When you open a new brewery, you can never be too sure which beers are going to find favour with your public. Sure, a pale is always going to be a winner, probably an IPA and, these days, a well made sour for the more discerning drinker. The benefit of having 26 taps to play with is that you can try out many things and see what sticks.
Among the early releases to find favour with Stomping Ground's audience was the Upside Down. Brown ales aren't typically the biggest sellers, instead tending to have a smaller but avid fan base. Yet this beer put its hand up for a permanent guernsey early on.
Its popularity is easy to understand: it's a well judged blend of biscuity, nutty and chocolaty malt characters, dark fruit and raisins and a steadily building, earthy bitterness. It's named after the Yarra River but, as the brewery claims, tastes much better.
