Australian Beer

There are two enormous breweries in or close to Brisbane. The XXXX brewery (pronounced four-X) is the Castlemaine Perkins Milton Brewery within walking distance of the center of Brisbane (it took me about 20 minutes from Roma park) XXXX is the most widely available beer in Queensland.

The Fosters Brewery is in Yatala, less than an hours drive south of Brisbane, close to the Gold Coast.

The XXXX brewery and the XXXX brand are owned by Lion Nathan a company that is responsible for many iconic Australian beers such as Fourex, Toohey’s New, Toohey’s Old, Emu Bitter and Southwark. Lion Nathan is an Australasian company quoted on both the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges. Lion Nathan is 46% owned by the Japanese brewer Kirin. Lion Nathan say that one in every three beers drunk in Queensland is XXXX Gold and two out of every three beers drunk in Queensland is a Castlemain Perkins brand.

The XXXX brewery tour is excellent, cost is AUD20.00 for non-drinkers and AUD26.00 if you want to taste four different beers after the tour. It starts in the visitors center. Tourists are then ushered into a an exhibits area where they sit on a rotating center stage and are treated to the sights and sounds of the brewery history, the tour continues through the brewing process with a display that takes us through the mixing of barley mash and water, the addition of hops and yeast and the fermentation in the tanks, then through the keg filling line and the bottling line, a look at the packaged goods museum then finishing in the Ale House bar and restaurant (the multi media center is undergoing an over-haul)

There are four XXXX beers. XXXX Gold is mid strength lager (3.5% ABV); XXXX Bitter is a full strength lager (4.8% ABV) that doesn't taste anything like a an English bitter; XXXX draught is a lager (4.5% ABV) and XXXX Light (2.2% ABV), the tasting rooms also has other Lion Nathan beers available for tasting including Toohey's and Hahn's.

XXXX Gold is highly carbonated with moderate body and a subtle sweet flavour. Its mild aroma and robust texture are maintained through the drink. The mid-strength alcohol also allows for that extra one before you head back to work.

Hahn Premium is a crisp premium lager with a bitter hoppy taste and a clean bitter finish. This European style full strength lager has been compared to a northern German Pilsener by its brewers. The Premium Lager does not have the strong hoppy aroma of a full Pilsener but don’t let this stir you from enjoying this crisp premium beer. Best served fairly cold (but not freezing!), Hahn Premium soothes the palate with a smooth body and finishes in a clean bitter bite.

XXXX Bitter is a traditional Australian lager with a clean, crisp taste and a slight after-bitterness, but nothing like the taste of a real bitter. XXXX Bitter's delicate aroma comes from the blending of two hop varieties and a sweeter, fruity tang from the yeast. Easy to drink in the hot Brisbane summer, but likely to give you a hangover if you drink to many.

Toohey's Old (4.4% ABV) is probably the best beer I drank in Australia. It has a distinctive ale fruitiness, you can taste the hops and there is a hint of chocolate. Tooheys gives it this description " Tooheys Old is a robustly flavoured ale made with top fermentation ale yeast. The beer is lightly hopped and black malt gives it darker colour. The fruity ale-like esters blend well with the subtle hoppiness and hints of coffee/chocolate to deliver a unique beer." This is an accurate description of a great beer.

The Foster's brewery is more than twice as large as the Four-X brewery