Normally, were we only to get our hands on a beer a few months after its release, we'd just sample it for our own benefit, rather than write about it for public consumption. But there's a few reasons we want to give Watts River's P2G – Paddock to Glass – a run: it's a reminder of their use of one of the founders' parents' grain for their beers; it's still presenting really well; and we might as well chuck COVID in there too as it means they've still some pouring at their Healesville taproom.
This year's P2G – their annual celebration of the grain harvest – might have been bottled back at the end of July but this pale with the faintest of haze pilsner still has much to offer, from clean, soft cereal aromas with a touch of straw like spice to the softest of pillowy textures (a 5 percenter that makes one think of St Bernadus 12 for its mouthfeel is quite something). Add in a hint of honey and a cushioning bitterness and you've got a really lovely little beer through from conception to consumption.
Of more recent vintage is Doppelbock, their collaboration with near neighbours Hard Road Brewing. If you're not familiar with the style, they're strong, dark lagers with origins in Germany. And if you'd like to know what they're like, you could do far worse than pick up a few of these stubbies filled with a clear, conker shell brown liquid serving up aromas of toasting bread crust, Demerara sugar, treacle biscuits, a little over-stewed tea like spice, and flat cola. There's a finish that’s both sticky and drily balancing in a celebration of both malt and brewing tradition.
James Smith
Published November 10, 2021 2021-11-10 00:00:00
