craft beer probably not. But at their affordable price point and easy drinking nature you could do a lot worse. Well accept for the Fosters, don’t drink that 1.

Thus ends part one of classic Aussie Beer reviews.